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JUDAH FRIEDLANDER THE WORLD CHAMPION WANTS TO SHARE HIS DRAWINGS NEWS

ADDICTED TO DRUG MONEY

MEET YOUR BILL POPPIN’ STATE REPRESENTATIVES

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Bill Blumenreich Presents

BILL BLUMENREICH PRESENTS

DES BISHOP

VOL 17 + ISSUE 42

OCTOBER 21, 2015 - OCTOBER 28, 2015 EDITORIAL

DEAR READER

EDITOR + PUBLISHER Jeff lawrence

Over the past few weeks, the Governor of this here fine Commonwealth, Mr. Charlie Baker, has woken up to the fact that we have an opioid crisis on our hands. While special commissions have been set up and leaders from literally dozens of communities across the state have signed on to support his recently announced bill to limit practitioners from prescribing more than a 72 hour supply of opioids, it’s way too little and far too late. Almost 1,500 people died last year in Massachusetts as a direct result of opioid use and overdose. That’s a huge jump from previous years, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down. This is not a new problem however, and simply restricting access during the first 72 hours would appear to offer nothing more than piss on a forest fire. The problem is much deeper than limited access.

In this week’s issue, Mike Crawford, Chris Faraone, and Emily Hopkins speak the truth and expose the pitfalls of our current policies, and in some cases explore why the solution may ultimately be found inside the medical marijuana dispensaries that are slowly—and finally—opening across the state.

NEWS + FEATURES EDITOR Chris Faraone ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR Nina Corcoran ASSOCIATE FILM EDITOR Jake Mulligan ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR Christopher Ehlers COPY EDITOR Mitchell Dewar CONTRIBUTORS Nate Boroyan, Renan Fontes, Bill Hayduke, Emily Hopkins, Micaela Kimball, Dave Wedge INTERN Oliver Bok, Mary Kate McGrath

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ON THE COVER

Judah Friedlander will be swinging by town to talk about his new book of drawings.

Check out what he and fellow comedian-witha-book Josh Gondelman have to say on page 10.

Photo by Tyler Nevitt.

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NEWS US LET’S TALK ABOUT CHECKS NEWS TO US

Meet the Massachusetts politicians who take money from the Oxy lobby

BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1 Last week, after months of hard examination of the Commonwealth’s opioid impasse, Charlie Baker announced plans to stem the growing statewide harddrug epidemic. Among the loftier notes in his pitch, rolled out at a press conference on Thursday, the governor is aiming to limit medical professionals from prescribing opiates for more than three days to new patients and is calling for doctors and clinicians to be able to commit an addict for 72 hours without involving the courts.

“This has got to stop,” Baker told reporters, lamenting the increasing death toll. His plan, according to a press release, “calls for a comprehensive approach,” and marks a “critical step toward creating more effective treatment pathways and better controlling opioid prescribing practices for first-time patients.” Based on recommendations made by the Governor’s Opioid Working Group, Baker’s proposal is one of the toughest attempts yet—especially by an elected executive—to choke the flow of junk into the Commonwealth.

But as the new administration slows the bleeding, a cause to which the governor committed and gave significant lip service throughout his campaign, it’s foolish to ignore the legislative negligence that helped foster the current predicament. With more than 1,000 opioid deaths in 2014—the most in any year since the state started counting—and considering the decade of discovery and warning signs about the danger of painkillers, it’s naive—circling tragic—to think Massachusetts can advance without reconciling for its complicity in coddling the crisis.

Though Baker’s legislation targets and was promptly throttled by professionals who write prescriptions, it’s rare for him or any other official to finger the manufacturing sources of drugs like OxyContin—even as the governor cites research showing that four out of every five heroin addicts graduated from pain meds.

Lawmakers aren’t alone in their silence; everyone from 4

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lefty university types to your disgruntled conservative uncle agrees that American health care is compromised by campaign contributions, but it’s unusual for the pundits and reporters who they follow to lambaste lobbyists or public servants who serve in cahoots with corporations that make billions pushing poison.

The conversation about opiate addiction, in the Commonwealth or any place else, should not be an abstraction; just like there are actual dead teenagers and grieving families on one side of the equation, on the other side, there are real-life politicians who court contributions from a small cabal of lobbyists who represent the likes of Purdue Pharma, the company that brought us OxyContin.

It’s a mule balloon to swallow in light of the devastation from which pharma bigs have profited, but even with extensive evidence of past criminal actions committed by some of these enterprises, many leading Massachusetts politicians have accepted and continue to take money from executives and contractors at pill mills.

In 2007, after three Purdue Pharma honchos pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that they misbranded OxyContin, the company settled with attorneys general in 26 states and the District of Columbia who accused the drug maker of encouraging quacks to prescribe Oxy for unapproved uses and of lying about the highly addictive nature of the painkiller. Of the $19.5 million multistate settlement, the Commonwealth’s share was less than $850,000, a minor gesture considering that Mass now spends more than $100 million a year treating addiction.

Not that pharmaceutical behemoths aren’t pumping gobs of money into the Bay State economy. From 2005 to this year, Purdue Pharma alone spent more than $700,000 hiring four outfits to push its agenda on Beacon Hill. As coincidence would have it, many of the individuals from these same firms have helped fund campaigns for representatives who legislate the retail and prescription drug markets. Take, for example, lobbyist Mary Kaysen,

who has given thousands to candidates, including $650 to House Speaker Robert DeLeo. In addition to Purdue Pharma, Kaysen has also managed government affairs for companies including Takeda and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the latter of which manufactures Oxy’s sleazy little sister Percocet.

If these seem like nominal amounts of money, consider the totality of gifts made by an operation like Kearney, Donovan & McGee, PC, which serves as a messenger and intermediary between pols and businesses. From 2005 to 2012, during which time Purdue Pharma paid the firm several hundred thousand dollars to flank the company on “policy matters relating to pharmaceutical manufacturing and health care, including sales [and] marketing,” the firm’s four lobbyists combined kicked more than a quarter of a million dollars total into the coffers of House Majority Leader Ronald Mariano, former Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker DeLeo, and other power players. The firm’s lobbyist Paul Donovan, for one, spread around more than $70,000 in the time his company propped Purdue Pharma, including $2,400 to former Governor Deval Patrick and another $2,300 to Patrick’s Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray.

Of course, the aforementioned contributions aren’t merely in the name of advocating for Big Pharma.

Oftentimes, lobbyists who shill for drug makers on “legislation related to controlled substances” also represent other interests. Take Murphy Donoghue Partners, which lobbies for Pfizer as well as for McDonald’s, the latter of which uses the Beacon Street firm to advocate for Big Burger on the issues of “minimum wage, paid sick leave, tax, and environment.”

In the case of Kearney, Donovan & McGee, in 2005—a year in which they were paid $64,000 by Purdue Pharma—the LET’S TALK ABOUT CHECKS continued on pg. 6

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LET’S TALK ABOUT CHECKS continued from pg. 4 Court Street firm also represented the Responsible Mortgage Lenders Coalition.

Despite its name, said coalition was comprised of subprime lenders, including Countrywide Home Loans, some of which ensuingly helped fuel an epic national recession.

Governor Baker has opiate lobby pals too. Office of Campaign and Political Finance records show that his campaigns have also been assisted by the likes of Kaysen. Still, even with his background in the healthcare industry and his capitalist pedigree, it’s seemingly impossible for Baker to fumble and accelerate the opiate trend like his predecessors in the Patrick administration.

From his rhetoric so far, it appears that the current governor sees through the ruse of toothless stopgaps like a Senate bill that passed on Beacon Hill last year, which established yet another state commission to “review and make recommendations regarding evidence-based treatment programs.”

It’s difficult to know whether the actions of some politicians, or their relationships with certain lobbyists, have actually facilitated overdoses. What’s clear, however, is the result of inaction and of plans that stop short of offending opiate suppliers or denting their profits. In politics, it is considered unethical to accept money from a person in direct exchange for political favors. At the same time, there’s no regulation or rule against filling your trough with pharmaceutical honey and sitting quietly or stalling while addicts die every day.

Like DeLeo told the Boston Herald last week, even after 10 years of commissions and studies and lessons and testimonies, the components of a winning recovery plan remain “open to debate.” Telling the tabloid that he hadn’t yet arranged a timetable for considering the Baker bill, the speaker stated a position sure to satisfy Purdue Pharma and other champions of the opioid status quo: “We ought to take our time and try to get it right.”

BLUNT TRUTH

YES, WE CANN

How Baker can reduce opiate abuse in three easy steps

BY MIKE CANN @MIKECANNBOSTON Last week, many of us in the local marijuana reform community were delighted and somewhat astonished to see that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is at long last saying what many of us have been advocating for and reporting on for years. When questioned by a Boston Herald reporter about the role that medical marijuana might play in helping to curb the state’s opiate problem, Baker spoke the truth.

“There is no question that, for certain people, whether you are talking about seizures or ulcers or pain, or cancer, medical marijuana has turned out to be a significantly improved solution for them compared to some of the more traditional solutions like opioids.”

The governor continued: “If there are people out there who would prefer an alternative to an opioid, I think that’s something people should take pretty seriously.”

Also encouraging were statements from a member of Governor Baker’s opioid task force who told the Herald, “We don’t have people jumping from marijuana to heroin. The prescription opioids are a direct link, a precursor to heroin. There’s no denying that.”

In light of these statements, it’s time for the new administration to go beyond their mere acknowledgement of science, and to actually remove the roadblocks that currently deny many legal marijuana patients from gaining access to their medicine. To that end, here are three simple steps through which Baker might better facilitate access for cannabis patients while diminishing the harm and use of opiates: 1. Demand that the Department of Public Health lift the 1:1 caregiver-to-patient ratio to 10:2. This would immediately increase options for patients and lower the high cost of legal medicine, the latter of which keeps many patients shopping on the black market. This unfair 1:1 regulation was put in place by the state, and was not part of the initiative passed in 2012, nor is it in line with the the spirit of the law. And the current ratio is hurting patients too. The governor should ask for a change, because clearly, having people purchase cannabis on corners was not what anyone intended.

2. Back the Mass Patient Advocacy Alliance bill that would bring patient employment, housing, and parental protections in addition to expanding the caregiver-to-patient ratio from 1:1 to 10:2.

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3. Endorse and campaign for both marijuana legalization initiatives, or at least for one of them, and if and when they pass, tell those dirty Democrats to leave alone the good intentions of the new law.

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MEDIA FARM

AS THE GLOBE BURNS

Newspaper cut off from community makes deeper cuts

BY MEDIA FARM @MEDIAFARM The newspaper industry is immeasurably fucked. Nothing new to report on that front. But as one of the few Boston media watchdogs that bites, we’d be negligent in our reportorial duties if we entirely ignored the most recent guillotine parade at the Boston Globe. From an October 15 memo sent by Globe Editor Brian McGrory to staffers (via Boston Magazine): In all, we’re parting ways with nearly two dozen part- and full-time staffers, some relatively new, some who’ve been here a long time. Another 17 newsroom members accepted the recent buyout and have left already or are planning to leave in the coming weeks.

You can’t blame McGrory alone for the slumping Globe. From its paywall to the role of its editorial page as a sounding pad for moneyed neoliberal notions about charter schools and innovation, the grey lady ain’t speakin’ the language of real people, and in order to grow actual readership in such trying times for newspapers, that’s exactly what you gotta do.

Lastly, and we’ll keep this brief, McGrory also noted “there were no good choices to be made [in last week’s round of layoffs]—only necessary ones.” He may be right in terms of trimming extra fat, but in 2015, any city outlet that increasingly serves and is produced by suburbanites with compromised and myopic agendas will continue to flounder—even with a lighter payroll.

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It seems like the bad news never ceases at the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families. Revelations of death, neglect, and the abuse of children under the supposed care of government bureaucracy permeate headlines alongside reports of an overworked, understaffed department that is responsible for some of the most vulnerable members of society. The latest news even overlaps with the opioid epidemic, as an ever-increasing number of children— who are taken from an ever-increasing number of addicts—are untrackable in the DCF’s current system.

The lack of support that these children receive is heartbreaking and confounding, and yet not entirely surprising. Americans like to believe that we help the tired and poor (the huddled masses), but time and again these people slip through our safety net—even when they’re children. To make matters worse, navigating the foster care system is a perilous task, one that too often involves abuse and neglect instead of the salvation these kids need.

In researching the state of the death penalty in America recently, I have noticed, in story after story about death row inmates, that they often have similar traits to children under state supervision. The childhoods of those who have committed heinous crimes are commonly riddled with abuse, with adolescents and infants alike being shuffled around. In a TED Talk by David R. Dow, the death row defense attorney outlines the chapters in these tragic stories, parsing life before capital punishment into five parts: prenatal, early childhood, grades K-5, grades 6-12, and their time in the juvenile justice system. Dow asks: What if we can intervene before the defendant writes his most violent chapters?

Dow says he presents his talk to pro- and anti-capital punishment crowds alike because his point—that it’s always best to act before the violent crime ever happens—is something we can all agree on. Likewise, we can agree that the DCF is in a sorry state. Fortunately, Governor Charlie Baker and his reinvigorated agency are taking steps to change things; as they grapple with the broken system though, it’s important to remember that violence doesn’t erupt in a vacuum. To repair the DCF and the Commonwealth’s foster care system, we need to catch these stories in the early chapters, and to make sure the books aren’t written.

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In which we interview Josh Gondelman and Judah Friedlander and excerpt their new crack-ups …

BY CHRIS FARAONE @FARA1

JUDAH FRIEDLANDER

BY JEFF LAWRENCE @29THOUSAND

A few of us grew friendly with TV star and perpetually roving comedian Judah Friedlander at this year’s Boston Comic Con—they put our table next to his, actually—and while you probably already know this, the man is utterly hilarious. Since we always like to prop our comedic heroes in these pages, Judah’s dropping a new book at the same time as Josh Gondelman, another favorite funny pal of ours, begged for excerpts, interviews, and answers, though not entirely in that order. Roll one up, kick back, and behold your newest droll winter reads …

When we heard about You Blew It!, we knew we had to reach out to Josh Gondelman and his writing partner Joe Berkowitz—and not just because the subtitle is An Awkward Look at the Many Ways in Which You’ve Already Ruined Your Life, which sounds more than just a little useful at the moment. Josh sharpened his comedic knives in Boston before moving to New York, and in addition to writing for the brilliant “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” continues to be one of standup comedy’s enduring clever wits. With their new project on shelves this week, we asked Gondelman and Berkowitz, the latter of whom is also a writer for Fast Company, about shit we thought not many other interviewers would ask …

The book is written with a comic’s self-deprecation, but also with some confidence, almost like a popular wiseass in middle school might have. Are you more bashful, or do you walk with some respectable cockiness when you’re not writing (or on stage) as well?

JG: I’m definitely not bashful, but I wouldn’t say I’m cocky either.

My day to day vibe I would categorize as “aggressively polite” or like “self-assured twerp.”

There’s a lot of observation in here, almost like a field guide, and a lot of it is clearly based on your own experiences, though not specifically referenced herein. Why is that?

JB: We didn’t really want to give much indication of who the real people depicted in this book are, lest they read it or anyone who knows them does.

So that’s why we kept the stories to a minimum and mainly used hypothetical examples. Also, we wanted the book to be more universal rather than just “here are some dumb things that happened to us because we’re dummies”—although some of that obviously made it in.

The first time I name-dropped Judah Friedlander, the barfly I was trying to impress was confused and combative. She asked if I was German and got pissy. I understood her anguish though, because before I knew Judah by name, it was merely the legend of his face (and custom trucker hats) with which I was familiar. That’s kind of how it goes when you’re an unspoken hero with iconic comic delivery, not to mention a promising amateur ping-pong competitor with major television cred under your belt. In any case, with a show approaching at the Brattle Theatre on October 26, we asked Friedlander about his new book, what inspires him, and what he’s working on next.

Tell me about your new book, If The Raindrops United.

Drawing was something I did as a little kid and I stopped for years but I came back to … and comedy lends itself better to drawings. But touring and all the travel, that adds to the stress, so to ease the anxiety, I draw. After a few months of that, I had a new book.

If the raindrops really united, would we be fucked?

Yeah, they could wipe out a whole city. The message here is that with unity there is power. If people would just get together, they would be more powerful than they think.

Considering that your mom inspired your artistic sensibility and your dad made you question authority, is it safe to say that they’re to blame for your career?

Ever since I was a kid, we were always doing art stuff and we didn’t have a lot of toys.

We were doing homework or playing outside. I remember … my dad would have this brown paper on a roll and tear off a sheet and say, “OK, start drawing” … so we were always

You mention that couples shouldn’t sit next to one another in a booth. I agree. But in passing moments like this, you don’t seem to hold a grudge against such perverse creatures. How much of the stuff in your book relates to pet peeves? And do you sweat the small stuff?

JB: We tried to limit personal preference as much as possible, again to try to get at more of the things that are maybe universally despised but unsung. It was difficult at times, because we are two people and we don’t agree on everything.

For instance, one of the authors is fervently anti-brunch, and the other is NOT a monster.

JG: So much of the book is about peeves, but less pet than public.

We tried to stay away from things like: “Everyone knows cilantro tastes like soap, right?” We stuck to things that are either widely considered garbage or we think should be widely despised.

I hate to ask about process, since it’s nerdy, but this is a real, actual book, with some substance to it. How do you stockpile this stuff?

JB: We both had a few ideas kicking around when we started the book, but from the time we were shopping it around through a day or two after we got the deal, we were really making as much of an effort as possible to take in all the angles of situations we got into and mine them for everyday awkwardness.

JG: I’m always happy to talk about nerdy process stuff. We would meet up, usually at a bar, and outline chapters. Then we’d break up assignments.

We’d email each other to ask for extensions on the deadlines we wrote for ourselves.

My actual writing, I did lying down on my couch like a Victorian handmaid who had fainted from exhaustion.

playing or making stuff. There was only one TV in my house. We were raised to go out and create stuff.

Tell me about these drawings. One of my favorites is Circle with Arthritis. (see: inset) It’s a dark one … but a funny one. Over the past 10 years, it seems like I’ve had more and more physical type of ailments. Not huge serious things … but just limping along in life. Thats where that comes from.

What’s next for you? Talk about “Wet Hot American Summer”?

Your new comedy album and stand-up documentary film?

“Bordertown” with Seth Macfarlane?

My next new project will be standup and then a comedy tour, and then acting. I’ve always been a standup comic and that’s my favorite thing to do and that’s why this book came out. This is largely a drawing joke book. I like doing comedy in different mediums. Hollywood is always trying to put you in “their stuff” and their stuff is crap. It’s a focus group. I’m just trying to do the best that I can and work on my projects and put the comedy and art first.

Tell me something people don’t know about you?

I can’t speak for others … but … I’m lonely.

Besides being lonely though I’m alone, and I’m not happy feeling lonely and being alone. The drawings have helped with that a lot. You have to keep yourself from going completely crazy and you have to be comfortable with just being yourself.

COMIC BOOKS

continued on pg. 12 10

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JUDAH FRIEDLANDER PHOTO BY YOKO HARAOKA

BOOKS

JOSH GONDELMAN

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COMIC BOOKS continued from pg. 10

You Blew It! (Plume) 224 pages | $14

Some of our favorite moments from You Blew It! …

On Handshakes …

What was once a simple clenching of fingers for the purpose of making sure the other person wasn’t going to stab you with a sword is now a minefield of unregulated finger gymnastics.

On Family …

A family reunion is, at the most basic level, a celebration of an entire group of people who, over the course of generations, did not let anyone get eaten by wolves. (If someone had, they certainly would not be welcome at Aunt Linda’s place on the Cape.)

On Tinder …

Online dating is a smorgasbord of snap judgments and no second chances. The quicker you eliminate individuals as potential love connections, the quicker three nearly identical people emerge to take their place like sexy whack-a-mole. As the automatic dismissals pile up, revealing that you do in fact have a “type,” you begin to refine whom you really are interested in. Some of these folks will be fast- tracked into the messaging stage because of sheer hotness, but for everyone else, a profile that doesn’t suck is how you level up.

>> JOSH GONDELMAN AND JOE BERKOWITZ READING FROM YOU BLEW IT!. WED 10.21. BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH, 279 HARVARD ST., BROOKLINE. 7PM/FREE. BROOKLINEBOOKSMITH.COM

On Roommates …

People can start almost anywhere on the strangerto- friend spectrum of roommates, but unlike young couples living together, there’s no chance of these relationships blossoming into something more.

Friends will not become best friends, and barely tolerated Craigslisters won’t become buddies. The best that most of us can hope for is just coming out on the other side free of litigation and future

If The Raindrops United (Hachette) 208 pages | $16.99

>> JUDAH FRIEDLANDER READING FROM IF THE RAINDROPS UNITED. MON 10.26. THE BRATTLE THEATRE, 40 BRATTLE ST., CAMBRIDGE. 6PM/$5. BRATTLEFILM.ORG. TO READ THE EXTENDED INTERVIEW ONLINE, CHECK OUT DIGBOSTON.COM 12

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blackmail attempts. Beyond dirty dishes and late rent, roommates must often deal with plenty of other quietly crushing situations that even Steve Jobs couldn’t help to prevent. Or maybe he could’ve! That’s something we’ll never know. Because Walter Isaacson is very bad at his job.

On “Unimprovement” …

Telling someone he “cleans up nicely” means the rest of the calendar year he dresses like a Dickensian chimney sweep. If you’re too emphatic about how great your friend looks now, he gets embarrassed about how he looked before— like when you go see your barber and he gives you a look that says, “How have you even been walking around like this?”

On Your mom’s Facebook page …

If you thought getting chain e-mails full of urban legends with subject lines like: “Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: Obamascare” was annoying, it turns out that’s just the beginning. A parent who runs amok on social media can complicate/worsen your life in many different ways. Regardless of one’s age, level of physical fitness, and gender identity, a parent leaving the comment “gorgeous” or, even worse, “hawt” on any and/or every Facebook/Instagram picture is an incredibly effective cock block (or, for women, a “vajector seat”).

On Nerdery …

The term “nerd” has lost all meaning. Not because nerds have become cool. (They have not. If anything, they’ve become even nerdier than previous generations of nerds could calculate.) It’s that everyone has become a nerd about something at a time when technology and brands have turned public obsessing into a national pastime.

Certified Beer Sniffers 9 2 H A M P S HIR E S T, CA M B R ID G E, M A | 6 1 7-2 5 0 - 8 4 5 4 | L O R D H O B O.C O M

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

13

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

14

THURS 10.22

FRI 10.23

FRI 10.23

FRI 10.23

SAT 10.24

SAT 10.24

Back to the Future 30th Anniversary Screening

Bike-In Movie

Box Of Birds & Troll 2 Live at Bull McCabe’s

Hand In Hand Gallery Opening

Boston Book Festival 2015

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

Back to the Future is back by popular demand!

Join Marty Mcfly and Dr. Emmett Brown in the timeless classic just one day after Marty arrives in 2015.

A genuine ’80s classic, Back to the Future is required viewing for any cinema buff and anyone who just appreciates a good movie.

It’ll make you laugh, it’ll tug at your heartstrings, and it’ll make you want to go to an under-the-sea-themed homecoming dance. Buy your tickets ASAP because they’re most likely not gonna last.

Do you like biking? Do you like watching movies outdoors with strangers and riding your bike to an undisclosed secret location? Well do I have a treat for you. Bring a camp chair, some pillows and blankets, and a socially acceptable snuggie. Snack on some of the provided refreshments or bring your own (because they may not have the low-calorie butterless popcorn you love so much). And make sure you have bike lights and wear a helmet. Night riding can be tricky business.

Indie folk rock comes to life in Somerville’s very own Bull McCabe’s Pub. Featuring the sounds of Box Of Birds and Troll 2, the evening promises to be an enjoyable one. Drink a beer and rock out to some great lesser-known Boston musicians. Enjoy one of Troll 2’s complementary rain ponchos if you’re fortunate enough to sit within the “splatter zone.”

What exactly happens in the splatter zone? I guess you’ll just have to go and find out, won’t you?

Move beyond diversity to inclusion at Hand in Hand’s gallery opening in the Spoke Gallery. Observe artwork created by the Hand in Hand workshops that explores the capacity for human empathy. Live music and poetry will complement the night along with the visual art on display. Light food and beverages will be provided throughout the evening.

Stop on by and enjoy everything on display—you may learn a thing or two about yourself as well.

It’s not every day that a literary event of this caliber is available to the public for the sweet price of “free.” With 200 authors, 75 exhibitors, and over 30,000 book lovers all gathered together to celebrate a shared passion, you really can’t go wrong. If that’s not enough to convince you to go, there will be author signings following each panel and presentation, featuring the likes of Neil Gaiman, Jason Reynolds, and Erin E Stead. Don’t recognize any of those names? Don’t worry, there are 193 more.

Let’s face it: We can all stand to eat a bit healthier, and what better place to start than at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival?

Admission, parking, and food samplings for the low price of $5 is a pretty great incentive to start a lifetime of health. Or maybe just a day of eating some fresh, locally grown vegetables.

Regardless, it would be a day well spent, and your body will thank you.

Coolidge Corner Theatre.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

7-9:30pm/all ages/$9.25$11.25. coolidge.org/films/ back-future

Copley Square. 560 Boylston St., Boston.

6:30-10pm/18+/$5 donation. facebook.com/ events/1054997501212420/

Bull McCabe’s Pub. 366 Somerville Ave., #A, Somerville.

10pm-2am/21+/$10. facebook.com/ events/1680701925500418/

Spoke Gallery, Medicine Wheel Productions.

110 K St., South Boston.

7:30-10pm/all ages/$5 donation. mwponline.org/ wordpress/projects/handin-hand/

Copley Square. 560 Boylston St., Boston.

10am-5pm/all ages/FREE. bostonbookfest.org/

Reggie Lewis Athletic Center. 1350 Tremont St., Boston. 11am-6pm/all ages/$5. bostonveg.org/ foodfest/

10.21.15 - 10.28.15

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

15

MUSIC

MUSIC

Queercore for the heart and soul

Suicide awareness and prevention extends beyond the show

AYE NAKO

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN

BY NINA CORCORAN @NINA_CORCORAN The Dig doesn’t get all serious on you too often, but when we do, it’s important. This is one of those times.

On Thursday the 22nd, four acts will gather under the roof of Out of the Blue Too Art Gallery to raise money for Samaritans Inc, a local non-profit dedicated to suicide awareness and prevention.

Derek Desharnais of Sneeze, Sami Martasian of Puppy Problems, and Mateo Garcia of Gauntly all sat down to share advice on the matter. After all, money solves a lot of problems, but knowing someone’s there for you helps even more.

What advice do you have for someone who’s struggling with depression?

SNEEZE: My number one is to stay active. Find a project and devote all your free time to it so that’s the number one thing on your mind. Arts are a wonderful way to keep your mind positively active.

PUPPY PROBLEMS: Allow yourself to prioritize your own health and make space to take care of yourself.

Don’t get discouraged if something doesn’t work right away—it takes time more than anything— and let yourself be as open as you can be to the process of finding ways to cope.

upon something, that was my wish: to be white. I’m still trying to undo that and learn how to appreciate myself for being a person of color.”

Ganito grew up in Arkansas, where he started attending shows at age 15. There wasn’t any type of support readily available. As one of the only queer people there and “definitely” the only person of color, Ganito didn’t have any opportunity to talk about his experiences in a way that felt welcome. With Aye Nako, he’s not only able to create support for his past self, but for the LGBTQ youth of today.

“I see a lot of resistance to people speaking up about misogyny, transphobia, or racism,” says Ganito.

“It mostly comes from more straight cis white guys who can’t stand to see people who aren’t in that demographic be successful or happy or have any sort of self-love or respect for themselves. They like to be at the top and not see anyone else care about themselves. I feel like I’ll never be able to change that, but I’m hoping just to put this out there, like, ‘Look black people, brown people, queer people, we make rock music and are into punk. We can do it. It’s fine if you don’t like it but that’s what we’re doing. Playing drums isn’t just for cis straight white guys.’ I guess if they’re mad, we’re doing something right.”

>> JOANNA GRUESOME + AYE NAKO + KING OF CATS + BENT SHAPES. WED 10.28. MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS, 472 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE. 7PM/ALL AGES/$12. MIDEASTOFFERS.COM

MUSIC EVENTS WED 10.21

THURS 10.22

FRI 10. 23

SAT 10.24

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/18+/$15. sinclaircambridge.com]

[Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston. 6pm/all ages/$15. crossroadspresents.com]

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/18+/$18. sinclaircambridge.com]

[The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 8pm/18+/$20. sinclaircambridge.com]

SCOTLAND EMO IMPORTS IDLEWILD + THE JAGUAR CLUB

16

10.21.15 - 10.28.15

|

POP SINGLE STAR MIKKY EKKO + TRANSPARENT

DIGBOSTON.COM

SUPERSONIC SOUNDSCAPES CASPIAN + CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE

MEXO-AMERICANA DAVID WAX MUSEUM + ARC IRIS

If you need to get out of the house and clear out your mind, where do you head in the Boston area to chill and collect yourself?

SNEEZE: Honestly, I try to avoid busy areas while upset. I put on some headphones and ride my bike down to the arboretum or walk down by the Charles over by the lower Allston area, even in the rain. Reading in the library also is very relaxing on those cold or rainy days.

PUPPY PROBLEMS: I usually get a bagel and then go for a walk in Coolidge Corner, even if it’s cold or something. I like to stake up in Bourbon Coffee in Porter Square with a book. The MFA has always been a safe, reflective space for me. I try hard not to buy things as a comfort.

GAUNTLY: If I need to get out of the house I usually go to the Corey Hill Park on Summit Ave in Allston/ Brookline. It’s a really nice quiet place surrounded by some nice houses. >> SNEEZE + LEANER + PUPPY PROBLEMS + GAUNTLY. THU 10.22. OUT OF THE BLUE TOO ART GALLERY, 541 MASS. AVE., CAMBRIDGE. 8PM/18+/$10.

OUTOFTHEBLUEARTGALLERY.COM

SUN 10. 25

IMPROVISED MULTIINSTRUMENTALIZATION THE EX AND KEN VANDERMARK + DEBO

[Great Scott, 1222 Comm. Ave., Allston. 8pm/18+/$15. greatscottboston.com

MON 10.26

LOCALS SOLO LITTLEFOOT + EXPERT ALTERATIONS

[O’Brien’s, 3 Harvard Ave., Allston. 8pm/21+/$7. obrienspubboston.com]

AYE NAKO PHOTO BY JOLIE RUBEN

Don’t write Queercore off as a petty genre. It’s not only a big one but a necessary one. “I feel like it’s basically just punk but punks who are queer and tired of the regular punk scene,” says Mars Ganito, the main singer and songwriter of Queercore quartet Aye Nako. “It doesn’t do it for us, so we have to have shows with people who are queer, too.”

In 2013, Aye Nako released its debut full-length, Unleash Yourself, a collection of jubilant tracks about the members’ own experiences coming to terms with their identities and the fluidity of gender itself. Now Ganito, bassist Joe McCann, guitarist Jade Payne, and drummer Angie Boylan have a new set of poppy hardcore numbers out on this year’s EP, The Blackest Eye, where reservations are a thing of the past.

The album’s title stems from three different sources: a literal black eye representing child abuse, the perspective of a black person, and the themes of Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye. “One of the main characters in that book has darker skin and wishes she could be white because it would change everything: Her parents would love her, kids at school would see her as valuable, you know?” says Ganito. “I used to feel that way.

I’m not super dark skinned, but when I was a kid I used to wish I could be white: birthday wishes, wishing-well wishes, shooting-star wishes. Any time a kid would wish

GAUNTLY: I think my biggest suggestion to anyone dealing with depression is to be honest and open about it, to themselves and to friends. Sometimes it’s hard to admit that we need some help from others, but it’s an incredible support during tough times.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

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DANIEL MILLER & THE HIGH LIFE SUN 10/25

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28

ASCEND/DECEND, SUFFER ON ACID MON 10/26/15

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FRI 10/23

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WWW.PHOENIXLANDINGBAR.COM NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

17

FILM

FILM

On the quietly subversive qualities of Debra Granik’s astounding Stray Dog

BY SADAF AHSAN

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

FROM TIFF TO FLIX

BY JAKE MULLIGAN @_JAKEMULLIGAN

There’s a line dance in the parking lot of a Dollar General. That sounds like the setup for a dim “rednecks” joke. Actually it’s the first shot of Debra Granik’s nonfiction film Stray Dog. That’s not the only image she finds that raises those associations, either.

There’s the boy who receives leather chaps and a deer rifle on Christmas morning. Or the woman who butts her way into a drinking circle with one quick question: “Y’all shinin’?” And then there’s Ron Hall, the man whose nickname gives this film its title. He’s got a beard that makes him look like Santa Claus, if Santa Claus had paid out over $50,000 for assault charges.

His biker’s vest has even more patches than it does scratches, with many of them tied to his military service. And when he cuts some cheese to go with his crackers, he does it with an ax.

Ron Hall looks like the sort of man you’d make those stupid jokes about.

That’s the impression you’d get in some individual scenes, at least—like the one where Ron sweeps up spilled salsa using the underside of his T-shirt. And that’s a fair impression to take. Making assumptions based on imagery is just human nature. But challenging those assumptions—that’s the nature of cinema. Granik, working with editor Tory Stewart, structures Stray Dog to do exactly that: Each shot and each sequence deconstructs the presumptions we’ve already made. There’s one scene early on that details the specifics of Ron’s daily life.

And in that sense, it functions as exposition. Yet the way that information is laid out offers an upended expectation at each turn—it’s exposition as revelation.

First we see a sign for the At Ease RV Park, located in Hall’s home of southern Missouri. Then we see a Mexican woman— that’d be Alicia—cleaning up one of the trailers. But then Alicia is eating alongside Ron, and we realize that the pair is married.

And then we see a collection of dogs, each one small enough to fit into Paris Hilton’s purse, and we realize that Ron is caring for all of the beasts. Then a new customer arrives, and we find that Ron is the proprietor of this park. Next he’s diligently studying Spanish, so that Alicia isn’t the only member of their small family struggling to become bilingual. His good-ol’-boy symbols—the beard, the tattoos, the biker getup, the stains on his shirt—are still there. But the jokes are not.

Each cut brings with it new information that forces us to reconsider and reconcile the footage we’ve already seen. One of those cuts puts us inside a therapist’s office, where Hall reveals more of himself. He’s a Vietnam veteran, and he’s faced regret over the actions he took during the war ever since. Alicia describes it plainly: “His conscience churns inside of him.” And Ron concurs approvingly, because he’s made the conscious decision to never forgive himself for the lives he took. Within this film that grants him such great complexity, he feels a desperate need to recognize his own inhumanity: “Do I look like the kind of person who’d go out and mutilate a human body?” That’s Ron justifying his own spiritual flagellation to his therapist. “I guess so,” he finishes, “because I did.”

Granik’s film is built on conversations and on ceremonies.

Hall takes part in a number of different memorials for veterans and lost POWs, with Granik observing the scenes quietly from the margins. The film is, essentially, a profile—and then we reach the end of Part I. Alicia eventually returns from Mexico City with her twin teenage sons, Angel and Jesus. That prompts a cinematic handoff, with the perspective deferring to the eyes of the twin boys. Now the camera is with them: talking to a girlfriend over the phone, wandering about their new hometown (“It’s almost all highways”), and looking up the words they don’t understand in an English-to-Spanish dictionary. They have ceremonies of their own.

And so a film about a red-state military veteran—with his own share of conflicted ideologies and complex identity politics—transforms into a film about the immigrant experience in America. It’s a film that approaches even that from a upended slant: These boys are moving from a bustling Mexican metropolis into the sleepiness of rural American poverty. And so Stray Dog becomes a rebuke to an entire nation—ourselves included—who are addicted to considering everything in terms of “red vs. blue.” When Ron is talking to that therapist, he recounts some of his crimes, and asks: “How can a person do that to another person and still be human?” The unblinking gaze of Granik’s film, so invested in the unending complications of ideology, is a reminder that we’re all human—no matter what side of the spectrum we’re situated on.

>> BEASTS OF NO NATION. NOT RATED. PLAYING AT KENDALL SQUARE CINEMA. ALSO AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX.

>> STRAY DOG. NOT RATED. PLAYS AT BRATTLE THEATRE FROM FRI 10.23—SUN 10.25. DIRECTOR DEBRA GRANIK IN PERSON FOR 7PM SHOWS ON 10.23 AND 10.24. SEE BRATTLEFILM.ORG FOR OTHER SHOWTIMES. $9-11.

FILM EVENTS SAT 10.24

BEN RIVERS PRESENTS DENNIS HOPPER’S THE LAST MOVIE

[Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 8:30pm/R/$7-9.

35mm. hcl.harvard.edu/hfa]

18

10.21.15 - 10.28.15

|

THE REEL WEIRD BRATTLE SERIES PRESENTS GHOST IN THE SHELL

[Brattle Theatre.

40 Brattle St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 11:30pm/ NR/$9-11. brattlefilm.org]

DIGBOSTON.COM

SUN 10.25

INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON PRESENTS MICHAEL MOORE’S WHERE TO INVADE NEXT [Brattle Theatre.

40 Brattle St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 11:30pm/ NR/$11-13. brattlefilm.org]

DIRECTED BY MAX OPHULS THE RECKLESS MOMENT

[Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 5pm/NR/$7-9.

35mm. hcl.harvard.edu/hfa]

The Toronto International Film Festival came to a resounding close recently, bringing the last of its much-hyped films. They came from Germany, France, America, and elsewhere; they featured ensemble casts, critically acclaimed directors, writers, and A-list stars. Most of them will be on Netflix by sometime next year. And one of them is already there.

Cary Fukunaga, fresh off directing the entirety of True Detective’s first season, now brings us Beasts of No Nation, a twisted fairy-tale journey through hell and back. It premiered simultaneously in theaters and on Netflix last week, following its recent premiere screening at TIFF. Clocking in at over two hours, much of it depicting graphic murder committed by the hands of child soldiers in West Africa, the film is based on the book of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala. The narrative concerns Agu (Abraham Attah), a boy who loses his family to a new regime. He finds himself corrupted at the hands of the charming Commandant (Idris Elba), who helps him believe that by committing the violent acts the rebel army carries out, he is avenging his family.

The brutally emotional and physical warfare plays out across each child’s face in a haunting and unforgiving take on this story. Beasts of No Nation is not an easy watch for its length and visceral nature, but it isn’t supposed to be. In seeing the journey of a child soldier, we stare at the evil that humanity is truly capable of—watching it unblinkingly is a true test.

MON 10.26

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS PRESENTS BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN

[Coolidge Corner Theatre.

290 Harvard St., Brookline.

7pm/NR/$11.25. 35mm. coolidge.org]

ATHINA RACHEL TSANGARI PRESENTS PIER PAOLO PASOLINI’S SALÓ, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM [Harvard Film Archive.

24 Quincy St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. 7pm/ NR; viewer discretion is advised/$7-9. 35mm. hcl. harvard.edu/hfa.]

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monster !

Find monster savings at goodwill When you shop at THE GOODWILL STORES you support Goodwill’s job training, career services, and youth programs.

www.goodwillmass.org Allston-Brighton • Boston • Cambridge • Hyannis • Jamaica Plain Quincy • Somerville • South Attleboro • South Boston • Worcester

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NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

19

ARTS

Wed 10/21 7PM - (Rock)

BOB FORREST + KORISORON

GOING DUTCH

A stunning, invaluable exhibit opens at the MFA

BY CHRISTOPHER EHLERS @_CHRISEHLERS

Thur 10/22 7PM - (Comedy)

CYCLE FRI Oct.23rd 9:30PM

Legion (Lethal), Liondub, Todd Buchler, Rubix B2b F.Dot + Reel Drama upstairs Emcees: Digga Bruckshot & Josiah Scribes UPSTAIRS = HIP HOP & PARTY JAMS / DOWNSTAIRS = JUNGLE & DRUM N BASS

FRESH SAT Oct.24th 9:30PM

PRODUCE

x THE RUB DJ Eleven, DJ Ayres, & Knife HIP HOP, REGGAE, TRAP, DIRTY SOUTH, PARTY JAMS

Bill Blumenreich Presents :

MATT BRAUNGER LOS FLETCHEROS KINKY FRIEDMAN Thur 10/22 10PM

Fri 10/23 7:30PM - (Country)

Sat 10/24 7:30PM - (Blues)

TRIBUTE TO MUDDY WATERS:

THE NIGHTHAWKS + BOB MARGOLIN JANE LEE HOOKER + GREG ALLEN’S FRINGE RELIGION Sat 10/24 10PM - (Rock/Blues)

17 Holland St., Davis Sq. Somerville (617) 776-2004 Directly on T Red Line at Davis

WED Oct.28 8:30PM

OPEN MIC

ALL

THU Oct.29th 12AM

GOOD

Thaddeus Jeffries, Estman Garcia, Yvng Pavl BREAKS, HIP HOP, R&B, REGGAE, SOCA, CARIBBEAN, CLASSIC HOUSE, INDIE DANCE

Sat 10/31 7:30PM, $35

THE POLYPHONIC SPREE + PARTY BOIS (15th Anniversary Tour) Tues 11/3 7PM

HOWARD JONES SOLO (Synth)

Sat 11/14 7PM

ZACH DEPUTY (JAM FUNK, SOUL)

17 Holland St., Davis Sq. Somerville (617) 776-2004 Directly on T Red Line at Davis 20

10.21.15 - 10.28.15

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

VERMEER’S A LADY WRITING AND THE ASTRONOMER. PRETTY LITERAL GUY, I GUESS Rembrandt and Vermeer may be the marquee names attached to the Museum of Fine Arts’ brand new, unprecedented exhibit, Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, but the dizzying collective power of the exhibit’s 75 works—some of which are being shown in the US for the first time— is what transforms this from an event you don’t want to miss to an event you won’t be able to forget.

The exhibit, created by the MFA’s Curator of European Paintings Ronni Baer, has been in the works for over five years and will undoubtedly be remembered as one of Baer’s crowning achievements. The exhibit is an examination and exploration of Dutch society in the 17th century, a time during which the Dutch Republic emerged as not only a place of blossoming culture and science, but also a global superpower. It was a place of extreme wealth and extreme poverty, a disparity that is still making headlines.

The exhibit is divided into four sections: the upper class, the middle class, the lower class, and where the classes meet. Within each of those four main categories lie several more sub-categories.

The exhibit begins with the upper class, where some of the exhibit’s largest and most lavish works appear. It is here that we see some stunning displays of wealth, as well as a bit of humor. In Abraham del Court and His Wife, Maria de Kaersgieter by Bartholomeus Van der Heist, one of the most fashionable portraitists of the time, the woman delicately holds a rose while her husband, leaning back and looking almost like he might be in the middle of a sentence, holds her hand up so that her impressive wedding ring may be seen by all. The shimmer of her satin dress is one of the most remarkable renderings of fabric in the entire exhibit.

The first section is also where you’ll find two of the exhibit’s jewels, A Lady Writing and The Astronomer, both by Vermeer. The delicate beauty of both pieces in the flesh is so transfixing that you’ll likely want to see them several times throughout your visit.

In the section on the middle class, we see a fascinating glimpse into the lives and trades of what was 17th-century Dutch society’s most broad and diverse class. The centerpiece of the room is surely Rembrandt’s The Shipbuilder and His Wife, on loan from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II herself, in which Griet Jans is shown entering the room in a hurry to deliver a note to her working husband, Jan Rijcksen. To stand before this painting is, as they say, very near worth the price of admission alone.

A third and smaller room is where we find the lower class, from hardworking laborers to the indigent. Adriaen van de Venne’s Poor Luxury depicts the dishonorable poor and is chillingly void of any color.

After having visited with all of the different classes, the final room in which they all meet is a fitting and spectacular finale. From Hendrick Avercamp’s delightful Winter Scene on a Frozen Canal to Hendrick van Vliet’s daunting The Oude Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of Admiral Tromp, we see that the interactions between the classes are not much different than our own today.

Undoubtedly the finest exhibition that Boston has seen in years, Class Distinctions is a remarkable event that should skyrocket to the top of everyone’s to-do lists. With winter on the wing, there’s no better way to keep warm than in the glow of these Dutch masterpieces. >> CLASS DISTINCTIONS: DUTCH PAINTING IN THE AGE OF REMBRANDT AND VERMEER. THROUGH 1.18 AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 465 HUNTINGTON AVE., BOSTON. MFA.ORG

BOSTON

GROW GEAR EXPO

HYNES CONVENTION CENTER

Revolution

Leading the indoor gardening

SUNDAY | OCTOBER 25 | NOON-5PM FREE VIP TICKET ONLINE

Get your FREE VIP ticket online at

 LIVE grow room demos  Education seminars  WIN great grow gear  More than 130 exhibits

$10 admission at the door

indoorgardenexpo.com NEWS TO US

FEATURE

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

21

NOTHING MATTRESS

BY BRIAN CONNOLLY @NOTHINGMATTRESS

THE STRANGERER

BY PAT FALCO ILLFALCO.COM

WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST

BY PATT KELLEY WHATS4BREAKFAST.COM

OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS

BY TIM CHAMBERLAIN OURVC.NET

SAVAGE LOVE

ONE LAST TIME

BY DAN SAVAGE @FAKEDANSAVAGE I’m a straight guy, married for 16 years, kids in school. My wife cannot find a way to be intimate with me. We’ve had therapy individually and together. I nearly divorced her, but we decided to stay together—we do love each other, and the economics and child-rearing favor it. After I asked for a divorce, she fucked the shit out of me for the first time in 10 years. That was the last time she fucked me. She’s “broken”—her word, not mine, and her final answer. When the subject of affairs came up in the past, she said, “I wouldn’t blame you.” I could jack off only so many times before I cracked. I went online and met a very sexual woman with a strictly NSA thing for married men, and we fucked. I plan on doing it again. I know this could go all kinds of bad ways, but divorce just isn’t realistic. We had that one conversation, but we do not have an explicit understanding. I don’t want to head into my 50s with 10-plus years of celibacy behind me and decades of celibacy ahead of me. But I want to keep my marriage. Which kind of idiot am I? Help Understanding Boundary-Breaking Yearnings If I were required to answer particular types of questions based on the percentage of the mail they constitute, I would answer two questions like yours every week, HUBBY. The majority of 22

10.21.15 - 10.28.15

|

DIGBOSTON.COM

the mail I receive is from unhappy people in sexless marriages they either don’t want to end (they have kids, they do love each other, everything besides the sex is working) or can’t afford to end (they don’t have enough money for lawyers or two households, one depends on the other for income/health insurance/caregiving).

So which kind of idiot are you? The most common kind, I’m afraid.

I’m going to take a break from questions like these—from questions like yours, HUBBY—because I’m sick of the subject and my regular readers must be, too. But for you, HUBBY, and one last time, here’s my advice for people in your situation: Do what you gotta do to stay married and stay sane. Have a convo with the wife about the accommodation you require— permission to get it elsewhere—to stay in the marriage.

Reassure her that you’re prepared to spend the rest of your life with her while emphasizing that you refuse to be celibate for the rest of your life. So every now and then, for your own sanity, and for the greater good, you’re going to have sex with other women. You’ll do it discreetly, rarely, and NSA-ly, but you’re gonna do it. If this isn’t something your wife can accept, HUBBY, then your only other option is divorce.

On the Lovecast, get kinky with Mollena Williams, aka the Perverted Negress: savagelovecast.com.

THE PORTLAND

CANNABIS

CONVENTION presented by THE NEW ENGLAND CANNABIS CONVENTION

Nov. 6th-8th

USM Sullivan Rec Center, Portland $15/day or $25 for a two-day pass

Buy Tickets at: NECANN.com

60+ vendors

Dispensaries and care givers, growing & lighting systems, smoking and vaping accessories, schools, labs, staffing groups, entrepreneurs, investors, and more!

Industry programming & live demos

Cooking with Cannabis, Making an organic super soil, Cloning, Tincture making, Medical Marijuana & Maine law, hemp, maximizing yields, testing, and so much more!

Event partners: Medical Marijuana Care-givers of Maine and The New England Grass Roots Institute Sponsored by:

NECANN.com

@NE_CANN

NE.Cann.Network

NEWS TO US

FEATURE

necannacon

DEPT. OF COMMERCE

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

23

BOWERY BOSTON

For show announcements, giveaways, contests, and more, follow us on:

WWW.BOWERYBOSTON.COM • • • • LIVE MUSIC IN AND AROUND BOSTON • • • •

ROYALE 279 Tremont St. Boston, MA • royaleboston.com/concerts WILD CHI L D WERS DISCOVERY SHOW

W/ PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH & RESTORATIONS

W/ WILL EVANS, CHRISTINA HOLMES

THURS. OCTOBER 22

WED. OCTOBER 28

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

W/ FILOUS, PINK FEATHERS

W/ ROYAL CANOE

W/ WILD BELLE

WED. NOVEMBER 4

SAT. NOVEMBER 7

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8

IN ASSOCIATION WITH MMMMAVEN

NEWPORT FOLK PRESENTS

SLOW MAGIC GIRAFFAGE

THE BALLROOM THIEVES W/ YOU WON’ T, THE BR OS. L AND R ETH W/ BERNHOFT

DEERHUNTER W/ ATLAS SOUND

W/ DATKYL

TUES. NOVEMBER 10

WED. NOVEMBER 18

52 Church St. Cambridge, MA

W E R S D I S C OV E RY S H O W

SUN. NOVEMBER 22

THURS. NOVEMBER 19

David Wax Museum

TUES. NOVEMBER 24

THURS. DECEMBER 10

W/ ARC IRIS, THE NOVEL IDEAS

W/ BRICK + MORTAR

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

W/ YOUNG RIVAL, ARMS AND EARS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

W/ CLEAR PLASTIC MASKS, FRANKIE LEE

W/ FLAGSHIP

W/ BROTHERTIGER

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5

sinclaircambridge.com

NEWPORT FOLK PRESENTS W/ JAMIE KENT

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

W/ BIG SOMETHING, CROOKED COAST

W/ PARSONFIELD, NORA JANE STRUTHER WITH JOE OVERTON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6

NATALIE PRASS

WERS DISCOVERY SHOW

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

W/ LOAMLANDS

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8

YA C H T W/ LARRY GUS

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9

THURSDAY, MARCH 10 W/ BROTHER MCCANN

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

WITH THE PINES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

1222 Comm. Ave. Allston, MA greatscottboston.com

FRIDAYS AT 7PM!

‘s S GA E TH

ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12

ISRAEL NASH

HiNDS / PUBLIC ACCESS TV

The Ex

& Ken Vandermark

(FEAT. ELIAS RØNNENFELT OF ICEAGE)

W/ DEBO BAND

WERS DISCOVERY SHOW

W/ THE SHILLS MONDAY, OCTOBER 26

Keep Shelly In Athens

WITH THE LASZLOS

THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

W/ DIFFERENT SLEEP

W/ THURSDAY, GRETCHEN NOVEMBER 5 AND THE PICKON SALE POCKETS NOW!

SUNDAY, MARCH 27

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6

W/ TRANS FX

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

ON SALE NOW!

W/ KNOX HAMILTON

W/ WAYLON S P E E D, G R U M PUS

ON SALE NOW!

MARCHING CHURCH

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25

FUTUR EB I R DS

TUESDAY, MARCH 15

W/ PHOTAY

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4

ON SALE NOW!

≠ 10/24 THE GAS PRESENTS JARED LOGAN ≠ 10/30 THE 2ND ANNUAL VANYALAND HALLOWEEN ≠ 10/31 SCANNERS “HORRORSCAN” HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY ≠ 11/2 FUTURE TEENS ≠ 11/06 (EARLY) NEIL HAMBURGER ≠ 11/09 DENAI MOORE ON SALE NOW!

ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON!

JOANNA GRUESOME OTHER SHOWS AROUND TOWN:

W/ AYE NAKO, KING OF CATS, BENT SHAPES

WED. OCTOBER 28 MIDDLE EAST UP

THU. NOVEMBER 5 MIDDLE EAST DOWN

ON SALE NOW!

ON SALE NOW!

W/ IRIS DEMENT WED. NOVEMBER 18 MIDDLE EAST DOWN

SUN. NOVEMBER 29 MIDDLE EAST UP

SATURDAY, MARCH 5 CITI WANG THEATRE

Tickets for Royale, The Sinclair, and Great Scott can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

No fee tickets available at The Sinclair box office Wednesdays - Saturdays 12:00 - 7:00PM

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 SHUBERT THEATRE

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A COMPLETE LIST OF SHOWS, VISIT BOWERYBOSTON.COM