Memphis Flyer 8/31/2023

SHARA CLARK

Editor

SAMUEL X. CICCI

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It is a kind of love, is it not?

How the cup holds the tea, How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare, How the oor receives the bottoms of shoes

Or toes. How soles of feet know

Where they’re supposed to be.

I’ve been thinking about the patience

Of ordinary things, how clothes

Wait respectfully in closets

And soap dries quietly in the dish, And towels drink the wet

From the skin of the back.

And the lovely repetition of stairs. And what is more generous than a window?

— “ e Patience of Ordinary ings” by Pat

Emerging reports of a summer Covid resurgence got me thinking back to 2020 when the world stood still, and I stood still with it. ere was uncertainty, and pangs of anxiety accompanied the notknowing of it all. But somehow through the noise, I found a quiet rhythm, a peace I hadn’t felt before — or since.

Schneider

When we all hunkered down, a sense of unity took hold. A portion of our city (more than 2,000 people) posed for portraits in the windows and doors of their homes for what would later become Jamie Harmon’s Memphis Quarantine photo book. Across the world, in Spain, France, Italy, India, Germany, and elsewhere, neighbors sang together from balconies and rooftops, in celebration of their local healthcare workers or simply to entertain themselves, to lighten the load of fear and boredom, to connect with other humans.

I’ve written before in this paper how I walked hundreds of miles during lockdown. And I’ve told friends that those walks saved my life — or my mental health, at least. I photographed ants marching across sidewalks, bees alight on blooms, birds on power lines, the patterns on fallen leaves. Have you ever noticed how a sprawling stretch of tree branches resembles the intricacy of human veins? Do you know what causes a sunset to be a breathtaking purplish pink? How many times have you stopped to admire crepuscular rays beaming from beyond u y clouds?

ree years ago, we were forced to be patient, to pause and re ect — and we had plenty of time to do such things. We baked homemade bread. We held drive-through parades for graduations and birthdays. We talked for hours on video calls with friends and family near and far. ere was a tangible collective empathy. Yet now, we’re hurried again. We don’t have time to wait in line or give a second thought to the man asking for change in the parking lot. Hardly a moment for a phone call. No patience for ordinary things.

But ordinary has become … another mass shooting, another person dead at the hands of police, another law stripping civil rights, another wild re, another rent increase, another tragedy, and another, and another. I guess what I’m saying is, three years on it’s all back in full force. And no one seems to mind. Although “it” was always there, in some form, so many are back to not caring, back to “not my problem.” Back to every man for himself.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY - 4

POLITICS - 6

is quote from an August 28th Time article, “Pandemics Don’t Really End — ey Echo,” stood out to me: “Pandemics have always frayed the social fabric, disrupted economies, deepened social divides, and intensi ed prejudices, leaving behind psychological scars — all of which have lasting political repercussions.”

COVER STORY

“THIS IS NOT WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE”

BY TOBY SELLS - 8

FINANCE - 11

AT LARGE - 12

WE RECOMMEND - 13

MUSIC - 14

AFTER DARK - 15

CALENDAR - 16

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 16

ASTROLOGY - 17

NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 18

FOOD - 19

FILM - 20

CLASSIFIEDS - 22

LAST WORD - 23

So now, as we live amid the rubble carrying these psychological scars, do we even take notice of the soles of our feet as they scurry from point A to point B? To the steam rising from the cup of hot tea? To the family mourning the loss of a child due to gun violence? To the displaced? To the disadvantaged?

I remember when we gave a damn — about other people, about the present moment, about the beauty in generosity and fellowship.

It was a kind of love, was it not? Shara Clark shara@memphis yer.com

PHOTO: SHARA CLARK

THE fly-by

MEM ernet

Memphis on the internet. “LUCIFER”

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

{WEEK THAT WAS By

Flyer staff

Abortion, MATA, & Health Disparities

SHOUT YOUR ABORTION

An X beef between representatives Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) burned hot as hell recently.

Cohen red rst with an August 14th post burning Gaetz for saying (as he stood next to Donald Trump on television) that “only by force” can things change in Washington. Cohen turned up the heat ve days later posting that “not only does [Gaetz] act like but looks like Lucifer.”

Gaetz red back, “Steve Cohen is an expert on the subject, having actually met Lucifer.” Cohen retorted, “Lucifer counseled you on your ‘dating’ life, and gave you some numbers but none above 18.”

CAUSE AND CURE

Shout Your Abortion (SYA), an organization with the goal of “normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access,” has launched a “multi-state, proabortion” billboard campaign, ahead of the anniversary of Tennessee’s abortion ban.

e campaign features six billboards along I-55 from Memphis to Carbondale, Illinois, which according to SYA, is a popular route for abortion seekers.

“Between 9,277 and 18,554 more people will travel to Illinois each year for abortion care,” according to data provided by UCLA’s School of Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy.

With them, riders can go online and load their cards up to $200, manage payments, and check balances.

“ is has been a long-standing goal for the future of MATA,” said Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA. “GO901 Smart Cards are a sustainable and simpler way to connect people to places across the service area.”

BY U/BIGGCLAY

“Just went in for a $5 bag and found this rolled up in my napkins,” wrote Reddit user u/BiggClay last week. Big ol’ h/t to Allan Creasy.

HITLER PIZZA

“Anti-abortion groups have lined I-55 with negative, guilt-based billboards shaming abortion seekers headed to Illinois, and this new campaign aims to offer support and affirmation to those traveling for care,” said SYA in a statement.

In August 2022, providing abortions became a felony in Tennessee, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court. Clinics like Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi were forced to stop abortion services completely.

As abortion providers in the state stopped services, many women began to consider traveling out of state for abortions. CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health opened a clinic in Carbondale, Illinois. According to the clinic, they have provided close to 3,800 abortions since the SCOTUS decision.

Messages on the billboards feature pro-abortion messaging like, “Abortion is okay, you are loved” and “God’s plan includes abortion,” meant as an intentional contrast to anti-abortion billboards.

GO901 SMART CARDS

e cards can be purchased and loaded at MATA ticket vending machines in their transit centers or the GO901 app. ey can also be loaded on MATA’s website or at MATA Transit Center Customer Service Counters.

For now, riders will temporarily be able to pay with cash and tickets.

SERVING THE UNDERSERVED

e University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Nursing recently announced a $2.6 million grant renewal that will serve “rural and underserved communities.”

e grant will be awarded to 19 students in the following programs: nurse midwifery, family nurse practitioner, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

Well, Hitler found out last week his favorite Memphis pizza place was not treated well in a recent Reddit poll. is instant classic is bound for the MEMernet Hall of Fame.

A new reusable and cashless payment option for Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) tickets will allow users to “tap and ride.”

e GO901 Smart Cards are intended to make paying for rides “e ortless and faster.”

“ e goal of the four-year grant is to increase the number of nurse practitioners and certi ed nurse midwives, to serve underserved populations, increase diversity in the workforce, and train providers to address health equity and social determinants of health,” said the university in a statement.

e Tennessee Department of Health considers parts of Shelby County to be a medically underserved area (MUA).

POSTED TO X BY REP. MATT GAETZ

POSTED TO REDDIT BY U/NOTANOTHERAIBOT

POSTED TO REDDIT

PHOTO: SHOUT YOUR ABORTION | FACEBOOK Shout Your Abortion’s campaign includes six pro-abortion billboards along I-55 from Memphis to Carbondale, Illinois, a popular route for abortion seekers.

Black Churches and Black Lives Matter {

The Reverend Andre E. Johnson has been seeking answers to complex issues involving Black churches and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

is research led the Memphian to write e Summer of 2020: George Floyd and the Resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM), in which he interviewed people involved in BLM, some of whom relied on religious narratives to describe their involvement.

Johnson previewed his book last week during SisterReach’s Social Justice Preacher Series held online. He is founding pastor of Gi s of Life Ministries, has authored several works, and teaches at the University of Memphis and Memphis eological Seminary.

His topic — “Rethinking Faith and Religion: e Spirituality of Black Lives Matter” — put the spotlight on Black churches and civil rights actions.

“ is heightened a er George Floyd’s murder,” said Johnson. “What we discovered was that for many participants the movement had not only inspired and energized people of faith and Christian

traditions, but it also inspired many people and di erent religious traditions to reexamine their own faith journeys.”

Black churches have historically been a pivotal part of social justice movements. eir involvement was exempli ed during the Civil Rights Movement, where they not only served as safe havens and places of hope for the ght, but also as homes for clergymen who doubled as activists.

While the church has historically played a role in the ght for equal rights for Black Americans, there have been questions regarding the involvement of the church in current movements, such as BLM. In a 2021 entry in “Upli Memphis, Upli e Nation: e Blog For Community Engagement,” from the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, Johnson wrote that “unlike the Civil Rights Movement that it is o en compared to, people o en do not associate BLM as a faith-inspired movement or one that has anything to do with spirituality.”

“Early in the movement, even some Black pastors lamented the fact that

there was a strange silence from the Black church during the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Johnson. In his lecture, Johnson explained his research showed people used their religion to help them cope with the death of Floyd and compelled them to get active. He said, however, many felt they could not solely rely on their religious in uences and they had to “draw on something else to draw them out to participate.”

He said, “While people of faith have been a part of Black Lives Matter since its inception, some told us that religion

CITY REPORTER

By Kailynn Johnson

played no role in their involvement whatsoever.”

Johnson also quoted respondents who did not identify as religious and preferred that religion not play a role at all in BLM.

He noted, however, that the Black church had always had a prominent in uence on society, such as in the Civil Rights Movement, and that the faith people learn in the church is “one of the primary reasons for their involvement with BLM.”

“For their involvement with BLM, many recognized and realized that it all started in the church that they are, right now, critiquing,” said Johnson. “It was the church that had lost its way, but some of the participants still found a way to join the movement and grounded it in their faith experiences.”

Johnson explained that it not only speaks to the legacy and history of the Black church, but the legacy of activism “birthed from the church that bore witness to the issues germane to African Americans, across a variety of places and spaces, at all times.”

A new book from a Memphis teacher looks at the spirituality of the movement.

PHOTO: DANIEL TSENG | UNSPLASH

Does religion play a role in BLM?

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

“We Have to Disrupt”

Even as two rather well-quali ed female candidates continue in pathways that they hope will make their current mayoral runs viable, women already in power are busy constructing models of parliamentary behavior that owe very little to tradition and nothing at all to the vintage tactic of go-along-to-getalong.

Britney ornton, the Shelby County Commission’s rst-term representative from Orange Mound, has her mind set on nothing less than overturning her legislative body’s history and practice of awarding county contracts. Last Monday, the commission’s regular session began with some 17-odd items in the “consent agenda,” these being items that have been previously examined in committee and have already been worked over and are now ready for nal judgment.

arts music food arts

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FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOd arts music food arts

As each of the 17 items was called to the oor, ornton directed the same question: How many Black women, men, Asian, white, other were invited to bid on the contract? How many followed through and bid on the contract, and who got the contract?

Almost invariably a white bidder, one used to the jargon and handling of commission business, was awarded the contract.

music food arts music

FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOD

arts music food arts

At one point, the item under discussion was an inmate-feeding contract that has so long belonged to Aramark that it would seem to have the status of a legacy. To the tune of a million and half dollars. Needless to say, the management of Aramark is white.

music food arts music

FOOD ARTS MUSIC FOOd

e distinguished lawyer John Farris, who represents Aramark, o ered his usual smooth guarantee that the company would continue to provide inmate meals in its usual skillful mode.

with what amounts to a temporary lease on the contract, with the understanding that it will be rebid on in October with a full complement of MWBE requirements favoring a non-white bidder. ornton is no lone wolf. She gets frequent support from other commissioners, especially those of the women on this body of seven females and six males.

Her sponsored ordinance directed at the sheri ’s department, getting the department to shed special units and multi-unit alliances, failed, although another requiring the department and the commission to take measure of pretextual road stops was mandated.

Audubon Park, Memphis, Sept 22-24

arts music food arts

To which Commissioner ornton threw a bomb. With no substitute agency in mind, she moved to cancel the contract.

music food arts music

“We have to disrupt” was her way of explaining how long-standing aspects of white dominance can be eradicated. In the end, the commission was brought to a compromise. e Aramark contract will continue for two months

• There is no reason to believe that mayoral contender Michelle McKissack has anything like the long aim that Thornton has. McKissack’s style is milder and more inclined to consensus, but she is nothing if not forthright, and her adoption of a headquarters on B.B. King Street last Saturday allows her entry into the forthcoming WMC-TV mayoral debate, in which she will have every opportunity to hold her own and then some.

• For those expecting a word here on the late Governor Don Sundquist, it would have been here but for a bad modem. Expect it soon, online.

PRESENTED BY FRIENDS OF THE PINK PALACE MOBILE MINI JUNIOR LEAGUE

PHOTOS: COURTESY MICHELLE MCKISSACK Mayoral candidate Michelle McKissack set up her campaign headquarters on B.B. King Street.

Britney ornton names the stakes.

COVER STORY By Toby Sells

“This Is Not What Democracy Looks Like”

The Tennessee GOP showed the world its brand of democracy.

Republicans manhandled democracy last week in Nashville during the special session with tough tactics displayed in plain view.

They flexed their supermajority superpowers over most anyone who didn’t agree with them, especially members of the taxpaying public. The GOP flex (and one unlawful overreach, according to a judge) became the story that emerged from the session that was ostensibly meant to make

kids safer at school.

Tennessee Highway Patrol officers made the “manhandle” metaphor real in one of the boldest, coldest demonstrations of Republican power during the entire session. A woman in a committee audience held a sign that read, “One kid is greater than all the guns.” A Republican leader ordered her to put it down. She didn’t. He then ordered large state troopers in the room to remove her, physically if need be.

They did.

Two troopers grabbed the woman’s upper arms and lifted her from her seat. They paraded her down the aisle, across the front row in full view of gathered lawmakers. She spoke, her voice initially quivering as they forced her from the room. She then pierced her nerves, found her voice, and yelled, “This is not what democracy looks like!”

Everyone heard. But lawmakers did

nothing. They simply waited for troopers to identify and escort yet another sign-holding woman out. The committee’s GOP chairman waited for the doors to close, cleared his throat, and dispassionately continued the work before the committee. He later apologized (to some) on X (formerly Twitter).

The episode was easily the most visible display of what Tennessee democracy looks like under Republican control.

But it wasn’t the biggest or even the most important display of the session. Some in the state GOP silenced not only the public, but other lawmakers, even many other Republicans.

Elected o cials went to Nashville in earnest, expecting a review and a debate on more than 200 bills they brought. Republicans decided to only allow review and debate on four in the Senate for reasons outsiders could only guess at. GOP House members certainly did not seem to be in on the game.

Some Democrats opined that the entire session was a GOP dance, choreographed over weeks between when the session was promised in April to when it commenced in late August. eir plan, it seemed, was to do as little as possible, complete the mandated terms of the session, and give GOP Governor Bill Lee a few things for which he asked.

e session’s work stopped last week with an intense stando between House and Senate Republicans over whether or not to allow more bills. at work continued this week with little predictability on an outcome. About the only thing House and Senate Republicans could agree on was no new rules on universal background checks for guns nor any red ag laws.

What did Lee think? It was his party, a er all. No one really knew, not during the session anyway. He promised he’d only speak publicly a er it wrapped. As of Monday morning, his most recent social media posts concerned the passing of former Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist and attending a ham breakfast at the Tennessee State Fair.

e GOP ex le some wondering if Republicans had jumped the shark, pushed their in uence (and general

disdain for dissent) too far in front of everyone. Would their callous a ronts to public sentiment push new voters to take notice and show up for future election days? In short, would the supermajority’s superpowered ex back re on them?

Rules: The First Flex

From the start, Republicans, it seemed, did not want a repeat of April.

In March, three 9-year-old children and three teachers were shot and killed in a pre-planned attack at Nashville’s Covenant School. Many lawmakers routinely o ered thoughts and prayers. But thousands of Tennesseans wanted more and descended upon Capitol Hill to urge leaders for some form of gun control.

In the hallowed, marbled lobby between the House and Senate chambers, protestors yelled, “Gun control now!” at lawmakers (protected by a wall of state troopers) and held signs that read, “Am I next?” ey protested from the House gallery on March 30th, joined by the now-well-known Tennessee ree, two of whom, of course, were expelled soon a er

but reinstated by voters later. On April 4th, hundreds of young people shouted, “Fuck Bill Lee!” in unison on the steps of the Tennessee Capitol building.

Soon a er that (but probably not because of it), Lee asked legislative members of his own party to pass an extreme order of protection law. It would allow guns to be temporarily removed from those deemed to be a “current and ongoing” threat to themselves or others. e ask came a er teacher Cindy Peak and Covenant head of school Katherine Koonce — friends of First Lady Maria Lee — were killed in the school shooting.

e killings and the personal plea from Lee were not enough to sway GOP lawmakers, though. Not a single one of them would pick up Lee’s legislation, and many said so out loud. Instead, leaders sprinted the budget through committees and oor votes and hightailed it out of Nashville.

But Lee promised them a special session on “public safety.” Not wanting a repeat of April (and the raucous protests that came with it), it seemed, House Republicans cra ed a plan to clamp down

on dissent, public speech, and the public in general, in and around the vaunted statehouse.

Protest signs (and the like) were outlawed (even a standard letter-sized piece of paper with a statement written with a pen). And the public got only limited access to spaces once wide open. On the House oor, if lawmakers got personal in their remarks or strayed o topic, Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) could silence them. Do it four times, and a lawmaker would be silenced for the remainder of the session. Who got to call balls and strikes here? Only Sexton.

e decorum rule was seen by many as a way to manage the unruly Justins, Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville). eir expulsions by Republicans in April back red on the GOP, made the Justins famous, and poured piles of political capital and campaign donations upon them.

From the oor last Tuesday, Jones asked Sexton if he’d get his committee assign-

continued on page 10

PHOTOS: JOHN PARTIPILO | TENNESSEE LOOKOUT (le , above, right top) Women hold up signs on their phones in silent protest, only to be removed by state troopers during the special session.

(right bottom) Members of the Tennessee Senate have passed only three pieces of legislation, freezing out dozens of ideas of dozens of lawmakers and putting the House and the Senate at an impasse.

“

From the start, Republicans, it seemed, did not want a repeat of April.

”

ments back. Sexton quickly ruled him out of order. Jones asked why, especially since others had asked off-topic questions, like about the air-conditioning. Sexton didn’t answer but allowed the House clerk to explain that “the House speaker makes rulings on what is in order and not in order.”

These rules were the first big GOP flex of the session. It broadcast their power and dared any to cross them, lest they be diminished or banished. Though many questioned whether the sign rule was constitutional and if the decorum rules silenced the democratic will of lawmakers’ many constituents.

The GOP flexed the decorum rules against dissenters this Monday when the House voted to silence Jones on the floor. Sexton ruled Jones was out of order twice. No similar vote nor silence came for Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) after he, too, had been out of order twice. But the clerk said the first instance was only a warning. After Jones was silenced, the gallery erupted in jeers, and the Democratic caucus walked off the House floor in protest.

In an email newsletter, Pearson called the decorum rules “draconian” and said they “were carefully crafted to silence the voices of progress and solidify [the GOP’s] stranglehold on proceedings.” When he told lawmakers that “we are a democracy,” one Republican House member told him, “We are not because we are a republic.” Pearson disagreed with the notion in his newsletter. Then, based on GOP moves, he kind of agreed.

“This is not a democracy,” he wrote. “This is a mobocracy.”

The Clearing

The story above tells of how — thanks to the GOP no-signs rule — state troopers forced that woman from the House committee. It was on the explicit instructions of Rep. Lowell Russell (R-Vonore), a former state trooper. He chaired the House Civil Justice Subcommittee that day and warned the crowd, “If there’s an ongoing problem with these signs, we’ll just clear the room.” He then singled out the sign-carrying women by row and by seat. They were removed. Then, Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) started talking. The crowd started clapping. And Russell proved he was nowhere near finished flexing.

He gave a “last warning” on the applause and threatened again to “clear the room.” A Republican bill was tabled. The audience clapped again and Russell chided, “Now, are we going to quieten down and listen or are we going to sit there and clap?” His stony expression hid his next move. “All right, troopers, let’s go ahead and clear the room.”

They did. They even cleared out parents of Covenant School children. Only members of the media and legislative staff were allowed to stay, though Lowell allowed those slated to testify to return when they were called from the hall. But the ejected

crowd was shocked as they milled about, filing out the doors. One woman paused before the committee and said, “This is not who you dreamed about growing up to be when you were children.”

Russell’s clearing — the treatment of taxpayers and Covenant School parents — dominated headlines, not any great Republican ideas on how to keep school kids safe or to protect Second Amendment rights.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) said the move marked “truly dark days” at the legislature. Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), the un-expelled third of the Tennessee Three, said the move showed that “these Republicans have lost all moral footing.” Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) said it was proof “we’re living in a totalitarian state.” Russell said it was largely the audience’s fault, not his, and apologized … kind of.

“If you were in attendance [of the committee] … and were not participating in the loud, disruptive behavior, I personally apologize that you had to watch the committee meeting from the hallway,” Russell said in a six-part X post on Friday. “It was unfortunate that the noise level had gotten to the point that it did.

“Let me be clear that each person in attendance on Tuesday matters and a safer Tennessee matters.”

Others wanted more answers. House Minority Leader Karen Camper (D-Memphis) said, “This needs to be explained.” Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) asked Lee, in an official letter, if House chairs even have the authority — by the state constitution or any state law — to order state troopers to remove members of the public from committee rooms. No response had been given as of press time. Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) asked this and more from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. He quickly asked the judge in the signs case to dissolve the matter, according to the The Tennessee Journal.

Last Wednesday, Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) took a softer approach. He opened the Senate State and Local Government Committee saying, “I know it might not seem like it sometimes … they said to be sure to let folks know we’re glad you’re here.”

As for the signs, they were later allowed, but not until the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN) got a court involved. The group sued Sexton, the House clerk, and sergeant-at-arms after Lowell’s clearing. Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Anne Martin issued a restraining order last Wednesday banning the House’s ban on signs.

“It is troubling how often the citizens of our state have to return to the courthouse just to protect their basic constitutional rights from being violated by this GOP supermajority,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said at the time. “My colleagues, who are so afraid of a piece of paper silently stating an opinion that they would forcibly

remove them from a committee room, have yet again embarrassed our great state and disrespected its citizens in doing so.”

Sexton’s attorneys argued the court overstepped, according to Tennessee Lookout, and urged an emergency hearing on the matter. A hearing was slated for Monday.

The Senate’s Great Big Table Silencing lawmakers’ remarks. Shutting out the public to the “People’s House.” Forcibly removing dissenters from public places for breaking some brand-new rule that may or may not be legal. They offended certain sensitivities and, again, broadcast party control.

But the Republicans’ next big move had a material impact on the subject and scope of the real business at hand. With it, the Senate froze the session in its tracks, freezing out dozens of ideas of dozens of lawmakers, shocking House Republicans, and making moot most of the work House members had done and would continue to do during the session.

Last Tuesday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed three bills, ones brought by Lee. Then, without comment or explanation, committee chair Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) tabled 52 bills, the remainder of the committee’s agenda.

This meant every other idea proposed by every other legislator with a bill on the docket that day would never get heard, nor an up or down vote in the special session. House Republicans were not happy.

“Congratulations @tnsenategop on receiving the 2023 Ostrich Egg!” read an X post from the Tennessee House Republicans. “It must be eggshausting sending so many bills to [the general subcommittee, meaning no action taken during committee] instead of doing the work people sent us here to do.”

Some mumbled frustration. Some scratched their heads. The next day, Gardenhire did it again. Less than a minute into the Senate Education Committee, he tabled 21 bills from Democrats and Republicans alike.

At that moment, it was clear the Senate — and by and large the legislature — would only consider three bills for the whole special session. The same happened in other Senate committees. For some, it seemed the Republican playbook was

revealed.

“Now the House GOP is trying to blame Senate GOP for how this special session is playing out?” posted Clemmons. “Do they honestly think Tennesseans fail to realize that this whole taxpayer-funded charade of nothingness and harm was jointly (albeit clumsily) scripted from start to finish?”

Script or no, the Senate GOP faced off against the House GOP over the matter. House leaders wanted their bills considered, not just the three bills before the Senate (and the fourth one to pay for it all). Either by impasse or compromise, the members decided to return to Nashville Monday to see if more work could be done to pass more legislation and get more ideas from the House side. That work continued past the Flyer’s press deadline.

Seen

Covenant School chaplain Matthew Sullivan helped police get into the building that day back in March. He also watched the special session closely. Last Wednesday, he posted a Bible verse to sum up his feelings.

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open — Luke 8:17,” he said on X. “We now see what this is REALLY all about, #TNLeg and the nation is seeing it, too. Shame on you!!!”

Even California Governor Gavin Newsom took notice of Nashville. He posted last Wednesday, “The GOP’s playbook in Tennessee: 1. Kick out peaceful moms. 2. Keep the guns in the room. 3. Continue to do nothing to stop children from being gunned down and slaughtered.”

So many said many different things but with one theme: This is not what democracy looks like.

“It was disheartening to see but I will be honest, it wasn’t surprising,” said Matia Powell, executive director of Civic TN, a group supporting minority participation in shaping state policy. “I think this is indicative of what we’ve seen over the last years. I think it’s increasingly gotten worse. We’ve seen the erosion of democracy in Tennessee for the last decade.”

For Powell, this erosion is a product of gerrymandering and restrictive voting laws here: Democracy’s erosion “is a symptom of what happens when leaders are allowed to pick their voters and voters don’t have the opportunity to pick their leaders.”

At least one politician, however, said the behavior of the GOP supermajority during this high-profile, emotionally charged session might have been enough to make voters stand up and take notice.

“Mark my words,” Clemmons posted to X last week. “The eyes of the [hundreds] of mothers in the Cordell Hull [Building] bearing witness to injustice and the undemocratic manner in which this GOP supermajority runs state [government] may result in more progress over [the] long-term than any piece of legislation during this special session.”

We’ve seen the erosion of democracy in Tennessee for the last decade.

On Tax Structure

Be in a position to make informed decisions when starting your own business.

Launching a new business is no simple feat. It’s a process that requires you to make many decisions, with one of the more important determinations being which tax structure you want it to fall under. Each structure has its own set of tax and non-tax pros and cons that must be considered along with your own goals and personal situation. Here’s a breakdown of several types to help you make an informed decision.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

LLCs have become increasingly common, particularly for startup companies. In general, it can be easier and less expensive to set up an LLC than to set up a corporation. An LLC can be taxed as a sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation, or C corporation. Making the choice to form your business as an LLC still leaves the decision of which tax structure to pair it with.

Sole Proprietor

Sole proprietorships are the easiest and least expensive structure to set up, and there are few formalities to maintain. There’s no separate income tax filing required, as the business activity is included within the owner’s personal income tax return. All profits from a trade or business activity will be subject to self-employment tax. The largest drawback for a sole proprietor is the lack of liability protection.

Partnership

You may consider using a partnership structure if your business has two or more owners. This has similar pros and cons to a sole proprietorship. Partnerships can be flexible to fit your operating needs, but they can add a layer of complexity to tax return preparation. Partnerships have an income tax return filing requirement; however, the profits or losses pass through to the owners and are included on their personal income tax returns. There are two types of partnerships to consider.

General partnerships are typically formed using a written agreement between owners. They don’t require filling out paperwork within the state in which the owners reside and offer no liability protection. In general partnerships, owners file taxes under their respective names.

Limited partnerships are made up of one general partner and other limited partners. The general partner has unlimited liability, is more involved in the daily operations of the business, and is accountable for paying self-employment taxes on

the partnership’s profits. Limited partners are what they sound like — limited in their liability and in their involvement within the business.

S Corporation

S corporations provide a solid structure for many small businesses. S corporations have an income tax return filing requirement; however, the profits or losses pass through to the owners and are included on their personal tax returns. The self-employment tax in an S corporation is limited to owner compensation paid through payroll (rather than being applied to all profits of the business). S Corporations are limited to a maximum of 100 shareholders. Partnerships, other corporations, certain kinds of trusts, and nonresident aliens don’t qualify as eligible shareholders.

C Corporation

C corporations are commonly known as regular corporations. This is the only structure that pays its own tax but is subject to double taxation. This means a C corporation must pay income tax at a flat rate of 21 percent on its profits and that shareholders are also taxed on their distributed dividends. Although the taxation may seem high, many times it can be minimized when corporations put their profits back into their business to fuel future growth.

Deciding which aligns best with your business needs may seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. By evaluating your business goals and activity types, you can feel confident selecting one that’s beneficial to you and your tax strategy.

Partnering with a tax professional to assist in your planning is a terrific way to ensure your startup questions are answered — and the right decisions are made — so you can focus on making your small business dreams a reality. Keep in mind that your choice of tax structure shouldn’t be driven solely by tax considerations. There are many other factors to consider, and you’ll want to include legal advice in the decision.

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 firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial 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.

couldn’t have done it without you.

In 1998, we started Independent Bank with a simple goal—to serve our customers heroically. We always knew at the end of the day, this business was not about us, it was all about you.

As we celebrate 25 years of serving heroically, we are proud to be the largest Memphis-headquartered community bank. You have been our priority as we grew, your goals have been our goals, and you are the reason for our success.

So, here’s to you! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of your business and personal dreams. Thank you for trusting us with your financial needs, and giving us the opportunity to grow alongside you.

We truly couldn’t have done it without you!

Your friends at i-bank i-bankonline.com

AT LARGE By Bruce VanWyngarden

Iused to play golf with three other guys every Sunday at the Links at Galloway. We always paired o , with the same twosomes competing against each other. e matches were spirited but friendly. ere was betting, but if you won ve bucks, it was a big deal. We were semi-decent golfers but nobody was going to set the course record. An 80 was a respectable score, and anything in the 70s was considered a very nice round, indeed. We played from the white (middle) tees and there were no gimmes (conceded putts), to eliminate any arguments about when a putt was “good.”

One Sunday in the fall of 2013, I shot a 69 — one under par. is was a big deal to me, something I’d never done before and have never done since. My pals were all excited and rooting for me during the last couple of holes.

ere were high ves all around when I sank that last putt, and I bought beers in the clubhouse a erwards.

e following week, my playing partner, the painter John Ryan, found a small trophy at a junk store and engraved it with “Mr. 69.” It still sits on my desk, and I still smile at the memories it evokes.

is was all brought freshly to mind last weekend, when a former president of the United States made the following announcement on Truth Social: “I am pleased to report, for those that care, that I just won the Senior Club Championship (must be over 50 years old) at Bedminster (Trump National Golf Club), shooting a 67. Now some people will think that sounds low, but there is no hanky/lanky. Many people watch, plus I am surrounded by Secret Service Agents. Not much you can do even if you wanted to, and I don’t. For some reason, I am just a good golfer/athlete — I have won many club championships, and it is always a great honor.”

at is truly the saddest paragraph I’ve read in a long time. And no, I’m not talking about the fact that Trump thinks “hanky/lanky” is a thing. It’s sad

because the man just assumes people will think he is lying — and, of course, he’s right. Bedminster is a professionallevel, 7,500-yard, par 72 course, one where professional golfer Phil Mickelson barely broke 80 a few weeks back.

e idea that the lumpy 77-year-old Trump could shoot ve under par at Bedminster is as ludicrous as the weight and height (6’3”, 215 pounds) he gave Fani Willis last ursday.

One could maybe give Trump the bene t of the doubt if it was a handicap tournament. (A handicap in golf is your established average score. If a golfer averages an 82, for instance, their handicap is 10 at a par 72 course.) In a tournament where handicaps are applied, if that golfer shoots a 77, his net score would be 67, but no golfer with integrity would then claim that he shot a 67. One suspects that Trump, if the score he claimed to shoot is true, won by using his handicap. But who knows anything at this point? I mean, this is the course where Ivana, aka mother of the three children Trump pays attention to, is buried, so there’s already some weirdness afoot. But what really makes this so sad is that it appears Trump won his club championship in the stolid, swornto-silence company of Secret Service agents rather than enjoying the camaraderie of some pals cheering him on to victory. “For some reason, I am just a good golfer/athlete” is one of the most disconsolate sentences ever written. I can’t help it if I’m good, he says, “for those that care.” Yeesh. Poor Donny.

Even sadder for Trump, is the fact that he’ll never beat the record of the greatest golfer to ever lead a country. I’m talking, of course, about former Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, who in 1994 at the age of 52, shot 38 under par, with 11 holes in one. And it was the rst time he ever played! Fittingly, Kim Jong Il died 17 years later at age 69, which is under par on every regulation golf course in the world. For some reason, he was just a good golfer/athlete — the original “Mr. 69.”

PHOTO: BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

A fond memento of a subpar round

ere was no hanky/lanky when I broke 70.

“Mr. 69”

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

One in a Million

By Abigail Morici

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) is challenging Memphians and people across the Mid-South to lose 1 million pounds as a community in the next three years.

“It’s an audacious goal,” says Michael Ugwueke, MLH president and CEO. “But we think we can do it. We’ve always risen to any challenge in our community.”

e goal, Ugwueke says, came about a er MLH conducted a community health needs assessment and found heart disease and cancer, both of which are linked to obesity, as top causes of death in Shelby County. And, he says, Memphis was named the number-two most obese city in the country. “We decided that the best way to tackle this is to really get our community galvanized and motivated to lose weight,” he says, and so, in partnership with Cigna Healthcare, Kroger, Nike, and Action News 5, the Healthier 901 initiative was born as a challenge for the community to live active, healthier lives.

And while, yes, the ultimate quanti able end-post of the initiative is for the community to lose 1 million pounds, Ugwueke is more concerned with the un-quanti able. “We’re trying to take away that pressure, stigma [of losing weight] and encourage people to work together to create a new a lifestyle. is is not a diet,” he says. “Quite frankly, it’s very simple. Whether they want to lose ve pounds, 50 pounds, or just want to live a healthier life, that’s what this is about. We’re trying to make it fun and engaging. And we want everyone — kids, adults — to participate.”

To accomplish this goal, MLH has created an app for participants to track their progress and to access free resources like pre-recorded workouts to follow along.

ose who create accounts will be eligible for prize drawings, which will be hosted on social media throughout the next three years. MLH also plans to host regular free programming to facilitate healthy lifestyles.

In fact, MLH will kick o the initiative this upcoming weekend with a Healthier 901 Fest. e day will include healthy cooking demos with celebrity chefs like Kelly English and Chris Beavers, fun tness activities, health screenings, sponsor giveaways and booths, and a Le Bonheur Fun Zone featuring games and in atables for kids. Sherri Shepherd, a four-time Emmy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning talk show host, sitcom actress, and comedian, will make a special appearance, co-emceeing the event and sharing her own tness journey.

To nd out more about the Healthier 901 Fest and to learn more about the Healthier 901 initiative and app, visit healthier901.com.

HEALTHIER 901 FEST, SHELBY FARMS PARK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 10 A.M.-2 P.M., FREE.

VARIOUS DAYS & TIMES August 31st - September 6th

901 Day Community Mural

1160 Union Avenue, Friday, September 1, 3-5 p.m., free

Paint a mural dedicated to the 901, created by graphic designer, Francisco Flores. All ages welcome; materials will be provided.

901 Day in the Ravine

e Ravine, Friday, September 1, 4-10 p.m., free

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is celebrating 901 Day in the Ravine! ere will be live music by e Turnstyles, Solar Powered Love, and River City Tanlines. Board to Beers will have their gaming truck on site, and Memphis Roller Derby will host demonstrations.

Soi Number 9 and Hot N Heavy Dogs will provide the food while Memphis Made provides the beer. MemPops will also be on site. Entrances to the Ravine are at 16 S. Lauderdale St., 607 Monroe Ave., and 571 Marshall Ave.

Day One at Tom Lee Park

Tom Lee Park, Saturday, September 2, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., free Celebrate the opening of Tom Lee Park. Look forward to great food and drinks, dancing, singing, culture, and never-before-in-Memphis immersive experiences.

Get to know your new park by joining a guided walking or nature tour. Take home a special memory from the exclusive Day One photo opportunity. Break a sweat with guided workouts, hip-hop yoga, or dancing led by experts. Learn to juggle and hula hoop like you never have before with guidance from professional circus performers. Celebrate your new park with special hourly toasts of a signature Day One drink.

You won’t want to miss out. RSVP at tomleepark.org/dayone. at’s where you’ll also nd a schedule of all that’s happening.

Record Swap & Memphis Zine Fest 8

Crosstown Concourse, SaturdaySunday, September 2-3, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free Memphis Listening Lab/WYXR’s Record Swap and Crosstown Arts’ eighth annual Zine Fest are coming together for one awesome event.

Shop from records, CDs, cassettes, and other music-related merch and memorabilia curated by Memphis Listening Lab on the rst oor of the Central Atrium. WYXR will be selling tees and other radio station merch.

On the second oor of the Central Atrium, Crosstown Arts will host its annual Zine Fest where guests can shop for zines created by local makers (until 2 p.m. each day). ere will also be a free DIY zinemaking station each day of the fest with demonstrations and supplies to help you get started on making your very own zine.

PHOTO: COURTESY MLH Sherri Shepherd

Fall Art Supply

The Baseball Project

W

hen rst learning that the Overton Park Shell will soon host a band wholly dedicated to songs about America’s favorite pastime, as e Baseball Project is, the casual listener might write them o as a novelty group. at couldn’t be further from the truth. Steve Wynn, who helped found the group 15 years ago, thinks that’s partly due to e Baseball Project competing with its own members’ past bands, some of which are ongoing concerns to this day.

“When we started out there was sometimes a feeling of, ‘Well, this must be some kind of joke band. It’s a silly thing. I’ll just take a pass on that and show up at the next Minus 5 or Dream Syndicate or Filthy Friends tour instead,’” he says. “But I think over time people realize we’re not just singing jokey songs or clowning around. We’re nding the emotional nuggets of truth in these baseball incidents. e songs are still about loss or surprising success or mortality or all these things that you think about anyway. We just use the history of baseball as a jumping-o point to get to the same place.”

Indeed, drawing on the lore of a game so peppered with renegade characters, triumphant underdogs, and tragic twists of history gives a songwriter considerable raw material, and the band’s scribes rise to the occasion. “I’m a lonely dri er, I go from town to town,” sings Wynn on “Journeyman,” written with bandmate Peter Buck for e Baseball Project’s new release, Grand Salami Time! (Omnivore Recordings). “You can call me Le y, it’s my stock in trade. I’m a specialist, it’s how I get paid. Always keep my bags packed, never get to close to anyone. Long as there’s someone who needs me, down the road I’ll go …”

Listening along, this writer, who hasn’t followed sports since his teens, is suddenly invested in the life of the classic journeyman player, dri ing from team to team. It doesn’t hurt that the players, the parts, and the delivery are a pitch-perfect blend of grit and imaginative production, with an overall sound ranging from folk rock to full-on power pop. On the album, part of that credit goes to producer Mitch Easter, but live it will all be on the quintet — who are not unlike some kind of fantasy baseball dream team. Wynn founded the seminal post-punk psych-rock out t Dream Syndicate and is wed to drummer Linda Pitmon, also of the Filthy Friends. Buck and bassist Mike Mills were founding members of onetime mega-band R.E.M., and guitarist/keyboardist Scott McCaughey was in that group from 1994

onward, a er years of fronting the Young Fresh Fellows.

is lineup also brings some stellar harmonies to the proceedings. As Wynn says, “To be in a band with four really good singers who can all harmonize is something I’m not used to — and it’s exciting. We do a lot of four-part harmonies in this band, on record and on stage, and sometimes we hear that blend and we’re like, ‘Check us out, we’re the Byrds!’”

A nal revelation of e Baseball Project is how well baseball is suited to rockand-roll. “Uncle Charlie,” for example, could apply to sports, music, or any realm where the punk meets e Godfather: “Every kid thinks they’re the smartest guy to walk on two hind legs/Every kid thinks they can take the codgers down by a few pegs. … Oh, you don’t look so pretty now! Uncle Charlie’s gonna get you.”

Yet, as Wynn notes, pro sports and rock have not traditionally been bedfellows. “Peter is our lone non-baseball fan, who pretty much plays in the band because he likes all of us and enjoys the music. He gets exasperated with all our baseball talk sometimes. And Peter has said, ‘You know, when I was young, there were either people who liked sports or people who liked cool rock-and-roll, and they were not the same thing at all. ere were jocks on one side and rockers on the other.’

“But Linda, Mike, Scott, and I have always been huge baseball fans, so we know that’s not totally true. We’ve made it safe for indie rockers to love baseball! And there’s a bunch of us out there.”

e Baseball Project, with openers e Sonny Wilsons, headlines the Memphis PowerPop Festival at the Overton Park Shell, Saturday, September 2nd, 5:30 p.m.

PHOTO: MARTY PEREZ Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Mike Mills, Linda Pitmon, and Steve Wynn

MUSIC By Alex Greene

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule Aug. 31 - Sept. 6

Vince Johnson

Monday, Sept. 4, 7-11 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 5, 7-11 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Andy Tanas

Saturday, Sept. 2, 9 p.m.-midnight.

WESTY’S

Ashton Riker & the Memphis Royals

ursday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

Blind Mississippi Morris

Free. ursday, Aug. 31, 7-9 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

Buddy Albert Nemenz

ursday, Aug. 31, 1-5 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 1, 1-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 2, 1-5 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 3, 1-5 p.m.;

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 1-5 p.m.

SILKY O’SULLIVAN’S

Caleb Orr

Saturday, Sept. 2, 3:45 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Deep Roots

Sunday, Sept. 3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

LOFLIN YARD

Divercity

ursday, Aug. 31, 4:30 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

Donna Padgett Bowers

Presents

Variety show of Memphis talent. Free. Friday, Sept. 1, 9 p.m.

WESTY’S

Eric Hughes

ursday, Aug. 31, 7-11 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

FreeWorld

Sunday, Sept. 3, 8 p.m.-midnight.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

House in the Mid-South

All-vinyl sets by e GOODLife

DJs: DJ Brandon and DJ Rawhouse.

Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL

Jad Tariq

Saturday, Sept. 2, 6-9 p.m.

OLD DOMINICK DISTILLERY

JT McCaffrey

Friday, Sept. 1, 10:30 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Lauren Daigle: The Kaleidoscope Tour

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Mathew Fowler and Friends

Saturday, Sept. 2, 7-9 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

RiverCity Jazz & Music Festival

Featuring smooth jazz, R&B, and neo-soul. $69-$135. Sunday, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.

CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Robbie Bletscher on Piano

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 5-8 p.m.

WESTY’S

Rodell McCord

Sunday, Sept. 3, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 6, 8 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Soul St. Mojo

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7-11 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Steven Hopkins

Saturday, Sept. 2, 10:30 p.m.

TIN ROOF

The Rockin 88’s

Monday, Sept. 4, 7-11 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

#901DayIndieMusicFest

A free a one-of-a-kind multi-genre concert celebrating the vibrant independent music community of Memphis. Friday, Sept. 1, 7-11 p.m.

MEMPHIS MUSIC ROOM

Elmo & the Shades, Eddie Harrison

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7-11 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Keepin It Memphis

Highlighting the works of the Memphis underground arts scene.

$20/general admission, $10/admission with a local I.D. Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7:30-10:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS MUSIC ROOM

Pulse - Tribute to Pink

Floyd

Friday, Sept. 1, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL

TiLt

Sunday, Sept. 3, 5:30 p.m.

HADLEY’S PUB

Los Rakas will perform at the Overton Park Shell.

HI TONE

Comisar b2b Izzi with Kozmic and Odd Wilson Visuals by Feral Perspective.

Friday, Sept. 1, 10 p.m.

GROWLERS

Connor Kelly & The Time Warp, Massey Lane, Shorty & the Grooves, The Fretz

ursday, Aug. 31, 6:30 p.m.

GROWLERS

Dayseeker with Silent Planet & Moxy the Band

$25-$30. Sunday, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Devil Train

ursday, Aug. 31, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

200 Stab Wounds with Fleshrot, Morbid Visionz, Ritual Fog, Open Kasket

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m.

GROWLERS

901 Fest: Devil Train, The Showboats, Star & Micey, Dead Soldiers

Saturday, Sept. 2, 1 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

901 Fest: North Mississippi Allstars with Sons of Mudboy

Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

901 Fest: Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience with Marcella Simien

Sunday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Aceyalone, Lukah

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Alexis Jade

ursday, Aug. 31, 7-10 p.m.

THE SLIDER INN

AmericanaFest Preview Party

Experience a taste of the Pure Memphis Happy Hour before the fest takes it on the road to Nashville! Free, $15/beer wristband.

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Artificer, Okapi Duo, and Panic Signals

$10. Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Carlos Ecos Band

Friday, Sept. 1, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Carrellee (WI), Frenchie

Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m. BAR DKDC

CBFW Album Release

Concert

ursday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m.

Memphis PowerPop Festival

(Orion Free Concert Series)

e Sonny Wilsons (featuring special guest Jon Auer) at 5:45 p.m. e Baseball Project at 7 p.m. Free.

Saturday, Sept. 2, 5:45 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Memphis PowerPop Festival

After-Party

With e Subteens, Your Academy, 40 Watt Moon. Saturday, Sept. 2, 9 p.m.

B-SIDE

Owlbear, The Heavy Pour

Saturday, Sept. 2, 10 p.m.

HI TONE

Ray Wylie Hubbard

ursday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Reba Russell Band

$15-$20. Friday, Sept. 1, 7:30-9 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Rick Camp and the Suburban Trunk Monkeys

Sunday, Sept. 3, 3:30 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Roxi Love

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Softspoken with After the Rain

Friday, Sept. 1, 6:30 p.m.

GROWLERS

D.R.I., Deathwish, The Gunpowder Plot, Anemoia

Friday, Sept. 1, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Duane Cleveland Band

Saturday, Sept. 2, 2 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Heelturn with Breaking/ Entering, Pressed, Shedding

Velvet

Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Joe Restivo 4

Saturday, Sept. 2, 11 a.m.; Sunday, Sept. 3, 11 a.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Kevin & Bethany Paige

Friday, Sept. 1, 10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Korroded, Trucido, Feral God

Monday, Sept. 4, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Labor Day Weekend Music

Fest

Featuring Sarah Smilez, Courtney Little, Sheba Potts Wright, OB Buchanan, Avail Hollywood, Omar Cunningham, and Lakeside. $40$60. Sunday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Lafayette’s All-Stars Band

Saturday, Sept. 2, 10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Landon Lane & the Ivories

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Larry & Joe

Saturday, Sept. 2, 7:30-9 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Los Rakas with Special Guests (Orion Free Concert Series)

Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.

OVERTON PARK SHELL

Louder Than Bombs with The Handsome Devilz

Sunday, Sept. 3, 9 p.m.

B-SIDE

Steve Hopper

Monday, Sept. 4, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

The Artist Series – Marcella

Simien

Hear select tracks from Simien’s latest album. Simien will sit down with Mark Jordan to talk about her life and music. She will also perform a live mini set. Free.

ursday, Aug. 31, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

The Sonny Wilsons – Album

Listening Event

Hear the new album by e Sonny Wilsons. Free. Friday, Sept. 1, 6:30-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

The Superfive

Sunday, Sept. 3, 8 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Turnstyles Europe Sendoff

Saturday, Sept. 2, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Whiskey South

Saturday, Sept. 2, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Wise Grinds Labor-Day

Blastbeat Beatdown

Celebrate this Labor Day with Texas extreme music dynamo Trucido. $10. Monday, Sept. 4, 7-11 p.m.

HI TONE

Amber McCain Duo

Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.-midnight.

SOUTHLAND CASINO RACING

Juke Yella

A juke joint experience with Memphis legend Yella P. $20. Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDE-A-WAY

Rodney Carrington

Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 p.m.

HORSESHOE CASINO TUNICA

PHOTO: RAKA PITUFO

CALENDAR of EVENTS: August 31Sept. 6

Send the date, time, place, cost, info, phone number, a brief description, and photos — two weeks in advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S ONLINE CALENDAR ONLY. FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENT LISTINGS, VISIT EVENTS. MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“Superlative Artistry of Japan: A Traveling Exhibition from the Japan Foundation”

This exhibition presents a cohesive collection of works and materials from various genres that each place great emphasis on highly skilled techniques and ingenious expressions and concepts. Through Sept. 10.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Tommy Kha: Eye Is Another”

This site-specific, photography-based installation by artist Tommy Kha explores themes of identity, (in)visibility, and sense of place. Through Oct. 29.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

FAMILY

Memphis Zoo Storytime

Connect Crew will be hosting a family storytime event at the Memphis Zoo. The zoo staff will also bring two or three animals out for a meet and greet. Tuesday, Sept. 5, 3-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO

FILM

Dinner & a Movie: Spirited Away

Experience this beautiful, thrilling film as you enjoy a special five-course vegetarian meal. $35. Thursday, Aug. 31, 5:45 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Naoki Honjo’s work at the “Superlative Artistry of Japan” exhibit at the Memphis Botanic Garden

MEMPHIS EVENTS

901 Day Celebration

Join the Memphis Redbirds, Mempho Presents, and Overton Park Shell for a free pregame concert and plaza party hosted in Memphis’ own backyard, AutoZone Park. Friday, Sept. 1, 4 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

901 Day Community Mural

Come together to paint a mural created by graphic designer Francisco Flores, dedicated to our city. All ages welcome; materials will be provided. Friday, Sept. 1, 3-5 p.m.

1160 UNION AVENUE

901 Day in the Ravine

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is celebrating 901 Day in the Ravine. Board to Beers will have their gaming truck parked in the Ravine, and Memphis Roller Derby will be holding demonstrations. Live music by The Turnstyles, Solar Powered Love, and River City Tanlines. Friday, Sept. 1, 4-10 p.m.

THE RAVINE

901 Day Market

There will be a variety of businesses from which to purchase jewelry, body oils, home decor, apparel, skin care, treats, and more. Feast & Graze will have tasty $9.01 lunch specials. Friday, Sept. 1, noon-6 p.m.

FEAST & GRAZE

901 Day Market in Overton Square

Head over to Overton Square for 901 Day with live performances by 901 band Raneem and Better in Color. Plus, shop local artisans at the market. Friday, Sept. 1, 6-9 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

First Friday on Broad - 901 Day

Celebrate our city on 901 Day in one of your favorite neighborhoods! Stop by participating shops to check out what specials they’re offering. Friday, Sept. 1, 5-8 p.m.

BROAD AVENUE ARTS DISTRICT

PERFORMING ARTS

901 Poetry Open Mic

Hosted by Sumo the Artist and francis, the Truman with J.Mitch on keys. Monday, Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m.

HI TONE

Asian Studies at Rhodes College presents Dancing the Stories of Chinese in the Americas by H.T. Chen & Dancers from New York City

Crossword

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0108

H.T. Chen & Dancers from New York City are presenting a modern dance series with choreography based on Chinese-American heritage. Wednesday, Sept. 6, 6-8 p.m.

MCCOY THEATRE AT RHODES COLLEGE

“Friends After Dark” with Iris LeFluer

Featuring Aubrey Ombre, King Playtonic, Danika D’Voe, JR Stone, and Rawki Matrix. Thursday, Aug. 31, 10 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Miss Ima’s Moon Dust Saloon: Country Revue

Featuring Imagene Azengraber, Fantasia Bordeaux, Breeze Jones, Luna Luella, Zoloft, and King Playtonic. Friday, Sept. 1, 10 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Swing Dance

Beginning swing dance lesson/dance. No partner needed. $5. Friday, Sept. 1, 7-9:30 p.m.

RUMBA ROOM

“The Starlight Cabaret” with Wednesday Moss Featuring Stephanie Embark, Brenda Newport, Keleigh Klarke, Luna Luella, Aubrey Ombre, Marionna Cross. Saturday, Sept. 2, 10 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

Writers Session at the Lamp

A night of poetry and music. Featuring music by Eli Williams and Oakwalker. Poetry by Moth Moth Moth, Mars McKay, Eli Ott, Valerie Nova, and Mar Newell. 21+.

$10. Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 p.m.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

SPORTS

901 Wrestling LIVE

The 2023 WildCard Rumble Winner, D.J. Fury, will face 901 Wrestling Champion, “King of Memphis” Hunter Havoc, for the title! Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Memphis Redbirds vs. Gwinnett Stripers

Thursday, Aug. 31, 6:45 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 1, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 2, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 3, 2:05 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Climate change is dramatically altering the Earth. People born today will experience three times as many floods and droughts as someone born in 1960, as well as seven times more heat waves. In urgent efforts to find a cure, scientists are generating outlandish proposals: planting mechanical trees, creating undersea walls to protect melting glaciers from warm ocean water, dimming the sun with airborne calcium carbonate, and covering Arctic ice with a layer of glass. In this spirit, I encourage you to incite unruly and even unorthodox brainstorms to solve your personal dilemmas. Be wildly inventive and creative.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “When love is not madness, it is not love,” wrote Spanish author Pedro Calderon de la Barca. In my opinion, that’s naive, melodramatic nonsense! I will forgive him for his ignorance, since he worked as a soldier and celibate priest in the 17th century. The truth is that yes, love should have a touch of madness. But when it has more than a touch, it’s usually a fake kind of love, rooted in misunderstanding, immaturity, selfishness, and lack of emotional intelligence. In accordance with astrological factors, I assign you Tauruses to be dynamic practitioners of genuine togetherness in the coming months — with hints of madness and wildness, yes, but mostly big helpings of mutual respect, smart compassion, tender care, and a knack for dealing maturely with disagreements.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini author Iain S. Thomas writes, “There are two things everyone has. One is The Great Sadness and the other is How Weird I Really Am. But only some of us are brave enough to talk about them.” The coming weeks will be a favorable time to ripen your relationship with these two things, Gemini. You will have the extra gravitas necessary to understand how vital they are to your full humanity. You can also express and discuss them in meaningful ways with the people you trust.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): A selffulfilling prophecy happens when the expectations we embrace actually come to pass. We cling so devotedly to a belief about what will occur that we help generate its literal manifestation. This can be unfortunate if the anticipated outcome isn’t good for us. But it can be fortunate if the future we visualize upgrades our wellbeing. I invite you to ruminate on the negative and positive projections you’re now harboring. Then shed the former and reinforce the latter.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The holy book of the Zoroastrian religion describes a mythical mountain, Hara Berezaiti. It’s the geographic center of the universe. The sun hides behind it at night. Stars and

Rob Brezsny

planets revolve around it. All the world’s waters originate at its peak. Hara Berezaiti is so luminous and holy that no darkness can survive there, nor can the false gods abide. I would love for you to have your own version of Hara Berezaiti, Leo: a shining source of beauty and strength in your inner landscape. I invite you to use your imagination to create this sanctuary within you. Picture yourself having exciting, healing adventures there. Give it a name you love. Call on its invigorating presence when you need a sacred boost.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libra poet T.S. Eliot wrote the iconic narrative poem “The Wasteland.” One part of the story takes place in a bar near closing time. Several times, the bartender calls out, “Hurry up, please — it’s time.” He wants the customers to finish their drinks and leave for the night. Now imagine I’m that bartender standing near you. I’m telling you, “Hurry up, please — it’s time.” What I mean is that you are in the climactic phase of your astrological cycle. You need to finish this chapter of your life story so you can move on to the next one. “Hurry up, please — it’s time” means you have a sacred duty to resolve, as best you can, every lingering confusion and mystery.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Addressing a lover, Scorpio poet Margaret Atwood says, “I would like to walk with you through that lucent wavering forest of bluegreen leaves with its watery sun & three moons, towards the cave where you must descend, towards your worst fear.” That is a bold declaration. Have you ever summoned such a deep devotion for a loved one? You will have more power and skill than usual to do that in the coming months. Whether you want to or not is a different question. But yes, you will be connected to dynamic magic that will make you a brave and valuable ally.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian theologian N.T. Wright writes, “The great challenge to selfknowledge is blind attachment to our virtues. It is hard to criticize what we think are our virtues. Although the spirit languishes without ideals, idealism can be the greatest danger.” In my view, that statement formulates a central Sagittarian challenge. On the one hand, you need to cultivate high ideals if you want to be exquisitely yourself. On the other hand, you must ensure your high ideals don’t become weapons you use to manipulate and harass others. Author Howard Bloom adds more. “Watch out for the dark side of your own idealism and of your moral sense,” he writes. “Both come from our arsenal of natural instincts. And both easily degenerate into an excuse for attacks on others.” Now is a good time for you to ponder these issues.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Virgo journalist Anthony Loyd has spent a lot of time in war zones, so it’s no surprise he has bleak views about human nature. He makes the following assertion: “We think we have freedom of choice, but really most of our actions are puny meanderings in the prison yard built by history and early experience.” I agree that our conditioning and routines prevent us from being fully liberated. But most of us have some capacity for responding to the raw truth of the moment and are not utterly bound by the habits of the past. At our worst, we have 20-percent access to freedom of choice. At our best, we have 70-percent. I believe you will be near the 70-percent levels in the coming weeks, dear Virgo.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Capricorn playwright and novelist Rose Franken said, “Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly.” That’s interesting because many traditional astrologers say that Capricorns are the least likely zodiac sign to be silly. Speaking from personal experience, though, I have known members of your tribe to be goofy, nutty, and silly when they feel comfortably in love. An old Capricorn girlfriend of mine delighted in playing and having wicked good fun. Wherever you rank in the annals of wacky Capricorns, I hope you will consider expressing these qualities in the coming weeks. Romance and intimacy will thrive if you do.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): As I work on writing new books, I often draw on inspirations that flow through me as I take long hikes. The vigorous exercise shakes loose visions and ideas that are not accessible as I sit in front of my computer. Aquarian novelist Charles Dickens was an adherent of this approach. At night, he liked to walk around London for miles, marveling at the story ideas that welled up in him. I recommend our strategy to you in the coming weeks, Aquarius. As you move your body, key revelations and enriching emotions will well up in you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The coming months will be an excellent time to build, discover, and use metaphorical bridges. To get in the mood, brainstorm about every type of bridge you might need. How about a connecting link between your past and future? How about a nexus between a task you must do and a task you love to do? And maybe a conduit between two groups of allies that would then serve you even better than they already do? Your homework is to fantasize about three more exciting junctions, combinations, or couplings.

For help, call the Tennessee REDLINE

1-800-889-9789

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

Oops!

The Price Is Right contestant Henry Choi went home with more than a trip to Hawaii on the episode that aired on June 16, the Los Angeles Times reported. Choi threw his arms up and pumped his fists as he was called onstage, then leaped into the air and pounded his chest. Afterward, he could be seen holding his right arm and stretching it out. Later in the show, host Drew Carey explained that Choi had dislocated his shoulder, and Choi’s wife, Alice, was allowed to spin the wheel for him during the Showcase Showdown. When he won, he meekly lifted his uninjured left arm, but Alice jumped up and waved her arms. “Don’t hurt yourself,” warned Carey.

[Los Angeles Times, 6/20/2023]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

The infamous “Lake Tahoe Foot Fondler” couldn’t outrun authorities forever, the New York Post reported. On Aug. 1, Mark Anthony Gonzales, 26, was arrested in Atwater, California, and charged with burglary and battery after two early July incidents at the Club Wyndham South Shore hotel in Nevada. According to police, Gonzales “entered two … condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors. Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females” in two different units. Gonzales fled when his victims woke up and confronted him. He is also suspected of trespassing and stealing women’s shoes for sexual pleasure. He was being held for extradition back to Nevada.

[NY Post, 8/2/2023]

Unclear on the Concept

Pinellas County (Florida) deputies are pleading with the public to stop calling them about manatees in canals and shorelines along the Gulf Coast, Fox13TV reported on Aug. 1. People think the manatees are in distress because they’re swimming in herds and thrashing about, but officials stress that the sea cows are only mating. “IF YOU SEE THIS … DON’T CALL US,” the sheriff’s office warned via Facebook post. “We can assure you they are more than fine. Manatees actually mate in herds like these and often they are near the shore. … There’s no need to call, they are a-okay!” [Fox13, 8/1/2023]

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

In a stunning stroke of genius, the Alpha and Omega Funeral Home in Ahuachapan, El Salvador, started offering Barbie-

themed coffins last year, the New York Post reported. With the movie’s summer success, undertaker Isaac Villegas said they’ve been swamped with orders and have sold out of the hot pink caskets. “We wanted to promote the pink coffin as it has become a trend,” Villegas said. “Of the 40 people who inquired about it, we have already closed a contract with at least 10 new clients.” Similarly, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, funeral home Funeraria Olivares is offering a “Barbie House” coffin, “so you can rest like a Barbie.” One manufacturer gushed about their product: “This coffin, with its striking bright pink color, represents the spark and energy of those unforgettable moments they lived.” One El Salvadoran commenter conceded, “Eternal rest doesn’t look so bad anymore.”

[NY Post, 8/1/2023]

Nowhere To Go but Up

Early on July 28, Thornton, Colorado, police were called out about a stolen car, KKTV reported. As the officers gathered information, the suspect, 36-year-old Julian Fernandez, returned to the scene, but “quickly ran on foot from the area and out of sight,” police said. While they watched, the man jumped over a security fence and started climbing a 320-foot radio tower. He eventually reached the top, where he stayed for 12 hours as crisis negotiators tried to reason with him. In the end, firefighters climbed the tower and brought Fernandez down. [KKTV, 7/30/2023]

Unconventional Weaponry

A Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the scene of a gruesome assault on Aug. 1, Fox News reported. Police arriving at the scene found a man with a flagpole — American flag still attached — through his head. They said it had entered under his jaw and exited near his right temple. Witnesses reported that the suspect, Clinton Collins, allegedly charged the victim and ran the pole through his head, saying, “That’s what he gets. He deserved it.” Collins was taken into custody immediately. Emergency responders had to cut part of the flagpole away in order to fit the victim in the ambulance. He survived but may lose an eye, police said.

[Fox News, 8/3/2023]

© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

All About Vino

It’s just a happy coincidence Norbert Mede’s last name is similar to “mead,” the fermented honey-and-water drink favored by kings and noblemen back in the day.

Mead is pretty close to another drink, except that one is made from fermented grapes. And that’s a drink Mede, 57, knows a thing or two about.

Founder of the Memphis Wine Society, Mede says the organization “was formed, essentially, out of a perceived need by me to ll a gap in the wine culture in the greater Memphis area.”

Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area, Mede has the right credentials. “I’ve been in the hotel and restaurant business all my life. rough that, around wine. Developing wine lists. irty years, basically, in resort and restaurant management. I was a chef for eight years in Washington state. And then I bought my own hotel, a small boutique restaurant, e Jamestown Hotel and Restaurant.”

Memphis doesn’t have “a strong wine culture,” Mede says. “ ere are people who love wine. I meet them every day.” But he wants to “elevate the experience.”

Memphis Wine Society will be membership-based, and members will “have access to our wine concierge service.” is will help people with their “wine journey” in various ways, including recommending wines to serve with their events.

e organization will hold “monthly social events, pop-ups,” where it will “tie in some wine knowledge or education with the venue.”

On September 7th, Mede will host a Memphis Wine Society event, First Press, at the Jay Etkin Gallery. “First Press equates to the rst press of the grapes. And we’re getting into the harvest season around the world.”

Mede also aims for Memphis Wine Society to host wine dinners, featuring out-of-town and local chefs. And he wants members of the wine industry to conduct local tastings.

“To bring in their product and expertise.”

As for future plans, Mede says, “Eventually, the Memphis Wine Society wants its own building and location to create a more interactive social club.”

He’d like to see an “urban winery” one day, where “we import grapes from various areas and create our own winery in Memphis.” In addition to being a tourist attraction, it would provide education about making wine. “Which brings it to another future goal,” he says, “and that’s to create a Memphis Wine Academy.”

In 2020, Mede took a job as vice president of hospitality for Wilson, Arkansas. “An Arkansas destination town is what they wanted to build.

“I made Memphis my home while I transitioned.” And he became a fan. “Actually, I love the fact that Memphis isn’t grown up. You go to Nashville, the population has lost its roots, in a sense.”

Memphis Wine Society was born a er Mede decided wine was his passion, and he wanted to do something with it in Memphis. “I have a unique ability to ll in this region because I have the desire, one. And I have some experience.”

Mede doesn’t claim to be “the biggest wine expert,” but he feels he can combine his dining, business, and hospitality experience to “bring wine education to a new level” here.

e academy would “provide wine education resources and business education, around the wine business. But also the history of winemaking chemistry.”

People would be able to “have success making their own micro batches of wine.”

Memphis is now home, Mede says.

“I’m at a point in my life where I’m getting tired of moving. I was looking for my swan song. e thing I want to leave as my legacy. I don’t have any children. [So] leave a project behind that I could look back on my career and say, ‘ is is the culmination, the fruit of all my e orts.’

“I decided this is my forever home. I think it’s got tremendous potential. Memphis has a lot of great stu going on.”

And, he says, “I get to be a part of it.” Visit memphiswinesociety.com for more information.

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE

Norbert Mede enjoys a glass of Antonini Super Tuscan from Italy at e Capital Grille.

Memphis Wine Society aims to expand wine culture in Memphis.

Gran Turismo

Hollywood has found itself on a bit of a hot streak in terms of video-game-tolm adaptations. e Last of Us’ zombie apocalypse tale garnered several Emmy nominations for HBO, while e Super Mario Bros. Movie continued to smash those gold question mark blocks to the tune of almost $1.4 billion at the worldwide box o ce. With those recent successes in mind, executives must have been salivating at the prospect of transforming more recognizable IPs into oodles of gold coins. If you regularly watch television or scroll through social media, it’s more than likely that a ceaseless barrage of Gran Turismo ads has bombarded your screen in recent weeks. But that brand isn’t very recognizable outside the gamer-sphere, which begs the question: Who was this movie for, exactly?

Gran Turismo is a racing simulator video game series that’s been a staple for car enthusiasts since its rst installment came out in 1998. e brainchild of Kazunori Yamauchi, the Playstation series is renowned for cutting-edge graphics, faithful digital renderings of a large number of o cially licensed vehicles, and an adherence to incredibly accurate driving physics.

I’ve never booted up one of the Turismo games (I prefer my races with a few more bananas and blue shells), but the surging popularity of F1 makes it the perfect time to cash in. And as fortune had it, there was a ready-made underdog story thanks to Jann Mardenborough, who utilized his childhood love for the Gran Turismo game series to become a bona de professional formula racer. But despite the backing of devoted car fanatics and the narrative trappings of a classic sports biopic, Gran Turismo, the lm, more

closely resembles two siblings ghting over the only Playstation controller.

Mardenborough’s real-life story is truly quite impressive. Having grown up playing Gran Turismo, he signed up for the GT Academy competition — a joint e ort by Sony and Nissan to let gamers compete for the chance to become an actual motorsport driver — during a gap year in college. Mardenborough became the youngest participant to win the competition and has since carved out a respectable racing career.

e movie follows a heavily ctionalized account of Mardenborough’s (Archie Madekwe) rise as he transitions from gamer to driver. But under Neill Blomkamp’s direction, the movie is constantly at war with itself. Important milestones in Mardenborough’s life are chopped up and rearranged to formulate your standard sports drama narrative, and much of the story feels as if it’s drawing from a premade sports checklist. An underdog protagonist, a gru mentor, and bitter rivals tick all the boxes, even if most of the characters end up as one-dimensional standins along Mardenborough’s journey. Balance that hollowness with the movie’s requirement to double as a glori ed commercial for the eponymous simulation series, and there are just too many competing interests for this to be a coherent package.

Despite the script’s scattered approach, the cast does the best they can with the limited chances they’re given. e lm centers almost exclusively around Mardenborough, but he spends plenty of time working with his coach

Jack Salter (David Harbour), a former racer who never made it to the top. Salter is the archetypal surly mentor, but Harbour balances his tough love approach with an inherent warmth. Orlando Bloom makes a return to movie screens as Danny Moore, a Nissan marketing executive and business-minded foil to Salter as part of Mardenborough’s support team. While there’s none of the stylish charisma of, say, a Legolas or a Will Turner, Bloom props up Moore with a smarmy condence be tting someone crazy enough to pitch the idea of GT Academy.

In another lm, Moore might be set up as an antagonist, but that duty here falls to Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski), a hot-headed racer representative of the old-money European motorsport elite, and a character who has no other characteristics or personality traits beyond that. Djimon Hounsou and Geri Halliwell-Horner (Ginger Spice!) are trotted out for the emotional beats as Mardenborough’s parents, but like the rest of the supporting cast, they don’t have too much to do, making them feel peripheral. e rst hour or so, centered almost completely on “the brand,” was almost

excruciating. I turned to my le to see that my father had dozed o , missing out on a Moore monologue that was a not-so-subtle sales pitch for the game series. Moore even exclaims “this whole thing is a marketing extravaganza” in one early scene, lest we forget what the heck is going on here. But once the movie moves past the dull table-setting, the second half reveals a competent racing lm that hits most of the right beats and provides plenty of vehicle glamor shots.

Frustratingly, the frequent cuts and di erent camera angles during races remove viewers from the visceral thrill of the competition, making it seem more like a procession than the dangerous and exciting showdown it should be. But a couple shots that settle back into the driver’s seat o er a candid glimpse at the physical toll these races take on their drivers. It’s worth reiterating that Mardenborough’s personal story is quite impressive, but the movie’s competing interests don’t let it shine as it should. Despite the late surge, Gran Turismo loses too much ground at the start, so there’s no chance of a podium nish for this ick.

Featuring artists and creatives from across the globe. Tickets and information visit: creativeworks.co

Come and see how creative works. Introducing the 9th Annual Creative Works Conference, September 28 – 30 in Memphis...

FILM By Samuel X. Cicci

e video-game-inspired underdog tale sputters to the nish line.

Gran Turismo stars Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough and David Harbour as Jack Salter.

NOW PLAYING By Chris McCoy

Bottoms

Director Emma Seligman and actor Rachel Sennott, the team behind the deliciously awkward 2020 comedy Shiva Baby, join forces again for Bottoms Sennott stars as a shy high school lesbian virgin who wants to hook up with a cheerleader before she graduates, so naturally, she starts a fight club. I can’t tell you what happens next because I know the first rule of Fight Club. But I can tell you that former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch makes his feature film debut as “Mr. G.”

The Equalizer 3

Former police detective and ultraviolence specialist Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is tired of the hard life of a vigilante, so he decides to retire to the

tranquil countryside of Southern Italy. What could possibly disturb his peace? Oh yeah, the freakin’ Mafia. McCall probably should have done a little more research, but at least we get to see Denzel kick ass again. Training Day director Antoine Fuqua helms.

The Good Mother Hilary Swank is Marissa Bennings, a journalist whose son dies under mysterious circumstances. She dives into the seedy underworld of Albany, New York, with the help of her son’s pregnant girlfriend Paige (Olivia Cooke), to find out who was responsible for his death. First Southern Italy, now Albany? Is anywhere safe from criminals who can only be caught by a renegade vigilante?

901-575-9400

classifieds@memphisflyer.com

LEGAL NOTICES

AUCTION NOTICE

Steve’s Tire Auto, 4811 Poplar, Memphis Tn 38117, 901-680-1998.

Vehicles auctioned @ 12pm on 09-08-2023.

1993 Chevrolet 1500

VIN # 2gcec19c4p1246841

2010 Mitsubishi Galant

VIN # 4a32b3ff7ae012194

1997 Dodge Ram VIN # 1b6mc36d3vj587921

EMPLOYMENT

SENIOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER STORAGEINFRASTRUCTURE

needed at AutoZone in Memphis, Tennessee. Must have bachelor’s in Computer Science or related and 8 years of storage technology experience, including: design, implement, & support enterprise storage HPE 3par, and EMC storage products; SAN storage fabric management including management of zones, alias, FC switches and directors; storage provisioning to Unix, Linux, and Windows for physical &

virtual platforms; develop & execute plans for storage consolidations & migrations Email resumes to taresume@autozone.com. EOE

SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOLS needs Middle School Math Teachers in Memphis, TN. Must have a bach in math or any field & be eligible for a Tennessee teaching license with a middle school math endorsement.

Water Is Life — For the Privileged

Do we value life or do we value pro t?

As the heat wave intensi es across the country, as workers exposed to the heat collapse on the job in increasing numbers — some of them die — Governor Greg Abbott of Texas recently signed a law nullifying local ordinances in the state that require 10-minute heat and water breaks for those who work in the sun.

Water is life! Yeah, so what, says Abbott and those who support this law. Critics call it the Death Star Law. Texas Representative Greg Casar, who recently staged a nine-hour thirst strike on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in protest of such laws — such indi erence to the health and lives of so many American workers — said that Abbott, along with other GOP governors like Ron DeSantis, “are participating in the cruelty Olympics, trying to outdo each other.”

ese are deeply troubling times, and no doubt there are matters of greater peril for humanity than the right of construction and other workers to drink water on the job, but when I began reading about this and related issues, something began tearing at my insides. Water is life! I could barely imagine not having access to it. As e Texas Observer noted:

“Climate scientists have projected that Texas summers will get increasingly hot if climate change continues, exacerbating the public health risk. For every heat-related workplace death, dozens more workers fall ill. Since 2011, the state has seen at least 42 heat-related deaths on the job, and at least 4,030 incidents of heat-related illness, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

To think about this beyond the statistics, consider the death of Roendy Granillo, age 25, a Texas construction worker who began feeling ill at work. He was ignored, told to keep working, and eventually collapsed on the job. He died at the hospital, where his body temperature was 110 degrees.

Somehow this is all connected. e planet is heating up. We just got through the hottest July in recorded history, and the reaction of (primarily) Republican politicians has been to push back against humane legal intervention, meant to protect workers and others most vulnerable to the heat wave. What do we value? Do we value life or do we value pro t? If the latter is true, we’re doomed. We will ignore, not address, the looming climate disaster and other deep dangers, such as nuclear war.

Ignoring these looming disasters is a crime against humanity — whatever that means. e United Nations’ O ce of Genocide Protection addresses that very question, noting that many scholars trace the root of the concept to the late 18th century, in reference to slavery and the slave trade, as well as the atrocities of European colonialism in Africa and elsewhere.

Slavery! Somehow that seems to t into the issue. e horror of slavery — the dehumanization of millions of people — is more than just numbers. It boils down to cruelty against individuals. Denying a worker a water break, especially as the days get mercilessly hotter, sounds like some le over cruelty from the slave era: a crime against humanity, especially when you factor in the racism.

As e Guardian points out, six out of every 10 construction workers in Texas are Latino — and Abbott’s law will hurt Black and Latino communities the most, which are already disproportionately a ected by the intensifying heat.

“In the midst of a record-setting heat wave, I could not think of a worse time for this governor or any elected o cial, who has any, any kind of compassion, to do this,” said civil rights organizer David Cruz, quoted by e Guardian. “ is administration is incrementally trying to move us backwards into a dark time in this nation. When plantation owners and agrarian mentalities prevailed.”

Water is life! Yeah, so what?

Recently, writing about the Texas border wall, I noted this: “A state trooper said he was under orders not to give migrants any water.”

And then the New York Times, writing about life in Latino border communities, known as colonias, talked about the continual water shuto s the residents are enduring, and then, when the water comes back on, they are warned to boil it before using it. “You could not trust the water when we needed it the most, if we had it at all,” one resident said, adding: “I’m afraid to take a shower or even splash water on my face. We were told not to let water get into our eyes.”

And as her father pointed out: “You drive around the block, and you see the car washes using all of this water, but there is no water for a mother and her two children? How is that possible? It’s like the colonias are part of a di erent country.”

As I write these words, I take a gulp of water. I take it for granted — and I’m not writing in the hot sun. I’m cool and comfortable and the water I drink is simply refreshing. I hardly think about it as a right, or the source of life and health. But it is.

Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound

Robert

PHOTO: NDOELJINDOEL | DREAMSTIME.COM Many take water for granted.