The
Burning Question Why San Antonians can’t resist asking: ’Where’d you go to high school?’
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
SACURRENT.COM
in this issue San Antonio Current
Issue 18_38 /// September 19-25, 2018
29 Food
Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Greg Jefferson
The Big Spoon
Editorial
Senior Editors: Bryan Rindfuss, Jessica Elizarraras Art Director: Carlos Aguilar Food & Nightlife Editor: Jessica Elizarraras Staff Writers: Chris Conde, Sanford Nowlin Digital Content Editor: Sarah Martinez Contributors: Alexis Alvarez , Ron Bechtol, Erik Casarez, James Courtney, Callie Enlow, Jose Garza, Dan R. Goddard, Alejandra Lopez Gonzalez, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Michelle C. Lorentzen, Abby Mangel, Kiko Martínez, Jeremy Martin, Kelly Merka Nelson, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, J.D. Swerzenski, Kelsey Valadez, Erin Winch Editorial Interns: Clarence Beal, Lori Salazar, Victoria Wilson
The largest foodborne outbreak since the 1990s and the Peanut Gallery
Franken-pastries
La Panadería is now making a croncha
Cantina-style Sports Bar El Búho opens for all your viewing needs
Advertising
Sales Director: Mallory Jochen Senior Multimedia Account Executive: Sarah Estrada Account Executive: Krystal Little, April Miller Sales + Events Coordinator: Tarah Martinez
Happy Hour Hound Toro Kitchen, St. Paul Square
Marketing and Events
39 Music
Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni Events Manager: Chelsea Bourque Sales + Events Coordinator: Tarah Martinez Marketing and Events Interns: Alec Salazar
Mac Miller, the Stigma of Addiction and Why People Continue to OD
Creative Services
Creative Services Manager: Tina Corbeil Graphic Designer: Samantha Serna Graphic Design Interns: Michelle Moreno, Shelby Pinto, Noemi Solis
Circulation
Music Top Picks
Circulation Manager: Justin Giles
Business
46 Etc
Operations Manager: Sarah Estrada Business Support Specialist: Samantha Lopez
Savage Love, Crossword Puzzle, Astrology, This Modern World
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Chief Executive Officer: Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers: Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services: Stacy Volhein Creative Director: Tom Carlson Digital Operations Coordinator: Jaime Monzon Senior Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni www.euclidmediagroup.com National Advertising: Voice Media Group 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com San Antonio Current 915 Dallas San Antonio, Texas 78215 sacurrent.com Editorial - (210) 227-0044 / Fax - (210) 227-7755 Display Advertising - (210) 227-0044 Fax - (210) 227-7733 Classified - (210) 227-CLAS / Fax - (210) 227-7733 The San Antonio Current is published by Euclid Media Group Verified Audit Member San Antonio Distribution – The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Get listed 1. Visit sacurrent.com 2. Click “Calendar” and then “Submit an Event” 3. Follow the steps to submit your event details Please allow 48 hours for review and approval. Event submissions are not accepted by phone. Copyright - The entire contents of the San Antonio Current are copyright 2018 by Euclid Media Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Subscriptions - Additional copies or back issues may be purchased at the Current offices for $1. Six-month domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $75; one-year subscriptions for $125.
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13 Feature
‘Where’d You Go to High School?’ Why It Matters
BY B E K A H M C N E E L
07 News
Last Line of Protection
STD rates are up both locally and nationall, and it’s up to local health officials to take the statistics seriously
Hey, Buddy, Careful with That Brand
Census report shows SA is a city of both high poverty and rising income
Flying Blind
Experts say Henry Cisneros’s call for a new airport ignores air traffic realities
16 Calendar
Our top picks for the week
24 Arts
Humanizing Crisis
Borderland Collective’s ‘One to Another’ takes a compassionate look at immigration
27 Screens Chop Shop
Lizzie offers a revisionist take on legendary murders but doesn’t reach full potential
Done to Death
Life Itself is an emotionally manipulative misfire from the creator of This Is Us
When two strangers, both from San Antonio, meet, the first thing they’ll want to know is where their new acquaintance went to high school. Talk about a loaded question – especially in a city like San Antonio, with a huge divide between the rich and poor. Etc. Art direction by Carlos Aguilar sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
STD rates are up both locally and nationally, and it’s up to local health officials to take the statistics seriously BY SANFORD NOWLIN
B
exar County has an STD problem. And it’s not going away anytime soon. Texas’ Department of State Health Services documented 18,125 cases of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea in the county during 2017, down slightly from the 19,066 cases reported the prior year — but still up an alarming 16 percent from five years ago. Statewide, the numbers are worse, with 2017’s 201,646 cases up 5 percent from a year ago and up 23 percent from five years ago. Those statistics come as state and federal lawmakers whack funding for family-planning groups such as Planned Parenthood, which offer STD education, testing and treatment. They also come as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenges the Affordable Care Act in a Fort Worth courtroom. “We still have an access-to-care problem,” said Coleen Bridger, director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, which oversees health policies affecting the city and Bexar County. “People who don’t have health insurance often don’t go to the doctor until they’re too sick to work — and that’s frequently the case with STDs.” The Trump administration last month shortened the funding period for grants to groups that provide family-planning services, including STD education, and it’s a safe bet that plenty of similar funding attacks will
Getting Schooled Beyond access to treatment and testing, Bexar suffers from a problem facing the rest of the state: early access to sex education and contraception. A research report by Texas Freedom Network found that 83 percent of Texas school districts taught abstinence-only or no sex education during the 2015-16 school year. While
2017
news
Last Line of Protection
STD Cases in Bexar County* emerge when the Texas legislature convenes in January. Bridger also points to the need for a variety of education, testing and treatment options to combat STDs, including those provided by family-planning groups. Such services are essential as health officials struggle to convince younger, sexually active people to limit their number of partners, use condoms and regularly get checked. “We’ve got an entire generation that didn’t experience the AIDS epidemic of the ’90s,” Bridger said. “They’ve become nonchalant.” STD outcomes aren’t as potentially devastating as an AIDS diagnosis, but they can have life-changing effects if untreated. Both chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility, for example. Bexar County isn’t alone in facing the problem. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control released data documenting “steep and sustained” STD increases nationwide. Around 2.3 million cases of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea were diagnosed in 2017, up by 200,000 from the prior year and marking the fourth consecutive year of increases. “We need policymakers to invest in making STD testing and treatment more accessible for everyone, rather than less,” said Dr. Gillian Dean, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services. “It’s critical that people everywhere have regular access to preventive care and community services, both before and after health crises emerge.”
2012
Chlamydia 12,475 11,333 Gonorrhea 4,357 3,352 Syphilis 1,293 931 *Source: Department of State Health Services
that’s down from the 96 percent the group discovered when it did a similar study eight years earlier, the number of districts still clinging to abstinence-only remains high. And since the legislature voted in 2009 to drop health education as a high school graduation requirement, the number of districts providing no sex education instruction has soared, reaching more than 25 percent for the 20152016 school year, according to TFN research. “What’s clear is that ignorance doesn’t protect anybody, and it certainly doesn’t protect young people from sexually transmitted diseases,” TFN Communications Director Dan Quinn said. “In many cases, sex education in the state of Texas is an exercise in ignorance.”
Local Fight Still, local health officials are working to break the trend. The Metro Health District provides free STD testing and treatment via a mobile van that allows it to reach frequently missed populations. What’s more, chlamydia and gonorrhea rates are down from last year in Bexar County. This spring, Councilman William “Cruz” Shaw launched the “I Know My Status” campaign, which urged residents to test their HIV status. As a result of the campaign, Metro Health did more HIV tests in the month of April than it had for all of 2017. With state and federal lawmakers more concerned about ideology than public health, it may take a lot more of such homegrown efforts to keep STDs from reaching a crisis level. “With a lot of public health issues, where the rubber hits the road is in the cities and the counties,” Metro Health’s Bridger said.
Find more newsmore coverage Find news every day at sacurrent.com
The Art of Activism with
ATINX
NO
Luis Valdez
Thursday, Sept. 20 | 6–8:30 p.m. Performing Arts Center Auditorium
HERITAGE MONTH 2018
Palo Alto College hosts renowned playwright Luis Valdez, known as the “godfather of Chicano theater,” for a community talk/plática as he shares his experiences as a Mexican American/Chicano activist and artist. Valdez is also one of the original organizers of the United Farm Workers union and was awarded the Presidential Medal of the Arts in September 2016. Reception will begin at 6 p.m. Program begins at 7 p.m.
LATINX Event is FREE
and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. For the full list of Heritage Month events, visit: alamo.edu/pac/heritage-month
SEPT. 17– OCT. 11 8
CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
news | city current
Hey, Cowboy, Careful with That Brand
Census report shows SA is a city of both high poverty and rising income BY GREG JEFFERSON
R
emember a few years ago when San Antonio was a “city on the rise”? Julián Castro was still mayor, and the public hadn’t yet recognized that “Decade of Downtown” was code for “Oh, you’re a developer? Help yourself to some public incentives.” #CityOnTheRise bounced like a volleyball around Twitter, kept aloft by San Antonio’s technologists, urbanists, Tech Bloc and chamber leaders, and politi-
cians. SA2020 even sought to trademark the phrase. Maybe they were onto something. San Antonio was a city on the rise, as long as “city” referred to the Pearl and parts of Midtown, downtown, neighborhoods ringing the center city, and the faster-growing sections of the North Side. Include much more than that, and you would’ve had to change the wording. Unfortunately, “city in a holding pattern” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Even the more opti-
mistic “city that’s progressing moderately” comes up short as a brand. That’s one of the problems with English: sometimes you have to give up a little elegance for accuracy. And San Antonio’s progress is nothing if not uneven and complicated. Last week, the Census Bureau released new data that shows San Antonio remains one of the poorest big cities in the country. But it also demonstrates that San Antonians are earning more overall. To get the ugly part out of the way, the San Antonio region, which includes New Braunfels, has the second highest percentage of its people scraping by under the poverty line among the 25 largest metro areas. Only the Detroit area is poorer. The statistics for the city of San Antonio, not the metro area, aren’t much cheerier. They show our poverty rate from 2010 to 2016 darting around minnow-like between 20.1 percent and 18.9 percent of the population below the line. Basically, one in five San Antonians living in poverty has been the status quo – even when ours was a city on the rise. The picture is brighter when you turn to SA workers’ median income, which rose 12 percent from 2010 to 2016 when it reached $48,183. Among Texas’s four biggest cities, San Antonio was second only to Austin, where the median income lunged ahead 20 percent between 2010 and 2016 to $60,939. As always, education makes the difference. Nearly 48 percent of the people populating our bratty, show-off sibling rival to the north had bachelor’s degrees or higher in 2016, compared to San Antonio’s 25 percent. High-school graduation rates, on the other hand, weren’t too far out of whack between the two – 82 percent in SA and 88 percent in Austin. (For more of our high-school fixation, see our cover story, starting on Page 13.) Both cites were also similar in the huge income gaps between their academically low- and high-achievers. The median income for a high-school dropout was $18,939 here and $20,453 in Austin. For people with advanced degrees, it was $62,283 here and $67,399 there. I’ll spare you more numbers. There are two bottom lines here. San Antonio is the fastest-growing city in the country, according to a previous Census report, and San Antonians in general are taking home more money. At the same time, lagging educational attainment, deep pockets of poverty and yawning income inequality are still combining to slow down the city’s progress. All the talk about e-scooters on downtown streets and sidewalks, tech districts and the marvel that is the Pearl is fine. But if the speaker who’s telling you about this great stuff looks like he or she is about to wrap up with some variation of “city on the rise” (maybe something along the lines of “a world-class city”) – well, an eye roll would be rude, albeit understandable. It’s still a little abrasive, but perhaps a better response would be: “Maybe you should put that brand away, cowboy, and go volunteer to read to some elementary-school kids.” sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
news
makes sense to seriously assess what we have and what steps we could take to make sure it’s more adaptable.”
Cheering Him On
Flying Blind
Experts say Henry Cisneros’ call for a new airport ignores air traffic realities BY SANFORD NOWLIN
E
arlier this month, former Mayor Henry Cisneros penned an op-ed in the San Antonio Express-News that was, well, typical Henry. It dreamed big, bristled with civic pride and talked about raising the city’s profile. It’s kind of how he talked about the Alamodome in the late 1980s. San Antonio, he argued in the September 8 piece, is outgrowing its airport. Time to get cracking and buy land so we can have a new air connection worthy of the economic powerhouse this region is destined to become. And why wouldn’t Henry speak with authority here? He oversaw an economic awakening of S.A. as mayor and went on to serve in President Clinton’s cabinet and on current Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s blue-ribbon public transportation task force. The problem, experts say, is that the
Bryan Rindfuss
numbers just don’t justify a new facility that would likely cost well over $1 billion. The existing airport had just under 4.4 million enplanements last year, which is a 4.83 percent increase from the prior year. The city is at 44th in the country for enplanements, sandwiched between Cleveland-Hopkins International and Fort Myers’ Southwest Florida International. While that almost 5 percent hike in passengers may sound impressive, it’s pretty tame compared to Austin’s 12 percent growth, San Jose’s 15 percent and Colorado Springs’ 24 percent. And it appears to be a hiccup, since that rate hasn’t spiked above 2 percent since 2010. “Given our market reality in terms of airport demand, in terms of passenger volumes, it’s a serious reach,” University of Texas at San Antonio Public Policy Professor Heywood Sanders said of Cisneros’ op-ed. “In a city that can’t manage more than one big public project per decade, is this the right one, given its potential costs?” To be sure, developing a new airport isn’t a cheap gamble. Denver International, the last major U.S. airport built from the ground up, opened in 1995 at a cost of $4.8 billion. The relatively new Austin-Bergstrom International, which involved converting an existing military base, replete with airstrips, still required $400 million in public bonds.
Study Time Cisneros didn’t use his op-ed to suggest slapping together a new airport in the next couple of years. Maybe it’s a 30- or 40-year prospect, he allows, but the city should start securing land while it’s available. “It’s not going to get any cheaper, and it’s not going to get any less crowded,” Cisneros told the Current. Plus, as S.A. and Austin merge into one mega-metro, a world-class airport would be an economic generator, he argues. “Air connectedness — direct connections, international connections — are so economically important that where airports are developed, you’re seeing the equivalent of new cities growing up around them,” Cisneros said. But Sanders worries the former mayor is jumping the gun. Now is the time for the city to study the limitations of the current airport and how it can better work with the facilities it has. Atlanta, home to the nation’s busiest airport, underwent a similar soul search in the late 1970s, and given the astronomical costs involved, decided to reconfigure its existing space rather than develop a whole new facility. “We’re growing – I’m not arguing that,” Sanders said. “But our growth rate doesn’t suggest that we need a brand-new airport. Right now, it does
Denver-based aviation consultant Mike Boyd isn’t swayed by year-to-year passenger increases or decreases, since those are easily moved by airlines’ decisions to add new flights. The real thing that brings new flights and non-stop service to an airport is airlines’ sense that there’s demand they can make money by serving. And all the new terminals and runways in the world can’t create that. “How they hell would having a new airport bring it more air traffic?” he asks rhetorically. “You don’t have that traffic now in San Antonio, and you wouldn’t have it then just because you’ve got a bigger airport.” Couched in terms that may appeal to a local sense of history, new airports are no more likely to attract flights than new stadiums are NFL teams. See: the Alamodome. In the ’70s, the Federal Aviation Administration floated the idea of a regional airport serving both San Antonio and Austin. But the window shut on that idea when Austin developed Bergstrom. Since then, it’s attracted more and cheaper flights than San Antonio International. For an airport serving a city of our size, San Antonio International earns decent reviews from the aviation community, Boyd said. But when a leader of Cisneros’ stature publicly suggests it’s outlived its usefulness, that rep may not last. “It doesn’t help when you’ve got a guy who used to be in an administration, who’s with the chamber of commerce, badmouthing your airport,” Boyd said. “What does that tell Toyota when they’re thinking about putting a transmission factory in San Antonio? … I guarantee you the people up at Bergstrom are cheering him on.”
sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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FRI | 9/21
Mari Hernandez
Christian Fuchs ART
‘MONTAGUES & CAPULETS’
Easily among Fotoseptiembre’s most intriguing offerings, Cinnabar’s latest pairs two photographers who transform themselves with elaborate costumes and makeup to embody characters plucked from history books and ancestral portraits. Although both Christian Fuchs (Lima, Peru) and Mari Hernandez (San Antonio) might inspire comparisons to shape-shifting self-portrait disruptor Cindy Sherman, both put their own distinct spin on the art of creative transformation. Blurring lines between real and imagined histories, the work of Fuchs maintains an elegant air of mystery as the artist painstakingly personifies various members of his family tree. Informed by genealogy and fantasy alike, his painterly photographic fusions nod to classical portraits — especially the kind with eyes that appear to be hiding deep secrets or monitoring guests as
they move across the room. Hernandez, whose politically charged self-portrait Vendido graced our cover on August 1, takes a slightly more rasquache approach to disguising and photographing herself, donning prosthetics and playful, readily available and DIY costuming in self-portraits and montages that “address the current political climate and the culture of political hegemony.” Despite differences in style, approach and intent, Fuchs and Hernandez are making images that mesh together seamlessly — thanks in no small part to a shared affinity for high drama and drag. Name-checking the iconic family feud introduced in Shakespeare’s late 16th-century tragedy Romeo and Juliet, “Montagues & Capulets” blends the series Transgeneration (Fuchs) and Hombres (Hernandez) into a contemporary examination of “the lasting impact land and title play in our current society.” Free, opening reception 6:30-9pm Fri, on view noon-6pm Wed-Sat through Nov. 10, Cinnabar Art Gallery, 1420 S. Alamo St., Suite 147, (210) 557-6073, cinnabarart.com. — Bryan Rindfuss
THU | 9/20 ART + TALKS
EXHIBITION CONVERSATION: ‘ANCIENT BEACONS LONG FOR NOTICE’ \
One of San Antonio’s most celebrated artistic exports, Houston-based Dario Robleto has exhibited all over the U.S., is represented in numerous permanent collections and is currently an artist-in-residence at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute. Deeply inspired by DJ culture and the uncharted intersections between art and science, Robleto creates works that encompass a vast assortment of media. While certain projects, like 2014’s American Seabed, transport seashells, butterflies, “fossilized prehistoric whale ear bones” and other elements into complex assemblages that suggest preserved slices of otherworldly ecosystems, 16 CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
others sample imagery — such as his triptych Survival Does Not Lie in the Heavens, which presents “stage lights taken from the album covers of live performances of now-deceased gospel, blues and jazz musicians” in constellations reminiscent of distant galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. As difficult as it might be to visualize, these various lines of creative inquiry criss-cross cohesively in the McNay’s “Ancient Beacons Long for Notice,” a compact survey comprising mixed-media collages, prints, intricate assemblages and The First Time, the Heart — a series of 50 photolithographs based on early recordings of the human heart reacting to situations ranging from an “experiment with cannabis” in 1874 to a case of hiccups in 1886. On Thursday, Robleto will shed light on his fascinating work in the exhibition as well as his “unorthodox studio practice” during a conversation with René Paul Barilleaux, the McNay’s head of curatorial affairs. Free, 6:30-7:30pm, McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels Ave., (210) 824-5369, mcnayart.org. — BR
calendar
Courtesy of Chuponcito
FRI | 9/21 COMEDY
CHUPONCITO M
Although it’s debatable exactly when clowns transformed from balloon-animal-twisting birthday party entertainers into child-murdering deviants in pop culture (some say Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel It is to blame; others can trace scary clowns back to the 1500s), those who have been donning the face makeup and oversized shoes in recent years have had their work cut out for them to restore their playful image. One of these cheerful bozos who isn’t haunting people’s nightmares (unless you’ve really been diagnosed with coulrophobia) is Chuponcito, a high-pitched jester who’s famous on Mexican TV and played by actor Alberto Flores. Chuponcito (loosely translated as a person who sucks on a baby pacifier) has been entertaining families for decades and is currently on his 2018 U.S. tour, which, according to its marketing materials, is “not suitable for minors.” Based on videos of Chuponcito online, however, we doubt el payaso will be doing or saying anything too controversial, unless, of course, you consider dancing salsa or pulling toy fish out of your pants too risqué. Still, how much can you really trust someone who wears a red nose and neon suspenders? $35-
$65, 7pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.org. — Kiko Martinez MUSIC
K.D. LANG 5
In 1992, K.D. Lang released Ingénue, an album unlike anything else on mainstream radio that would cement her status as one of the greatest vocalist of her generation. A stark departure from her previous alt-country albums, Ingénue was a nod to the timeless work of George Gershwin and Kurt Weill and mixed global folk with middle-of-the-road pop. With more than two million copies sold worldwide, the album spawned the Top 40 hit “Constant Craving” and earned Lang a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. On Friday, Lang brings her Ingénue Redux tour, a celebration of the album’s 25th anniversary, to the Majestic to be filmed as part of the PBS series Great Performances. Along with hits from her 2004 album, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, Lang will perform Ingénue in its entirety. A success in its own right, the release of Lang’s Ingénue is also remembered as a pivotal moment for the LGBT community. Soon after the album’s release, Lang would come out as gay in an interview with The Advocate and later pose for a controversial Vanity Fair cover alongside supermodel
Cindy Crawford. Visit sacurrent.com for our interview with Lang. $39.50-$49.50, 8pm, The Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 2263333, majesticempire.com. — Marco Aquino
Courtesy of K.D. Lang
35TH ANNUAL
MORE INFO @ SAPARKSFOUNDATION.ORG
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
calendar FRI | 9/21
journey to discover its greatness when faced with its current dried-up state. It’s a powerful production that calls all San Antonians to re-contextualize our sense of place and belonging in terms of our oldest shared mythologies, our intimate relationship to the natural resources of the area, and our common longings and fears. $5, 8pm, Confluence Park, 310 W. Mitchell St., (210) 212-8666, saysi.org. — JC
MUSIC
BAD BUNNY 5
Although it’s not often you hear Latin trap on terrestrial radio due to its explicit content, you’ve almost certainly heard its biggest success story — Puerto Rican singer-rapper Bad Bunny, aka El Conejo Malo, on nearly a dozen hit singles in the past year alone. From providing the main hook to Farruko and Nicki Minaj’s “Krippy Kush,” to starring alongside J. Balvin and Cardi B in this summer’s mega-hit “I Like It” (both of which can be heard on English- and Spanish-language radio stations), Bad Bunny is among the most instantly recognizable voices in Latin pop music. Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, the 24-year-old star began his career uploading tracks to Soundcloud before gaining international success. In the span of a few years (he was bagging groceries as recently as 2016), Bad Bunny helped give prominence to the genre of Latin trap, largely through Internet outlets, and quickly garnered over four billion views on his own YouTube channel in 2017. Not only is Bad Bunny leading the way in music, he’s also quickly becoming a fashion icon, evidenced by the striking music video for “Báilame” with Venezuelan singer Nacho and fellow Puerto Rican singer Yandel. On Friday, Bad Bunny brings his first headlining tour, La Nueva Religion, to the Freeman Coliseum. $39-$139, 8pm, Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St., (210) 226-1177, freemancoliseum.com. — MA
FRI | 9/21 SUN | 9/23
Courtesy of Bad Bunny
Pagan Pride Project SPECIAL EVENT
PAGAN PRIDE DAY L
SAYSí
TH EATER
MUCH ADO ABOUT A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM: A SHAKESPEARE MASH-UP q The mashup is a quintessential postmodern art form. The fusing together of two or more works — most often songs, but certainly not exclusively —
The Overtime Theater
can sometimes produce novel juxtapositions that accentuate hidden or underplayed elements of the originals while resulting in an interesting new whole. And, sometimes, it’s terrible — what was best about each original gets muddled and the new product can’t stand on its own. Fortunately, this new play by Scott McDowell seems to avoid the latter category in its unique and clever melding of the classic Shakespeare comedies Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ever wonder how the ridiculously dour villain Don John would play if he were more like the iconic trickster Puck? This weekend is your first chance to find out. $15, 8pm Fri-Sat through Oct. 13, The Overtime Theater, 5409 Bandera Road #205, (210) 557-7562, theovertimetheater.org. — James Courtney
SAT | 9/22 TH EATER
NAPAKO - OUR JOURNEY L
Napako: Our Journey is an original production from the students and instructors at SAY Sí, and featuring guest artists Ruby Nelda Perez, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Angelo Salgado and Joaquin Eliseo Linn. It explores the long (read: true, actual and important) version of San Antonio’s roots. Using movement and storytelling, Napako depicts and interprets a creation story from our city’s ancient indigenous history. The play looks specifically at the Blue Hole — the head of the San Antonio River and long an important practical and spiritual place — and one young man’s
Pagans and those with an interest in paganism, or traditional, earthy spiritual modalities in general, will converge on a mall (of all places) this weekend for a festival that celebrates the rather amorphous set of traditions that fall under the banner of paganism. While sometimes defined as “religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions,” paganism has taken many forms over the millennia and often involves a focus on elemental forces and manifestations of divinity in nature. This special event will feature talks (discussion and lecture), various vendors (arts and crafts, spiritual items, clothing), live music, food and much more — all with a pagan bent. Whether your interest in paganism and related topics is devotional or passing, this event will provide a positive space for the appreciation of spiritual leanings that diverge form the norm, which sounds like a fine way to spend a Saturday to us. Plus, with the festival promoters suggesting that attendees “dress in whatever defines [them] as Pagan/Heathen,” we have a feeling that this will be a superb occasion for people-watching. Free, 11am7pm, Wonderland of the Americas, 4522 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 785-3500, sapaganpride.org. — JC
sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
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Briscoe Western Art Museum
FRI | 9/21 TUE | 9/25 ART
‘DESTINO SAN ANTONIO’
In our day and age, stereographs are most often spotted at antique stores or flea markets, but they were once widespread collectibles that offered viewers easy escapes long before the arrival of movies and television. Arriving on the scene in the 1800s, when practical photography was still in its adolescence, stereographs captured imaginations all over the world with a fairly simple format: Nearly identical photographs — shot from slightly different angles in order to mimic the left-eye/right-eye orientation of human sight — were mounted side-by-side on rectangular cards designed to be viewed through a device that essentially tricks the eyes into fusing the two images into a three-dimensional scene. Although it wasn’t the first viewing apparatus for stereographs, Oliver Wendell Holmes created the affordable, accessible, hand-held “stereoscope” that brought the experience into the mainstream. Collected as keepsakes depicting landmarks, exotic locales and personalities of the era, stereographs now populate archives held by the likes of the Library of Congress (which boasts a stockpile of roughly 52,000) and San Antonio’s own Briscoe Museum of Western Art. Comprising 578 examples, the Briscoe’s collection comes to light this fall in “Destino San Antonio,” an exhibition that paints a historical portrait of the
Alamo City through 80 stereographs (to be seen with 3D viewers) depicting everything from San Pedro Springs, Military Plaza and San Fernando Cathedral in the 1870s to Mexican women selling caged birds and “happy childhood in festive array” at an elaborate parade in 1905. Curated by local artist Anne Wallace, “Destino” comes packed with unique programming, including a Stereograph Tour of San Antonio led by Dr. Maggie Valentine ($30-$40, 1-2:30pm Sat-Sun) and a Community Celebration featuring a traditional blessing by Linda Ximenes of the Tribal Council of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation and performances by Accordion Queen Eva Ybarra, multimedia artist David Zamora Casas, German singing society Beethoven Maennerchor and spoken-word artist Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson (free, 6:30pm Tue). $8-$10, 10am-5pm Fri-Sun, 10am-9pm Tue (on view through Jan. 21), Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 2994499, briscoemuseum.org. — BR
sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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A Night of Sweet and Savory Treats, Seasonal Drinks and Decadence Saturday, Dec. 7 | 7 - 11 PM San Antonio Botanical Garden
e l a S h s a l F
SEPT. 14 - 21 dulcesanantonio.com
Exhibition organized by the Briscoe Western Art Museum. Major sponsors include the “Tex” Elliott Family and the Williams-Chadwick Family Charitable Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation. Additional support provided by Humanities Texas, San Antonio Conservation Society, The Summerlee Foundation, and the Host Committee.
210 W. Market Street | On the River Walk 210.299.4499 | BriscoeMuseum.org 22
CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
Frank Hardesty, “Geronimo,” Silver Gelatin Process, Briscoe Western Art Museum Collection
calendar FILM
Mary and the Witch’s Flower SAMA hosts a free, outdoor screening of Oscar nominee Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s action-packed anime film recounting the stirring, heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find her place in the world. Free, 7:30pm Friday; San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100. WarGames Slab Cinema pops up at Mission Marquee Plaza for a free, outdoor screening of the 1983 sci-fi thriller starring Matthew Broderick as a young hacker who unwittingly accesses a military supercomputer and mistakes its nuclear war simulator for a video game. Free, 7:30pm Thursday; Mission Marquee Plaza, 3100 Roosevelt Ave., (210) 212-9373. Willie Velásquez: Sú Voto Es Sú Voz (Your Vote Is Your Voice) In observance of Heritage Month and National Voter Registration Day, Palo Alto screens Hector Galan’s 2016 documentary about voting rights activist and visionary leader Willie Velásquez, who through his grassroots organizing and founding of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP) changed the Latino voting landscape in Texas and throughout the U.S. Free, 9am12:30pm (film at 11am) Tuesday; Palo Alto College, Student Center Annex, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd., (210) 486-3000. THEATER
A Midsummer Night’s Dream The fantastical A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a damn clinic in Shakespeare’s wit as well as his knack for misdirection and absurdity, follows the interwoven stories of Theseus and Hippolyta (Duke and Queen of Athens); Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius (four young and gullible lovers); the Mechanicals (a hilariously bumbling group of tradesmen tasked with putting on a play of their own); and Oberon, Titania and Puck (the unforgettable and mischievous woodland fairies). Through a barrage of fumbles, false starts and trickery, the play provides a lighthearted and surreal meditation on the fickleness of love and the romanticism of fools. Joe Goscinski directs the Classic Theatre’s production. $17-$32, 8pm Friday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday; The Classic Theatre of San Antonio, 1924 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 589-8450. Newsies The newsboys may be on strike, but that won’t stop them from singing. Disney’s Newsies chronicles a ragtag group of turnof-the-century paperboys in their crusade against unjust distribution costs. Inspired by the true story of Kid Blink, a tough-as-nails, half-blind newsboy, both the musical and 1992 film of the same name have brought droves of teenage girls to madness, due in part to swoon-worthy actors in the lead
role of Jack Kelly. George Green directs the Public Theater’s production, which is co-presented by Ballet San Antonio. $10-$45, 7:30pm Thursday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday; The Public Theater of San Antonio, 800 W. Ashby Pl., (210) 733-7258. SPECIAL EVENTS
Artist Talk/Plática and Q&A with Luis Valdez Palo Alto welcomes revered Mexican-American/Chicano artist, activist and playwright Luis Valdez for a discussion in conjunction with its Heritage Month programming. Considered “the Godfather of Chicano Theater,” Valdez will speak about his work with El Teatro Campesino (a troupe he founded during his organizing work with the United Farmworkers Movement) as well as his mainstream success with Zoot Suit and La Bamba. Free, 12:30-2pm (Ozuna 101, Legacy Room), 7-8:30pm (Performing Arts Center) Thursday; Palo Alto College, 1400 W. Villaret Blvd., (210) 486-3000. Brews and Blooms A collaboration between the Botanical Garden and the San Antonio Cerveceros, this adults-only series combines craft beer sampling, food trucks, live music by the Jeff Jacobs Band, a photobooth and activities courtesy of Rent Giant Games. $30-$60, 7-10pm Saturday; San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Pl., (210) 536-1411. Jazz’SALive The San Antonio Parks Foundation’s annual jazz festival returns with two days of live music on two stages in Travis Park. Highlights from this year’s fest include performances by local favorites the Spiders Jazz Quintet (8:30pm Friday) and the Jim Cullum Happy Jazz Band (2pm Saturday), “joyful jazz contemporaries” Sammy Miller and The Congregation (9pm Friday), Grammy winner Lee Ritenour (5pm Saturday) and award-winning vocalist Jazzmeia Horn (9pm Saturday). The free event also includes a Creative Youth Village, a pumpkin patch, yoga in the park (10am Saturday), a Bakery Lorraine pop-up and after parties on the St. Anthony Hotel’s Sky Terrace. Free, 5-11pm Friday, 10am-11pm Saturday; Travis Park, 301 E. Travis St., (210)212-8423. NWA Mental Health Issue Release NWA Zine celebrates the publication of “How Do You Feel?” (which focuses on the experiences of QTPOC and spreads awareness about living with mental illness) at an event with performances by Paradox Rei, Frijolera Riot and Amygdala, plus local vendors (Mujeres de la Luna, Lunaman Talisman, Cacti Craze and Yes, Ma’am) with 50 percent of proceeds benefiting Trans Lifeline, an organization working to end the epidemic of trans suicide. $3, 7pm-midnight Saturday; La Botánica, 2911 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 716-0702.
Saturday Sept 22nd at 7:30 PM & Sunday Sept 23rd at 3:00 PM CARVER COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTER
This production is not a presentation of the Carver Community Cultural Center or the Carver Development Board. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster.com, the Alamodome and the Carver Community Cultural Center Box Office. AABT is a Texas 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Oranization
www.alamoartsballet.org sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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Fall Fandango Concert THURSDAY, Oct 4
Humanizing Crisis
Borderland Collective’s ‘One to Another’ takes a compassionate look at immigration BY DAN R. GODDARD
B
orderland Collective’s “One to Another” at Artpace attempts to tone down the rancorous rhetoric about migration and immigration by providing both broader and more personal perspectives. Though focused on individual migration stories, the multimedia exhibit also pulls together United Nations hearings, statistics, forensic archives, video and sound installations for a thoughtful consideration of the causes of our current crisis. With more than a quarter billion refugees and migrants on the move around the globe fleeing war, oppression, broken economies, famine, climate change and criminal violence, migration and immigration have become the defining political issues of our time, sparking a sharp turn to the right and a revival of nationalism. But “One to Another” reminds us that just about everyone in this country
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
has some kind of immigrant story in their family history. While the political debate is used to outrage, the Borderland Collective’s approach is more about compassion and understanding. Now based at Texas State University in San Marcos, the Borderland Collective is a long-term art and education project led by artists Mark Menjivar, Molly Sherman and Jason Reed. Reed and public-school teacher Ryan Sprott formed the collective in 2007 in the small oil town of Big Lake. Involving hundreds of participants, the collective has examined migration in various ways, but the heart of the project is an oral history called Migration Stories. So far, the collective has published six collections of stories, with copies available for reading in the Main Gallery at Artpace, gathered in six cities around the country where the project has taken place. During the run of “One to Another,” Menjivar is working with Artpace’s Teen Council to interview family and
arts Mark Menjivar
Better Shelter
community members about their migrant stories, which will culminate with a book release and listening party on December 13. Upstairs in the Hudson Showroom is a modular temporary shelter built by Better Shelter, a Swedish social enterprise organization, in collaboration with the IKEA Foundation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A little larger than a garden shed and probably not much more comfortable, the shelter is designed to barren, physical reality of the refugee shelter. be flat-packed and easy to assemble with a A Global Migration Timeline reveals both galvanized steel frame and semi-hard walls. Democratic and Republican administrations in Better Shelter has shipped the temporary the United States have been toughening border structures to more than 20 countries since policies since the mid2015, providing housing 1990s when President for more than 20,000 Clinton urged “prevenrefugee families. Borderland Collective: ‘One tion through deterInside the shelter, rence.” Building better a projection is showto Another’ fences in urban areas ing the October 2017 Free forced migrants into isospecial session of the UN 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat-Sun lated rural zones, where General Assembly on thousands have died in the “Unlawful Death of Through Dec. 30 harsh, desert conditions. Refugees and Migrants.” Artpace You can listen to the Filippo Grandi, UNHCR 445 N. Main Ave. sounds of bird calls and high commissioner, rippling water on the Rio has blamed the sharp (210) 212-4900 Grande while studying increase in forced migraartpace.org a map showing the tion on an escalation of location of unmarked violence and proxy wars migrant graves. that have replaced diploSince 2005 more than 1,000 border macy. However, the abstract arguments of the politicians are in sharp contrast with the stark, crossers have died in the Rio Grande Valley,
Mark Menjivar
although Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez estimates the actual death total surpasses 5,000. Texas State’s Forensic Anthropology Department has been working for years on Operation Identification, which uses forensic, anthropological and geophysical methods to uncover unidentified remains and make positive identifications. A panel discussion, “Counter Forensics: Working to Identify the Unidentified in South Texas,” will examine the project on September 27 at Artpace. A blue handout shows the location of unknown remains in mass graves in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Brooks County, which were found by Operation Identification using Ground Penetrating Radar. A video shows the forensic anthropologists at work digging up remains. Another handout shows a card found on the body of a deceased migrant for Santo Toribio Romo, patron saint of migrants, with a prayer that pleas in part, “care for and protect our relatives who have had to leave the house and go to distant lands.”
Find more artsmore coverage Find news every day at sacurrent.com
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
Chop Shop
Lizzie offers a revisionist take on legendary murders but doesn’t reach full potential
W
BY KIKO MARTINEZ hile it has sustained a strong interest among American folk historians and true-crime enthusiasts for decades, the story of Lizzie Borden, a young woman suspected of murdering her father and stepmother with an ax in 1892, has never received the cinematic attention that a crime of its notoriety would normally demand. Four years after Christina Ricci portrayed the title character in the laughable Lifetime
movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, which featured a lot of goth-punk music, the legendary murders are explored with more style and intimacy in director Craig William Macneill’s indie psychological thriller Lizzie. Despite a worthy effort by Macneill and first-time feature screenwriter Bryce Kass, Lizzie is more memorable for its foreboding atmosphere and believable performances by the film’s top-billed actresses Chloë Sevigny (Lean on Pete) and Kristen Stewart (Adventureland) than its storytelling prowess. Along with setting up an ominous backdrop, Macneill and Kass should also be commended for depicting a host of unusual theories as part of the Lizzie Borden narrative, some of which seem to be loosely based on author Ed McBain’s 1984 novel Lizzie. In his book, McBain speculates that Lizzie committed the killings after her stepmother discov-
Done to Death
Life Itself is an emotionally manipulative misfire from the creator of This Is Us
D
an Fogelman, creator and executive producer of the hit NBC series This is Us, seems to have the television drama formula worked out better than most — a little yank at the heartstrings here, a heartwarming relationship there, a dash of solid character development and throw in some nonlinear storylines. After only two seasons, viewers and critics are eating it up. As the writer and director behind the feature film Life Itself, however, using a similar template is a disastrous exercise in emotional manipulation and pretentious storytelling. It’s the kind of screenplay that needed a few more rounds of workshopping. As is, it should’ve been tossed into a bin of scripts destined to never be seen again. It’s regrettable since Fogelman, whose first foray into filmmaking was 2015’s Al Pacino vehicle Danny Collins, assembles a
Amazon Studios
more-than-capable cast led by Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Olivia Wilde (Drinking Buddies). Broken into five muddled and overwritten chapters, the film starts with an introduction to Will (Isaac), a sad sack of a man we see during his happier times when he’s courting the love of his life, Abby (Wilde), but also during his court-mandated counseling sessions with his therapist, Dr. Morris (Annette Bening). In this chapter, Fogelman pulls out all the stops and crams the melodrama with so many unnecessary and contrived components, one may wonder if he thought he would even get to finish the last four segments. This part of the film includes a nod to the 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life when Will goes back in time to see random moments in the past that will likely shape his future. It’s one of the many times Fogelman needlessly
screens
Roadside Attractions
ered she was having a tryst with their Irish housemaid Bridget Sullivan. In Lizzie the film, it’s her father Andrew (Jamey Sheridan) — not her stepmother Abby (Fiona Shaw) — who witnesses the lustful encounter between Lizzie (Sevigny) and Bridget (Stewart). The situation is complicated even more because Andrew is taking sexual advantage of Bridget and has also decided to make Lizzie’s uncle John Morse (Denis O’Hare) custodian of her inheritance, a move that aggravates his daughter. There are also threatening notes being left at the Borden household that suggest someone else in town might have an issue with the family (“No one will save you from what is to come” and “Your sins will find you” aren’t exactly neighborly messages). When Lizzie and Bridget’s resentment comes to a boiling point, they devise a plan to rid themselves of the people who are harming them. Shot beautifully by cinematographer Noah Greenberg (Most Beautiful Island), Lizzie is a somber revisionist interpretation that fails to reach the story’s full potential as the minimalist murder mystery it hoped to become. The chemistry between Sevigny and Stewart is palpable as the sexual tension mounts throughout the film, but there just isn’t enough substance behind the relationship to warrant an entirely new take on what took place inside the walls of the Borden home more than a century ago.
reminds the audience that fate will catch up to everyone eventually. Fogelman mucks up his clichéd screenplay even more by employing the storytelling technique known as the “unreliable narrator,” a term coined by literary critic Wayne C. Booth in 1961, which argues that a narrator of a story can’t be trusted because he or she is telling it from a single perspective. Fogelman essentially suggests that the storytellers he’s chosen to recollect their own memories might be remembering incorrectly. The decision to include this narrative device is a lazy choice that allows Fogelman to offer moviegoers various interpretations or perspectives of the same scene — scenes that ultimately fall flat. As the film stumbles into the other chapters, Fogelman abandons most of his filmmaking gimmickry to connect Will and Abby to a host of other characters — their adult daughter Dylan (Olivia Cooke) and a family living in Spain — but by then it’s fairly evident where everything will end up. Unfortunately, wallowing in a cinematic abyss of tragedy, pain and victimization is better suited for fans of the Saw franchise. – Kiko Martinez
Find more news Find more every day at film stories sacurrent.com
JAPANESE STYLE GASTROPUB D A I LY H A P P Y H O U R + LATE NIGHT KITCHEN m o n d ay- s u n d ay: 4 p m - 2 a m 7 7 0 1 B r o a d w ay S t. # 1 2 4 hanzoBar.com
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
food
THE BIG SPOON
The largest foodborne outbreak since the 1990s and the Peanut Gallery
T
his Labor Day weekend, more than 300 San Antonians were afflicted by a foodborne illness, likely Salmonella, from dining out at Pasha Mediterranean Grill. The 10-year-old restaurant has amassed fans from across the city. It has locations in Selma, The Vineyard as well as offshoots in Incarnate Word and on Culebra Road known as Pasha Express, along with Baklovah Bakery. And much like the other 98 percent time they’ve been open, now is probably a safe time to eat at Pasha. But let’s get back to Labor Day weekend. In an interview, epidemiologist Anita Kurian said the city has investigated 389 cases of foodborne illness stemming from Pasha, with 14 diners hospitalized and 37 lab-confirmed signs pointing to Salmonella. This was the largest outbreak since the ’90s when Metro Health investigated 250 calls. This time around, an unnamed physician spotted the similarities between patients and called the organization to flag the illness. Calls to Metro Health streamed in on September 2, sanitarians showed up at the restaurant the next day and closed it through September 4. A restaurant inspection report points to refrigeration as the likely culprit for the outbreak, though it’s unclear where exactly the bacteria came from. The Centers for Disease Control reports that Salmonella causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths per year in the United States. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and/or abdominal cramps anywhere from 12 to 72
Courtesy of Pash
hours after the infection. Most people don’t require treatment – though they probably need a lot of Pedialyte. But others need hospitalization. For the general public, the outbreak at Pasha served to underscore several things. For some, it was loyalty to a restaurant they’ve dined at for the past 10 years. For others, it’s a reason they won’t try it. And for a small but vocal group, it perpetuates nasty stereotypes and racial bias in comment sections that we’ll explore in later Big Spoon columns. For Metro Health, an outbreak of this magnitude means boots on ground at the restaurant for the days following the outbreak to make sure food handling and cooking are spotless. For the epidemiologists on staff, it means responding to the onslaught of calls, getting more information on signs and symptoms, and learning the food history of the case to determine exposure. They normally field 190 calls, out of which only one or two usually reveal foodborne illnesses.
“Every good meal starts with food safety,” Kurian says. At home, that means separating cooked and uncooked food such as meat, poultry, eggs and milk. Cooking food appropriately, and making sure meat and eggs are cooked thoroughly. When dining out, Kurian wants eaters to pick up the phone. “If you observe unhygienic practices, don’t hesitate to call us. We want to know the problem at the onset.” What the Pasha outbreak highlights is how quickly a situation can get out of hand, and why reporting any issues to Metro Health is critical. It happens to be National Food Safety Month, so visit cdc.gov/foodsafety for ways to identify symptoms. See something and want to say something? Call Metro Health San Antonio at (210) 207-8780 to report any slime in the ice machine. – Jess Elizarraras
Contact the author: Flavor@sacurrent.com
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
food
Franken-pastries La Panadería is now making a croncha
BY JESS ELIZARRARAS
I
t’s 2018 and bakeries basically exist to create Franken-versions of classic baked goods (don’t @ me). First, there was the cronut: Dominique Ansel’s amalgamation of a doughnut and a croissant. The Manteconcha had
Jess Elizarraras
Mexico snatching their wigs and screaming for the mantecada-meets-concha pastry this summer. San Antonians got a taste for the Manteconcha at Delice, Romelia’s and Panicifo Bake Shop, but they might want to get to know La Panadería’s Croncha. Developed by chef David Caceres, the croncha was inspired by the manteconcha. “We wanted to do something with our ingredients and our own tools,” Caceres told the Current. So he took to testing croissant dough, baked in a similar style to the shop’s kouign-amann (simi-
lar to puff pastry but with fewer layers and more sugar sprinkled in that’s baked right-side up), and topped it with their concha streusel. “We tested several doughs, but the croissant dough keeps everything, all the flavors, trapped, so when you cut into it, it’s almost like an explosion,” Caceres said. The result is a buttery and rich, and can be found at both La Panadería locations for $2.75 each. Caceres is experimenting with other toppings and fillings in the coming days, but for now, the croncha has their signature vanilla topping. La Panaderia, multiple locations, lapanaderia.com. sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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food | nightlife Cantina-style Sports Bar El Búho opens for all your viewing needs BY JESS ELIZARRARAS
E
l Búho, a sports bar, which opened Friday evening at 2710 N. St. Mary’s St. – the ninth bar on the St. Mary’s Strip for the Delgado family, which has brought San Antonio vibes to the area since they opened Hi-Tones. Melanie Martinez, who has bartended for most of those bars, will come on as a partner for El Búho, which means owl in Spanish. The vintage sports bar will include a cantina-style patio out back with wooden patio tables and metal cerveza toppers. Two food trucks will fill the front, along with more tables and chairs
and a giant beer pong set she hopes will draw in the St. Mary’s Strip crowd. Inside, five flat screens and all sorts of sports memorabilia fill the space. Expect to see trading-card table toppers, a signed Ginobili jersey and several more Spurs artifacts like the front page spread of the San Antonio Express-News following the teams first Championship win in 1999. The rest of the decor is made up of all manners of owls from across the globe. Beer will be available on draft, by the pint and in pitchers, and a few classic cocktails will be offered. House cocktails were still being tinkered with as of press time. Though weather delayed the bar’s launch by a week, El Búho officially opened Friday. Hours will be 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with Martinez hoping to make El Búho a Sunday Funday spot in the coming weeks. 2710 N. St. Mary’s St.
Jess Elizarraras
HAPPY HOUR HOUND
Toro Kitchen, St. Paul Square BY RON BECHTOL
S
Christine Wong /@stine.eats
Jess Elizarraras
ome friends with whom I’ve long cooked and traveled have just had a baby — but they’re not letting that small impediment stop them from continuing to enjoy the good life. To keep parents sane and introduce baby to new environments, they have instituted happy hours with Luca. So far, at two months going on three, he’s behaved better than many adults of my acquaintance. He loved tracking the passing parade at Esquire Tavern recently. Wanting to encourage his visual side (tastes will have to wait), I’m convinced he really enjoyed the more colorful drinks at Toro Kitchen’s new St. Paul Square outpost. We did, too — though they weren’t our favorites. Readers might have figured out by now that I do have a few quirks in the food and drink department. One of them is crushed or pebble ice in drinks. Give me something boozy served over a humongous cube any day. From Toro’s Gin Bar menu, that means that both the Barcelona (Botanist — a favorite gin, raspberries, lemon and
rosemary) and the Bilbao (Plymouth, strawberries, basil and lime) rated lower than others. Don’t misunderstand: these use topnotch gins with fruit flavors that are bright and fresh. And at $6 from 4-7 on weekdays, there’s no denying that they are well worth the coin. But for my money, bring on the San Sebastián (we were in that Basque city together a little over a year ago where many balloon-shaped vessels of “gintonic” were consumed pre-baby) with its Hendricks, cucumber and lime. Or maybe the Toledo (Mahon from the Spanish island of Menorca, Campari and sweet red vermouth); it’s really a Negroni re-baptized to fit the theme, but it’s well-made. We fiddled with a couple of other drinks just to punch up the flavor profile, and the fiddle factor came from an unlikely source: the optional habanero sauce that’s offered with one of the $6 select tapas — the un-Iberian, but awfully good, tacos de cochcinita pibil. Consider using it in the Valencia (Malfy gin, rosemary and lemon topped with tonic), or the Sevilla with super-premium Monkey 47 gin that didn’t really come through. Toro’s patatas bravas, another of the tapas, aren’t “brava” enough for my taste, but the blistered padron peppers are great with the drinks, and the battered calamari are among the best in town. Baby on board or not, HH at Toro is worth building on your experiences as well. sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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In addition to the convergence of dope 36 CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com local music, expect ambassadors from:
! y a d r u t a s t x e n 1 city. 1 night. 20 stages. 60+ local bands & artists. AMP ROOM (21+) DARKWAVE / GOTH / INDUSTRIAL PHANTOM Spell 27 Shadow Fashion LA BOTANICA (ALL AGES UNTIL 11 P.M., THEN 21+) DANCE / ELECTRONICA Lightwithin Voodoo Boogaloo Rivers Want THE MIX (21+) COUNTRY Michael J. & The Foxes Marcy Grace Band of Bandits VENTURA (21+) POP-ROCK Bad Heart The Please Help Nova Lux SOCIAL SPOT (21+) ALT-ROCK Fox Motel Razor Doves Celestial Descent PAPER TIGER (ALL AGES) MAIN ROOM LATIN ALTERNATIVE/CUMBIA Pochos Chidos Los Nahuatlatos Grupo Frackaso PAPER TIGER (ALL AGES) COURTYARD BEATMAKER JKNODIC Arodbeats Jonah Conrad
LIMELIGHT (21+) INDIE Optic Arrest Vintage Pictures We Leave at Midnight
ATTAGIRL (ALL AGES) SINGER-SONGWRITER Rainbow Chilton George Garza Jr. Jordan Moonz
THE GALLERY CLUB (21+) HIP-HOP SpyMC MAD-ONE Chris Conde The Kid Bootz DJ Dark Knight
RUMBLE (21+) SOUL / FUNK / R&B The Shiny Knights StereoFiend Cadillac Muzik
GUILLOTINE (21+) METAL Aeternal Requiem Pigweed Hotzi BEXAR PUB (21+) AMERICANA / SOUTHERN ROCK / ALT-COUNTRY Winsome Losers Snowbyrd Claudine Meinhardt JANDRO’S (21+) INDOOR STAGE, SURF / GARAGE / PSYCH Flower Jesus Quartet Junkie Saigon Sinners JANDRO’S (21+) OUTDOOR STAGE PUNK Lemmings Yo Existo Lloronas
LA ROCA (21+) FOLK / FOLK-ROCK Yosh & Yimmy Jaik Yanez & The High Road Sweet ‘Shine & Honey
Cullum’s Attagirl
The Gallery Club
ST. MARY ST. MUSIC (ALL AGES) JAZZ/JAZZ FUSION Jose Amador & Terra Nova MADD WOLF SANCHOS (21+) UPSTAIRS STAGE, TEJANO / CONJUNTO Santiago Jimenez Jr. LA 45
Not Shown on map
SANCHOS (21+) DOWNSTAIRS STAGE BLUES Favorite Son Catherine Denise Jake Castillo Trio
Dignowity Hill Bexar Pub
HI-TONES (21+) PUNK Viet-Ruse No Time Knockin’ Chucks Pinata Protest (acoustic duo)
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38 CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
Mac Miller, the Stigma of Addiction and Why People Continue to OD
T
he only time I ever did heroin was in 2012. I was bartending at Bluebox and living in Government Hill on Mason Street behind the Pearl, just a block from my cocaine dealer. I was 26 and had recently relapsed from a four-month sobriety stint – three months of which I spent at Haven For Hope, a campus for homeless people that provided a 90-day treatment program called the In House Recovery Program. A false positive on a drug test put me back on the street for a few hours before a friend let me sleep on their couch again. Long story short, I ended up overdosing on heroin and surviving. However, the experience wouldn’t stop me from plumbing the depths of cocaine and meth addiction for the next couple years. In what still seems like a miracle, after a decade of trying to get sober, I asked a friend who had been sober for several years how he got sober. I’ve been drug- and alcohol-free since then. Though I couldn’t tell you the name of any of his songs, somehow rapper Mac Miller’s death earlier this month hit home. Though he may have wanted to die, so many of us addicts and alcoholics accidentally overdose chasing the perfect high and end up slipping past the point of no return. It started to make me think about why so many musicians and other artists continue to overdose. During that period of wanting to get sober, with several moments of “fuck-it-I-can’t-get-
music
Warner Bros. Records
sober-let’s-just-get-drunk,” I was writing and performing music, sharing stages with Deer Vibes, Fishermen, Lonely Horse and Alyson Alonzo. I felt engulfed in the scene, and I loved it. I drank Lone Star, smoked weed and snorted cocaine all along the St. Mary’s Strip, and no one did much to stop me. Some of the most influential musicians on the planet were martyrs for the gods of dope, and secretly I hoped I’d become a martyr myself. To be completely honest, I hated the way I felt not fucked up. This craving, itch, incessant desire to change the way we feel is part of alcoholism, and the stigma around that disease has caused a lot of people to go untreated – that and a lack of education, fear and a disbelief that they could ever get sober and stay sober. Dr. Stacy Speedlin, a visiting professor at UTSA who teaches an addictions course and is a clinical practitioner at the Center for Healthcare Services, says musicians and other artists are oftentimes emotionally driven even though she says a lot of these creative types don’t necessarily feel that they are. “Living in a world of [people who aren’t emotionally driven], they feel a bit unique, individualized, [which can cause] a great deal of isolation,” Speedlin says. “Naturally, that personality type is driven into the music world … Sometimes the music world brings a deeper sense of isolation and disconnection, especially for those who gain a degree of success. You can see how drugs and alcohol could come into play.” Speedlin also quoted Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. Hari said in a Huffingington Post article, “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection.” I could relate. Being tossed between guilt, shame and self-loathing for the decisions I was making while using, I can see, looking back, that I longed for connection. For someone to empathize with the writhing in my chest and the bleak outlook I had on life. Drugs and alcohol would mask those feelings for a while, until I had to raise my dosage … and raise my dosage … and raise it again. “I went from being the party guy to the guy who couldn’t get going without this or that,” Hickoids frontman Jeff Smith says. Smith, who’s been sober for more than 16 years, says musicians, especially famous ones, often use drugs to fill the void, especially during periods of flux their careers. And sometimes people just like to live fast. “On the other hand, there’s just people who like to push the envelope,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what it is – sex, drugs, buying Maserati’s, whatever ya got.” Even with all the information out there on the subject, Speedlin says, some people – even some health-care professionals – don’t believe addiction is a disease, even though the American Medical Association recognized alcoholism as an illness in 1956, followed by addiction in 1987.
“Historically, we’ve had the Harrison Act, which criminalized addiction, which happened in the early 1900s,” Speedlin says. “And from there you see ... how we persist with this perspective that addiction is not a disease – it’s an illegal act, and therefore deserving of punishment and institutionalized retraumatization.” Nina Diaz, who fronts SA’s Girl in a Coma, is also in recovery from drugs and alcohol. Diaz says she thought no one noticed anything was wrong with her even though she had been drinking since she was 13 years old and using cocaine by the time she was 16. “It’s almost as if everybody knew something was up with me, but no one wanted to talk about it, “ Diaz says. “People maybe thought, ‘Well, maybe it’ll go away’ kinda thing. We need to talk about it, ’cause families that don’t address these things – even as hard as it is – that’s when things get worse, and that’s when lies get heavy and that’s when ODs can happen.” If you or someone you care about needs help, here are a few resources in San Antonio that can help: samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline havenforhope.org/GetHelp Alphahome.org Aasanantonio.org hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substanceuse/mental-health-substance-use-resources/outreach-screening-assessment-referral-centers
– Chris Conde
Nina Diaz by Daniela Riojas
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music | music Picks Courtesy of Pink Leche
The band hit SA for a performance at Maverick Music Festival last year, and is returning this Thursday. $29.50, 7:30pm, The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, tobincenter.org. – CC
KINKS AND DRINKS L Thursday, September 20
Sonic PR
SHONEN KNIFE L
Wednesday, September 19
Formed in Osaka, Japan, at the end of 1981, Shonen Knife ignored the rising popularity of J-pop and gravitated toward music that was high-energy and heavily influenced by ’60s rock. That secured them a spot as opening act for Nirvana on the Nevermind tour. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist and vocalist Naoko Yamano said when Kurt Cobain initially asked about touring with the band, she didn’t know who they were. So she went to the record store, bought some Nirvana, saw their appearance and concluded, “They looked a little bit wild and dirty.” They were even a little afraid of the
grunge kings until Dave Grohl helped set up their drums and Kurt Cobain made Yamano a PB&J. Besides touring with one of the most influential rock bands of all time, the Japanese trio has been credited with opening the door for more international acts to break into the American circuits. With 22 albums of solid Ramones-esque punk under their belt, Shonen Knife prove that they’re as sharp as they were when they first started cutting up audiences with their live performances over 35 years ago. $16-$110, 7pm, Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. – Chris Conde
BOOK OF LOVE q Thursday, September 20
Best known for the track “Pretty Boys and Pretty Girls,” which was one of the first songs to address the AIDS epidemic of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Book of Love first gained exposure by opening for Depeche Mode in 1985 and 1986. The snyth-pop four-piece reunited for a one-off Houston show in April 2013, but announced the following June that they were working on new music. They’ve been touring ever since.
There’s a lot to love about this week’s Kinks and Drinks event, going down at El Luchador. To kick things off, get there early for a titillating interactive trivia game, described as “trivia for sexually woke people.” The goal of the game is not only entertainment but also raising awareness/dialogue around issues related to sex (health and pleasure), kinks, HIV/AIDS and communication. Following the trivia, there will be a concert featuring a diverse selection of local acts, including Vonna (DIY indie pop), Pink Leche (electronic/bass heavy) and Clee (sexually charged hip-hop). Full disclosure: Current music writer Chris Conde will also perform. Overall, Kinks and Drinks promises to be as enlightening as it is fun. If you wish to participate in the trivia portion of the evening, make sure you RSVP at eventbrite.com (search by event name). Free, 7pm, El Luchador, 622 Roosevelt, (210) 272-0016, facebook.com/luchadorbarsa. — James Courtney
MELISSA ETHERIDGE \ Wednesday, September 19
“Come to my windoooooooooow / Crawl inside / Wait by the light of the moooooooooon / Come to my window / I’ll be home soon.” Damn, Melissa Etheridge’s 1993 song still hits so heavy. What makes it even heavier is that it was the first song Etheridge released after she revealed her homosexuality on an album aptly titled Yes I am. The song became an anthem for the community. Celebrate this icon on the 25th anniversary of her epic Yes I am. *Sold Out* $75, 7pm, Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Rd, New Braunfels, gruenehall.com. – CC Courtesy of Melissa Etheridge
Courtesy of Book Of Love
sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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4 CONVENIENT SAN ANTONIO LOCATIONS 8806 Bandera Rd #103 - 210.684.2285 | 9822 Potranco Rd #115 - 210.684.2285 19422 U.S. Highway 281 N. #105 - 210.251.4058 | 7325 N Loop 1604 W STE 101 - 210.988.3720
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music | music Picks
Matador Records
YO LA TENGO M Friday, September 21
New Jersey’s beloved Yo La Tengo have effortlessly been so many things over the course of its consistently fruitful, frequently brilliant and joyfully unpredictable 34 years (and counting). Yo La Tengo was an indie rock band before anyone used that term. They make warm and ambling music that has, over the years, spanned the gamut of genres from jazz and folk to psychedelic and garage rock, from lo-fi outsider pop to experimental extrapolations. And when the band is at its best, it is a bit of all of those things (and more) at once. On the veteran group’s most recent releases, 2015’s Stuff Like That There and this year’s There’s a Riot Going On, its 14th and 15th LPs respectively, the three-piece sounds as fresh, eclectic
Courtesy of Nine Inch Nails
and innocently exploratory as ever. Given that the live setting is where Yo La Tengo shines the brightest and the fact that this is the seminal group’s first-ever San Antonio gig, this is not a show you’ll want to sleep on. $25, 8pm, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — JC
bedroom dream pop for the dispossessed children of chillwave. Dig BUHU’s sound at buhu.bandcamp.com. And rounding out this little gem of a show is SA act Elnuh, the project of Elena Lopez (formerly of Octahedron), which makes a gritty, grungy brand of emotive pop music. Study up on Elnuh, whose debut LP Topics is one of our local favorites of the year, at elnuh.bandcamp.com. $10, 9pm, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — JC
RIVER CITY ROCKFEST M Saturday, September 22
Bud Light River City Rockfest is returning for its sixth year this Saturday at the AT&T Center grounds, and they’re bringing fucking Nine Inch Nails. Arguably one the most important industrial acts of the late ’80s and ’90s, the cult-like following of Trent Reznor and friends seems only to grow as the years
Courtesy of Billy Idol
go by. Trent has aged into such a dark lord daddy now, so it’s not surprising. Also on the bill are Primus, Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, Chevelle, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Clutch, Hellyeah, Yelawolf, Suicidal Tendencies, The Sword, Drowning Pool, The Fever 333, Upon A Burning Body, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, I See Stars, Demob Happy, The Heroine, Blacktop Mojo, Lynnwood King & The Revival and Covina. $89.50274.50, Noon, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center PKWY, attcenter.com. – CC
SUMMER HEART, BUHU, ELNUH \ Saturday, September 22
Courtesy Of Summer Heart
This weekend, touring acts Summer Heart (Sweden) and BUHU (ATX) will be joined by local band Elnuh on a well-curated bill. For starters, Summer Heart, which is the project of producer David Alexander, offers up a heady yet lackadaisical brand of electronic indie pop with charm and grooves to spare (visit summerheart.bandcamp.com for a sampling). BUHU, for its part, is a synth-worshipping duo that makes
BILLY IDOL T
Tuesday, September 25
Arena-punk leather daddy Billy Idol is returning to San Antonio for a show at the Tobin Center as an extension of his Live! 2018 Tour Idol, and we’re already online shopping for leather pants. While the Sex Pistols sparked a near-riot here back in’78, Idol will most likely provoke the audience to dance with themselves, but there’s nothing wrong with embracing the corporate side of punk rock. Often abandoning the rebellious genre’s characteristic DIY ethics, Idol opted for crystal-clear production and catchy new-wave songwriting, resulting in his superstar status. And I mean, who can blame him for adopting the aesthetic? Who doesn’t like a little sparkle to balance out the grit? As a fashion icon, Idol rocked the spiked, frosted hair-do, snarl mastered-to-perfection and studded leather, all supported by his muscular body and chiseled features. $59.50, 7:30, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, tobincenter.org. – CC
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CURRENT | September 19-25, 2018 | sacurrent.com
music | calendar WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 Money Chicha Austin-based Latin-psych and cumbia band with members of Grupo Fantasma and Brownout performs with Dos Santos, a quintet anti-beat orchestra from Chicago. $10. Luna, 8pm. Processions Rock band Processions takes stage with Chicago-based North By North, Löwin and Granite Hands. $6. Paper Tiger, 8pm.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 Flow Tribe The six-member band’s onstage chemistry reflects a seamless combination of soul and movement that hits the audience within the first few notes. $10-$45. Sam’s Burger Joint, 7pm. Pesado The Monterrey quintet includes mixtures of norteño music with Latin rhythms, accordion, bass sixth and drums. These sounds combine with the voice nuance of its vocalist, achieving a modern, fresh and very northern concept. $250-$300. Cowboys Dancehall, 7pm. Trans-Pecos Festival 2018 El Cosmico is hosting the 13th annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love. Performers include renowned artists Los Lobos, Future Islands, Jenny Lewis, Angel Olsen, Patty Griffin and more. $250-$325. El Cosmico, 3-11pm.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer traveling for his La Nueva Religion tour. $49-$435. AT&T Center, 8pm. Donovan Keith R&B-soul singer from Austin performs next to Tom Raines on drums, Derek Thigpen on bass and Kerry Burkhart on guitar. The band is inspired by artists such as Sam Cooke, Al Green, Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield. $10. Luna, 8pm. Flow Tribe Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce, the “Jack O” and “Pierce” who make up the seminal duo Jackopierce, celebrate 25 years of making music that has amassed a loyal following of millions of fans across the country. $25-$200. Sam’s Burger Joint, 8pm. Frankie Cosmos Indie rock musician Frankie Cosmos is performing with Greta Kline, Alex Bailey, Lauren Martin and Luke Pyenson. $16. Paper Tiger, 8pm. Los Lobos The band is known for their powerhouse mix of rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican musical sound. $35. Gruene Hall, 8pm. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons Frankie Valli, who came to fame in 1962 as the lead singer of The Four Seasons, is hotter
than ever. Thanks to the success of the musical Jersey Boys, which chronicles the life and times of Frankie and his legendary group, such classic songs as “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and more. $45-$350. The Majestic Theatre, 8pm. The Frights Surf punk band the Frights come through to support their new album with Epitaph records during their Hypochondriac Tour. $16. Paper Tiger, 7-10pm. Madball New York hardcore band Madball is joined by comedy rap trio Sudden Death, Boston thrash metal band Executioner and local band Blackhand. $10. Alamo City Music Hall & Club, 6pm. Mariachi Las Altenas Considered Texas’ finest all-female mariachi, Las Alteñas has been captivating audiences throughout the United States since 2002. $10. Luna, 8pm. Three Women and the Truth Writing from their own experience, songwriters Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson, and Gretchen Peters are skilled in balancing personal tales with classic underpinnings, which hint at the idea that all women’s lives are full of events and incidents that touch on the mythic and the timeless. $34.50-$65. Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 8pm.
10/1/18
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Mod Sun - Smile Machine Tour Rapper, author, musician and poet Mod Sun from Bloomington, Minn., stop in SA on his Smile Machine Tour. $20. Paper Tiger, 7pm. Travis Meadows This country music singer and songwriter has released two albums as well as writing songs for other country artists. $10-$40. Sam’s Burger Joint, 6pm.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 Bullet for My Valentine Since their inception in 2003, Welsh quartet Bullet for My Valentine have been taking cues from ‘80s metal bands and the punk-infused metal of the new millennium to make melodic, metallic, dark rock songs. $35. Aztec Theatre, 6:30pm. The Jazz Protagonists The Protagonists have been making music together since 1990. They’ve been hailed by music critics, audiences, children and drunks alike as a band without equal in San Antonio. Their specialty is classic jazz in the tradition of Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson. Free. Jazz, TX, 5:30-7:30pm. Sam Evian New York based songwriter-singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and Saddle Creek recording artist performs with the support of Katie Von Schleicher. $5. Limelight, 8pm.
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I am newly divorced and have started a relationship with a man I’ve known and deeply cared about for decades. The sex is amazing – from start to finish, I feel better than I ever did even in the best moments with my ex. And in the most intense moments? He makes me see stars. He is a very generous lover – he turns me on like crazy and I regularly come while sexting with him. But I have yet to have an orgasm with him. In the past, I have had an orgasm with a partner only from oral or very occasionally from digital clit stim. My ex-husband was not skilled at oral, so I always had to fantasize pretty hard to get there (and regularly chose not to bother). My new partner has amazing moves and amazing oral skills. And he is willing to keep at it for as long as it takes. But regardless of how amazing I feel when he’s going down on me, every single time I eventually hit a wall where I am just done. I haven’t had a single session with him where I’m left feeling unfulfilled, despite the lack of orgasm. In contrast, any sex with my ex that didn’t end in an orgasm left me feeling frustrated or, worse yet, bored. (There were also times when I’d ask my ex to leave the room so I could masturbate after sex.) Do you have any ideas as to why I can’t get over that hump? I wonder if I just need him to be more boring and repetitive so that I can focus. But if that’s the case, is it even worth it? Why would I want to make the sex worse to make it “better”? Or should I just be satisfied with the mind-blowing sex I am having, even if it means I don’t have an orgasm? Is it OK to give myself permission to give up on partner-based climaxing? No Orgasm Possibly Ever Beware of those self-fulfilling prophecies! If you sit there – or lie there – telling yourself that being with Mr. AmazingMoves means giving up on “partner-based climaxing,” NOPE, you’re increasing the odds that you’ll never have an orgasm with this guy or any other guy ever again. Here’s what I think the problem is: You had tons of shitty sex with your ex, but you could climax so long as you focused, i.e., so long as you were able to “fantasize pretty hard.” Your ex provided you with some half-assed oral and/or uninspiring digital clit stim that didn’t interfere with your ability to focus/fantasize. In other words, NOPE, with your ex you were able to – you had no other choice but to – retreat into your own head and rely on your own erotic imagination to get you there. You may have been
physically present during sex, but you were not emotionally or erotically present. Because Mr. AmazingMoves’ moves are so amazing – because he turns you on like crazy, because whatever he’s doing feels great, because sometimes you see stars – you aren’t able to retreat into your own head. For years, you had to figuratively leave the room so you could focus/concentrate on whatever it was you needed to focus/concentrate on in order to come; sometimes you even asked your ex to literally leave the room. You created a powerful association between going to a private, safe, sexy place – pulling away from your partner emotionally, erotically, and sometimes even physically – and climaxing. You aren’t able to pull away from your current partner in the same way. Nor do you want to. And, hey, wanna know why you come when you sext with him? Because sexting is assisted fantasizing. You’re alone when you’re swapping those dirty messages with Mr. AmazingMoves, NOPE, kind of like you were alone when you were having sex with your ex. It’s going to take some time to carve a new groove, i.e., you’re going to have to create a new association, one that allows you to be fully present (emotionally, erotically, physically) during partner-based sex and able to climax during it. The trick is not to rush it and, again, not to box yourself into negative self-fulfilling prophecies like the one you ended your letter with. So instead of telling yourself you’re never going to come again during partnered sex, tell yourself that your orgasms will come again. It may take some time, sure, but trust that your body and your brain are already hard at work carving that new groove. One practical suggestion: The next time you have sex with Mr. AmazingMoves – the next 10 times you have sex with him – tell him in advance that you’re going to ask him to stop eating you out long before you hit that wall. Then stimulate yourself, either digitally or with a vibrator, while he holds you. If you need to lean back and close your eyes, lean back and close your eyes – but do not retreat into your own head. Maintain physical contact and ask him to say dirty/ sexy things to you while you get yourself the rest of the way there, so you’re always aware of his presence. A couple of dozen self-administered orgasms with both of you in the room – in the room emotionally, erotically, and physically – will speed that new-groovecarving process along.
mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.ITMFA.org
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E M P LOY M E N T J O N E S I N ’ C R OS S W O R D BY M AT T J O N E S
DATE: SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 RE: REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSAL FOR BIDS FOR PURCHASE OF 26’ STRAIGHT BOX TRUCK The San Antonio Food Bank is soliciting bids to furnish the following vehicle:
CLASS 7 CHASSIS FOR BOX TRUCK - 33, 000 lbs. GVW, Diesel Engine, 260HP / 660lb-ft torque min, Automatic, 6 speed transmission, 50 Gal Fuel tank, 34FT straight Frame rails, A/C, Power windows and mirrors, 7 year extended warranty and after treatment BOX - 26 Ft by 8ft Box, Roll up back door, Aluminum floor, Aluminum side scuff 18in bottom of box, Aluminum side scuff 18in – 36in from the bottom of the box, e-track system, Interior lights REEFER - Diesel Power Single Temp, Refrigeration capacities up to 14,500 BTU , 0 degree capacity LIFT - Tuk-A-Way lift, High capacity loads up to 5,000 lbs., Large platform to handle palletized cargo, Large platform easy to open and close
“TL;DR” – some short versions. ACROSS 1 Playground marble 6 “Stay With Me” singer Smith 9 Point-and-click tool 14 Late-night TBS show 15 Bank offering, for short 16 “Champagne Supernova” band 17 Storage place 18 Does some present preparation 20 New pilot’s achievements 22 Wed. preceder 23 Inglourious Basterds org. 24 The Braves, on scoreboards 25 “I ___ Man of Constant Sorrow” 28 Country singer Travis 30 Elba who recently announced he won’t be playing James Bond 32 Australia’s Outback, alternatively 37 Becomes less green 38 Historic castle officially called “Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress” 41 Discipline with poses 42 Wound on a bobbin 43 Limp Bizkit frontman Fred 45 Parks and Recreation character Andy 48 Joan of Arc, e.g., for short 49 Ruling official
52 Word with Plaines or Moines 53 Niihau necklace 55 Like a government wonk, say 58 They may be receding 61 1990s cardio fad 62 For some reason it’s National Soft Pretzel Month 63 “Ambient 1: Music for Airports” composer 64 Become a member 65 Regards 66 Columnist Savage 67 Classic symbols of the theater DOWN 1 “With ___ of thousands” 2 Escaped 3 Horn 4 “Break Your Heart” singer Cruz 5 Provide with a wardrobe 6 Protestors’ placards 7 Unfit for farming 8 Mario Puzo subject 9 The Jungle Book boy 10 Rowboat pair 11 Mr. Robot network 12 Tiny drink 13 Feature of a Mariner’s cap 19 Blasting stuff 21 Fall-blooming flowers
25 2012 Affleck thriller 26 Bearing 27 Donkey relative 29 “___ the best of times ...” 31 Word before longlegs or Yankee 33 1940s-’50s jazz style 34 Strange sighting 35 Traffic caution word 36 Poker variant 38 Hype up 39 Grimm creature 40 Piece with a headline 41 PGA measurements 44 2016 Dreamworks movie with Justin Timberlake 46 Respectable group? 47 Converse rival 50 Lilly of pharmaceuticals 51 Penalized, monetarily 52 Knighted vacuum cleaner inventor 54 They offer immunity on Survivor 55 Highly proper 56 Wrestler John of countless memes 57 Peter Pan dog 58 Took in 59 King Kong, for instance 60 Vexation ANSWER ON PAGE 21
This vehicle will be utilized by Food Bank staff members for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program serving the senior population of the sixteen county service area of the San Antonio Food Bank and will be in service year round. Please include all associated costs. Only vehicles listed above will be considered for this solicitation. Bid due Date and Time: 09/25/18 by 5:00 P.M. Bid Delivery Procedures: Sealed bids must be hand delivered by time and date listed above to Rob Snyder and or Chad Chittenden. If mailed, bids must be sent via United States Postal Service Certified Mail to: San Antonio Food Bank C/O: Rob Snyder 5200 Enrique M. Barrera Parkway San Antonio, TX 78227 Evaluation/Voting Members: Erika Borrego: Chief Operation Officer Rob Snyder: Director of Operations Genevieve Noriega: Director of Partner Services Questions on this communication may be directed via e-mail to: Rob Snyder Director of Operations rsnyder@safoodbank.org through 5:00 P.M. Central Time on 09/20/18.
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etc FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZNY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Do you have any skills at living on the edge between the light and the dark? Are you curious about what the world might look like and how people would treat you if you refused to divide everything up into that which helps you and that which doesn’t help you? Can you imagine how it would feel if you loved your life just the way it is and not wish it were different from what it is? Please note: people less courageous than you might prefer you to be less courageous. But I hope you’ll stay true to the experiment of living on the edge between the light and the dark. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to Popbitch.com, most top-charting pop songs are in a minor key. In light of this fact, I encourage you to avoid listening to pop songs for the next three weeks. In my astrological opinion, it’s essential that you surround yourself with stimuli that don’t tend to make you sad and blue, that don’t influence you to interpret your experience through a melancholic, mournful filter. To accomplish the assignments that life will be sending you, you need to at least temporarily cultivate a mood of crafty optimism. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini regent Queen Victoria (1819–1901) wore crotchless underwear made of linen. A few years ago, Britain’s Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council accorded them “national designated status,” an official notice that means they are a national treasure. If I had the power, I would give your undergarments an equivalent acknowledgment. The only evidence I would need to make this bold move would be the intelligence and expressiveness with which you are going to wield your erotic sensibilities in the coming weeks. CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’ve taken a break from socializing, my fellow Cancerian. In fact, I’m on sabbatical from my regular rhythm. My goal for the coming days is to commune with my past and review the story of my life. Rather than fill my brain up with the latest news and celebrity gossip, I am meditating on my own deep dark mysteries. I’m mining for secrets that I might be concealing from myself. In accordance with the astrological omens, I suggest that you follow my lead. You might want to delve into boxes of old mementoes or reread emails from years ago. You could get in touch with people who are no longer part of your life even though they were once important to you. How else could you get into intimate contact with your eternal self? LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here’s a quote from A Map of Misreading, a book by renowned literary critic, Harold Bloom: “Where the synecdoche of tessera made a totality, however illusive, the
metonymy of kenosis breaks this up into discontinuous fragments.” What the cluck did Harold Bloom just say?! I’m not being anti-intellectual when I declare this passage to be pretentious drivel. In the coming days, I urge you Leos to draw inspiration from my response to Bloom. Tell the truth about nonsense. Don’t pretend to appreciate jumbled or over-complicated ideas. Expose bunk and bombast. Be kind, if you can, but be firm. You’re primed to be a champion of down-to-earth communication.
probably happen during the next three weeks. If a toy company would ever approach you about developing a line of action figures and kids’ books based on your life, it might also be sometime soon. And if you have ever had hopes of converting your adversaries into allies, or getting support and backing for your good original ideas, or finding unexpected inspiration to fix one of your not-so-good habits, those opportunities are now more likely than they have been for some time.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A data research company, Priceonomics, suggests that Monday is the most productive day of the week and that October is the most productive month of the year. My research suggests that while Capricorns tend to be the most consistently productive of all the signs in the zodiac, Virgos often outstrip them for a six-week period during the end of each September and throughout October. Furthermore, my intuition tells me that you Virgos now have an extraordinary capacity to turn good ideas into practical action. I conclude, therefore, that you are about to embark on a surge of industrious and high-quality work. (P.S.: This October has five Mondays.)
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): An 81-year-old Capricorn man named James Harrison has donated his unique blood on 1,173 occasions. Scientists have used it to make medicine that prevents Rhesus disease in unborn babies, thereby healing more than 2.4 million kids and literally saving thousands of lives. I don’t expect you to do anything nearly as remarkable. But I do want to let you know that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to lift your generosity and compassion to the next level. Harrison would serve well as your patron saint.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Biologists are constantly unearthing new species, although not new in the sense of having just appeared on our planet. In fact, they’re animals and plants that have existed for millennia. But they’ve never before been noticed and identified by science. Among recent additions to our ever-growing knowledge are an orchid in Madagascar that smells like champagne, an electric blue tarantula in the Guyana rain forest, and a Western Australian grass that has a flavor resembling salt and vinegar potato chips. I suspect you’ll be making metaphorically comparable discoveries in the coming weeks, Libra: evocative beauty that you’ve been blind to and interesting phenomena that have been hiding in plain sight.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): On a spring morning some years ago, a smoky aroma woke me from a deep sleep. Peering out my bedroom window into the backyard, I saw that my trickster girlfriend Anastasia had built a bonfire.
When I stumbled to my closet to get dressed, I found my clothes missing. There were no garments in my dresser, either. In my groggy haze, I realized that my entire wardrobe had become fuel for Anastasia’s conflagration. It was too late to intervene, and I was still quite drowsy, so I crawled back in bed to resume snoozing. A while later, I woke to find her standing next to the bed bearing a luxurious breakfast she said she’d cooked over the flames of my burning clothes. After our meal, we stayed in bed all day, indulging in a variety of riotous fun. I’m not predicting that similar events will unfold in your life, Aquarius. But you may experience adventures that are almost equally boisterous, hilarious, and mysterious. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I’ve got three teachings for you. 1. Was there a time in your past when bad romance wounded your talent for love? Yes, but you now have more power to heal that wound than you’ve ever had before. 2. Is it possible you’re ready to shed a semi-delicious addiction to a chaotic magic? Yes. Clarity is poised to trump melodrama. Joyous decisiveness is primed to vanquish ingrained sadness. 3. Has there ever been a better time than now to resolve and graduate from past events that have bothered and drained you for a long time? No. This is the best time ever.
THIS MODERN WORLD BY TOM TOMORROW
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): There is no such thing as a plant that blooms continuously. Phases of withering and dormancy are just as natural as phases of growth. I bring this fact to your attention to help you remain poised as you go through your own period of withering followed by dormancy. You should accept life’s demand that you slow down and explore the mysteries of fallowness. You should surrender sweetly to stasis and enjoy your time of rest and recharging. That’s the best way to prepare for the new cycle of growth that will begin in a few weeks. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): If you were ever going to win a contest that awarded you a free vacation to an exotic sanctuary, it would sacurrent.com | September 19-25, 2018 | CURRENT
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Go Orange To Fight Hunger! WHAT IS HUNGER ACTION MONTH? Food insecurity is a reality for many in Southwest Texas. To combat this issue, the San Antonio Food Bank is participating in Feeding America’s nationwide Hunger Action Month campaign designed to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger.
It’s a month to spread the word and dedicate ourselves to a solution. Without awareness of a problem, people can not take action to remedy it. Any action – big or small – makes a real difference in the lives of food insecure neighbors in our community. Together, we are solving hunger!
WILL YOU TAKE ACTION?
GIVE FOOD
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www.safoodbank.org/HUNGER-ACTION-MONTH
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