Memphis Flyer 8/10/2023

VANWYNGARDEN

Senior Editors

TOBY SELLS

Associate Editor

KAILYNN JOHNSON

News Reporter

CHRIS MCCOY

Film and TV Editor

ALEX GREENE

Music Editor

MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS

Staff Writers

ABIGAIL MORICI

Arts and Culture Editor

GENE GARD, EMILY GUENTHER, COCO JUNE, FRANK MURTAUGH

Contributing Columnists

SHARON BROWN, AIMEE STIEGEMEYER

Grizzlies Reporters

ANDREA FENISE

Fashion Editor

KENNETH NEILL

Founding Publisher

CARRIE BEASLEY

Senior Art Director

CHRISTOPHER MYERS

Advertising Art Director

NEIL WILLIAMS

Graphic Designer

JERRY D. SWIFT

Advertising Director Emeritus

KELLI DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE

Senior Account Executives

KALON AMBROSE

Account Executive

CHET HASTINGS

Warehouse and Delivery Manager

JANICE GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN

Distribution

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Contemporary Media, Inc.,

P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101

Phone: (901) 521-9000

Fax: (901) 521-0129

memphisflyer.com

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ANNA TRAVERSE FOGLE

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National Newspaper Association

Association of Alternative Newsmedia

Sometimes Sundays feel like the eve of the rst day of school. Like a kid anticipating a new semester, the nerves swirl and keep me awake before the “big day.” Working on a perpetual deadline, with a column due each week, it’s as if there’s an essay looming, to be graded — and I’m not always prepared for it. e “grade,” of course, will come from you, the readers — and my aim is to write something relatable, entertaining, or in line with current events.

But this Monday, as is occasionally is the case, I wasn’t sure where to begin. I stared at a blank document longer than I’d like to admit, pausing from that daunting task to edit stories as they traveled through our production process or to review articles awaiting publication on the website. Another distraction, albeit a necessary part of the job, is sorting through emails. Dozens come through my inbox daily, of varying degrees of importance — from promotional product pitches to local news items to (more rare) reader feedback.

One email, with the subject line “Checking In,” caught my eye. Typically if someone is checking in, it’s in relation to a previous conversation or a follow up to a prior email that I’ve not yet replied to. is, though, was something else entirely. Feedback of sorts, I guess you could say, but more just an airing of grievances on Memphis, its politicians, and crime. e note, from a person who no longer lives or works in the city, according to the sender, referred to “you” and “your” a handful of times, as if I or the Flyer has some kind of control over the issues listed within. And they were “checking in” to let me know they still can’t stand our “le ist bullshit.”

“ e truth is, Memphis is a steaming, stinking, shithole caused solely by your demokrat [sic]/le ist policies,” the email reads, in part. “Amazing how you otherwise intelligent people, smart enough to write and publish, can be so stupid - or brainwashed - to think your le ist ways work. Liberalism IS a mental disorder and you are both administrators and patients of the socialist insane asylum.”

So this publication, a historically le -leaning alternative newsweekly, somehow, in this person’s mind, contributes to the problems they perceive to weigh on Memphis as a whole? Hmm.

I realized last week that it’s been nine months since I took the helm as editor-in-chief of this paper (and this was my rst hate mail, a good run if you ask me). ere have been growing pains, as is natural with any job, but particularly one in which you have a platform such as this. Writing something of substance in my column is top of mind, and I’d like to use my voice for good as o en as possible. Anyone who has followed this space over the course of my tenure may have noticed I don’t make a habit of intentionally riling people up. I prefer not to promote division, but rather gently remind people that we’re all human, mere specks oating on a rock in space, trying to get by.

So I nd myself wondering what would inspire a person to wake up one morning and think, “You know what? I’m pissed o and the editor of the Flyer needs to know this.” e message wasn’t directed at something in particular I had written or a speci c piece composed by one of my many talented colleagues. ere were no suggested solutions provided or any actionable critiques. Just an anger-dump, addressed to me, for reasons I can’t quite discern.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY - 4

POLITICS - 6

FINANCE - 7

COVER STORY

“BURGER EXTRAVAGANZA”

ere was one thing I wanted to weave into my column last week about the congressional hearing on UAPs and the alleged discovery of “non-human biologics,” but with limited space, it didn’t make the cut. I wrote on how we simply don’t have the time to worry about that — unless UFOs land in our front yards, no big deal, who cares. But in reality, some people have a lot of time to worry about a lot of stu — to be keyboard warriors berating others for their beliefs, to moan about “woke culture,” to bash people for their personal life choices.

BY FLYER STAFF - 8

AT LARGE - 12

WE RECOMMEND - 13

MUSIC - 14

CALENDAR - 15

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 15

ASTROLOGY - 16

FOOD - 19

FILM - 20

CLASSIFIEDS - 22

LAST WORD - 23

I don’t venture to think I can change anyone’s mind, nor do I impose my opinions in ways that belittle others. But I do urge you to think for yourself, do your own research, and above all, be kind.

Hate is a choice. Imagine where we could be if more of us chose love.

Shara Clark shara@memphis yer.com

PHOTO: JUSTIN MORGAN | UNSPLASH “You’ve

[always] got mail!”

THE fly-by

ernet

Memphis on the internet.

#NOTMYJOB

Richie Esquivel’s sad/hilarious Facebook post went around the world last week, picked up by (as of press time) WMC-TV, e Guardian, and the New York Post.

His photo shows a dead raccoon painted over by a road crew laying new tra c stripes along Getwell. It raises so many questions, but one thing was clear to Esquivel. It was “#notmyjob,” he wrote. “Memphis, Tennessee, baby. But Getwell Road looked real nice, tho.”

BIKE CITY

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{WEEK THAT WAS

By Flyer staff

Shootings, Pollution, & Overton Park

New record set for mass shootings, a lawsuit on toxic emissions, and a park plan timeline.

MASS SHOOTING RECORD

Tennessee set a new record for the number of people killed in Tennessee mass shootings in a year — and a majority of these shootings have taken place in Memphis.

Data from a new website (TNUnder eGun.com), created by the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus, say out of the 13 mass shootings in Tennessee this year, 29 have died (19 adults and 10 children).

e previous record set in 2021 included 15 mass shootings and 20 deaths. Last year, 17 mass shootings killed 12.

e 46th Annual National Bikers Roundup roared into town again last week, bringing thousands of primarily Black bikers to Memphis.

Party central was Liberty Park, converted again to a campground for an estimated 30,000 bikers and their families. But the biker joy spread all over town, especially to Beale Street, where nearly every night was bike night.

HORROR

A popular subreddit asks for horror stories in two sentences. Yvette Rhoton’s Nextdoor post from last week certainly quali es. “Wasps in little library on Nelson close to Tanglewood. Ask me how I found out.”

MEMPHIS BARBIE

“Barbie goes to Memphis …,” reads the post from Memphis Memes 901. Submitted here without commentary.

Most of the state’s mass shootings have occurred in Memphis. However, these events have happened all over the state in rural and urban settings.

OVERTON PARK PLAN

Overton Park o cials hope construction can begin this year on a project that will end Greensward parking, open new parkland, and relocate some facilities, but they await the arrival of $3 million in federal funds.

In March 2022, Overton Park Conservancy (OPC), the Memphis Zoo, and the city of Memphis announced a plan that would transform the park through a series of land swaps. In July 2022, the group announced $3 million in federal funding had been allocated for the project. e group is still awaiting the money in order to get the project started.

“ e city, the zoo, and the conservancy are all moving aggressively to get this solution implemented as quickly as possible,” OPC executive director Tina Sullivan said in a statement. “With federal funding, multiple partners, and multiple aspects to the project, it’s hard to pinpoint a completion date at this stage. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we do hope to be underway with construction by the end of 2023.”

TOXIC EMISSIONS LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit led last week claims a group of South Memphis residents have su ered cancer, miscarriages, spinal disorders, and more from toxic emissions from Sterilization Services of Tennessee (SST).

e company uses ethylene oxide (EtO) in its South

Memphis facility to sterilize medical equipment. e gas is a known carcinogen and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently found levels of the chemical around SST were now 20 times above standards for acceptable risk. e lawsuit seeks awards for damages, a jury trial, awards for legal fees and litigation costs, and more.

Seven living plainti s who live or lived in South Memphis near the facility have sued. One of them also sued on behalf of her deceased son.

Anita Albury was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, the lawsuit says. She is also suing on behalf of her son, Lenoris Buoy Jr., who was born with a spinal disorder and passed away in 2022. ey lived just over a mile from SST.

Morgan Franklin su ered from miscarriages, according to the suit, and lived under two miles from SST from 1984 to 2010. Linda Lane was diagnosed with myeloma in 2005 and lived less than a mile from SST from 1987 to 2007.

Reginae Kendrick was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008 and has lived less than three miles from SST since 2003. Larry Washington was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1999 and lived less than a mile from the facility from 1980 to 2005.

Everett Walker was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1982 and has lived just over two miles from SST since 1976. Beatrice Whitley was diagnosed with leukemia and lived less than three miles from SST from 1977 to 2016, the suit says. Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for fuller versions of these stories and more local news.

POSTED TO FACEBOOK BY MEMPHIS MEMES 901

POSTED TO YOUTUBE BY DERRICK CROWLEY TV

PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT): CHIP VINCENT | UNSPLAH; OVERTON PARK VIA FACEBOOK; GOOGLE MAPS irteen mass shootings in Tennessee this year have killed 29 people; Overton Park o cials hope for construction to begin this year; South Memphis residents sue Sterilization Services of Tennessee.

Klondike Smokey City Renaissance {

A historic North Memphis neighborhood looks to the future while preserving the past.

Two of the oldest AfricanAmerican communities in North Memphis are experiencing a “renaissance” as groups work to improve quality of life, promote small businesses, and preserve historic legacy.

Klondike Smokey City is getting a boost from programs by the Klondike Smokey City Community Development Corporation (KSCCDC) and BLDG Memphis. Both groups are helping businesses and the economic health of the community through a new program called Community Navigator Pilot Program, part of the American Rescue Plan.

“ is particular grant was to provide support for small businesses in neighborhoods that were underinvested and underserved,” explained Markuitta Washington, community navigator for BLDG Memphis.

e small business program seeks to boost prospects for small business owners through access to nancial assistance and capital, along with the promotion of other skills including contracting and procurement, marketing, operations, business

development, and exporting industryspeci c training.

Randall Garrett serves on the board of directors for BLDG Memphis, representing KSCCDC, and explained that there is a “renaissance” in Klondike Smokey City when it comes to small businesses. To showcase this, the neighborhood recently hosted one of BLDG Memphis’ MEMFix events, which temporarily activates neighborhoods in pop-ups designed to bring in new audiences.

e neighborhood’s entrepreneurs were on display, with local businesses serving as vendors. But Klondike Smokey City history had a front row seat, too. is helps residents “feel good” about their community, explained Eziza Ogbeiwi-Risher, environmental coordinator of KSCCDC. is was done with the Northside Hall of Fame and exhibits in a museum built just for the MEMFix event.

“I know that everybody has somebody in their family, or some event in their family that they’re very proud of,” said Ogbeiwi-Risher. “ e museum is

HealthCare is Better Together.

an opportunity for everyone to showcase that. Now you have an opportunity to let everyone know, ‘Hey, we helped build this community, and we want to continue to build it.’”

And Garrett wanted to clear up another historical fact about Klondike Smokey City.

“People do not know that Klondike is actually the rst African-American community in the city of Memphis,” Garrett said. “People think it’s Orange Mound, but it’s actually Klondike. Orange Mound was rst, but it was outside of the city of Memphis. Inside the city of Memphis, it was Klondike.”

Looking to the future, residents are awaiting the $72 million redevelopment of Northside High School, called Northside Square. Scheduled to open next year, the project will be similar to Crosstown Concourse, with a ordable housing, a community college, and more.

New houses are expected in the neighborhood soon, Garrett said. But initial designs for them were rejected because

By Kailynn Johnson

they did not t in with the current designs of Klondike. He said this is an example of why it is essential to have community natives at the table when it comes to these decisions.

“When you have people who are from the community, in charge of developing the community, then you’re going to have a product that is going to preserve the legacy and history of the community,” said Garrett. “Anything that’s done in this neighborhood has to t this neighborhood, has to t the plan.”

PHOTO: CITY OF MEMPHIS Klondike Smokey City

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

Gibson Opens Up

In opening his headquarters on Quince Road in East Memphis last Saturday, J.W. Gibson — who is variously described as a businessman, as a developer, and as a philanthropist — sought to remedy one of the problems of his mayoral campaign.

e problem has been that, in a eld over owing with candidates of one stripe or another — a lawman, a local government veteran, a former mayor, a school board member, et al. — Gibson has lacked the focus that a single easyto-digest descriptor might provide to distinguish him from his competitors.

He attempted to deal with that issue last Saturday by presenting a “sixpoint” plan and characterizing himself as a man of multiple dimensions, experienced in meeting a wide array of challenges.

“I’m a native Memphian, born in Dixie Homes, raised in South Memphis. I’m a Navy veteran, owner of three businesses, a wholesale distributorship, real estate development, and commercial printing.”

He proudly owned up to being the printer of the state’s lottery coupons. “Did y’all know that they were all printed here in Memphis?”

He identi ed himself with Memphis yet further by the very distinctive nature of his experiences — including, he pointedly noted, a successful, long-term “interracial marriage.” On hand last Saturday and prominently introduced were his wife Kathy and their two daughters, Savannah and Alicia.

Kathy Gibson is the president of Buckman Laboratories, one of the true ornaments of local industry. Buckman is a global specialty chemical company that conducts business in over 90 countries and employs approximately 1,700 associates.

Both the senior Gibsons are well known for the range of their contributions to numerous local arts programs and other causes.

Gibson’s six-point platform was unabashedly multiplicitous, as well. Among the points of it was the crime issue, the resolution of which depended on the coordinated activity of the entire community, he said, promising to invest in new crime-control technology

and to hold a massive “crime summit” if elected.

Other platform points were economic and workforce development. Gibson lamented that the city had — some eight years ago, he said — divested itself of a workforce development program as such. (Others maintain that the city’s program was shi ed over to the county under state mandate.)

Still another platform point was early childhood and youth development, apropos which Gibson proposed the restoration of direct city aid to Shelby County Schools — though not in the same measure as existed prior to the 2013 merger of city and county systems, followed by the creation of suburban municipal systems.

Gibson pledged to “bring back home” MLGW, which he called a “city division” but has enjoyed a partial autonomy of action. And he promised to create an annual showcase of Memphis music talent.

Last Saturday’s self-introduction was in the wake of a urry of new yard signs advocating Gibson’s candidacy, and it will be followed up this week by ads on local TV.

Also hitting the tube this week was Sheri Floyd Bonner with a 30-second biographical ad on all local stations pointing out that Bonner was the rst African American to head the Shelby County Sheri ’s Department.

New TV ads were also purportedly imminent from candidates Paul Young and Van Turner, the latter of whom previewed one this week in online form.

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER

Mayoral candidate J.W. Gibson with wife Kathy at headquarters opening

A “sleeper” candidacy becomes more concrete.

Tips for Growth

Six ways to preserve and grow your investments amid in ation.

In ation has been in the news a lot lately. e high in ation rates of the last couple years have signi cantly eroded Americans’ purchasing power on a variety of goods and services. While in ation puts a strain on short-term spending and saving, it can be especially detrimental to long-term investment accounts if not properly planned for. Fortunately, a well-built investment portfolio can help counteract the e ects of in ation. e following tips can help preserve and grow the value of your investments in the face of in ation.

3. Consider in ation-protected securities.

Consider incorporating an allocation to in ation-protected securities, such as Treasury In ation-Protected Securities (TIPS). TIPS are government bonds that change value based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) that can provide a hedge against in ation. ey o er xedinterest payments that can help your investment keep pace with rising prices.

4. Include an allocation to real assets. Tangible assets, such as real estate and commodities, have historically helped hedge portfolios against in ation. Real estate investments have the potential to appreciate in value and generate rental income, which can rise with in ation rates. Commodities tend to retain value during in ationary periods.

5. Rebalance regularly.

When planning for in ation, it’s important to regularly rebalance your investment portfolio. Rebalancing is the process of selling o outperforming assets in order to invest in lowerperforming assets. While this practice may seem counterintuitive, it helps prevent your allocation from dri ing too far from your target investment ranges. Adding to a lower-performing asset can be di cult, but it’s important to remember the reasons it’s in the portfolio in the rst place. is practice helps o set in ation because it prevents one asset type from dominating your portfolio and throwing o your risk exposure.

1. Diversify your investments.

One of the most e ective ways to position your portfolio to weather in ation is by investing in a diversi ed mix of asset types, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities. Di erent asset classes tend to perform di erently during various stages of the market cycle. By maintaining a diversi ed portfolio, you reduce the risk of all your investments being impacted in the same manner at the same time.

2. Incorporate stocks.

Historically, equity returns have outperformed in ation over the long term. Investing in a diversi ed mix of large- and small-cap stocks, both domestic and international, can help provide you with the long-term growth potential you need to o set rising in ation and protect your portfolio’s purchasing power. By owning stocks, you own the companies raising the prices causing in ation.

6. Review your portfolio. Periods of high in ation o en coincide with challenging market conditions. Economic factors are constantly changing and evolving, so it’s important to regularly review your investment portfolio. is practice will ensure your portfolio continues to align with your goals and remains positioned to weather the prevailing economic landscape. Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory rms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s nancial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

Summer may almost be over, but it’s not too late to hit the beach. We can help make your last minute plans happen with a Southeast Financial personal loan. It’s

PHOTO: NATALIYA VAITKEVICH | PEXELS Counteract the e ects of in ation.

BURGER EXTRAVAGANZA

Cover Story

by Flyer Staff

Get your patty on with this year’s delicious Burger Week roundup.

It’s the Great Burger, Charlie Brown! at’s right, it’s everyone’s favorite time of the year again: Memphis Flyer Burger Week! For 2023’s celebration of the holy grail of classic American dining, we researched some of the best beef patties around and released our writers all over the city to sample some good ol’ Blu City hamburgers. e usual suspects are out in force, while some newcomers showed o their tasty takes on ground chuck. All of the restaurants on the following pages are participating in Burger Week this year, so we went ahead and checked out what you can expect for some pretty cool $6.99 deals.

Old Bridge Burger – Loflin Yard

“Oh gee,” mused an indecisive diner during a night out on the town in Downtown Memphis. “What do I want to eat tonight? A hamburger? Some barbecue? Or maybe just a small snack of onion rings to tide me over?”

“Oh-ho!” chortled a voice just over his shoulder. “Trouble deciding what to eat tonight?”

“ e Lo in Fairy!” the diner

exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“Why, I’m here to solve your dinnertime woes with the Old Bridge Burger at Lo in Yard.” With a ourish,

the Lo in Fairy snapped his ngers to conjure a plate out of thin air, topped with a he y burger piled with all sorts of di erent accouterments. e diner leaned in, eyes wide, as his salivating gaze wandered over the myriad ingredients.

“It’s got a large Angus beef patty, coleslaw, pickles, barbecue sauce … wait, is that pulled pork on top of the burger? And some fried onion rings under the top bun?”

“Indeed it is,” laughed the Lo in Fairy. “ at’s so much food!” But when the diner looked up, the Lo in Fairy had vanished, leaving him alone with the large Old Bridge Burger, a side of fries, and a frozé for good measure.

— Samuel X. Cicci 7 W. Carolina Ave.

The Celtic Burger –Celtic Crossing

Celtic Crossing’s old standbys — think shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash — are splendid, but if you’re hankering

PHOTO: SAMUEL X. CICCI Old Bridge Burger

for a good ol’ hamburger, you’ll get a beefy serving of satisfaction at the classic Irish pub. e Celtic Burger starts with its blended patty that is nicely seasoned and sports a satisfying topper of American cheese. ere is also a “secret sauce,” which implies a certain possible leprechaun involvement, but which my taste buds and some discreet inquiries revealed to have elements of ketchup and mayonnaise (probably not from County Mayo, though).

Verdict is: delicious. Rounding it out are pickles, tomatoes, and shaved lettuce. It all sits comfortably between two halves of a potato bun liberally festooned with sesame seeds. e dish comes with thick, savory fries, as one would expect from a Hibernian kitchen. e seeded bun itself is a delight, but, as will happen with robust burgers, might not stay intact through the end. is, however, is why the Irish invented forks, so you can enjoy it to the last morsel.

903

Cooper St.

—

Jon W. Sparks

World Famous Huey BurgerHuey’s

When’s the last time you had a World Famous Huey Burger? For me, it’s been a year. Yep, when I signed up to eat this classic for this year’s Burger Week preview, I’d forgotten I volunteered to eat and write about the same burger last year. Oops. Not to fret; it was a welcome change from my typical steak on a stick or potato soup order (I still got some soup to-go because, duh). And who doesn’t love a time-tested cheeseburger?

A perennial Flyer Best of Memphis

“Best Burger” winner, the Huey’s standard features a 6-oz. certi ed Angus beef patty with all the xings — mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickles, onion, and cheddar or Swiss cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. is is a somewhat he y burger, so prepare to unhinge the jaw a tad to get a taste of all the goods in one go. e combination of juicy beef (medium-cooked for maximum results) and familiar condiments o ers that summer backyard cookout avor we all crave when a burger hankering hits. Plan your Huey’s trip wisely. In a noon-hour lunch attempt, the line spilled into the lobby and out the front door at not one but three locations. Which on its own is a testament to the quality and longevity of this Memphis-favorite institution. — Shara Clark

Multiple locations

Southern Smokehouse Burger –Tops Bar-B-Q

A regular Tops hamburger is now iconic. e Southern Smokehouse Burger is a cheeseburger with grilled onions, thick-cut bacon, and a sweet Southern glaze. at glaze drenching that bacon is over-the-top great. Or make that “over the Tops.”

ey added the burger with its “smokey molasses-based glaze” as a limited-time o er for the summer, says Hunter Brown with Tops Operations LLC. He and Tops CEO Randy Hough were at the Tops location at 5144 Poplar Avenue the day I was there. Also at the restaurant were a bunch of guys from Christian Brothers High School. Hough and Brown let the guys sample the Southern Smokehouse Burger. I asked the students what they thought. ey liked the “nice texture,” “sweetness and avor,” and the “sauce.” Another guy speci cally said “glaze,” so he knows his cuisine. Brown says one of the guys told him it was “amazing.”

e Southern Smokehouse Burger is $5.99, which is below the Burger Week price point. “What we’re doing is giving the burger and a side of macaroni and cheese for $6.99,” Brown says. e mac and cheese is another new Tops item.

— Michael Donahue Multiple locations

Sunrise Burger –Sunrise Memphis

Working for the Flyer has come with a lot of rsts, and this year’s Burger Week was no di erent. It was my rst time trying an egg on a burger. Not too crazy, I know, but for someone who usually sticks to a regular cheeseburger, with the occasional addition of bacon, it can be intimidating. Alongside a sunny-side-up egg, the Sunrise Burger from Sunrise Memphis comes with a double smash patty, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, and jalapeño cream cheese spread, all served on a brioche bun.

When I told my dad about how nervous I was to try all these elements together, his reaction was, “I’m not going to lie, that sounds good,” and per usual, he was right. e ingredients seemed to work together in a way that “breakfast for dinner” does, and it was a nice mix of sweet and savory. e star of the burger would de nitely have to be the bacon jam, as the sweetness doesn’t overpower the other elements, and works really nicely with the jalapeño cream cheese spread. While it’s not usually my rst thought to visit a breakfast spot to satiate burger cravings, I think a new 20-minute commute is now in the rotation.

— Kailynn Johnson Multiple locations

Soul BurgerEarnestine & Hazel’s

Earnestine & Hazel’s iconic Soul Burger is a dose of Memphis magic served on a

blanket of crinkly deli paper.

e ingredients are simple: a bun, patty, onions, cheese, pickle, and “Soul Sauce.” e bar says that’s “all that’s needed to make our delicious burger.” And it has been for years. But there’s something … else about the Soul Burger. Something transportive. But something also elusive. Just what, exactly, has made this humble burger such an essential stitch in the fabric of Memphis culture? Again, it’s hard to de ne.

But you feel it when the barkeep slides that little paper basket your way. e warm, little burger is just how you remembered. at rst bite hits your taste buds and magically unlocks some core Memphis memory.

And never a bad memory. It’s beers and buddies, and the jukebox, and Mr. Nate upstairs, and the peeling paint, the “no dope smoken” sign, and how “ragged but right” (the bar’s ethos) ts it and the city so well, and somehow you feel at home in it all.

Have you been drinking? Probably! But that’s not what makes a Soul Burger taste so good. And neither, really, is it just pure nostalgia.

It’s the perfect blend of simple, savory ingredients done just right every single time. at’s what has brought generations of Memphians coming back for more soul. — Toby Sells 531 S. Main St.

DaLabSpecial –Dexter’s Lab 901

It’s a hot August night on Shelby Drive. Dexter’s Lab 901 food truck is posted up in a corner of the Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lot. As soon as the blue LEDs light up, cars gather around in a semicircle, waiting for Allante Armstrong’s grease and griddle to get hot enough to cook his signature wings and burgers. “And guess what? I ain’t even posted that I’m open yet!” says Armstrong. “ at’s a blessing.”

Armstrong named Dexter’s Lab 901 a er his younger brother who passed away from lupus. On the side of the truck, millennial cartoon science hero Dexter shares space with a smiling Dexter continued on page 10

PHOTO: JON W. SPARKS e Celtic Burger

PHOTO: SHARA CLARK World Famous Huey Burger

PHOTO: CHRIS MCCOY DaLabSpecial

PHOTO: KAILYNN JOHNSON Sunrise Burger

PHOTO: EARNESTINE & HAZEL’S Soul Burger

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Southern Smokehouse Burger

Wooten, eternally young.

e burger Armstrong serves up, DaLabSpecial, is a classic griddle burger with the traditional xings served on two thick, buttered slabs of Texas toast. “I do it just to be di erent because everybody else put it on regular cheeseburger buns,” says Armstrong.

e burger is thick, but not overwhelming, and super juicy. e buttered buns soak up the ample drippings without falling apart. (Structural integrity is an underrated trait in all sandwiches.) Served half-buried in spicy crinkle fries, it’s ideal street food.

Armstrong gets into a groove, taking orders and juggling burgers on the grill and wings in the fryer. “It’s just something that turned into a hustle. I don’t really know how to cook. If you put me in a real kitchen, I wouldn’t know what to do. But I’m learning,” he says.

e guy next to me in line seems amused when he hears that.

“[Armstrong] catered my sister’s wedding,” he says. “You tell ’em he’s good. He’s real good.” — Chris McCoy 6990 E. Shelby Dr.

The Memphis Belle –Belle Tavern

ey call them “designer burgers”

because of their high quality, but they usually cost more than $10. ese are hamburgers made with prime beef trimmings. ey’re usually available at high-end restaurants.

Well, for Burger Week, Belle Tavern at 117 Barboro Alley (on the ipside of Union’s 117 Prime) is o ering its hamburger, the Memphis Belle. According to the description from the restaurant’s general manager Jake Smith, who designed the burger, the hamburger is a quarter-pound patty of ground beef “from the trimmings of our USDA prime steaks, smoked Gouda, caramelized onion, house-made dill pickles, Prime sauce, on a toasted onion kaiser bun.”

Diners can tell the di erence when they take a bite, Smith says. “You get

all those textures and avors working together.” e trimmings come from their whole rib-eye New York strips at 117 Prime. “We take these trimmings and get this grind.” USDA prime, he says, “is all about avor and tenderness.”

ey’re considering permanently adding the Memphis Belle to their menu at Belle Tavern. “We’re looking at this as a test drive. Get some feedback from our guests and see what they think.” But it will cost more. And, man, oh, man, those fries that come with it. “Fries are the secret weapon.” — MD 117 Barboro Alley

Build Your Own Burger –The Crazy Coop

e Crazy Coop, which only opened its two locations this February, o ers a back-to-basics take on the classic American burger. It’s a no-frills, artisanal approach that focuses on freshness, but one can build on that foundation to create the custom burger of your dreams. at’s because e Crazy Coop is much more than a burger joint. As the name suggests, they specialize in chicken, and especially wings (indeed, they only serve burgers at their Bartlett location). But while all their avorful options, which include both classic wings seasonings and unique creations like BBQ Bacon

Bourbon or Honey Habanero BBQ, originated in their dedication to hot wings, they encourage customers to apply them to burgers as well.

But I wanted to get down to the fundamentals: their basic, unadorned cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion. e avor was exquisite. Owner/chef Darius Buckner explained that, having cooked since childhood, then working with a chef in Atlanta for decades, he was committed to seasoning and shaping the patties by hand himself. at attention to detail pays o in the nuanced avors of their burgers. You could order up a bunch to go for a backyard cookout without ever ring up your grill. — Alex Greene 7199 Stage Rd. (Not available at Ridgeway location)

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE e Memphis Belle

PHOTO: ALEX GREENE e Crazy Coop

PRESENTED BY

AUG 09-15 AUG 09-15

The best thing about hamburgers is that you don’t have to pick just one thing to love. They exist in endless permutations — square or circular patties, 100 percent certified Angus beef or Mexican chorizo, smothered with cheese and sautéed onions or given room to breathe with the classic lettuce-and-tomato-only combination. Burgers can be a simple sandwich or a colossal configuration of artisanal veggies and locally sourced meat. We’re once again celebrating the plethora of burger-rific possibilities with the return of the Memphis Flyer ’s Burger Week. This year, 9 restaurants are o ering burgers, from the most-basic to the bougie, for only $6.99 each. Whatever your tastes, we’re pretty sure you can find a few you’d like to try.

1. THEY MIGHT RUN OUT

Please, don’t be a jerk to our restaurants. We’re in this together, burger-lovers.

2. YOU WILL TIP

It’s a $6.99 burger, burger-lovers. The servers of Memphis are making sure you get your Burger Week burgers — so tip 20 percent at least, please. And a kind word is always welcome!

Build Your Own Burger

THE CRAZY COOP 7199 STAGE RD.

Our burger is 1/3 pound and it can be customized for your taste. With over 25 sauces to choose from, you can have our classic burger or put a spin on it with any of our crazy sauces, with our customer favorite sauce for our burger being the Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce. The burger is only available at the Bartlett location.

The Celtic Burger

CELTIC CROSSING

903 COOPER ST.

The Celtic Burger features a house beef blended patty that is grilled to perfection and topped with American cheese, secret sauce, pickles, tomatoes, and shaved lettuce on a seeded potato bun.

DaLabSpecial

DEXTER’S LAB 901

6990 E. SHELBY DR.

We hand-make our burgers and throw them on Texas toast with a little bit of cheese, onions, pickles, and lettuce.

The Memphis Belle

BELLE TAVERN 117 BARBORO ALLEY

A quarter-pound patty of ground beef that comes from the trimmings of our USDA Prime steaks is smashed thin on a flattop, then topped with caramelized onions, smoked Gouda, house-made dill pickles, and our signature Prime sauce. Put all that inside a soft, toasted potato bun, and you have The Memphis Belle.

Old Smokehouse Burger

TOPS BAR-B-Q

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Tops’ famous cheeseburger featuring crispy bacon, grilled onions, mayo, and a sweet Southern glaze, all served on a toasted bun accompanied by a side of our new mac and cheese.

3. PICK UP A SIDE AND A COLD BREW

We don’t require that you purchase these, but we think it says a lot about you if you give love to your Burger Week restaurants by ordering extras.

4. CHECK TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND INSTAGRAM

#FlyerBurgerWeek is the hashtag for your Burger Week info — and follow us to stay up-to-date on all things Burger Week, including burger maps and any late additions.

Old Bridge Burger

Soul Burger

Sunrise Burger

SUNRISE MEMPHIS 670 JEFFERSON AVE. (DOWNTOWN) 5469 POPLAR AVE. (EAST MEMPHIS)

The Sunrise Burger features a double smash patty, cheddar cheese, sunny-side-up egg, bacon jam, jalapeño cream cheese spread, and brioche bun.

World Famous Huey Burger

HUEY’S

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

The original fan-favorite! Choose from mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickles, onions, and cheddar or Swiss cheese on a buttered, toasted sesame seed bun.

memphisflyer.com/page/burgerweek • Share your Burger Week photos using #FlyerBurgerWeek and tagging @MemphisFlyer and you might win something cool!

An Innocent Man

“Good morning, sir. Do you know why I pulled you over?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You were going 67 in a 35-milesper-hour zone.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Sir, I have your speed recorded on my radar gun.”

“Well, your ‘gun’ is wrong. ere’s no way I was going that fast. In fact, I was going well under the speed limit.”

“No sir, you were going almost twice the speed limit, and I’m going to have to issue you a speeding ticket.”

“I wasn’t speeding.”

“Yes. You. Were. Remain here. I’m going back to my car to pull your vehicle information and write you a ticket.”

“Fine. I’m going to call my lawyer.”

“You do that.”

Five minutes pass.

“All right, sir. Here’s your citation. I’m required to inform you that you will have to appear in court, since you were going more than 25 miles per hour over the legal speed limit.”

“ at’s ne. My lawyer just said, and I quote: ‘Don’t worry. ey’re going to have a hell of a time trying prove you knew you were speeding.’”

“Sir, we don’t have to prove you knew you were speeding. We only have to prove you were speeding — and you were. My partner is in the squad car and he also can attest to your breaking the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour. You also sped through a school zone, which doubles the ne.”

“Well, my lawyer said we’re going to get an alternate slate of cops, and they will testify that I was not speeding. And all I have to do is say I believe them. Check and mate, my friend.”

“An alternate slate of cops?”

“ at’s right. If I sincerely don’t believe I was going that fast and I didn’t see any school-zone signs and an alternate slate of cops testi es I wasn’t speeding and I say I believe them,

there’s no way they can nd me guilty.”

“Uh, okay. Good luck with that strategy, pal. Your court date is on the citation. I suggest you don’t miss it. Going more than 25 miles per hour over the speed limit in a school zone can lead to jail time.”

“My lawyer says we’re going to subpoena your radar gun. He says we have evidence that it’s been tampered with by the manufacturer in Venezuela.”

“What? at’s insane.”

“Not if I sincerely believe it.”

“ at’s not how the law works, sir.”

“Yes, it is. If I don’t believe I was going that fast and I didn’t see any schoolzone signs and I have an alternate slate of cops and your radar gun has been tampered with, there’s no way those charges stand up in court. It’s a freespeech issue.”

“Okay [sighs, heavily], I’ve had enough of your bullshit for one morning. Tell it to the judge.”

“ e judge is a biased thug who was appointed by someone who hates me.”

“ e judge was not appointed by anybody. She was elected.”

“AHA! It was a stolen election! Boom! Case closed! If I don’t believe I was going that fast and I didn’t see any school-zone signs and I have an alternate slate of cops and your radar gun has been tampered with and it was a stolen election, there’s not a court in the country that would convict me. I’m an innocent man!”

“Whatever, sir. See you in court. You’re free to go.”

“Good! I’ve got a crowded theater to get to. I hear there’s a re.”

“That’s not how the law works, sir.”

PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHERLONDON | DREAMSTIME Unbelievable.

e MAGA free-speech sincerity defense.

AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Books and Beers

By Abigail Morici

If you like beer, books, and nostalgia, you better book it to Soul & Spirits Brewery this Saturday for the brewery’s rst-ever Skol-astic Adult Book Fair.

In case you didn’t catch on to the pun there, Skol-astic is a nod to those Scholastic book fairs from childhood, with the “skol” part being the Scandinavian word for “cheers.” “We wanted to recreate that feeling of being so excited to buy new books, but with beer,” says Blair Perry, who planned the whole shebang with her friend Mandy Martin. “We wanted to create an event that is very di erent than any other event in town and that is geared towards people who love books because a lot of times readers are kind of introverted” — and sometimes introverts want to be social, too.

august 10th Derrick Hodge

Special bookmarks in the style of the event poster will also be for sale.

august 12th Emily Wolfe

For the day, Martin and Perry were able to get all the bookstores and book vendors in town to set up shop at the brewery, with each focusing on a “niche style of book,” says Perry. Friends of the Library, the nonpro t that supports Memphis Public Libraries, will sell used books; Novel will bring bestselling contemporary ction while Burke’s Book Store will bring books by Memphis authors and a classics collection. Online vendors Cafe Noir (which is set to open a brick-andmortar location later this year) and DeMoir Books & ings will sell BIPOC classics and Afrofuturism books, respectively. Plus, South Main Book Juggler will bring children’s books and YA novels.

“For every $10 that you spend [on books], you’re going to get to pick from the little freebie bags like you did as a kid,” says Perry, adding that every time you purchase a beer, you’ll also get entered into a ra e for a bigger prize. “Every 30-ish minutes, we’re going to be drawing a ticket for a free prize that our vendors have donated.” e brewery is also releasing a special beer for the book fair. “It’s a surprise,” says Perry, “but I’ll say that it’s bookish-related, so something that you would enjoy drinking while you’re reading.”

Perry and Martin have also partnered with Amy Dobbins of Mint Cream Market, who has recruited literary-themed vendors and local authors to discuss and sign their books, while Paper Plate Pavilion and Tacos Mondragon will have food available for purchase.

And, don’t worry, there will be a quiet space for those who want to read (and drink) in peace in the Low Tones Room, which also happens to be where the brewery hosts its Beers and Books Club every rst Friday of the month. “We don’t tell you what book to read,” Perry says of the club. “We just provide a quiet space for a couple of hours for anybody to come in and read.”

august 24th Led Zeppelin 2

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES August 10th - 16th

Elvis Week

Graceland, through ursday, August 17

Enjoy a lineup of concerts, conversations, tributes, and more — all honoring the man, the star, the icon: the King of Rock-and-Roll. is year’s highlights include the August 16th Aloha from Hawaii 50th Anniversary Concert featuring Elvis on the big screen backed by a live band; ’68 Special enhanced screening with Elvis bigger than life in black leather; the annual Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and performances by many of EPE’s past Ultimate winners; conversations on Elvis, with those who knew Elvis best sharing memories and stories; and the cornerstone event of the week, the annual Candlelight Vigil on August 15th where fans gather in quiet remembrance of the King.

Wax & Wine

Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Friday, August 11, 7-9:30 p.m., $100

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music with a soulful fundraising event like no other! Get ready to groove to the sounds of Memphis’ best vinyl DJs, spinning rare vinyl from the legendary Bob Abrahamian collection. Attendees will also have the chance to sample 20 di erent wines from wine producers worldwide. Renowned chefs Kelly English, Phillip Ashley, and Craig Richards will provide delicious Southern cuisine, adding a delightful culinary dimension to the event.

Character Assassination Presents: e Roast of Elvis

Hi Tone, Friday, August 11, 7:30 p.m., $15

is one-of-a-kind show will feature

a Comedy Central-style roasting dais of pop stars who have … le the building. Character Assassination is a roast show that puts historical gures and beloved pop culture personalities in the hotseat. Catch some of the best stand-up comedians in the country in character as Jerry Lee Lewis, Notorious B.I.G., Amy Winehouse, and more. Somebody’s gonna get their blue suede shoes stomped on. Get your tickets now at hitonecafe.com.

Night at the Museum

Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Saturday, August 12, 5-8 p.m., free What if sundown brought art to life?

If sculptures danced and portraits talked? It’s not a dream: It’s Night at the Museum! Explore the Dixon galleries like never before as works step out of the canvas for an evening of special performances and music, activities, and much more.

august 25th

Marcella & Her Lovers

SKOL-ASTIC ADULT BOOK FAIR, SOUL & SPIRITS BREWERY, SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 1-7 P.M.

Rollin’ into Riches

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Ghost Hymns

Many who lived in Memphis during the ’90s and early aughts know Bill Ellis’ name — he was the music writer at e Commercial Appeal for nearly a decade, and his byline appeared in the paper for even longer. “I have to pinch myself that I was in Memphis when I was,” he says, thinking back on those days. “Jim Dickinson and Sam Phillips and Isaac Hayes were just a phone call away. I still can’t believe I was there at that time. e music I covered in the ’90s — the emerging hip-hop scene and also the North Mississippi hill country blues — those things resonate to this day. When I le , I realized that they were important, and time has only proven that in my mind.”

Meanwhile, he was pursuing another track as William Lee Ellis, the name under which he releases his folk- and blues-in uenced music, a side of him that’s being foregrounded anew with the release of his sixth album, Ghost Hymns (Yellow Dog Records). Yet while his rst release came out in 1999, during his tenure as a music writer, he’d been performing since long before that. Indeed, his father, banjoist Tony Ellis, is a veteran of Bill Monroe’s early-’60s Blue Grass Boys. But Bill Ellis didn’t quite follow in his father’s footsteps. A er frequently backing the elder Ellis on guitar during his teen years, he studied classical guitar at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

It took an encounter with one of Memphis’ great traditional blues and ragtime guitarists, Andy Cohen, to steer him beyond both classical and bluegrass. “I met Andy through my dad back in the late ’80s,” says Ellis. “He gave me a pile of records and said, ‘Here, learn these.’ Six months later I showed up and I’m playing all the songs on those records.” Moving to Memphis in the ’90s only sealed his love of the blues.

In fact, he ended up putting journalism on the back burner in 2005 to study ethnomusicology with David Evans, ultimately writing his doctoral dissertation on the Reverend Gary Davis. at in turn led him to a faculty position at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, where he’s currently chair of ne arts and associate professor of music. But Memphis still gures heavily in both his scholarship and his music. As for the former, one need look no further than the current exhibit he curated for the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, “Build Me a Heaven of My Own: African American

Vernacular Art and the Blues.”

As for the latter, Ghost Hymns is bursting with Memphis in uences and talent. On one track, Cohen plays dolceola, a kind of keyboard-enhanced zither; another tune was written with fellow former music writer Larry Nager, who also co-produced the album; and Memphian Brooke Barnett designed the cover.

Beyond those contributions, and the in uence of Memphis on Ellis’ general aesthetic, the album sports more global in uences, re ecting the artist’s lifelong peregrinations. “It’s not a world music record,” says Ellis, “but it is a record with some interesting global touches to it, by virtue of the people I call friends

in Burlington, if that makes any sense.”

e album’s Bandcamp notes are more speci c: “Played on an array of instruments from fretless banjo and slide guitar to Ghanaian percussion and Chinese yueqin, the original tunes of Ghost Hymns o er an expansive view of tradition, visiting blues, gospel, high life, and more in a singular journey.”

While most of the songs were penned by Ellis, the echoes of world folk traditions are unmistakable here, from album opener “Cony Catch the Sun,” where Ellis’ fretless banjo recalls Taj Mahal’s work with Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté, to Matt LaRocca’s lush string arrangement for “Earth and the Winding Sheet,” reminiscent of British art-folk artist Nick Drake.

Yet Ellis points out that the album’s greatest in uence was closer to home: his own father. One of Tony Ellis’ originals is on the album, and his presence is felt throughout. “Looking back,” says the younger Ellis, “there are guiding voices in the wilderness helping you gure out who you are as a musician. My dad, rst and foremost, being that. I hear more of my dad on this album than on any of my other records.”

PHOTO: JERRY SWOPE William Lee Ellis

William Lee Ellis evokes Memphis, family, and global folk on new album.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

HollywoodCasinoTunica.com

CALENDAR of EVENTS: August

Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity. This is a signing line only event, no presentation.

Saturday, Aug. 12, 2 p.m.

NOVEL

FESTIVAL

2023 Memphis Chicken & Beer

Festival

A beer fest with a chicken twist! 21+. $20-$40.

Saturday, Aug. 12, 5-9 p.m.

SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM

Elvis Week 2023

Enjoy a lineup of concerts, conversations, tributes, and more all honoring the man, the star, the icon: the King of Rock-and-Roll. Through Aug. 17.

GRACELAND

Philippines Fest

Philippines Fest is your chance to try Filipino food favorites like lumpia and pancit, and try new treats like leche flan and more! Share a meal and support a great cause! $30. Saturday, Aug. 12, noon-4 p.m.

RAINEY BANQUET HALL

FILM

Adult Swim Night

Nonstop, back-to-back episode screenings of beloved Adult Swim series. Thursday, Aug. 10, 5 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

ART

AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“Meet the Dixons 2023 “

Learn about Margaret and Hugo Dixon’s personal lives, their collections, and legacy through interactive components. Through Oct. 1.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Memphis/Germantown Art League

Member Showcase and Sale

The Memphis/Germantown Art League (MGAL) of Memphis, TN, is a nonprofit organization of visual artists and associates supporting the work of its member artists.

Through Aug. 30.

GALLERY 1091

“Mud Huts to Paper”

Amruta Bhat offers a contemporary interpretation of the centuries-old practice of Madhubani painting by recording the people, animals, and mythological references in her daily life. Through Sept. 9.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE HISTORY

New Works by Becky McRae

A longtime friend of Church Health, Becky Ross McRae’s stunning photography has shown in venues ranging from WKNO’s Gallery Ten Ninety-One to the Memphis Botanic Garden and more. Through Aug. 31.

CHURCH HEALTH

“Rich Soil”

Created by American artist Kristine Mays, these 29 sculptures are inspired by the movements and gestures of Alvin Ailey’s dance composition, Revelations. Through Oct. 1.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Sally Hughes Smith: Adrenaline

Rush”

Plein-air painter Sally Hughes Smith seeks inspiration from the landscapes of the American South as well as locations she has observed while traveling in Europe. Through Oct. 1.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Waddell, Withers, & Smith: A Requiem for King”

Honoring the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through the artwork of Memphis-based artists: James Waddell, Ernest Withers, and Dolph Smith. Through Aug. 28.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

BOOK EVENTS

Meet the Author: Michael Oher

Novel is thrilled to welcome Michael Oher to celebrate his new book, When Your Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football and Lessons

Classics Tuesday - James Bond Month: Goldfinger

One of the greatest films of the early era of Ian Fleming’s legendary suave secret agent: James Bond, 007, played to perfec tion in this era by incomparable Scottish actor Sean Connery.

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 5:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

FOOD AND DRINK

Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at Ghost River Brewing Company

Gather your friends and come play the nation’s best pub quiz! Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6-8 p.m.

GHOST RIVER BREWING COMPANY

Ratatouille Cookie Decorating Party

Enjoy freestyle cookie decorating with your guest while watching the movie, Ratatouille!

Sunday, Aug. 13, 2-3:30 p.m.

PRIMAS BAKERY + BOUTIQUE

Sip & Savor: Wine Dinner

Enjoy a four-course meal crafted by chef Erling Jensen and paired with four unique wines to complement the flavors. Seating opens at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome drink, and dinner begins at 7 p.m. $135. Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m.

ERLING JENSEN SMALL BITES & TOPGOLF SWING SUITES

Summer Wine Dinner

Be treated to a fine-dining experience including a chefinspired four-course meal paired with Duckhorn Decoy wines. 21+. $100. Thursday, Aug. 10, 6:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO

Wax & Wine: Soul Records + Global Wine + Southern Chefs

An unforgettable evening celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music with rare vinyl DJs, global wine tastings, and Southern cuisine by renowned chefs. $100. Friday, Aug. 11, 7-9:30 p.m.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

SPORTS

FedEx St. Jude Championship Players vie to become the FedExCup Champion, which distinguishes the one player who excels during both the FedExCup Regular Season and FedExCup Playoffs. Through Aug. 13.

TPC AT SOUTHWIND

Crossword

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0104

12345678910111213

BY

LECARREEXODERM ICENINEAMALGAM DESKTOPPAPER EDIT SNOESP

DETESTSPSALM LORAASEPSIS WOLFOFSTREET

that secrete a musk used in perfumes

46 Leader mentioned in the Beatles’ “Revolution”

49 ___ force

50 Texter’s “Too funny!”

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

PHOTO: SCOTT MCDERMOTT

Michael Oher signs his new book

When Your Back’s Against the

Wall at Novel.

PUZZLE

NEIL PADRICK WILSON

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In Stephen King’s novel It, a character named Beverly is in love with a man who projects a sense of authority but also listens well. He is strong-minded but receptive; confident but willing to be changed; selfpossessed but open to influence. That’s an apt description of the allies I wish for you to attract into your life in the coming months. Whether they are lovers or partners, companions or collaborators, friends or colleagues, you need and deserve the high-quality, emotionally intelligent exchanges they offer.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Seventyyear-old Taurus-born Eric Bogosian is a prolific playwright and author renowned for his hard-edged satire. The title of one of his books is Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead. But one critic speculates he may be softening as he ages, noting that he “seems more amused than disgusted by the decaying world around him, as if his anger has been tempered by a touch of hope.” The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to cultivate a comparable reshaping, dear Taurus. Can you tenderize what has been tough? Is it possible to find redemption or entertainment in situations that have been challenging? Are you willing to add more levity and geniality to your perspective?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Decca is a UK-based record label that has produced the work of many major musicians, including Billie Holiday, the Rolling Stones, and Tori Amos. They made a huge mistake in 1962, though. A fledgling group named the Beatles tried to get signed to Decca. An executive at the company declined, saying, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” Oops. The Beatles eventually became the bestselling and most influential band of all time. I don’t think you’re at risk of making as monumental a misstep, Gemini. But please be alert to the possibility of a key opportunity coming into view. Don’t underestimate it, even if it’s different from what you imagine you want.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’m a Cancerian who used to be overly reactive to people’s carelessness. If someone was in a bad mood and flung a rash insult at me, I might take offense too easily. If a friend misunderstood me, even with no malice intended, I may have sulked. Thankfully, over time, I have learned to be more like a honey badger, whose thick skin protects it well against stings and pricks. I bring this up because the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to practice my approach. First step: Understand how people sometimes direct their frustration about life toward undeserving recipients. Second step: Vow to take things less personally. Third step: Give yourself regular compliments. Actually say them aloud.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the 17th century, Virgo musician Johann Pachelbel composed a piece of music he called the Canon in D. It soon went out of style and disappeared into obscurity. But over 250 years later, a French chamber orchestra rediscovered it, and by the 1980s, it was everywhere. Ever since, Pachelbel’s Canon has been used in many pop songs and is a common anthem at weddings and funerals. I’m predicting a comparable revival for you, Virgo. An influence, creation, or person that has been gone for a while will reemerge as a presence in your life. Be decisive in adopting it for your benefit.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Iain S. Thomas tells us, “There is magic even in gridlock, in loneliness, in too much work, in late nights gone on too long, in shopping carts with broken wheels, in boredom, in tax returns.” He says it’s the same magic that prompted Joan of Arc to believe that God spoke to her and empowered her to lead an army. I wouldn’t agree that it’s the same magic. But I do advise us all to be alert for enchantment and interesting mysteries even in the most mundane affairs. I am a champion of the quest for holiness, delight, and marvels in seemingly unlikely locations. In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have a special talent for finding these revelatory joys.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Self-transformation is precisely what life is.” If that’s true, you are in luck. Of all the zodiac signs, you are the most skillful selftransformer. Moreover, you are entering a prolonged phase when your instinct and talent for self-transformation will be even more potent than usual. I plan to observe you closely in the hope of learning your tricks for changing into an ever-better version of yourself. Show us all how it’s done, dear Scorpio!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Born under the sign of Sagittarius, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was one of history’s most influential composers of classical music. His elegant, lyrical works are still widely played today. He was also a revolutionary innovator who expanded the scope of many musical genres. One composition, Piano Sonata No. 32, prefigures elements of ragtime, jazz, and boogie-woogie — 70 years before those styles emerged. In this spirit, I invite you to plant a seed for the future. You will soon get glimpses of creative shifts that will someday be possible. And you will have an enhanced ability to instigate the inventive momentum that generates those shifts.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Let’s be honest. Most of us — maybe all of us! — fail to grasp the world objectively. Our perceptions get filtered through our

LEO (July 23Aug. 22): Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments has now arrived. And it’s no accident that your energy matches mine. In other words, my power to consecrate you reflects your ability to bless yourself. So give yourself the ultimate gift, please.

opinions and beliefs and habit minds. The events we think we see are shaped by our expectations about them. Our projections often overrule the possibility of unbiased impartiality. We are serial misinterpreters. But there’s no need to be ashamed! It’s a universal human tendency. Having said all that, however, I believe you will have a special knack, in the coming weeks, for observing reality with more clarity and open-mindedness than usual. You will have an unprecedented opportunity to see accurately and gather fresh, raw truths.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Is this a phase of your cycle when you’ll be prone to saying things like “Why do you take me for granted?” and “I’m feeling cranky” and “It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it”? Or are you in a time when the following expressions are more likely to emerge from your mouth: “I have come to understand you in a totally new and interesting way” and “Life has blessed me by removing one of my unnecessary obstacles” and “I would love to learn more about the arts of cooperation and collaboration”? Here’s what I think, Aquarius: Which way you go will depend on how clearly you set your intentions. Life will respond in kind to the moods you cultivate and the specific requests you make.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Our bodies are imperfect. They are often less than 100 percent completely healthy. They don’t always do what we wish they would. Yet even when we feel less than our best, our body continually carries out millions of biochemical marvels, mostly below the level of our conscious awareness. As the creation of an evolutionary process that has unfolded for eons, our precious organism is an amazing work of art that we have every right to regard as miraculous. According to my astrological reckoning, the coming weeks are the best time this year to honor and celebrate your body. What does it need to flourish? Ask your intuition to show you.

FOOD By Michael Donahue

Truckin’ and Bakin’

When Keisha Jackson isn’t baking and lavishly decorating cakes, she’s driving her 72-foot-long tractor trailer.

“I’m a trucker,” she says. “I’m owner/operator. I drive a semi. I drive a Freightliner.”

She’s also the owner of Tasty Pastry. She bakes cakes, cookies, and other items in her Cordova home.

Jackson, 35, who is married and the mother of four children, packs a lot into her day. On a recent Monday, she baked and decorated a 12-inch “number” cake for a sweet 16 birthday party and then made salmon lasagna for the family dinner before she le home at 9 p.m. to drive to Olive Branch, Mississippi, to pick up her truck and then head to West Memphis, Arkansas. “I run trailers from Memphis to West Memphis. e rail yard. Drop o one and pick up another. And I do that four times [a night].”

She nished about 7 a.m. Tuesday. She then returned home, cooked breakfast for her husband, showered, and went to bed. Growing up in Memphis, Jackson didn’t like to cook. “Because I’m the only girl. I have three brothers. So, I was a ‘little boy’ running around with them. We wrestled a lot. We watched wrestling on TV.”

She also liked to draw “little people.” She drew “little girls and boys. Mostly girls ’cause I would change their hairstyles.”

Jackson, who wanted to be a tattoo artist, drew tattoos on her arm with gel pens when she was in middle school. She also charged 25 cents to draw tattoos on other children’s arms.

Jackson got serious about cooking when she met her future husband. She already had one child and he had two. “I went from just being a mother of one to three overnight. With a live-in boyfriend, I had to learn how to cook.”

So, she says,“I started making meals that my mom made for us as a kid.”

Jackson began baking two years ago, after she had another baby. Since she was home every day, she decided to start baking and decorating cupcakes as a hobby. She bought a

decorating kit on Amazon.

She was asked if she sold her cakes a er she posted photos of her rst elaborately decorated batch of “red roses with green leaves” cupcakes on Nextdoor. e cake she baked for that woman led to more cake and baked goods commissions.

Jackson, who is known for her overthe-top colorfully decorated cakes, says a “divorce cake” was the “most outlandish” cake she ever made. A woman had requested a two-tier teal-and-pink cake to celebrate the occasion. Jackson ordered a cake topper of “a woman spanking the man” as one of the decorations.

“She loved it. And she ordered a dozen cupcakes to go with it. She wanted little penises on the cupcakes. Oddly, they have a penis mold. So, I guess her husband was a dick.”

Jackson baked one of her cakes for the recent New Beginnings and Friends of Horn Lake Animal Shelter Hollywood Gala at eatre Memphis. She made a Hollywood-themed cake decorated with “a red carpet. ere were mini dogs on the cake. And I had cameras, popcorn, and a director’s chair.”

e only cake request that stumped her was from a woman who wanted a cake shaped like a shoe. “She wanted a tennis shoe for her son. A Nike Jordan.”

Jackson doesn’t feel she’s adept enough at this point to work with fondant, which she’d need to “make shoe strings and the little badges on the shoe and the holes on the shoe.”

She’d “literally have to try to make an exact replica of a shoe” if she wanted the cake to t her standards.

Jackson made her own cake for her 35th birthday. “I put mini liquor bottles all over it,” she says. And, she adds, “It was all white with clear and silver liquor bottles with silver sprinkles and silver roses.”

But, she says, “My husband drank one of the mini liquor bottles before I put it on my cake.”

Jackson, who requests seven days advance notice for cakes and other baked goods, can be contacted at 901tastypastry.com.

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE Keisha Jackson

Keisha Jackson wears more than one hat.

FILM By Samuel X. Cicci

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Ihad one eyebrow raised as I walked into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. I’d been burned by the turtles before. I watched the classic ’80s cartoon as a kid, but their previous big-screen o erings have featured bright green costumes that seemed more the stu of nightmares than a stylish interpretation of their indie comics origin.

Mutant Mayhem, luckily, has no such missteps. Director Je Rowe and producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver embrace the good kind of weirdness that comes with the turtle territory. e success of Into the Spider-Verse has opened the door to fresh approaches in animation, and Mutant Mayhem takes full advantage. e visible brush strokes in an early shot of the moon over New York City set the mood for a lm lled with jagged, scratchy lines. e artistic mayhem captures both the glamor and grime of the city’s sidewalks and sewers, while adding an air of controlled chaos during the rapid movements of combat scenes. Mutant Mayhem’s doodle aesthetics harken back to scribbled drawings

in the corners of middle-school notebooks.

As baby turtles, our quartet of heroes are exposed to radioactive ooze which transforms them into humanoid form. eir adoptive father Splinter (Jackie Chan), a rat who was also exposed to the ooze, discovers them in the sewers and trains them in martial arts. Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey), and Raphael (Brady Noon) sneak their way through the streets of New York City to retrieve vital supplies like toilet paper and Cool Ranch Doritos. ey watch humans from afar, idolizing Ferris Bueller during a movie night in the park and dreaming of one day joining the paradise that is high school. Like normal teenagers, they do things like bicker and lm themselves as real life Fruit Ninjas slicing watermelons with a sword.

But the turtles are tired of living in the sewer. eir new human friend April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri) needs to do

something great to distract her classmates from an embarrassing high school moment. ey hatch a plan to record the turtles performing heroic deeds and package it as the news story of the year. Luckily for their plan, a villain known as Super y (Ice Cube) has been stealing fancy scienti c equipment from armored cars around the city and needs stopping.

Sure, there are superhero elements, but Mutant Mayhem is a high school soap opera about a group of outcasts who just want to t in. e turtles aren’t ready-made heroes or defenders of New York. eir teen angst eventually spirals into a large-scale city con ict, but it’s this grounded take that makes this the best TMNT lm ever. According to Rogen, this is the rst time that all the titular

Cowabunga!

Mutant Mayhem shows o the best versions of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphel in years.

characters have been voiced by actual teenagers. It’s easy to tell when the voice actors are freed to ri o script, improvising with one another and bantering like kids at school.

Other longtime TMNT stalwarts pop up, including fellow mutants Rocksteady (John Cena) and Bebop (Rogen). As a fan of the original cartoon, I missed their arch enemy Shredder and members of the Foot clan, but really, they’re not needed here. Teen melodrama, cool visuals, and fancy sticu s earn Mutant Mayhem a deserved “Cowabunga!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Now playing Multiple locations

e latest reptilian reboot brings the teen back to the turtles.

Our critic picks the best films in theaters. The Last Voyage of the Demeter

In Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, one chapter is the captain’s log from the Demeter, the ship that the vampire uses to smuggle his coffin from Transylvania to England. Along the way, the king of vampires sustains himself by draining the crew of blood, one by one. The Last Voyage of the Demeter adapts that harrowing chapter for the screen. A haunted house/ slasher movie set on a creaky old ship? Sign me up.

Jules

Ben Kingsley is Milton, who lives a quiet, semi-retired life in small town Pennsylvania. One day, an alien spacecraft crashes into his backyard, and out pops a little

alien he names Jules. This cozy first contact story — think E.T. with old people — also stars SNL legend Jane Curtin and Licorice Pizza’s Harriet Sansom Harris as nosy neighbors who threaten to expose Milton and Jules’ secret.

Enter the Dragon

Oft imitated but never equalled, Bruce Lee’s final film represents the pinnacle of martial arts cinema. Lee stars as Hong Kong’s premier kung fu teacher who is recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate a secret island where Han (Shih Kien), a drug smuggling gangster, runs a tournament to recruit the best high-kickers in the world as his enforcers. Special 50th anniversary screenings are happening on Sunday, August 13th, and Wednesday, August 16th, at select Malco theaters.

OVERDOSE CARRY NARCAN

NOW PLAYING By Chris McCoy

By Andrew Moss

America Undervalues Working People

But workers are ghting back.

America is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Yet when compared to other advanced industrialized countries, it fares dismally in national laws and policies a ecting workers. is is a major claim of a recent crossnational study sponsored by the humanitarian organization Oxfam America, a report that o ers a powerful lens for understanding the major strike activity now underway in the U.S. e study notes how political choices create environments that favor or undermine working people — choices that in the U.S. have largely been to the detriment of workers.

In light of the current strikes (e.g., writers, actors, hotel workers, Amazon delivery drivers), the study reminds one that, whatever the political environment may be, it’s the workers themselves — and the unions that represent them — that must continue to assert the leadership needed to bring about a more just and equitable society.

Perhaps the disadvantaging of U.S. workers is no more readily apparent than in policies setting the minimum wage. Unlike 80 other countries that mandate an annual review of a national minimum wage, the U.S. requires no such review, and Congress has failed to raise the hourly wage from $7.25 since 2014, and failed as well to raise the tipped minimum wage (from $2.13) since 1991. Many states and localities have set their minimum wage above the national standard, from $8.75 per hour in West Virginia to $16.50 in the District of Columbia.

But these numbers only begin to become meaningful when you factor in the cost of housing. According to latest gures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, workers in this country must earn on average $28.58 an hour for a “modest two-bedroom rental home” and $23.67 for a “modest one-bedroom rental home.” In California, where housing costs are the highest in the nation, a working person must earn $42.25 an hour for a two-bedroom rental.

For hotel housekeepers in Los Angeles, who currently make on average only $20 to $25 an hour, the only way to survive nancially is to take on two or three jobs — or to commute two or three hours a day from distant, less expensive locations. So these workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 11, opted to take collective action. Once contracts with 61 Southern California hotels expired on June 30th, they began a series of rolling strikes, walking o the job at selected groups of hotels to make clear to employers their critical role to the industry. e strikes continue to this day.

As hurtful as the rent/wage disparity is, it’s still part of a much bigger picture of policy failures. e U.S. is almost alone among advanced industrialized nations in tying health insurance to employment. Without universal, tax-based health insurance, many workers risk losing their insurance as a result of work-related issues and changes.

As the current SAG-AFTRA strike has made clear, many actors are at risk of losing their insurance if they’re not able to work a minimum number of days per year or reach a minimum earnings threshold. Some 86 percent of the union’s 160,000 members do not earn enough to qualify for health insurance.

And healthcare is only one of the comparative indices with which to measure a nation’s commitment to the well-being of its workers and their families.

e U.S. stands alone among advanced nations in lacking a federal mandate to provide paid leave. By way of contrast, consider Spain’s mandate of 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and 16 weeks of paid paternity leave for new parents.

As challenging as the current strikes are for workers in a wide range of sectors, it’s even more challenging for workers to begin organizing unions and securing fair contracts. In a nation where union busting is a major industry, and where penalties against companies for labor violations are relatively minor, it’s not di cult for large corporations like Amazon or Starbucks to stonewall e orts at collective bargaining. ough Starbucks workers have voted to unionize at more than 340 stores since the rst successful vote in 2021, the company has failed to negotiate a single contract with workers at any of the stores.

Once again, a contrast with other nations is instructive, particularly in countries like Austria, where sectoral bargaining allows panels of workers to bargain with employers across an entire industry, rather than company by company.

Workers and unions do need allies in government and in the community. ey can’t change laws and policy without strong support.

And current strikes demonstrate how such support can be manifested in many ways — from open letters to employers, to legislative initiatives, to direct participation in worker-led actions, including civil disobedience.

But ultimately the initiative, the perseverance, and the courage lie with the workers themselves — seeking dignity and a better life for themselves and their families. It is out of this leadership that a more equitable society must, in the nal analysis, emerge for us all.

Andrew Moss, syndicated by PeaceVoice, writes on labor and immigration from Los Angeles.

PHOTO: WIRESTOCK | DREAMSTIME.COM America undermines its workers.