San Antonio Current - January 18, 2017

PLUS // SA STILL RUNS ON DUNCAN // ROAMING THE AISLES AT HUNG PHONG // MONDO NATION RETURNS JANUARY 18-24 2017

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ED HOW TEXAS’ OVERBURDEN FOSTER CARE SYSTEM HAS PRODUCED A GENERATION OF LOST ADULTS

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FIRST WORDS

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• Send your thoughts, comments, kudos or tips to letters@sacurrent.com

Baton Rouge-based Sports Bar Chain Will Open in SA this Summer: “Not even close to a taste of New Orleans. Another chain franchise whitewashing the culinary soul of greater San Antonio. Such a sad shame…” — Don Breitkreutz Texas Republicans Are Calling News They Don’t Like ‘Fake’: “The media started this fight when they decided to start taking sides and started interpreting the news and telling people what to think. Both conservative and liberal news teams need to just report the facts and quit trying to spin everything. Don’t dish it if you can’t take it.”

— Dion Perusquia What to Brace for as Texas Embarks on Another Season of Legislative Lunacy: “Poor precious snowflakes. Hillary has opened her home as a safe space.” — Michael Kean Feds Bust San Antonio Drug Ring, Arrest 15 in Citywide Sting: “For every 15 they arrest, there are hundreds more. Drugs are never going away. Unfortunately treating drug users as criminals doesn’t seem to be going anywhere either.” — Michael John Marcinik

IN THIS

ISSUE Issue 17_03 /// January 18-24

10

Pound the Rock From art to breakfast cereal, San Antonio still runs on Duncan

29

Illustration by Jess Blank Art direction by Sarah Flood-Baumann

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

ARTS + CULTURE

No Hard Hat Required A quick tour of artist Mark Hogensen’s ‘Construction Sights’ A Family Affair Dueling emotions in Sam Shepard’s relentless drama ‘Fool for Love’

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NIGHTLIFE

SACC Highlights What we loved about this year’s boozy bacchanal

COVER Every year, thousands of Texas foster children turn 18, meaning they’ve “aged out” of the state’s care. Thanks to Texas’ paltry exit plan, the majority of these kids end up homeless, jobless, or behind bars. These are their stories.

NEWS

Name Game Texas Republicans are calling news they don’t like “fake”

City Stalls Google Fiber Rollout, Blames Google: “In other news, old man yells at cloud.”

— Kimran Hill

ON THE

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FEATURE

Our top picks for the week

Aged Out How Texas’ overburdened foster care system has produced a generation of lost adults

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SCREENS

Better Living Through Binging Spend an entire weekend on your couch and feel good about it

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Food Court New trucks, a Drew Breesowned Sport Bar heads to SA and more

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MUSIC

Slam & Slay Kree23 is rockin’ crowds, taking names

ETC.

Savage Love Jonesin’ Crossword Freewill Astrology

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Mondo Magic Ryan Brummett goes back to his roots as SA’s preeminent curator of unconventional music experiences Music Calendar What to see and hear this week

FOOD

Dumpling Dinner Roaming the aisles at Hung Phong Oriental Market

Festival News Maverick Music Fest 2017 lineup features De La Soul, Young the Giant, Bastille

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CALENDAR

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sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 9

NEWS

NAME GAME

COURTESY

Texas Republicans are calling news they don’t like “fake”

≥

Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. And now, Texas Congressman Lamar Smith.

These are just a few Texas lawmakers who have hijacked a term used to define an actual threat to American democracy — so-called “fake news” — in order to delegitimize any reporting they simply do not like. And for Texas Republicans, that apparently covers a lot of things.

Last week, Texas Congressman Lamar Smith took to the House floor to condemn a New York Times column that linked severe droughts in Madagascar to climate change. The article, penned by regular columnist Nicholas Kristof, pointed to the country’s 1.3 million children suffering from malnutrition as clear evidence that global warming could have deadly repercussions.

Smith, a proud global warming “skeptic,” called Kristof’s reporting “a good example of fake news.”

“This may be a new high, or maybe a new low, for climate alarmists and their exaggerations,” he said.

But let’s be clear: This news is not “fake.”

Madagascar is in the grips of a deadly drought, leaving millions of starving children in its wake. New, peer-reviewed research co-published by the federal government has calculated that human contributions to

POUND THE ROCK

global warming have reduced water runoff in southern Africa by 48 percent. Yes, Kristof added his editorial slant, but the facts check out. Unfortunately, nothing about this sobering news is “exaggerated.”

What we can only assume Rep. Smith is trying to articulate is that he doesn’t agree with the article’s conclusions. Which is fine. But smacking the label “fake news” on a reported, factual piece of journalism is only blurring the clear line that needs to be drawn between genuine reporting and overt propaganda.

“Fake news” was a term coined this election season to describe the entirely fabricated articles disguised as factual news that went viral across social media. Most people behind these articles didn’t care about politics, they simply found the easiest way to make people click their Facebook link — which is apparently a profitable business model outside the United States.

Many of these articles largely fed off of the far-right’s fears, using headlines like “FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead In Apparent MurderSuicide,” “Florida Democrats Vote to Impose Sharia Law on Women,” and “Colorado Pot Shop Accepting Food Stamps” to drum up outrage — and action. That last story, originally written as satire, inspired Colorado to pass a law explicitly banning food stamps from being

Just this week, H-E-B started offering, for a limited time, a honey nut toasted cereal with chocolate puffs called "Slam Duncan O’s." And just before the holidays, SB Nation blog Pounding the Rock released a glossy tribute to the greatest Spur of them all titled Tim From art to breakfast Duncan: Team-First Superstar.

A reliable destination for Spurs cereal, San Antonio enthusiasts, Pounding the Rock takes still runs on Duncan its name from the Jacob Riis quote that famously hangs in the Spurs M. SOLÍS locker room. Comprised of 21 articles, This year is shaping up to be a including selections from their vast busy one for the Tim Duncan archive, this new collection builds on completist. Earlier this month, Tejano the blog’s strengths – namely, timely artist Arturo Torres released a gorgeous and straightforward basketball writing print of Duncan basking in Fiesta colors. that often closely mirrors the thoughts

≥

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ALEX ZIELINSKI | @ALEX_ZEE

CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

used in weed shops (a thing that had never actually happened).

In their election postmortems, media experts and political scientists have said these fake news stories played a significant role in helping Donald Trump win the election.

Other Texas officials have also deployed the term to define news they’d rather ignore. Like last week, when Lieutenant Gov. Patrick told a roomful of Texas reporters that their articles on his anti-transgender “privacy bill” were fake, simply because they exposed some of the bill’s obvious downfalls. When news outlets did the same to state Sen. Konni Burton’s bill (one that advocates say could force school staff to out LGBT kids to their parents), she called the reporting “totally false.” Meanwhile, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called local reporting on a rude note he left for a restaurant manager “fake,” despite him admitting that the story was entirely true. Meanwhile, Miller has no problem sharing obviously false “news” stories on his own social media accounts.

It seems in following the lead of the man they elected to be president, Texas’ top politicians have used the post-election “fake news” panic to discredit any reporting that’s critical of their work.

and concerns of the Spurs faithful.

Pounding the Rock General Manager J.R. Wilco is spot-on with his selections for the blog’s first book and, along with Current contributor Bruno Passos (who’s featured in the book), splendidly sets the table for this full-color retrospective of Duncan’s storied NBA career.

Other highlights include standout contributions from writers Matthew Tynan, Jesus Gomez, and Michael Erler, who deftly explore Duncan’s perceived metronomic personality.

With articles ranging in date from November 21, 2012 to July 14, 2016, Team-First Superstar gives readers an often-prescient, first-hand account

of Duncan’s NBA golden years.

Additional articles from Pounding the Rock’s deep roster acknowledge the fistful of championships delivered by Duncan, while recognizing the legacy of San Antonio’s Big Three.

Hoops heads seeking a literary point of reference may recall 2013’s exceptional We’ll Always Have Linsanity, which chronicled Jeremy Lin’s meteoric rise in New York City, as documented by Knicks bloggers.

Team-First Superstar is essentially cut from the same cloth, minus the tweets. Pounding the Rock’s new addition to the Spurs canon comfortably eschews snark for substance in a strong first effort.

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FEATURE

How Texas’ overburdened foster care system has produced a generation of lost adults ALEX ZIELINSKI | @ALEX_ZEE

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FEATURE

O

n Caleb Pitts’ 18th birthday, two letters were delivered to his Comal County jail cell. One was from his foster mother, Elaine, who’d watched him dart in and out of juvenile detention for years. The other was from the state of Texas, informing Pitts that he had officially become an adult.

Suddenly, after 11 years in the state’s foster system, 20 foster homes, dozens of forgotten schools, a blur of paperwork and a lifetime of trauma, Pitts was on his own. Sitting alone in the cold, familiar cell, he couldn’t have felt less prepared.

Pitts was plucked from his home and put into state custody when he was seven years old, after his meth-addicted mother was sent to prison (his absent father was already homeless, somewhere). The state immediately separated Pitts from his three biological brothers, and the trauma left Pitts with uncontrollable anger issues — issues few foster parents could tolerate. So, instead of living with a family, Pitts spent the majority of his childhood living in prison-like facilities for kids with “behavioral issues,” alongside other heavily-medicated, equally pissed-off boys. It was unusual for a kid to leave these “homes” without a criminal record.

Pitts is one of the 1,180 kids who “age out” of Texas’ foster care system each year — children in state custody who are essentially pushed out the door with a birth certificate, a few bucks, and serious trust issues.

Many leave with undiagnosed mental health problems, often linked to the sexual, physical, or emotional abuse sustained in different foster homes. The few transitional tools the state gives foster kids are outdated, unrealistic, and pushed on them without context.

With little preparation for the adult world, hundreds of these kids quickly slide into chronic homelessness or incarceration. Some might return to an abusive household, or start one of their own.

Texas knows it’s a terrible parent. Numerous court cases, leaked state documents, and now a federal lawsuit underscoring the severity of the state’s neglect have officials clamoring for reform. But long-time foster advocates have heard this before — and know a successful overhaul of the state’s gargantuan Department of Family and Protective Services would take years.

In the state’s absence, local organizations and agencies are working to cobble together some kind of realistic safety net to catch their community’s most vulnerable adults before it’s too late. It’s a net that still has many holes.

Pitts, now 23, should actually be considered a foster care success story. He’s working part-time, taking business classes at San Antonio College, off drugs, pays rent on time, and only has the occasional run-in with the law. He had to do most of this without the

state’s help. The majority of kids Texas has chewed up and spit out into adulthood, including Pitts’ biological brothers, face a much darker reality. These are the children Texas has raised.

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or as long as she can remember, Jessica Urias has always been on some kind of medication. Her biological mother fed her sleep aids and adderall to keep her quiet from age five, threatening to punch her daughter when she bothered her. When DFPS shuttled her into foster care at age ten, Urias says doctors just added more prescriptions, antidepressants and bipolar medication.

“I don’t remember a lot of that time,” she said. “I lost a lot of weight, because the pills make me sick.” If her foster parents knew she wasn’t eating, they’d think she was trying to get them in trouble with DFPS, Urias said.

So she hid it from them.

Rampant overmedication is just one of the many pieces of the Texas foster system U.S. District Court Judge Janis Jack condemned in her blistering 2015 ruling on DFPS failures. Texas’ 28,000 wards of the state, she wrote, “have been shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm.”

According to her ruling, this system had gone unchecked for more than 20 years, leaving behind a generation of troubled adults in its wake.

“It is widely recognized that foster youths who age out generally experience poorer life outcomes,” Jack said.

This ruling was triggered by Texas’ refusal to settle a 4-year-old lawsuit from a national child advocacy group that claimed DFPS violated children’s rights. The 12,000 foster children in permanent state custody had been “doubly traumatized,” attorneys argued: “First by the abuse and neglect that brought them into foster care, and second by their treatment at the hands of their state custodians.” They spoke for dozens of foster children who’d been raped, hog-tied, suffocated in closets, and severely beaten in foster homes.

Then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, however, contended that the state isn’t “liable for the psychological well-being and emotional development of every child in foster care.”

Jack saw things differently. She immediately assigned two child welfare experts to investigate the tangled foster care system and present recommendations to the state. True to form, Texas officials rejected the federal interference, calling the 56 recommendations “impractical” and unnecessary.

Texas could take care of itself.

But more than a year after her original ruling, little

has changed.

“The state’s overall response to this lawsuit was a general unveiling of how poor they are at their job,” said Katherine Barillas, the director of child welfare policy at One Voice Texas — a group created by the Texas Legislature to advocate for regional public health needs.

While Texas has yet to suggest its own comprehensive solution, DFPS did approve a substantial salary boost for the state’s notoriously overworked social workers. But without expanding the number of salaried workers, Barillas doesn’t see the point.

“We need a dramatic investment in these workers to ensure the kids get any attention. The change we’re talking about is massive. We need to change the entire system. Even if one part is broken, we’ll fail thousands of these kids,” Barillas said. “We can’t just implement one thing and walk away.”

Doing so would only continue the state’s vicious cycle of neglect — one best illustrated by Judge Jack’s ruling.

“Children ...suffer abuse and neglect that is rarely confirmed or treated, are shuttled between placements—often inappropriate for their needs— throughout the state...are medicated with psychotropic drugs, and then age out of foster care at the Intense service level, damaged, institutionalized, and unable to succeed as adults,” she wrote.

“Foster children often age out of care more damaged than when they entered.”

U

rias learned to never get too comfortable in a foster home, or too attached to her foster family. She never knew when a family would decide she was too much work, or would simply dislike her, and give Child Protective Services a call.

“I had been rejected by so many families I started to expedite the process in every new home,” she said. “I knew how to push my parents enough to make them put in their 30 day notice [to have her removed by CPS]. I always felt like an inconvenience. I just wanted to get it over with.”

Her nomadic living situation isn’t unusual. According to 2015 data, foster kids who age out of the system in Bexar County have lived in an average 6.8 homes. In some Texas counties, it’s closer to 15.

Not able to find love from these state-selected families, Urias created her own. She became pregnant at 16, eager to give her baby the parental love she never received. But shortly after giving birth, the state put her daughter up for adoption. This is a familiar cycle for DFPS. According to a 2012 survey of former foster youth, 10 percent of Texas’ foster kids have given birth to or fathered a child before turning 18. And more than 50 percent of foster youth who age out of the system

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COURTESY OF JESSICA URIAS

FEATURE

JESSICA URIAS have children before they’re 20 (nationally, only 30 percent of young adults get pregnant before 20).

“Every girl I know who’s left the system either already had a kid or immediately got pregnant,” Urias said. “You have to understand — we’re children. We’ll do anything to give or get love. And that’s what a baby is for us.”

Seventy percent of those kids are funneled back into the foster care system. These numbers have inspired Texas lawmakers to mandate that DFPS start tracking just how many girls become pregnant while in foster care. The state’s fi rst annual report will come out next month.

After losing her baby, Urias spiraled into a deep depression, one that couldn’t be solved with just more meds. Two weeks before aging out of the system, she tried to commit suicide.

“No one wanted me,” she said. The emotional damage the foster system had inflicted on her left Urias with little hope for the future.

Pitts managed to hop through 20 different foster homes from the time he entered the system, at 7 years old, to when he aged out. But unlike Urias, he spent a lot of his childhood living in what the state calls a “Residential Treatment Center,” a facility for foster kids with “serious emotional disturbances or mental health issues.” Pitts, who had been traumatized when DFPS separated him from his three biological brothers, would tear apart foster homes when he was upset — punching walls, tearing down doors, smashing anything in sight.

At one point, he was on nine medications all at once (“like a lab rat,” he now says), but nothing worked. In Texas’ eyes, RTCs were the answer.

When Pitts describes life in the RTCs, he’s basically describing a prison.

“You’re in close quarters with a lot of angry guys,”

he said. “If you didn’t fight, you didn’t survive.”

He was supposed to be under constant supervision — a “perk” of the RTCs — but rarely felt like the staff were looking out for him.

“When we’d fight in the halls, it was like a gladiator match. We’d get bloody and beat up and the staff would just watch,” he said. “They wouldn’t do anything.”

In some RTC campuses surrounded by barbed wire, the foster kids would go to school and live alongside kids serving time in juvenile detention. The state didn’t differentiate between the two. It’s no surprise, then, that Pitts spent his teenage years flitting in and out of detention — mostly for fights and selling meth. After aging out, Pitts was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the trauma he’d sustained while in the state’s RTCs. Some 30 percent of all Texas foster kids leave the system with a PTSD diagnosis.

Pitts says he easily could have joined the thousands of other foster kids who graduate to prison after they age out — that is, if he didn’t have a foster mom rooting for him. According to state statistics, some 11 percent of Texas’ foster youth are incarcerated by the time they turn 20. To him, jail was a familiar setting, a place where someone else could continue to make all of his decisions for him.

“The foster mentality is pretty similar to the prison mentality,” he said. “It felt like home.”

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top by the San Antonio PALS center (short for Preparation for Adult Living) on a weekday afternoon, and you’ll find a few teens tapping away along a wall of computers or slumped into a couch, watching 2 Fast 2 Furious on a flatscreen TV. You’ll also find Jose Chapa, the head coordinator for DFPS’ Region 8 — a 28-county swath of South Texas with San Antonio as its headquarters.

“I’m the first to admit that it’s a tough age group to work with,” said Chapa, who’s been working with foster teens for over a decade — and is what some local youth advocates call “a beacon of hope.” To successfully do his job, he said, he’s become half guidance counselor and half parent.

“If we help them too much, they’ll expect us to help them with everything,” he said. “If we give them too little, they’ll fail.”

Chapa and his eight coworkers are responsible for connecting all of Region 8’s foster youth with resources that will help them age out of the system with ease. Their main job is to conduct the PALS

course, a voluntary, week-long life skills class for 15-year-old foster kids where they learn how to write a check, rent an apartment, or make a resume. This class, offered two years before they age out, is how the state prepares kids for adulthood.

Barillas said the PALS program hasn’t changed much in the past decade — and it’s far from adequate.

“This shouldn’t just be a week in a classroom, this should be a program built on consistent, ageappropriate experiential learning,” she said. “Teach them to cook, take them to a bank, go to a laundromat.

You can’t expect this one class to turn them into an instant adult when they age out. I mean, really, who still writes checks?”

Urias, who attended the PALs course, says she has absolutely no recollection of what she was taught. “I was 15, what do you expect?” she says.

Granted, PALs connects kids with other resources meant to soften the blow of adulthood — and on paper, they seem pretty fantastic. But, according to foster advocates, they come with problematic caveats.

By law, the state of Texas must cover in-state college tuition costs for any former foster youth.

Which sounds great, if you assume a foster kid would be prepared to enter college after what is often an inconsistent and incomplete education. In reality, less than half of the kids who age out of the Texas foster program each year even have a high school diploma.

“Even if they cover tuition, who will pay for the dorms, the text books, or the transportation? It’s unrealistic,” said Dr. Harriett Romo, the director of UTSA’s Child & Adolescent Policy Research Institute. “Many do express the desire to go to college, but don’t have the proper support system. Nobody is there to help them.”

On average, only 4 percent of former foster youth have earned a 4-year college degree by the time they’re 26 — compared to 36 percent of the general population by that time.

Thanks to legislation Congress passed in 2009, Texas is required to offer extended housing and care to kids aging out of the foster system. In Texas, these “Supervised Independent Living” facilities give 18-year-olds an apartment-like home with social workers on-site to ease them into independent living.

Residents can easily get help searching for work, applying to college, and perfecting other “life skills” like buying a car or signing up for health insurance.

But Texas only has nine of these SIL facilities with varying capacity—the largest location offers 34 rooms (the smallest can house eight). At best, Texas’ SIL program could only house 10 percent of kids aging out each year. Chapa says the wait list is so daunting it can take some kids up to two years to get in.

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sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 15

JANUARY 27-29 | 2017 HENRY B. GONZÁLEZ CONVENTION CENTER

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 17

FEATURE

◄ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

So what happens when aged-out foster kids can’t get into supportive housing? Chapa says he has to send them to a local homeless shelter.

Urias was homeless for the first three months after she turned 18. Thankfully, an older cousin let her move in — but not all kids have that kind of fallback. A whopping 37 percent of Texas foster youth report being homeless at least once after leaving foster care. “We’re the parent, the state’s the parent, and we’re letting them live like this,” Barillas said. “How would state lawmakers feel about someone’s biological parents treating their kids that way?”

Other state programs in California and Connecticut have rolled out an even more transitional housing program for foster kids, allowing them a few smaller steps even before living in a supervised housing unit.

This is a model Texas should follow, Barillas says. “In Texas, youth go from one setting to being on their own or living in Supervised Independent Living — which may be too big of a leap to independence for some.”

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

COURTESY OF DISTRICT JUDGE PETER SAKAI

hild advocates unequivocally agree on one obvious solution to Texas’ poor parenting: Mentorships. And the only person in Bexar County working to connect foster kids with mentors is Elaine Hartle.

Pitts said he’d still be behind bars if it wasn’t for Hartle. Hartle was Pitts’ last foster parent he had before DFPS passed him through the RTC system.

Even after Pitts punched holes in her walls and threatened her safety, forcing her multiple times to call the police, Hartle stayed by his side. It was Hartle (and her husband) who ultimately convinced Pitts to clean up his act.

“She’d send me letters in jail and they’d visit me whenever they could,” Pitts said. “They cared about me — and I didn’t want to ruin their life. So I went to rehab and got my GED.” The struggle she went through to raise Pitts, an angry teenage boy already hurt by the foster system, motivated Hartle to help more kids left behind by Texas’ failed parenting.

“Imagine your child’s going off to college,” she said.

“You give them a big hug and a little money and say, ‘We wish you the best but you can never come back or call.

Good luck.’ That’s, essentially, what Texas is doing.”

Hartle created the THRU Project — a nonprofit connecting local foster teens to volunteer mentors — to combat this cycle. Now five years old, THRU has

connected some 70 foster kids with more than 100 adult mentors in the community who help them navigate adulthood — whether that’s going with them to a car dealership, helping them finish school, or just being an ear on the other end of the line.

“When you’ve never been allowed to make your own choices in life, it’s impossible to start from scratch,” Hartle said. “You quit planning for the long term when you move every six months. Mentors can see further ahead than these kids, and steer them in the right direction.”

Her main goal is to help kids “find a better normal,” whatever that may look like.

In the Bexar County children’s court system, judges wish this “normal” was a state mandate.

“The success stories are when I see someone connect with a kid — whether it’s a THRU mentor, an attorney, a CASA representative, or a judge,” said county District Judge Peter Sakai. “But we don’t have enough of those people in our community.”

Sakai has worked with foster children in the county courts since 1995 — and he’s seen far fewer success stories than he would have liked. He’s come to the conclusion that his work, placing at-risk children in foster care, is far from a cure-all solution.

Sakai recalls one particular case that best illustrates this problem. The state was taking away a young couple’s baby, after they both failed drug rehab programs and denied needed mental health care. Both parents were former foster kids. As he remembers it, the child’s father said, “You took me away from my parents when I was three, and nobody ever gave a shit about me. What do you expect? You think you’re fixing things, but you’re just making it worse.”

DISTRICT JUDGE PETER SAKAI

“I realized, he’s got a point,” Sakai said. “This guy got screwed by the foster care system. He should have fought harder for his kid — but he didn’t know how to.

And that’s our fault.”

Sakai has little trust that the state will build a reliable safety net for these young adults anytime soon. Instead, he’s urging communities to care for their own. “We need local solutions to make up for the state’s tenuous safety net,” he said. “There are all these little ways we can make our own safety net, right here. It just requires a lot of cooperation.”

In fact, the most comprehensive, bipartisan bill filed in the state legislature — meant to reform DFPS — suggests the state do just that. Under the proposed law, Texas would coordinate with regional nonprofits and child welfare groups to “increase child safety, placement stability, and permanency.”

P

itts never imagined he’d go to college.

He never thought he’d have his own apartment. He definitely didn’t think he’d have a shot at becoming a realtor — the main reason he’s getting a business degree.

“I didn’t think I had a future,” he said. Sure, he still struggles with PTSD-fueled outbursts of rage, and Hartle still isn’t surprised when she gets a call from the cops.

But Pitts comes from a generation of foster kids thrown into a system that, according to the courts, has done “more harm to our children than good.” The fact that he found a pathway out of incarceration or homelessness or addiction appears to exceed state expectations. He’s one of the lucky ones — something he’s reminded of whenever he hears an old friend has been sentenced to decades behind bars or that his biological brother is still struggling with drug addiction.

Just a few months ago, Pitts and Hartle walked by the Greyhound station in downtown San Antonio. Pitts paused. Two people sitting near the station looked familiar — both were around his age and both looked like they lived on the streets. He went up and talked to them, and confirmed his suspicion: they were his former foster siblings. One was on some kind of drug, he told Hartle, the other was working as a prostitute to make ends meet. Both were homeless.

“Damn,” he said, as they continued down the sidewalk. “That could have been me.”

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

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#MAVERICKMUSICFESTIVAL sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 21

COURTESY OF PILOBOLUS

CALENDAR

◀ Amusingly named after a type of fungus that thrives in cow dung, Pilobolus sprouted from a dance composition class at Dartmouth College circa 1971. Founded by a motley crew of non-dancers that counted a cross-country skier, a fencer and and a pole vaulter among its members, the company takes an experimental approach to movement-based performances and routinely pushes the envelope with creative collaborations that have spanned the spectrum from magic duo Penn & Teller and Where the Wild Things Are author/ illustrator Maurice Sendak to alternative pop-rockers OK Go and the MIT Distributed Robotics Laboratory.

Developed organically, the company’s 100-plus original works fuse elements of acrobatics and improvisation, often employing bodies as canvases or building blocks for gravity-defying constructions. Penned by SpongeBob SquarePants lead writer Steven Banks, Shadowland expands on the Connecticut-based troupe’s memorable performance at the 2007 Oscars by placing silhouetted dancers behind a scrim. Landing at the Tobin for one night only courtesy of ARTS San Antonio, the touring production “merges projected images and front-of-screen choreography” within a surreal narrative that “celebrates the strange and wonderful power of the dark to show us who we are in unexpected and utterly thrilling ways." $16-$54.50, 7:30pm, Tobin Center for the Performing Center, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, artssa.org. — Bryan Rindfuss

DANCE

WED

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Pilobolus

CALENDAR OUR TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK

THU

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‘United We Are One’

The Well-Tempered Clavier sponsored by Red Bull energy drink seems counter-intuitive unless a harpsichord is getting dropped off a cliff or something.

But Bach, who took the work where he could get it, worked out many of his compositions in a SPECIAL EVENT When it’s not being Leipzig coffee house and actually played for plants as part of a wrote a piece titled the Coffee science fair project, classical Cantata. And as Berlin’s Flying music nowadays is probably most Steps breakdancing crew proves often sold as a calming escape in this internationally touring stage from fast-paced modern life, so show, the uptempo passages a performance of a selection from Clavier are better suited for from Johann Sebastian Bach’s six-stepping than sleeping it off

Red Bull Flying WED 18 Bach

and even hip-hop-inspired beat embellishments sound natural set in this almost impossibly timeless piece of music. Going beyond a gimmick, Flying Bach gracefully headspins across centuries and cultures to honor the intentions of the composer who wrote that Clavier is “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning.” Bach, much like WuTang, is for the children. $16$25, 8pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com.

— Jeremy Martin

ART San Antonio hosts three large marches each year. The Martin Luther King Jr. March, International Women’s Day March, and the César Chávez March, all aimed at promoting social justice and fostering community, are major events for our city and important catalysts for discourse. In a new exhibit entitled “United We Are One,” the City of San Antonio’s Department of Arts and Culture presents a thoughtful look at our tradition of marching together for causes that matter to us. Featuring “works by local artists that showcase our success on the road towards equality and recognize the challenges we’ve faced and must continue to overcome,” the special exhibit remains on view through March 31, following Thursday night’s opening reception. Free, 6-9pm, Plaza de Armas Gallery, 115 Plaza de Armas #102, getcreativesanantonio.com. — James Courtney

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

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CALENDAR

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COURTESY

Spurs vs.

Nuggets SPORTS

THU

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COURETSY OF NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

Neil

◀ Let’s get some shit straight about Neil deGrasse Tyson, lest his playfulness and willingness to engage the general public on issues not limited to his scientific specialties lead anyone to forget his position as one of the finest minds of deGrasse Tyson our time. Tyson, who will present a talk entitled “The Cosmic Perspective” at Tobin this week, has a PhD in astrophysics from TALKS Columbia University, has advised congress on PLUS issues related to space exploration, continues to be a prolific author (both in his profession and for the public), heads up the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City, and works as a research associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. And, really, that’s a severely abridged version of his impressive resume. With “The Cosmic Perspective,” as the title suggests, Tyson looks to reframe our thinking about a whole host of issues by reminding us of our insignificance in the face of an endless and empty universe. The purpose of this, of course, is manifold, but it includes the hope of changing our perspectives on materialism, capitalism, government, religion, and, most importantly, how we view ourselves and each other. Sold out ($190-$800 at stubhub.com), 7:30pm, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — JC

◀ You know you’re struggling for NBA relevance when the most memorable part of your season thus far is the controversy generated from the release of a disgruntled former coach’s book, as is the case with the lowly Denver Nuggets. The Spurs are no strangers to flying under the radar, but remain on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to success on the court. San Antonio’s recent stretch of wins has showcased the most efficient offense and defense in the

THU-SAT

19-21

league, outscoring opponents by almost 23 points. Five-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge has picked up the slack on the offensive end of the floor, as role players like Davis Bertans and Jonathon Simmons continue to make contributions off the bench. Expect a frantic pace from the Nuggets, as they attempt to counter their current slide. $10-$275, 7:30pm, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Pkwy., (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com. — M. Solis

Barbershop Harmony Society

SPECIAL EVENT Evidenced by the success of the Pitch Perfect movie franchise, the new Broadway musical In Transit, Texan pop quintet Pentatonix and reality competition shows like The Sing-Off and Pitch Slapped, a cappella is back with a vengeance. Few organizations are prouder of this resurgence than the Barbershop Harmony Society, a Nashville-based troupe boasting more than 23,000 members that range in age from 8 to 100. Formed in 1938 (as the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America) and now billed as “the world’s largest all-male singing society,” BHS is set to invade downtown San Antonio for its annual Midwinter Convention. Extending its scope by bringing women’s choruses and male/female ensembles into the fold, the program kicks into full swing Thursday afternoon with a keynote address from Deke Sharon (aka “The Godfather of Modern A Cappella”), a vocalist, arranger, composer and producer with a knack for simulating the sounds of musical instruments with his voice. Beyond classes, meetings and rehearsals, the five-day

affair includes a number of public events hosted at the Lila Cockrell Theatre (900 E. Market St.), including a Thursday Night Show uniting the groups AISQC, Boardwalk, Pratt Street Power, The Buzz, Main Street, Signature, Four Voices, Forefront, Keepsake and The Children’s Chorus of San Antonio ($65, 7:30-10pm Thu); Friday’s Youth & Seniors Chorus Festival showcasing 25 ensembles from across the country ($50, 11am-10pm Fri); an International Seniors Quartet Championship between Social Insecurity, Armchair Chorderbacks, Velvet Frogs, Leftover Parts, Time Bandits and 20 other groups ($50, noon-5pm Sat); and — likely the most anticipated of them all — a Saturday Night Show boasting a “world-class entertainment lineup” combining award-winning acts, international youth choruses and MacArthur High School’s own a cappella group PFC ($65, 7:30-10pm Sat). Further proof that this classic American tradition is hitting a high note — all of Midwinter’s ticketed events are on the verge of selling out. For details and tickets, visit barbershop.org/sanantonio. — BR

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 23

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

CALENDAR NIGHTLIFE

FRI-TUE

COURTE SY OF SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART

20-24

ART

‘Julian Onderdonk and the Texan Landscape’

Chippendales

◀ Sometimes landscapes, dismissed as not heady enough or symbolic enough (or as too boring), get a bad rap. The truth of the matter is as it has always been: landscape painting, at least in the hands of the true masters of the form, can be just as inspiring, insightful and dynamic as any other style of painting. With its new exhibit, featuring over 25 exquisite landscapes by San Antonio native and impressionist hero Julian Onderdonk (1882–1922), the San Antonio Museum

of Art presents active proof of the historic and artistic vitality of landscape painting.

Entitled “Julian Onderdonk and the Texan Landscape,” the exhibit juxtaposes work from Onderdonk’s years training in New York, as well as his iconic depictions of the Texan landscape in the late 1800s and early 1900s. $5-$10, 10am-9pm Fri, 10am-5pm Sat-Sun, 10am-9pm Tue, San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org. — JC

SPECIAL EVENT ◀ Credited with helping “legitimize stripping as a form of popular entertainment,” the dancing beefcakes of Chippendales were initially devised to reinvigorate a failing Los Angeles nightclub back in 1979. Now a full-fledged institution clad in little more than signature bowties and detached shirt cuffs, the unapologetically cheesy operation delivers an abundance of bachelorette and girls’ night packages (pun intended) and boasts a popular Las Vegas

SAT

COURTESY OF REDFRAME PRODUCTION

FONS SCHIEDON

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residency starring “the most doable men in show business” and a touring troupe that sows its wild oats all over the globe. An early stop on this year’s “Best. Night. Ever.” tour, San Antonio welcomes the scantily clad studs for an evening billed as a “whirlwind of sexy goodness” that’s “perfect for when you want to party locally or plan an exotic rendezvous for you and your troupe of besties.” $10-$35, 9pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — BR

SPECIAL EVENT

Monster Jam 21-22 SAT-SUN

▲ Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! (Or, sure, Saturday also, but how often do you get to do the monster-truck-guy voice about an actual monster truck show happening on a “Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!”?)

Witness some of the biggest damn trucks you ever saw in your life aggressively fighting for dominance like skunk apes in heat. Then after you’ve found a spot in the parking lot, head inside the Alamodome and watch 10,000 pound leviathans with names like El Toro Loco, War Wizard, and freaking

Grave Digger give the owners of the jacked-up crew cabs outside brand new inferiority complexes, wreaking methanol-fueled havoc in races and audience-judged stunt competitions that are sure to produce veritable buttloads of both sound and fury. Might as well name one of those trucks “Little Pink Houses” because, as John Cougar Mellencamp sings, “ain’t that America?” $15-$105, 7pm Sat, 2pm Sun, Alamodome, 100 Montana Street, (210) 207-3663, alamodome.com. – JM

TUE

24

The Land of the Magic Flute

MUSIC

▲ In their incredibly unique offering for the San Antonio Symphony’s Mozart Festival, SOLI Chamber Ensemble and Opera San Antonio are bringing together modern graphic novel animation with some of Mozart’s most memorable Magic Flute arias. The Land of the Magic Flute is a motion graphic novel and modern telling of Mozart’s famous opera by director and animator Fons Schiedon, who has worked with the electronic act SBTRKT (have you seen the “New Dorp. New York” video with the awesome animation?) and Beyoncé on the Formation World Tour (!). Schiedon will be at the SOLI performance to live mix the graphic film and incidental music with experimental vocalist and composer Philippe Lambert, who created the film’s “21st-century soundscape” with inspiration from the opera. SOLI’s performance will bring these innovative artists together with equally fierce singers from Opera San Antonio. Between the singers’ lavish costumes and arresting aria performances, the two singular artists presenting their exceptional graphic film, and newly-commissioned adaptations of Mozart’s score, this performance

by San Antonio’s unparalleled chamber ensemble will (literally) be a once-in-a-lifetime sensory experience. $10-$25, pre-concert talk with the artists 7pm, concert 7:30pm, Ruth Taylor Recital Hall, Trinity University, solichamberensemble.com. – Rachel Cooley

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 25

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

CALENDAR NIGHTLIFE

ART ”17 Pelicans Along the Bank When I’m 64” Since the mid-1980s, local artist James Cobb has notched over 25 solo exhibitions and experimented wildly, with a creative abandon and pesky curiosity that makes him truly magnetic, in the realms of painting, drawing, digital media and music.

Collecting work from the past two years, his new exhibit at FL!GHT, combines three distinct bodies of work, all of which veer to the realms of surreal geometry, digital layering, dense symbolism and rich colors/ textures. Free, by appointment; FL!GHT Gallery, 134 Blue Star, (210) 872-2586.

“30 Year Photographic History” The

City of San Antonio’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commission showcases a collection of images by Allee Wallace and other photographers who’ve captured historic leaders like Claude Black, Henry Cisneros, Lila Cockrell and Rosa Parks. Free, 6pm Thursday; Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., (210) 207-7211.

Art to Lunch Ideal for art enthusiasts with

tight schedules and/or short attention spans, SAMA’s Art to Lunch series invites guests on a short-and-sweet two-object tour of works they might have overlooked in the galleries. $5, 12:30-1pm Thursday; San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-81090.

Closing reception: ”Nasty Women Art Exhibition” Yes, Ma’am zine’s

“Nasty Women Art Exhibition” serves to “demonstrate solidarity among artists who identify with being a Nasty Woman in the face of threats to roll back women’s rights, individual rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigrant rights.” Hosted at AP Art Lab in partnership with DreamWeek, the “completely inclusive” show mirrors the format of its New York sister by pricing works between $10 and $100 and benefiting Planned Parenthood. Free, 7-10pm Saturday; AP Art Lab, 1906 S. Flores St.

Kembra Pfahler Filmmaker, actress,

performance artist and leader of the cult glam-punk band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Kembra Pfahler pays a visit to Sala Diaz to present a performance piece and create “live butt prints” while local artist Agosto Cuellar’s “Jive Town” takeover continues in the gallery. Free, 9pm Saturday; Sala Diaz, (972) 900-0047.

”Sex, Race, Science” Counted as the

youngest member of the seminal Chicano art collective Con Safo, Rolando Briseño is a revered local artist who’s represented in the permanent collections of institutions ranging from New York’s Museo del Barrio to Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art. Known for culturally and politically driven work, Briseño’s new solo exhibition “Sex, Race, Science” highlights sculpture, photographic constructions, digital works, public art and never-before-seen paintings created over the past three decades. Free, by appointment; Presa House Gallery, 725 S. Presa St., (210) 445-6997.

FILM 90 Second Newberry Film Festival

BiblioTech and H-E-B Read 3 team up for this second annual contest in which young filmmakers create shorts based on Newbery winning books. Free, 3-5pm Saturday; Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N St Mary’s St., (210) 226-3333.

Séraphine As part of The Image of the Artist

in Cinema Film Series, the McNay screens Martin Provost’s 2008 drama exploring the life of self-taught French painter Séraphine de Senlis (played by Yolande Moreau). $15$20, 1:30pm Sunday; McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5368.

The Twelve Powers New York Times

bestselling author James Twyman hosts a world premiere screening of The Twelve Powers, a new documentary following Twyman and a group of Jewish rabbis, Muslim imams and Christian ministers as they travel to a hill overlooking a Syrian village held by ISIS for a prayer vigil. $12, 7-8:30pm Friday; Unity Church of San Antonio, 1723 Lawndale, (210) 824-7351.

Sankofa The Carver Community Cultural

Center, Nommo Speaker’s Bureau and CultureWorks Enterprises have partnered to present a special evening on cinema and engagement with renowned independent filmmaker Haile Gerima. In his first visit to San Antonio, Gerima will premiere his 1993 classic Sankofa (an indie film on slavery and redemption), followed by a talk and Q&A. $20-$25, 7pm Thursday; Carver Community Cultural Center, Jo Long Theatre, 226 N. Hackberry St., (210) 207-2234.

Silent Film Classics with Strings Attached The East Coast-based Miller-

Porfiris Duo accompany three short films produced between 1903 and 1924 — The Great Train Robbery, The Violinmaker of Cremona and Ballet Mecanique.

Free, 7:30pm Friday; UTSA Recital Hall, University of Texas at San Antonio, 6900 Loop 1604 W, (210) 458-5685.

Labyrinth Video Dungeon Theatre presents

a screening of Jim Henson’s 1986 sci-fi musical Labyrinth, starring the late great David Bowie as the spandex-clad Goblin King. Free, 9pm Thursday; Oak Hills Tavern, 7920 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 614-8855.

THEATER Generic Eric Kareem Dahab directs Generic

Eric at the Overtime Theater. $10-$15, 8pm Friday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday; The Overtime Theater, 1203 Camden St., (210) 557-7562.

The Last Waltz This play by Bernard J.

Taylor tells of a doctor who commissions a composer to create a piece of music as an anniversary present for his wife, who is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s. $10-$15, 8pm Friday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday; The Overtime Theater, 1203 Camden St., (210) 557-7562.

The Rat Pack Lounge Roxie Theater waxes

nostalgic with a musical revue celebrating the heyday of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior. $25-$30, 7:30pm 8pm Friday, 7:30pm Saturday, 3:30pm Sunday; Sunday; Roxie Theater, 7460 Callaghan Road, (210) 360-9180.

Senior Moments Described as “fun, touching,

and spot on,” Linda Kaufman’s Senior Moments is a series of musical vignettes that deal with growing older and having aging parents. $18-$20, 7:30pm Saturday, 1pm & 5pm Sunday; Carol B. Conway Theater, 11210 Disco St., (210) 495-2787.

Watch Your Step: The Men of Eastwood The Renaissance Guild presents the second chapter of a three-part series of musical revues celebrating the artists, music and venues along the Chitlin’ Circuit. $25, 8pm Friday-Saturday, 4pm Sunday; Little Carver Civic Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., (210) 207-7211.

COMEDY Full Parental Comedy No holds barred

take on comedy from some of funniest parents in San Antonio. $16, 8pm Thursday; Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805.

Sketch Party 3000 MGB Podcast and Daddy Nooo! Podcast present a night of stand-up

and sketch. $16, 8pm Wednesday; Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805.

SPECIAL EVENTS Awesome SA Dreamweek Pitch Party

Finalists pitch their ideas or projects for a chance to win $1,000. Free, 6-8pm Thursday; Burleson Yard Beer Garden, 430 Austin St.

Freedom Block Party District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick presents the inaugural Freedom Block Party, a family-friendly, urban event to celebrate the conclusion of DreamWeek and MLK commemorative festivities. The community celebration will include free food, music, and fun for all ages on the Hays Street Bridge. Free (parking available at the Alamo Beer Brewery), 3-6pm Saturday; Hays Street Bridge, 800 N Cherry St.

MLK Speech Contest As an interactive

enhancement to the Celebrating MLK Young People’s Concert, the San Antonio Symphony will conduct a “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech Contest” for attending 5th grade students. Winners will be invited to recite excerpts from Dr. King’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech onstage. Free, 9:45-11am Thursday; Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624

Mystic Market Brick hosts an alternative

wellness market featuring intuitive tarot, psychic astrology, reiki masters, massage therapy, reflexology, chakra and aura readers, numerology, crystals, jewelry, skincare and artisan products. Free, 11am-5pm Saturday; Brick, 108 Blue Star.

Solidarity in Moments of Crisis With the new administration comes uncertainty and fear for the most vulnerable communities. Join the conversation as the Southwest Workers Union leads a discussion on ways the community can create safe spaces to protect and defend youth, undocumented families, Muslims, LGBTQ individuals and women. Free, 10am-1pm Saturday; Movement Gallery, 1412 E. Commerce St.

The African Market: A Creative Arts Festival The African Market is a one-day

celebration of emerging creative arts coming from West Africa and beyond.

The Olaju Art Group in collaboration with DreamWeek is presenting a fully interactive installation which introduces participants to various elements of contemporary African arts and culture. This exclusive event features fine arts, Nigerian cuisine, live music and local vendors selling African-inspired items. $5, 5pm Thursday; Brick, 108 Blue Star.

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 27

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

ARTS + CULTURE

NO HARD BRYAN RINDFUSS | @BRYANRINDFUSS

HAT REQUIRED A quick tour of artist Mark Hogensen’s ‘Construction Sights’

≥

Although “pen on paper” might not conjure thrilling possibilities, local artist Mark Hogensen has emerged as a champion of this basic medium while producing densely layered drawings celebrating equally basic subjects — namely tables, chairs and lumber.

Born in Portland, Hogensen studied architecture at Oregon State University and later worked in “the building trades.” Fed up with construction after 12 years in the field, he reached a decision to apply to graduate school and focus on visual art. After visiting several universities, he settled on UTSA, sold his contractor gear

and relocated to San Antonio in 1987. While working toward his MFA in studio art, he found himself studying alongside a number of now-notable artists, including Ken Little and Jesse Amado. A similarly strong concentration of local talent now surrounds Hogensen at Palo Alto College, where he teaches drawing and art appreciation in the same department as Lloyd Walsh, Karen Mahaffy, Cakky Brawley, Alba De Leon, Sabra Booth and Jimmy James Canales.

(As the husband of artist, personal trainer and running coach Kimberly Aubuchon, Hogensen is also half of one of

San Antonio’s art power couples.)

Slowly but surely, he replaced all those tools he offloaded in Oregon, and his background in architecture and construction has made a visible impact on his work.

Previously known better for irregularly shaped paintings, Hogensen has won over fans with his drawings, which seem to fly off gallery walls with a regularity most artists don’t often see in these parts. During a recent visit to Parchman Stremmel Galleries, Hogensen explained that a prominent local collector had purchased nearly all the drawings (priced between $1,600 and $3,000) in his new exhibition “Construction Sights” before the show even opened.

Described as an exploration of “our awareness of rigidity and perception of objects in space,” this latest body of work exemplifies Hogensen’s masterful use of perspective to both simulate and challenge reality. In essence still lifes drawn from the artist’s imagination, the new drawings place figurative elements (intensely

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Is everyone you love covered? cross-hatched scraps of wood, deconstructed plaid fabric, Wainscot paneling, wooden shelving, lawn-chair webbing) in abstracted environments that suggest kinetic energy. In one particular example, a glimpse of a starry sky in the background gives the seemingly weightless wooden odds and ends in the foreground a sense of mysticism Hogensen likened to the visual hallmarks of Disney’s Fantasia (picture Mickey Mouse conducting his magic in a woodshop). Save for one brightly colored painting that echoes the show’s themes via layered objects and areas of simulated woodgrain, all the works in “Construction Sights” are rendered in Pilot G2, a decidedly lowbrow pen Hogensen “buys by the dozen” and favors for the blips, splotches and other imperfections they gift his pieces.

When I joined the Current in 2009, Hogensen was one of the very first artists I wrote about (previewing his Sala Diaz show “Town and Country”), which makes him a fitting first subject for this new column built around images culled from the sketchbooks of local artists. If you’re a San Antonio artist who keeps a sketchbook, email a short bio and sample sketches to brindfuss@sacurrent.com.

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Dueling emotions in Sam Shepard’s relentless drama ‘Fool for Love’ STEVEN G. KELLMAN

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In the midst of a passionate and that is exactly what director embrace, May knees Eddie George Green manages for a riveting in the groin. “I don’t understand my 70 minutes (Green, who is also CEO feelings,” says May, trapped in the and artistic director of The Playhouse, tumult of fervent love and violent hate. began his directorial career, in 1990, For 15 years, the relationship between with Fool for Love). Except for May and Eddie has been obsessive occasional commentary by the Old and ambivalent. The fact that they Man and the arrival of Martin, May’s share the same father makes their nebbishy date for the evening, the union a kind of mythical, elemental and play is a crazy cage match between inescapable coupling. two pugnacious lovers. And the At the outset of Sam Shepard’s black-box intimacy of The Playhouse’s emotionally exhausting Fool for Love, Cellar Theater keeps the audience Eddie has tracked May down to a captive in that cage. shabby motel room on the outskirts Damon Metzer’s Eddie is a grungy of the Mojave Desert. She had left cowboy who wants what he wants him after he began fooling around though he is not sure what that is. with a wealthy woman known as “The Despite vowing to May: “You’ll never Countess.” Eddie claims he has driven get rid of me,” he cannot entirely his truck and a loaded horse carrier give up The Countess, who lurks 2,480 miles to find May, and he is outside in the motel parking lot. Holly determined that she return to share his Clifford’s frowzy May is at her wit’s trailer in Wyoming. May cannot live with end, especially when recounting how Eddie, but she cannot live without him.

Eddie’s mother blew her brains out First produced in 1983, Fool for Love for love of the fickle Old Man. Bill lacks the thematic complexities and Gundry provides a ghostly chorus as broad humor of Buried Child (1979) that bibulous fantasist who sired both and True West (1980). Nor does it Eddie and May. When May tells Eddie feature stage business with husks that she is expecting a gentleman of corn or stolen toasters. caller, Eddie replies: “This Fool for Love But it is intense and brutal, guy’s gotta be a twerp.” And $10-$40 even if, defying Chekhov’s that is just what Michael 8pm Fri-Sat, 3pm Sun The Playhouse famous adage, the shotgun Zaiontz’s nerdy Martin, a 800 W. Ashby Pl. Eddie totes never discharges. stark contrast to Eddie, turns (210) 733-7258 Shepard’s instructions call for out to be. No more than the theplayhousesa.org Through Feb. 5 productions to be “performed other characters, he is one of relentlessly, without a break,” Shepard’s dippy sheep.

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Out 1 might be work compared to the eagerness of western cinema, but try to force down a couple episodes of French vegetables in between mainlining full seasons of Charmed.

O.J.: Made in America on Hulu Plus // One of the most riveting cinematic events of 2016 was technically an eight-hour, five-episode television show. Originally airing on ESPN but also released to theaters in order to qualify for year-end movie awards, Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America offers one of the most complex portraits of race, class and celebrity in America ever put on screen.

Divided back into episodes on Hulu Plus, the rich detail and irresistible pull of O.J.: Made in America has arguably found its ideal home in the bingewatching world.

The New Yorker Presents on Amazon Prime // An audiovisual analogue of the exquisitely tasteful name-dropper The New Yorker, with documentaries, short films, animation, poetry and more formed into a full season of weekly episodes.

The first season includes work from acclaimed directors like Alex Gibney, Steve James, Jonathan Demme, Eugene Jarecki and Dawn Porter, and appearances from Paul Giamatti, Courtney Barnett and Alan Cumming.

The Criterion Collection on Film Struck // Created by Turner Classic Movies in collaboration with The Criterion Collection, the upstart Film Struck is the answer for film fans unimpressed by the offerings on Netflix and Amazon. It’s the sole streaming home of The Criterion Collection, which the site has formed into ready-made bingefests in categories such as Circus Acts (including La Strada and Freaks ) and Existentialism in Film (including Le Samourai and Seconds ).

≥

The word “binge” means indulging to excess – it’s classically associated with eating and contemporarily associated with watching TV, and it almost always gets phrased in the

pejorative. But why does binge-watching have to be a bad word? After all, aren’t intensive athletic programs like SoulCycle just a form of binge-exercising? And you’re not a nincompoop for bingereading the novels of William Faulkner. Binge-watching King of Queens won’t provide much cultural or intellectual nourishment, but there are all sorts of ways you can spend the entire weekend on your couch, and still feel good about it.

Mini-film festivals on MUBI and Fandor // MUBI offers thirty films at a time, with a new selection added every day, so there is always something new and unusual. The selection is all over the map, but they tend to program around themes – right now, they are showing several Marcel Pagnol movie adaptations, including dueling 1961 and 2013 versions of Fanny. If you want a wider selection than the MUBI model allows, check out the foreign and independent-minded Fandor, which programs mini-film festivals such as their Directed by Women series, featuring works from Agnes Varda, Kelly Reichardt and Maren Ade. sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 35

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

RON BECHTOL

FOOD

DUMPLING DINNER Roaming the Aisles at Hung Phong Oriental Market RON BECHTOL

•

Thursday's fresh produce day

≥

Gotta love online reviews. But as I don’t want anyone or anything looking or being skeptical, here’s my take on this bustling pan-Asian Market. First thing to know: the neighborhood is far from posh, but the unpromising intersection of Fratt and Remount was one of SA’s early hotbeds of non-Chinese Asian. The little café, now a Mexican restaurant, was where I first fell in love with banh mi; the place across the street was the original Van’s restaurant. That Hung Phong was nearby was just icing on the cake.

Second thing: The aisles are abuzz with non-English conversation, but that doesn’t mean that you will be shunned. “I don‘t speak Vietnamese — go to the back and ask,” was the response of one of the smart-assy, but friendly, Gen-X checkout staffers to a question from an older lady. Or at least you will be dealt with equally.

Third thing: either come as a culinary tourist and simply roam the aisles, or have a certain recipe in mind. Last time, I was looking for lotus root, among other things.

Bingo. This time, I just kinda wandered. Thursday is an especially good time for either approach as it’s fresh produce day. (Go to the back through the flapping plastic curtain.) By 3 p.m., much has been picked through.

“We never know how much of anything we’re going

to get, so come early,” was the suggestion at checkout.

There were still a few lotus roots, plenty of long beans and green papayas, scaly melons and pale, packaged mushrooms, fat ginger roots and cooked salted duck eggs, boxes of sculpturally trimmed sweet, young coconuts and tumescent daikon … Colorful dragon fruit and hands of tiny green bananas were on display in another area near the cash registers. It’s easy to conjure up a stir-fry just by letting your eyes lead you.

Supplements to that stir fry can be found outside the cool produce area in even colder display chests: tofu from soft to firm and even in ball form, whole duck, frog’s legs, pork ears and brains (okay, you can skip those), and promising looking Chinese sausage … and that’s just on one wall. Along others you’ll find frozen whole pompano and coiled eel, silvery smelt and snails in the shell, numerous stuffed buns for steaming. And myriad dumplings. Grasping at something that would be a kind of theme, however lame, I assembled an assortment of frozen dumplings and dessert, along with a jar of pickled, baby eggplant and another of kimchee to serve as sides.

The frozen dumplings are also myriad in shape and filling. You can get both yam and lamb, for example. But I finally settled on pork shumai and some empanada-style

EXP E R I ENCE

P EARL

packets filled with leek. Dessert would be frozen sticky rice and grilled banana wrapped in grilled banana leaves.

And then I started looking at sauces from soy to fish. In the interest of brevity, let’s just say that you’ll find what you want and then some. My choice was a small bottle of so-called soy seasoning — kind of a jacked-up version of regular soy sauce. Here’s the result: The shumai were very good simply microwaved (other fi llings such as shrimp are available); the subtle leek dumplings deserve to be steamed as the edges tend to get tough when zapped. The super soy worked well with both. Reheated, the sticky rice and banana was also good but I felt it needed a little something else — maybe some of the azuki paste ice cream. Or a dab of durian sorbet. The kimchee (this one has a little fi sh sauce in it) was sensational; I had to stop myself from eating the entire jar. But the orbs of eggplant were crunchy and not very briny — so I re-brined them in white vinegar for later use. Maybe next time I’ll try pickled jujube, young grape or even bamboo shoots.

There’s no end to it, and we didn’t even get to noodles, super-thin rice paper or sweet black sesame cakes.

Looking less skeptical now?

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

FOOD

FOOD COURT

New truck, a Drew Brees’-owned Sport Bar heads to SA and more

Chef Snacks

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> Mark Garcia, formerly of Taco Land and Alchemy Kombucha & Culture, is taking a crack at mobile kitchens with a new concept out of the Say.She.Ate truck. Matokie Slaughter will pack in late-night snacks at Stay Golden Social House Thursday through Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Menu highlights include cheese-loaded fries, Chinese broccoli stir-fry with funky black beans and optional add-ons, winter vegetable-filled hand pies and an “Almost Famous Bowl” with brown butter mashed potatoes, corn, spicy fried chicken and cream gravy.

Prices will range between $8 and $14.

401 Pearl Pkwy.

JESSICA ELIZARRARAS | @JESSELIZARRARAS

Baton Rouge-based Sports Bar Chain Will Open in SA this Summer

> The city’s north side will gain a taste of New Orleans this summer when Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar opens. Coowned by Drew Brees (of New Orleans Saints fame) as of 2015, Walk-On’s was launched in 2003 by college pals Brandon Landry and Jack Warner in Baton Rouge.

The first San Antonio location, franchised by Moussa Haidar, will join two others in the state and 15 nationwide when it opens this year in Hollywood Park. The chain was voted “America’s Best Sports Bar” in 2012 by ESPN so expect plenty of massive TV screens, elevated game-time snacks, cocktails and craft beer when the 8,500-squarefoot facility opens.

1004 Pantheon Way.

Donut Pairing

Drag Brunch

> Who run the world? Girls … and gender-bending queens. Hosted by Foxxy Blue Orchid (aka Dino Foxx), Drag Brunch is back at Paramour on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with an ode to Beyonce. Performers include Kristi Waters (winner of the Most Original category in last year’s SA Burlesque Festival) and Audience Favorite Lucy Lips. Wake up any which way you want and head down for morning cocktails and a fierce brunch menu. Prices vary. Performances will be held at noon and 12:45 p.m.

102 9th St., Suite 400, (210) 307-8740.

Send food- and nightlife-related events and news to flavor@sacurrent.com.

Boucherie 2017

> Chef John Russ and Inspired Occasions will head to Vintage Heart Farms again with their closest chef pals to for the fourth annual boucherie, an ode to all things New Orleans and pork. Russ will be joined by Pieter Sypesteyn (The Cookhouse), Luis Morales (Humble House Foods), Heather Nañez (Peggy’s on the Green), Luis Colon (Folc), Stefan Bowers (Feast, Rebelle), James Canter (Guerilla Gourmet), Lorenzo Morales (Jazz, TX) and Halston Connella (Brigid). The day includes a grit and grillades brunch, demos on classic recipes, beer courtesy of Alamo Beer, cocktails sponsored by Knob Creek Bourbon and Sunday supper. Tickets, $150, are available through boucherie2017.bpt.me.

Vintage Heart Farm, 1700 CR 332, Stockdale.

COURTESY OF WALK ON'S

> The Art of Donut and Saint Arnold Beer will make dreams come true on January 19 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. as they merge to host a pairing class at The Growler Exchange. The craft donut trailer first launched in early November by girlfriendboyfriend team Andrea Aguirre and Miguel Aja, and they have a solid following of foodies looking for giant donuts with creative toppings. Prices will vary.

8313 Broadway, (210) 320-2738.

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 39

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HIGHLIGHTS What we loved about this year’s boozy bacchanal RON BECHTOL

≥

I’ve been going to the San Antonio Cocktail Conference since its beginning as an upstart conference going glass to glass with established institutions such as New Orleans’ Tales of the Cocktail.

(True, we had the late legendary cocktailian Sasha Petraske on our side.) Six years later, we can claim to be among the best — no gratuitous Texas swagger required. But one of this year’s revelations was not about product or program — it was about place.

And that place was the DoSeum, setting for the opening night’s festivities. Its layout provided for movement in an organic way that The Majestic (bless its eclectic heart) never could: up and down, inside and out, around corners and down passageways… The sense of discovery that was meant to inspire creativity and learning in kids works just as well on adults with a cocktail firmly (mostly) in hand.

It was in this environment that I first tasted Seersucker Gin by the local makers of Cinco Vodka, and it’s a Southern sweetheart, shining in that night’s Everything Nice with Solerno, cranberry shrub, lime and maraschino liqueur. Another winner (the names get really cute, y’all) was Ancho Reyes' Juan to Juan with that ancho liqueur paired with Montelobos Mezcal, lemon, simple syrup and Angostura bitters. It didn’t hurt the drink to add a shot of the company’s newest offering, Ancho Verde, made not with dried but fresh poblanos. Green, only slightly sweet and pleasantly spicy, it will hit the local market sometime in March.

It took a drink with Teeling Irish whiskey, muscadine juice, chamomile honey syrup and what appeared to be way too many more ingredients to make legendarily bitter Fernet Branca shine, but shine it did.

Food standouts included a pork chalupita with pickled radish from Weather Up in Austin, Cookhouse turned out an expectedly good grillades and grits with pickled papaya, and Tim the Girl’s vegetable salad with labneh and preserved lemon provided a refreshing interlude. But the surprise was

a very appealing corned beef tongue prepared by the students of the Art Institute’s Culinary school and served with white anchovies, “burnt” carrot and a chimichurri sauce inspired by their Argentine chef instructor.

Back on the drinks front, the Black Manhattan (trend alert) appeared more than once with the base spirit (bourbon or rye) changing but the amaro (Averna) remaining constant. Similar (and individually made) was Hudson Whiskey’s Friends With Benefits, composed of their Manhattan Rye with Cinzano Bianco, Aperol, simple syrup and orange bitters — one of Waldorf on the Prairie’s best drinks. Another, deceptively lethal, winner was Grandma’s Boy, a two-ingredient knockout composed of Clyde May’s Special Reserve 110 proof “Alabama Style” Whiskey 4:1 with Grand Marnier. I learned to love Limoncello di Capri (not normally a fave) when mixed with Amaro Montenegro and Italian blood orange soda (a much lighter antidote to the May’s mashup). And I had my first French single malt, Benne, and it was good.

Standout foods at the St. Anthony Event included Gwendolyn’s New England fish chowder, pork with candied jalapeño on a chalupa from Humo Creative Catering, and, from Boudro’s/Zinc, a dulce de leche custard with kumquat confit and pistachio streusel, courtesy of chef Robbie Nowlin — who, contrary to declarations, was not shitfaced by 9:30. (Maybe later — I didn’t check back.) Upstairs in a kind of after-party, the Mesh and Bone group presented four exotic products bolstered by Kinsman rakia cocktails courtesy of the local boys at Dorcol. Among the standouts there was M&B’s sotol from Chihuahua, and the French Champagne-esque cidre — far less sweet than most we get here. It may take some time to cozy up to Shochu, a vodka-like spirit made from barley that’s extremely popular in Japan, and the truly unlike-no-other Arakku made from the sap of a coconut flower in Sri Lanka. But just when we do get cozy, the M&B guys will have introduced more new spirits from far-flung locations. Watch their space.

sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 41

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Maverick returns to La Villita this spring

MONDO MAGIC

Ryan Brummett goes back to his roots as SA’s preeminent curator of unconventional music experiences CHRIS CONDE

FESTIVAL NEWS Maverick Music Fest 2017 lineup features De La Soul, Young the Giant, Bastille

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With its fifth installation and a recent partnership with The Tobin Center, the Maverick Music Festival is back with a line-up that ain’t too shabby lookin’, darlin’.

Most notable are hip-hop heavy weights De La Soul, the legendary rap trio from Long Island with their classic jam “Me, Myself and I” and a Grammy award winning collaboration with Gorillaz on “Feel Good Inc.” Also on the Maverick roster is a band I didn’t expect and barely remembered, Book Of Love, a recently re-united synth-pop band from the late 80s and early 90s that sang lyrics tackling issues like the AIDS epidemic of that era. Other acts feature headliners Bastille and Young the Giant, as well as Minus the Bear, Carla Morrison and the Naked and Famous.

Since its inception in 2013, Maverick Music Festival’s aim has been to “elevate live concerts in the Alamo City to the next level.” It’s something they’ve certainly done in recent years with headliners like Run The Jewels, Flaming Lips and Cypress Hill. What’s also pretty dope about Maverick is their inclusion of local talent. San Antonio bands don’t often have the opportunity to rub elbows as frequently with national acts as bands in other Texas cities, like Austin and Dallas, so getting the chance to share stages with artists that don’t play shows in San Antonio often is an awesome opportunity for hometown talent.

Tickets went on sale last week at maverickmusicfestival.com.

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To the outsider, San Antonio might not come across as a rich, cultural playground brimming with artistic talents of many flavors. We’re known to most as home of the Spurs or that place with the Alamo, or that city close to Austin (also, why don’t you move to Austin?).

I’m sure you’ve had this conversation with people who aren’t from here as they sneeringly inquire just what the hell to do around in town. One may feel eager to share the favorite dive bars, the amazing local band they saw at K23, or even the weird installation they saw somewhere in Southtown. Or maybe you choose to keep your local secrets to yourself and direct them to a chain restaurant on the Riverwalk. San Antonio doesn’t offer a cultural experience to those who aren’t willing to at least try looking. It doesn’t thrust itself upon foreigners begging to be validated. San Antonio is the cool punk rock lady, confident in who she is, and unaffected by whether or not society deems her cool.

That vibe is also echoed within the music community here. And really, that don’t-give-a-fuck-just-gonna-rock-out vibe has been the most appealing feature of watching the scene grow in recent years. If you want to get involved and do some cool shit here, there’s room to do it and people to support you.

Which is exactly what Ryan Brummett did with Mondo Nation.

Wanting to bring bands that wouldn’t necessarily come through San Antonio while giving them a non-

traditional space to do their thing (like rooftops and art galleries) became the main focus of Mondo Nation after the blog started to gain some steady traffi c. Noticed for his work with Mondo Nation, Brummett was picked up by the folks behind Paper Tiger to be the talent buyer and general manager, which understandably forced him to focus less on the collective he founded.

Approaching the second anniversary of the North St. Mary’s venue, Paper Tiger has become a staple for indie rock and alternative hip-hop shows passing through the southwest. But Brummett says he’s eager to get back to his roots as a curator of unconventional shows. “I love my job, but I need to do these shows too.” So on January 25 at 1906 Art Gallery, Justo Cisneros, a regular artist and collaborator with Mondo Nation, will construct an installation inside which the band Marching Church, a side project from iceage vocalist Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, will perform. Ten bucks gets you inside and, with Lone Star as a sponsor, complimentary drinks will be available.

Ryan says that after the Marching Church performance, he’s already got another show in the works set for sometime in April. He hopes to throw them quarterly, so it’s safe to say that Mondo Nation is back to bring us something we’re used to seeing from them: weird musical experiences in unorthodox spaces. sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 43

CULTURE

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@VANESSACUPCAKE23

MUSIC

Kree23 is rockin’ crowds, taking names CHRIS CONDE

I’ve met one too many people who think that enlightenment is something you reach on the physical/ it’s more than spiritual/ love, infinite miracles/ but I’m not here to preach just a perspective to reach on

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So raps a calm but poignant Kree23 on the track “Open Minded.” Within a day of the video’s release last year, “Open Minded” was viewed 24,000 times on Facebook (it sits at almost 46k today), a pretty stellar feat for the rapper who’s released tracks over the years but has yet to put out any formal collection of music.

Born Kristina Nicole Villegas, Kree23, a female rapper from the southside of San Antonio, hit the ground running a few years ago and hasn’t slowed down since.

Getting her start in the slam poetry community and with the guidance of local spoken word poet Anthony Flores, Villegas began mastering the craft of spoken lyricism through Fresh Ink Youth Slam, a weekly poetry slam that still runs today at Deco Pizzeria (it was held Friday nights at Bubble Head Tea before it closed down a few years back).

“Sometimes she would come in with a notebook, other times she would freestyle,” says host and Fresh Ink cofounder Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, a nationally recognized poet and performer. “No matter what she did though, she would move the crowd.”

After securing a spot on the Fresh Ink youth slam team, the then-18 year old Villegas traveled to California to compete in the international Brave New Voices youth slam competition,

which she says was one of the best weeks of her life. “There was this thing [at Brave New Voices] called The MC Olympics,” Villegas says, “and that was the first time I rocked a fucking crowd...that’s when I knew I was in love with hip-hop.” With exposure to the artistic energy of several hundred other poets and lyricists, Villegas came back to San Antonio charged and ready to show the Alamo City what she’s made of.

In the last few years, Kree23 has become a pretty well known name within the rap community in South Texas. Donning long dreadlocks and rapping with the ferocity of a seasoned lyricist, Villegas’ style and delivery is reminiscent of the early 90s work from Sage Francis and Atmosphere’s Slug. Bouncy and abstract but still landing in the pocket, Villegas’ flow is certainly influenced by her early 90s predecessors — but at only 22 years old, she’s able to manifest something young and fresh within the craft.

Opening for hip hop heavy-weight R.A. The Rugged Man next week, and an E.P. and album to be released over the course of the next couple months, Kree Villegas is most certainly an artist to watch from the front line this year. $10-$18, 7pm, Saturday, January 21, Fitzgerald’s Bar and Live Music, 437 McCarty Rd. St. 101

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CHRIS CONDE

I don’t know what the hell’s in the water in Minnesota that has continuously birthed dope indie rappers. Seriously, like, Sims and Dessa from Doomtree, Astronautalis, Brother Ali and then the legendary Slug from Atmosphere. Rhymesayers, the heavyweight indie rap label that houses the likes of Aesop Rock and Blueprint, is also based out of Minnesota so, I mean, apparently they’re doing something right.

Formed in the late 80’s, Atmosphere has continuously served us super juicy hip hop that’s fl avor never runs dry. In the age of mumble rap and dabbing, rapper Slug and producer/DJ Ant echo the roots of true hip hop through every release of a new album like their latest effort Fishing Blues. With Brother Ali, Dem Atlas, Plain Ole Bill, Last Word, 7pm, $25, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St. WED

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MUSIC PICKS

ATMOSPHERE, BROTHER ALI

The Darts (U.S.), according to their facebook “Garage-psych-rock grrls who will make your head slam and your feet shake”. And honestly I found myself doing both as I listened through their 2015 release Below Empty and Westward Bound a fast paced yet simultaneously casual album swelling with 90’s THU

JULIE BERGONZ

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THE DARTS (U.S.), VOODOO BOOGALOO

garage rock nostalgia.

Opening for the Darts is Canyon Lake mystics Voodoo Boogaloo a psychedelic trip hop couple that open portals to other dimensions with their LSD inspired songwriting, sexy female vocal melodies and trapped out electronic production. 9pm, $5-$8, Limelight, 2719 N. St. Mary’s St.

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@ARI.EJORADO

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MUSIC

“Don’t tell me it’s not relevant, Don’t tell me I’m not relevant, cuz I’m still oppressed we’re gettin’ paid less, judged by looks and the way we dress, I don’t wanna bring you down, man, I just want us to meet in the middle!” shouts vocalist Letty Martinez as guitarist Aaron Magana with the help of Girl in a Coma drummer Phanie Diaz and bassist Jenn Alva power through the track “Feminazi”.

Riot Grrrl, a pop-ish punk-rock genre with heavy feminist lyricism has been making a steady comeback as of late and San Antonio natives Fea are at the forefront of the movement. The riot grrrl’s (and boy) will be kicking off their two month tour at Bang Bang Bar, a bar and venue Alva and Diaz started with former Martini Ranch owner Jamie Hoppe in January of 2016. 10pm, $3, Bang Bang Bar, 119 El Mio Dr. WED

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KANE BROWN Citing Chris Young, Lee Brice, Garth Brooks and George Strait as influences, Kane Brown incorporates country and pop-rock aesthetic while interestingly ties in subtle trap rhythms. There’s definitely not hihat rushes and 808’s but there’s a distinct beat that Brown introduces to a tired dynamic that sets him apart from his pop-country peers.

With banjos whispering through his production, feel good lyrics and a baritone country twang, the Tennessee native is certainly someone to pay attention to in the pop country scene. With Jordan Rager, 8pm, $25-$35, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St.

@JAYEB_ENT

SAT

Sometimes I think terrible reggae passes for listenable more often than its rock or hip hop counterparts because... marijuana? I don’t know. My point is that a lot of bad reggae exists and J Boog, thankfully is not that. Blending a perfect mix of brass, r&b vocals and subtle hints of pop, J Boog manages to rise above his yawnworthy brothers and sisters in the genre to bring an interesting and enticing flavor of reggae that’s rare and exciting. With Jo Mersa Marley, Jemere Morgan, 8pm, $16, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s

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“El quiere guerra igual que yo hechando chingasos entrale cabro!” an enraged vocalist of Brujeria shouts (there’s three so I can’t tell which one is actually saying this) referencing Donald’s Trump absurd idea to build a wall between The United States and Mexico. Formed in the early 90’s and including a few members of Fear Factory and Napalm Death, Brujeria raged through the extreme metal airwaves with rapid double bass kicks and lyrics referencing Satanism, narcotics smuggling and politics.

On tour with the brujos are are San Antonio’s very own accordion powered Tex-Mex punk band Piñata Protest. With punk icons The Casualties also in the mix this show is gearing up to be a must-see for January. 8pm, $22$25, The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St.

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BRUJERIA, THE CASUALTIES, PIÑATA PROTEST

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WAYNE HOLTZ, HOUSE OF KENZO

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Bluegrass is like the swedish death metal of country music.

Seriously, if you threw some distortion on the banjos and mandolins, then maybe slid that major key into the relative minor to make it sadder you’d have the most aloof of death metal fans emotionlessly nodding in approval. With that said, Jim Lauderdale is the best of the best in the bluegrass department.

With 27 albums released over the course of several decades, and a Grammy for best bluegrass album, Lauderdale is sure to deliver a taste of hyper strumming and technical finger work to get that foot-atappin’. 7pm, $18-$75, Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St.

baritone crooning and poppy instrumentation.

House of Kenzo are aliens from another planet death-dropping through portals from the future and vogueing the audience and whatever venue they’re playing, into a live performance art piece. w/ Joshua K. Swensen, 9pm, FREE, La Botanica, 2911 N. St. Mary’s

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In Ego Trip Vol. 1, Issue 3, a New York based hip hop magazine, the Notorious B.I.G. was quoted as saying, “I thought I was the illest,” referencing R.A. The Rugged Man AKA Richard Andrew Thorburn. Despite having worked with the Erick Sermon, Wu-Tang Clan, and the late Biggie Smalls, Thorburn never seemed to break through the underground like his early 90’s counterparts. Only until 2013 with the release of his second album Legends Never Die (his first album being released ten years prior) did Thorburn start to see commercial success with the album landing at number 17 on the Billboard Top R&B And Hip Hop Albums chart. With A.F.R.O., Kree23 and more, 7pm, $10-$18, Fitzgeralds Bar and Live Music, 437 McCarty Ste. 101 SAT

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COURTESY

San Antonio is gay AF. If you don’t believe it, maybe it’s high time you peep a Wayne Holtz or House of Kenzo show.

Oh look, here’s one for you. Wayne Holtz is San Antonio’s Neo from the Matrix, exposing us to realities and truths we may not be ready to understand with his elaborate choreography, SAT

THE RUGGED MAN

PUROSLAM “NOT MY PRESIDENT TRUMP: FREE SPEECH OR BUST SLAM Starting in 1999 by Benjamin Ortiz PuroSlam is one of the if not the oldest slam poetry crews in South Texas. At their very first appearance at National Poetry Slam competition in 2000, the young group competed against 54 other teams and secured a second place spot at the competition - a notable feat for the first time competitors. New members keep the spirit of Puroslam alive every tuesday night at The Korova and this week will have a special post inauguration theme where they will “express our disdain and contempt for our less-than-civil ‘leader’”. With DJ Donnie Dee, 930pm, $1, The Korova, 107 E. Martin St. TUE

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sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 49

Friday Jan 20th $2 Tecate & Tecate Lt $2.50 Domestic Pints and Bottles $2.75 Wells 7403 leslie rd san antonio, tx

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

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MUSIC

MUSIC CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18 JRScott & the Unlucky Strikes Alt-country artist Jason Scott and the Unlucky Strikes play with Duston Siler Band and Jake Yainez.

Free. Fitzgerald’s Bar & Live Music, 8pm Nathan Hamilton Austin singer/songwriter Nathan Hamilton plays with opener Nicolette Good. $10-$30. Sam’s Burger Joint, 7:30pm Sam Pace Expect blues/folk/soul and reggae. Free. The Phoenix Saloon, 8:30pm Slim Bawb & The Fabulous Stumpgrinders Cajun rock band Slim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders play Gruene Hall.

Free. Gruene Hall, 6-10pm Top Heavy Alt/rock cover band Top Heavy plays at the Amp Room. Free. The Amp Room, 10pm THURSDAY, JANUARY 19 Badfish Badfish is a tribute to Sublime, with support by Fayuca and Full Service. $15.

Aztec Theatre, 8pm Barbarshop Harmony Society Music performed by several musical harmony groups. $199. Lila Cockrell Theatre, 7:30-10pm BYOV Bring Your Own Vinyl. Neil Phelps, educator and long time volunteer DJ on Trinity college jazz radio KRTU, will bring his personal vinyl to help kick off this monthly event. $5-$15. Carmens de la Calle Café, 7:30-10:30pm David Caceres Quartet The David Caceres Quartet play jazz music at Luna. $5.

Luna, 9:30pm Disorder Goth, New Wave & Industrial music videos hosted by Ely Bat. Free. The Amp Room, 11pm Marcy Grace Singer/songwriter Marcy Grace releases her single at Sam’s. $7-$30. Sam’s Burger Joint, 8:30pm The Railhouse Band Country/swing band The Railhouse Band play Gruene. Free.

Gruene Hall 6-10pm The Third Thursday With Julie Good & A Dog Named Mike Folk/rock/country band Julie Good & A Dog Named Mike perform with band. Free. The Beer Depot, 8-10pm FRIDAY, JANUARY 20 Aaron Stephens Band Classy and assured, kickin’ and soulful fare from this excellent Illinois-raised but now Texas-based hipster.

Free. The Phoenix Saloon, 9pm Bourgeois Mystics Austin’s art-funk band Bourgeois Mystics play with Voodoo Boogaloo and Wayne Holtz. $5. Limelight, 9pm Chris Saucedo Drink & dance to live country music with the Chris Saucedo band, and take the stage with DJ Quake spinning between sets. Drink specials and complimentary valet available. Free. 151 Saloon, 9pm The Dirty River Boys El Paso’s country band Dirty River Boys play with Micky and the Motorcars. $15-$20. John T Floore’s Country Store, 9pm

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DJ Phoenix DJ Phoenix takes the stage every Friday at 10pm. Free. Hooligan’s, 10pm

January 20 - The Dirty River Boys

January 27 - Zane Williams

Donovan Keith & The Funky Heat Donovan Keith & the Funky Heat play soul R&B at Luna. $10. Luna, 9:30pm Flamenco Friday at Carmens de la Calle Ensembles include dancers, guitarists and singers. Tapas, paella and housemate sangria served within an intimate venue. $15. Carmens de la Calle Café, 8:30-10:45pm From Gospel to Soul to Broadway Capathia Jenkins brings power and soul to the stage, performing R&B, gospel, and classic Broadway songs. $15-$100. Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 8pm

January 28 - Gary P. Nunn

J Boog Reggae and R&B vocalist J Boog is joined by Jo Mersa Marley and Jemere Morgan. $16. Paper Tiger. 8pm Kane Brown Monster Energy Outbreak presents country artist Kane Brown’s “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” tour. $25-$48. Aztec Theatre, 8pm

February 3 - Flatland Cavalry

KC & 210 Soul Players Billy Voodoo’s 40th bash with KC/210 (local funk/R&B), DJs Joe B, Flo, and Mighty Monkz. There will be a midnight dance competition. Free. The Amp Room, 9pm Metal Masters - The Ruined Few Metal band The Ruined Few play with Chernobyl the Secret, Marked in Blood, and Pawns of Christ. $5-$8. Bond’s 007 Rock Bar, 8pm Patricia Vonne Local artist Patricia Vonne plays at Sam’s with Rick Del Castillo and Joe King Carrasco. $12-$50. Sam’s Burger Joint, 9pm Silent Minority, Good City Modern, The Bastard Son Free live alternative rock and punk music. Free. Zombies, 9:30pm Smartboyz Smartboyz play at the Mix. Free.

The Mix, 9pm Tribute to New Order and Erasure Listen to Depeche Mode, Psychedelic Furs, Morrissey, Soft Cell, Inxs, The Cure, Eurythmics, The Smiths and many tracks

February 4 - Roger Creager

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

MUSIC

by New Order and Erasure. Free. Brass Monkey, 10pm Watch Your Step: The Men of Eastwood The Renaissance Guild, San Antonio’s Black Theatre Company, presents another step into the history of Black popular music celebrating the artists, music and places along the Chitlin’ Circuit. They present such male artists as Fats Domino, Lou Rawls, The Temptations, Billy Eckstein and more. $25.

Little Carver Civic Center, 8pm SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 American Aquarium Alt-country/rock band American Aquarium play Gruene in support of their latest release, Wolves. $15. Gruene Hall, 9pm Barbarshop Harmony Society Music performed by several musical harmony groups. $199. Lila Cockrell Theatre, 7:30-10pm Bo Phillips Band Red dirt/Americana band the Bo Phillips Band play Gruene. Free.

Gruene Hall, 1-5pm From Gospel to Soul to Broadway Capathia Jenkins brings power and soul to the stage, tperforming R&B, gospel, and classic Broadway songs. $15-$100. Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 8pm Kayoh EDM dance. $5-$10. The Amp Room, 9pm Leopold & His Fiction Austin’s psych/ folk-rock band Leopold & His Fiction play Limelight. $8-$12. Limelight, 9pm Lucas Taylor Psychedelic band Lucas Taylor performs with Highway Hypnosis, Monty Guitar Tyler Band, and The Magic Rockers of Texas. Free. The Phoenix Saloon, 9pm Luckenbach’s 10th Annual Blues Festival The Blues Festival features Trent Turner, The Blues Posse, Jacqui Walker and more. $30.

Luckenbach Dance Hall, 12pm Mustard Plug Ska punk band Mustard Plug play Korova with support from local ska/ punk acts Young Costello, Spies Like Us, and Knockin’ Chucks. $10-$13. The Korova, 8pm The Return of Beyond Black Beyond Black performs with metal bands Angerkill, Thrawn, Pawns of Christ and XIL. $7-$10.

Bond’s 007 Rock Bar, 8pm Rob Baird Blues/Americana artist Rob Baird plays at Sam’s with Jonny Burke. $10-$45.

Sam’s Burger Joint, 9pm Scott Clinton Drink & dance to live country music with Scott Clinton, with DJ Quake spinning between sets. Free. 151 Saloon, 9pm St. Dukes, Like a Sparrow Indie rock band St. Dukes play at Imagine with Like a Sparrow, C. Rose, and Eddie Wiggins. $5.

Imagine Books and Records, 8-11pm Tomar & the FCs Tomar & the FCs play soul R&B at Luna. $10. Luna, 9:30pm VANTA Producer/DJ BLVKMRKT performs along with C O L O U R S, Lzrcat, Isaac_tx and Jerry Curl plus more. $3-$5. Paper Tiger, 9pm Watch Your Step: The Men of Eastwood. $25. Little Carver Civic Center, 8pm Whiskey Ignition and Friends Live alternative-rock and punk music. Free.

Zombies, 9:30pm SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 A Celebration of the Life of Fiddlin’ Frenchie Burke Floore’s celebrates the life of Cajun fiddle artist “Fiddlin’ Frenchie Burke.” Free.

John T Floore’s Country Store, 12pm Garrett Lebeau R&B artist Garrett Lebeau plays Gruene. Free. Gruene Hall, 12-3:30pm Mozart at the Opera Baritone Zachary Gordin returns to the Tobin Center with his friend, soprano Shana Blake Hill, for an evening of melodies from Mozart’s most popular operas. $5-$32. Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 7pm Watch Your Step: The Men of Eastwood. $25. Little Carver Civic Center, 4pm MONDAY, JANUARY 23 Bret Graham Country artist Bret Graham plays Gruene. Free. Gruene Hall, 6-10pm Meat and Metal Mondays Zombies Bar hosts a metal night while serving meat and drink specials. Free. Zombies, 5pm Old Skool 90s hip hop/R&B vids with VJ Wooly Bully. Free. The Amp Room, 9pm Swing Nite with Bad Banjo Brown Bad Banjo Brown play swing/traditional jazz at Sam’s. $10. Sam’s Burger Joint, 8:30pm TUESDAY, JANUARY 24 Brock Zeman and Friends Singer/ songwriter Brock Zeman plays Gruene.

Free. Gruene Hall, 6-10pm GEN-X 80s 80s Retro/New Wave from classic to obscure. Free. The Amp Room, 10pm

TITANIUM 4000, X AGAIN, BLACK PANTHER, MASTER ZONE, EXTEN ZONE, EXTREME DIAMOND, EXTRA ZONE, RHINO V5, RHINO X, MAX LOAD, MAX HARD, MAX STAMINA, RHINO BIG HORN, PURE, RED ZONE 3000, RHINO 7 (5000), RHINO BLACK 3K, POWER ZONE 3000, FUEL UP, FORBIDDEN TIGER, FIFTY SHADES, TRIPLE XXX, EREKT FOR WOMAN: KANGROO, SPARXXX, GEISHA

Jazz on the Rocks Weekly series combining live jazz, happy hour specials and complimentary small bites. Free. St. Anthony Hotel, 5-7pm The Land of the Magic Flute SOLI & Opera San Antonio present The Land of the Magic Flute, an animated graphic novel, created by film director and animator, Fons Schiedon, in collaboration with composer Phillippe Lambert. $10-$25. Ruth Taylor Recital Hall, Trinity University. 7:30 p.m.

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RISKY BUSINESS > I’ve never admitted this to anyone: The idea of committing suicide turns me on sexually. I recognize how crazy that is, and I want to emphasize that I’m not suicidal. I’m not depressed, I love living, and despite this sexual impulse, I don’t want to kill myself.

I’m turned on by the fantasy of hanging myself, but that’s not really how I want my life to end. (To be clear: Autoerotic asphyxiation gets a lot of press, but that’s not the situation here. Asphyxiation itself isn’t my kink, and other methods of committing suicide also turn me on.) My question is this: Given that I don’t want these fantasy scenarios to ever become reality, should I indulge the fantasy through healthy, safe play with a responsible partner or should I try to repress it and shut it down? I’m worried that if I indulge the fantasies through safe scenarios, I might reach a point where the safety precautions interfere with the thrill. On the other hand, I know that trying to repress sexual desires is a hopeless endeavor and trying to keep these fantasies in check might result in a scenario where they boil over and I end up engaging in riskier behavior than I would have otherwise.

Horny And Nervous Guy’s Endangering Deeds You’re not actually suicidal, right?

I know you already said you weren’t, HANGED, but I want to double-check.

Because fantasizing about killing yourself — for whatever reason — technically counts as suicidal ideation.

If you or anyone else reading this is contemplating suicide, please reach out to someone you trust. Ask for help. Stick around. (Some resources: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255; the Trevor Project, 1-866-488-7386; Trans Lifeline, 877565-8860.)

Okay, HANGED, I’m going to take you at your word: You love being alive and don’t actually want to kill yourself any more than a sane person into Master/ slave role-play actually wants to own a human being or be enslaved. But while

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SAVAGE LOVE

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I agree that repressing sexual desires is a hopeless endeavor, HANGED, “can’t be repressed” isn’t the only factor we have to take into consideration as we contemplate acting on our sexual fantasies. There are two other important considerations (at least!): Can the act be performed consensually? Can the act be enjoyed with minimal risk of permanent harm?

Your kink can definitely be performed consensually, and there are ways to minimize the risks of harm — and I’m not talking about only sticking your head in an Easy-Bake Oven. I’m talking about finding a responsible/indulgent/macabre partner who’s willing to indulge/assist/ monitor. Yours is a kink that can be explored only during supervised play, otherwise you run the risk of fucking up and accidentally hanging yourself. You can never do this solo. So if you don’t have a responsible and unflappable partner, HANGED, you’ll have to stick to your right hand and your imagination.

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> Bi guy here, who’s way okay with the use of “fag” or “faggot” in the right context. And what FAGS wrote in about last week — a boyfriend who wants to be called “faggot” while she talks negatively about his cock — is absolutely the right context.

There’s an evolution in meaning taking place right now, Dan. These days, “fag” is less about sexual preference and more about sexual submission. A submissive man? Gay or straight? He’s a fag. I’ve been serviced by both hetero and homo faggots and have enjoyed myself, as have the fags who sucked my cock or did my housework. Go onto Tumblr and see for yourself. (Also: I have a sneaky suspicion that sparks would fly if FAGS raised the subject of cuckoldry with her boyfriend.)

Bi Guy Into Faggots Thanks for sharing, BGIF. On the Lovecast: Trump! What’s up with the piss thing and how to fight him.

Listen at savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 55

ETC.

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

“Sweet!”— getting that glazed-over look.

ACROSS

1 Put in stitches 5 Andreas opener 8 Cogitates, with “over” 13 Antioxidant berry in fruit juices 14 Nervous twinge 15 Like a game’s tutorial levels 16 Considered only in terms of money 19 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America bestowals 20 Bird that runs 35 mph 22 Dating site datum 23 1986-to-2001 orbiter 24 Hi-___ graphics 26 Like “The Polar Express” 28 “Ain’t happenin’” 30 “Friends” friend 31 Filet mignon cut 35 Foul, as weather 36 Number sometimes decoded as “Z” 39 Friedlander of “30 Rock” 42 Amish, e.g.

43 “Buy It Now” site 47 ___ of troubles 49 Ashley and Mary-Kate, for two 51 Christmas tree choice 52 Fall back, tidewise 54 Quirky comic Philips 55 Unagi, at sushi bars 56 It’s provided by guild members 60 Advice that the four long

entries with circles failed to follow 63 Baby garment with snaps 64 Word heard by Marge a lot, I imagine 65 Extreme aversion 66 ___ Martin (007’s car) 67 Part of MS-DOS (abbr.)

68 Fairy tale preposition

DOWN

1 Trump tweet ender, often 2 Prefi x before friendly or terrorism 3 Brownie ingredients, sometimes 4 Khartoum’s river 5 Uphill battle 6 Supermarket section 7 March Madness gp.

8 Cheese companion 9 Exploitative type 10 Retired hockey great Eric 11 “Dig in, everyone!”

12 High-class group, for short?

15 Hubble after whom a space telescope was named 17 “I’ve got ___ feeling about this!”

18 “Born on the Fourth of July” locale, briefl y 20 “To ___ is human” 21 “Little Red Book” chairman 25 James Bond, for example 27 “Como ___?” (“How are

you?” in Spanish) 29 Horns that are really winds 32 Iron-___ (T-shirt transfer patterns) 33 London or Brooklyn ending 34 Home of Times Sq. and Columbus Cir. 37 Brings by cart, perhaps 38 Bovine quartet 39 Peanut butter brand for “choosy moms” 40 Instances of agreement 41 Hackers’ hangout that’s tough to find via search engines 44 Keg attachment 45 “I’d like to buy ___” (request to Pat Sajak) 46 Armani competitor, initially 48 “I’ll have ___ Christmas without you” (Elvis lyric) 50 “Rio ___” (John Wayne fl ick) 53 Ask for a doggie treat, perhaps 54 Judy Jetson’s brother 57 “Make ___!” (Captain Picard’s order) 58 Some PTA members 59 Aloha Stadium locale 60 Morgue acronym 61 Judge Lance played by Kenneth Choi on “American Crime Story” 62 First number shouted before a ball drop, often

ETC.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Are you more attracted to honing group dynamics or liberating group dynamics? Do you have more aptitude as a director who organizes people or as a sparkplug who inspires people? Would you rather be a Chief Executive officer or a Chief Imagination Officer? Questions like these will be fertile for you to meditate on in the coming weeks.

The astrological omens suggest it’s time to explore and activate more of your potential as a leader or catalyst.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): An eccentric Frenchman named Laurent Aigon grew up near an airport, and always daydreamed of becoming a commercial pilot.

Sadly, he didn’t do well enough in school to fulfill his wish. Yet he was smart and ambitious enough to accomplish the next best thing: assembling a realistic version of a Boeing 737 cockpit in his home. With the help of Google, he gathered the information he needed, and ordered most of the necessary parts over the Internet. The resulting masterpiece has enabled him to replicate the experiences of being a pilot. It’s such a convincing copy that he has been sought as a consultant by organizations that specialize in aircraft maintenance. I suggest you attempt a comparable feat, Taurus: creating a simulated version of what you want. I bet it will eventually lead you to the real thing.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): The weather may be inclement where you live, so you may be resistant to my counsel. But I must tell you the meanings of the planetary omens as I understand them, and not fret about whether you’ll act on them. Here’s my prescription, lifted from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden: “We need the tonic of wildness, to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground.” And why does Thoreau say we need such experiences? “We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, to witness our own limits transgressed.”

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Welcome to the most deliciously enigmatic, sensually mysterious phase of your astrological cycle.

To provide you with the proper non-rational guidance, I have stolen scraps of dusky advice from the poet Dansk Javlarna (danskjavlarna. tumblr.com). Please read between the lines: 1. Navigate the ocean that roars within the seashell. 2. Carry the key, even if the lock has been temporarily lost. 3. Search through the deepest shadows for the bright light that

cast them. 4. Delve into the unfathomable in wordless awe of the inexplicable.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): What exactly would a bolt of lightning taste like? I mean, if you could somehow manage to roll it around in your mouth without having to endure the white-hot shock. There’s a booze manufacturer that claims to provide this sensation. The company known as Oddka has created “Electricity Vodka,” hard liquor with an extra fizzy jolt. But if any sign of the zodiac could safely approximate eating a streak of lightning without the help of Electricity Vodka, it would be you Leos. These days you have a special talent for absorbing and enjoying and integrating fiery inspiration.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Eighteenth-

century painter Joshua Reynolds said that a “disposition to abstractions, to generalizing and classification, is the great glory of the human mind.” To that lofty sentiment, his fellow artist William Blake responded, “To generalize is to be an idiot; to particularize is the alone distinction of merit.” So I may be an idiot when I make the following generalization, but I think I’m right: In the coming weeks, it will be in your best interests to rely on crafty generalizations to guide your decisions.

Getting bogged down in details at the expense of the big picture — missing the forest for the trees — is a potential pitfall that you can and should avoid.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal penned the novel Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age. It consists of one sentence. But it’s a long, rambling sentence — 117 pages’ worth.

It streams from the mouth of the narrator, who is an older man bent on telling all the big stories of his life. If there were ever to come a time when you, too, would have cosmic permission and a poetic license to deliver a one-sentence, 117-page soliloquy, Libra, it would be in the coming weeks.

Reveal your truths! Break through your inhibitions! Celebrate your epic tales!

(P.S.: Show this horoscope to the people you’d like as your listeners.)

name, but Batygin and Brown informally refer to it as “Phattie.” I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because I suspect that you, too, are on the verge of locating a monumental new addition to your universe.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):

The tomato and potato are both nightshades, a family of flowering plants. Taking advantage of this commonality, botanists have used the technique of grafting to produce a pomato plant. Its roots yield potatoes, while its vines grow cherry tomatoes. Now would be a good time for you to experiment with a metaphorically similar creation, Sagittarius.

Can you think of how you might generate two useful influences from a single source?

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19):

Some guy I don’t know keeps sending me emails about great job opportunities he thinks I’d like to apply for: a technical writer for a solar energy company, for example, and a social media intern for a business that offers travel programs. His messages are not spam. The gigs are legitimate. And yet I’m not in the least interested. I already have several jobs I enjoy, like writing these horoscopes. I suspect that you, too, may receive worthy but ultimately irrelevant invitations in the coming days, Capricorn. My advice: If you remain faithful to your true needs and desires, more apropos offers will eventually flow your way.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18):

The word “naysayer” describes a person who’s addicted to expressing negativity. A “yeasayer,” on the other hand, is a person who is prone to expressing optimism.

According to my assessment of the astrological omens, you can and should be a creative yeasayer in the coming days -- both for the sake of your own well-being and that of everyone whose life you touch. For inspiration, study Upton Sinclair’s passage about Beethoven: He was “the defier of fate, the great yea-sayer.” His music is “like the wind running over a meadow of flowers, superlative happiness infinitely multiplied.”

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20):

If I’m feeling prosaic, I might refer to a group of flamingos as a flock. But one of the more colorful and equally correct terms is a “flamboyance” of flamingos.

Similarly, a bunch of pretty insects with clubbed antennae and big fluttery wings may be called a kaleidoscope of butterflies.

The collective noun for zebras can be a dazzle, for pheasants a bouquet, for larks an exaltation, and for finches a charm. In accordance with current astrological omens, I’m borrowing these nouns to describe members of your tribe. A flamboyance or kaleidoscope of Pisceans? Yes! A dazzle or bouquet or exaltation or charm of Pisceans?

Yes! All of the above.

THIS MODERN WORLD by Tom Tomorrow

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): When Pluto was discovered in 1930, astronomers called it the ninth planet. But 76 years later, they changed their mind. In accordance with shifting definitions, they demoted Pluto to the status of a mere “dwarf planet.” But in recent years, two renowned astronomers at Caltech have found convincing evidence for a new ninth planet. Konstantin Batygin and Michael E. Brown are tracking an object that is much larger than Earth. Its orbit is so far beyond Neptune’s that it takes 15,000 years to circle the sun. As yet it doesn’t have an official sacurrent.com • January 18-24, 2017 • CURRENT 57

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CURRENT • January 18-24, 2017 • sacurrent.com

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