MT 03/16/22

2 March 16-22, 2022 | metrotimes.com

NEWS & VIEWS

Feedback

Readers respond to Lee DeVito’s cover story about the return of Detroit’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. We can’t wait for the 2022 Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade! —Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade, Facebook

I’m excited for the 5k race and to support the St. Patrick’s Senior Center! My mom loves it and they provide a ton of services for low income elders. —@shadylane86, Instagram It’s all about the booze. People gunna be out to let off 2yrs of steam. It’s going to be a dumpster fire lol should be lots of fun. — Chuck Hosner, Facebook

Living near this all my life, it’s a excuse to drink and act like fools. They don’t respect the neighborhood. People urinate on people’s yards. I can see this year being worse! —Suzy Villarreal-Garza, Facebook same ppl who come to Detroit post election to call its citizens liars. But glad Detroit can be of service to ur booze fest. —@its2018. boo, Instagram As a former resident of Ireland, this is just embarrassing…. —@reinadelrayo, Instagram I went once, I’m good. —Kelly Skender, Facebook Have a comment? Of course you do! Sound off letters metrotimes. om.

Vol. 42 | No. 21 | March 16-22, 2022

News & Views Feedback ............................... 4 News ...................................... 6 Best of the Rest ..................... 8 Informed Dissent ................ 10 The Incision......................... 12 Feature The Foilies ........................... 14 What’s Going On Weekly calendar................... 22 Music Features ............................... 24 Food Review ................................. 28 Bites ..................................... 30 Weed One-hitters ........................... 32 Culture Film ...................................... 34 Savage Love ......................... 36 Horoscopes .......................... 38

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On the cover:

Illustration by Caitlyn Crites

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Copyright: The entire contents of the Detroit Metro Times are copyright 2021 by Euclid Media Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Prior written permission must be granted to Metro Times for additional copies. Metro Times may be distributed only by Metro Times’ authorized distributors and independent contractors. Subscriptions are available by mail inside the U.S. for six months at $80 and a yearly subscription for $150. Include check or money order payable to: Metro Times Subscriptions, P.O. Box 20734, Ferndale, MI, 48220. (Please note: Third Class subscription copies are usually received 3-5 days after publication date in the Detroit area.) Most back issues obtainable for $7 prepaid by mail.

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

5

NEWS & VIEWS A Starr journalist

Detroit native covers war in Ukraine with a big heart and unique perspective By Steve Neavling

Terrell Jermaine Starr will

never get used to war. The Detroit native has been in Ukraine since January. He was only supposed to be there for three weeks. Then came the Russian bombs, destroying homes, apartment buildings, grocery stores, shopping centers, a maternity ward, a children’s hospital, and disabled care home. Thousands of people have been killed, and more than 2 million have ed kraine. Instead of making a run for it, Starr is using his 15 years of experience as a journalist to tell the stories of everyday Ukrainians who are trapped in a war zone. “I never envisioned doing any of this shit. War is hell,” Starr tells Metro Times in a 45-minute interview Thursday. “As journalists, we have to cover death and pain and agony. I wished we were in a world where we didn’t have to. Every day I remind myself that this isn’t normal. We should never be doing this.” Psychologically, the war has taken a toll on him, says Starr, whose style of compassionate, opinionated journalism makes him a unique and irreplaceable voice in a country that needs outspoken supporters. “I’m not a stenographer,” Starr explains. “I don’t just print what happens. I’m outspoken about this not being healthy. This is bad for humanity.” Starr grew up Black and poor on Detroit’s west side, living with his grandmother at Scotten Street and Tireman. When he was 10 or 11 years old, a battle between drug dealers led to the firebombing of a house that killed his friend. He’ll never forget the blondhaired, blue-eyed television reporter who came to his house to interview his grandmother. “We didn’t trust her,” Starr says. hat was my first interaction with a journalist. She wasn’t a bad person, but she was an outsider and didn’t know she was an outsider. I don’t ever want to be that type of journalist in [a] community that isn’t my own. When I’m in Ukraine, I don’t want to be that white woman. I want people to know I care about them and am invested in them and their dignity.” hile many ournalists ock to Ukraine to cover the cold, hard facts of the war, Starr rolled up his sleeves

Terrell Jermaine Starr takes a rest from reporting in Ukraine. INSTAGRAM, @TERRELLJSTARR

and began helping Ukrainians in need. When a cancer patient was displaced from a hospital that was filling up with Ukrainians wounded in the war, Starr crisscrossed the country for several days in a car to help the woman get medical treatment outside the country. He weaved it into his reporting of the war. Starr gets some criticism for inserting his feelings into his reporting, but he doesn’t let that bother him because he is committed to a type of journalism that has a heartbeat. “Traditional media has always been the white man’s diary,” Starr says. “To see a journalist like myself taking over the style of how news is delivered, it is considered non-objective or biased because we’re not used to Black people being a dominant voice in news coverage. e’re redefining how news delivery looks.” A non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based nonpartisan group, Starr is an independent journalist who shares what he sees with his 365,000 followers on Twitter and 24,600 on Instagram. He relies on crowdfunding for donations from CashApp, Venmo, or PayPal. “I paid for everything to come here,” he says. hat was part of the sacrifice I made. No one gave me anything. I was just here to gain my own knowledge. I would write an article here and there.” He visited Ukraine to “gain cultural knowledge.” It was not his intent to cover a war. “I had no idea I was going to be a war correspondent,” he says. “That was a real shock to me. It was a big adjustment.” He adds, “I decided to stay here be-

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cause I wanted to document what was happening because I’m a journalist and this is my second home and I wanted to support the people I love and care for.” Since the war broke out, Starr has appeared on major news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, and NPR, and he’s carved out a loyal following that appreciates his unique voice and compassion for Ukrainians. Starr got into journalism relatively late in his life. At 26, he was working on a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois and put in his time at the school’s newspaper. He was 28 when he landed his first real ournalism gig covering city hall meetings and other local issues for Illinois Public Radio. After that he struggled to find a ob at conventional news outlets. I wasn’t able to find work in traditional markets,” Starr says. “I was working in Black media.” It turned out to be a blessing. Without a job in conventional journalism, he developed his voice. By the time war broke out in Ukraine, Starr was perfectly suited to cover the invasion. He’d been coming to Ukraine since 2009, beginning when he was selected as a Fulbright scholar. At first he’d spend a few months in Ukraine until he eventually lived half the year there and the other half at his home in Brooklyn, New York. “The thing about Ukraine, it had a hold on me,” he says. “You either have the bug or you don’t. I think we can fall in love with any country. Ukraine is one where there is nothing in particular that is distinct. I just fell in love with the place.”

His interest in Eastern Europe began when a missionary program selected him to serve in Russia when he was 20 years old. At first he was disappointed. When he applied, he asked to go to Africa, the Caribbean, or South America. “I said, ‘Jesus Christ, I don’t want to go to Russia. Seriously,’” he recalls thinking. “I grew up in Detroit, the biggest Black city in Detroit. I didn’t want to be around all those white people.” The trip changed his life. He volunteered at a Russian orphanage and applied for the Peace Corps, which took him to Georgia, where he taught English for two years. He now speaks Russian and Georgian. As a Black man in a predominantly white region, Starr has a unique perspective that allows him to understand the plight of Ukrainians. Russians look down on Ukrainians as inferior, not unlike how many white people have historically viewed Black people. “There is a Russian supremacy that Putin is pushing out of the Kremlin,” he says. “Being Black, I understand what Ukrainian oppression looks like. Most white people don’t understand what oppression looks like. As a Black man who knows what it looks like, I know how to express it. I treat Ukrainians as a Black man would want to be treated — with the same dignity and respect that I expect of other people covering my community.” Starr plans to leave Ukraine in April and brie y move back to his home in Brooklyn before visiting Asia. He says he’ll return to Ukraine in June and stay until October. But he won’t be just reporting. “I’m going to be involved in humanitarian efforts he says. My heart is with the Ukrainian people, and I am going to be giving them the best I have with my journalism and my goodwill.” Beyond that, Starr isn’t quite certain what his future holds. “It’s in me to do this type of work,” he says. “I have no children, I have no wife, I have no girlfriend, I have no tether to anyone outside of family. When that changes and I have a dynamic with a family, of course, that’s going to change. But as long as I’m single and I have no attachments, I am going to do exactly what I’m going to do.”

NEWS & VIEWS forgot. They’re too busy shutting down sacred Indigenous ceremonies and getting people arrested for non-existent crimes. Priorities. As you could imagine, people are letting DPD have it in the comments, asking the tough questions we’re all wondering like, “Are you serious!?” “Wow, what a great use of my tax dollars!” one person wrote. “never mind you never found my stolen bike, or the people who broke into my house, or the guy who murdered someone in my neighborhood, or the drunk driver who hit me, but you are doing God’s work finding... counterfeit handbags. “My cousin was murdered by a fake Gucci handbag that escaped from a high security prison. So glad these dangerous predators are off the streets another commented. Fix it, Jesus. —Randiah Camille Green

Best of the Rest

Duggan blasts Craig’s leadership as Detroit police chief amid wave of violence By Steve Neavling

When retired Detroit Police

Chief James Craig announced he was running for governor as a Republican in September, he centered his campaign around the narrative that he drove down crime in Michigan’s largest city. But in his last five months as police chief, the city of Detroit was experiencing a merciless rise in violent crime. From January 1, 2021, to May 31, 2021, homicides were up 27% and non-fatal shootings increased 44%. During the State of the City address last week, Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, took a rare swipe at Craig’s record as police chief, noting that violent crime didn’t decline until Craig was replaced with Chief James White in June 2021. he first five months of last year before we hired Chief White, it wasn’t good,” Duggan said. Duggan suggested that Craig’s combative relationship with law enforcement officials and udges made it more difficult to crack down on guns and violence. In March 2020 raig pulled his officers from a Drug Enforcement Administration task force because the agency “continuously refused” to admit it used an informant who allegedly went on to kill six people. Craig’s beef with the DEA came at a time when drugs, guns, and violence were tearing apart neighborhoods. On several occasions, Craig also picked petty fights with udges and the ayne ounty rosecutor’s ffice over what he considered lenient sentences and low bonds. It was no secret that the police department’s relationship with prosecutors had turned sour. When Duggan announced the appointment of White as interim police chief, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy praised the decision and appeared to call Craig “a glory seeker,” a common criticism of the former police

Retired DPD Police Chief James Craig.

chief whose love for television cameras earned him the nickname “Hollywood Craig.” “I have worked with James White through the years,” Worthy said. “He is extremely intelligent, competent, and measured. He accepts responsibility and is not quick to blame. In his dealings with me he has been even-tempered and is simply about getting the work done — he is not a glory seeker.” Duggan suggested that Craig’s failure to develop and retain strong partnerships with law enforcement diminished the police department’s ability to fight violent crime. “Chief White doesn’t attack the prosecutor or the udges or the Feds and everybody works together,” Duggan said. The mayor noted that under White’s leadership, homicides declined 23% and shootings dropped 27%. “Strategy and teamwork matters. Leadership matters,” Duggan said. “If you see the violence continue to come down, it’s going to be because the police and the county executive and the prosecutor the sheriff the .S. attorney, and the courts are all working together to protect our residents.” Since Craig was considered a frontrunner early in the gubernatorial race, he has made serious blunders and lost momentum. Among Republican candidates, Craig trails metro Detroit businessman Kevin Rinke in fundraising. Craig’s previous political consultant John Yob quit Craig’s campaign, telling Crain’s Detroit Business, “I didn’t agree

8 March 16-22, 2022 | metrotimes.com

STEVE NEAVLING

with the direction that he wanted to go in the future.” raig also failed to fulfill his pledge to get certified as a cop when he was police chief and he admitted he ed the scene of a car acking but never appeared to file a report. In February, Craig’s campaign sent out a fundraising letter blasting Michigan State Police for being “weak-kneed” when protesters disrupted his campaign announcement on Belle Isle, but now denies sending it out. Craig wasn’t available for comment.

People clown DPD over fake designer bag bust

These fools are tripping. That was our first thought after seeing the etroit Police Department pat themselves on the back for busting a guy selling counterfeit designer bags out of a truck. DPD made a Facebook post on Thursday commending the “amazing work of [the] Vice Enforcement unit” for confiscating nearly 00 fake ouis Vuitton wallets and purses. It’s almost as if this isn’t Detroit and the police don’t have enough serious crime to focus on. You know, things like mugging, murder, drive-by shootings, home invasion, sexual assault… do we need to go on? “This is a reminder that DPD will pursue any and all criminal activity,” the post reads. Right. Like the thousands of forgotten rape kits that sat untested in a DPD storage room for nearly two decades — a great example of DPD’s dedication to pursuing criminal activity. Oh, we

Jack White calls on major labels to build their own vinyl plants

The economic disruption caused by the pandemic is being felt by everyone — even rock star Jack White, who named his upcoming tour “The Supply Chain Issues Tour.” And apparently White has had it. In a video posted by White’s record label Third Man Records on Monday, White called on the ma or labels — arner Bros. niversal and Sony — to build their own vinyl record manufacturing plants, to help alleviate the backlog that is causing massive delays for new releases. hite filmed the video inside hird Man Records, the Detroit pressing plant he opened in 2017 “using my own money,” he said. In the background, machines can be seen stamping out limited edition copies of White’s forthcoming Fear of the Dawn, his fourth solo album, due on April 8. “It’s 2022. Now it’s no longer a fad. Vinyl records have exploded in the last decade, and the demand is incredibly high,” White says in the video. “A small punk band can’t get their record for eight to 10 months.” He even invoked a classic Detroit band recently nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to underscore his point, adding, “As the MC5 once said, ‘You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.” The video ends with the message, “Please build your own record plants again. The vinyl industry needs it. Thank you.” —Lee DeVito

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

9

NEWS & VIEWS Informed Dissent

The Fugitive Uterus Act By Jeffrey C. Billman

The moment the U.S. Supreme Court’s right-wing bloc washed its hands of the Texas law that made private citizens abortion bounty hunters, it was only a matter of time until other Republican states tried to one-up them. Missouri has proudly taken the lead. Last week, its legislature debated a bill that would ban all abortion — not just those more than six weeks after conception, as in Texas — through the same “private enforcement” scheme. But there’s a twist. While most people who were denied abortions because of Texas’ law ordered abortion pills or went to a neighboring state, Missouri’s bill would allow bounty hunters to sue anyone who helps a Missouri resident obtain an abortion anywhere. As constitutional law scholar Michele Goodwin told Mother Jones, Texas’ law — and now Missouri’s effort — recalls the Fugitive Slave Act passed in the Compromise of 1850, which required everyone to help capture escaped enslaved people. This antiabortion campaign is “meant to chill conduct” and “inspire fear.” Missouri’s law is, of course, blatantly unconstitutional. And not merely for the reasons Texas’ law is — or should be — unconstitutional. It’s also that Missouri has no authority to regulate what transpires outside of its territorial boundaries. The notion that someone (not necessarily a Missouri resident) can sue an internet service provider for hosting a website in Illinois or California or anywhere else “that encourages or facilitates efforts to obtain elective abortions” is, or should be, absurd. Then again, the Supreme Court’s conservatives haven’t been entirely beholden to precedent lately. And, technically, the Fugitive Slave Act was never declared unconstitutional. That’s not Missouri lawmakers’ only “innovation” in their quest to control the uterus. Representative Brian Seitz’s HB 2810 makes it a felony to traffic “abortion-inducing devices or drugs” — and the most serious felony, with as high as a 30-year sentence, for doing

In more normal times, this latest round of anti-trans, anti-abortion legislation would immediately be laughed out of federal court — but these times are far from normal. SHUTTERSTOCK

The Supreme Court’s conservatives haven’t been entirely beholden to precedent lately. And, technically, the Fugitive Slave Act was never declared unconstitutional. so if those devices or drugs are used to abort a fetus older than 10 gestational weeks or an ectopic pregnancy. You read that last part correctly. Ectopic pregnancies — when the fetus implants outside of the uterus — are always nonviable and can be harmful, even fatal, to the mother. Seitz has no idea what an ectopic pregnancy is, and he’s writing laws to prevent people from getting medical care to treat it. Unsurprisingly, his bill is based on other scientific fallacies. In a hearing last week, he argued that abortion medications can “actually kill a woman.” When a journalist pointed out that, in real life, those meds are safer than Tylenol and 14 times safer than childbirth, Seitz responded, “I’m not a doctor.” You don’t say. In this same spirit, Idaho Republicans declared transgender youth an “emergency” and not only made it a felony to provide minors with genderaffirming health care — puberty blockers, hormone therapy, etc. — but also made it a felony for parents to take their children across state lines for

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treatment. Both crimes are punishable by life imprisonment. Again, in more normal judicial times, such legislation would immediately be laughed out of federal court. But these times are not normal. Texas was no slouch in the anti-trans department, either. At the governor’s direction, the state’s child welfare agents were investigating parents who provided their children with genderaffirming care as abusers — until a state judge shut that down last week. The state has promised to appeal, and it seems more likely than not that the legislature will intervene if a higher court doesn’t. Across the country this year, Republicans have proposed nearly 30 bills that seek to prevent transgender children from accessing health care. Eleven states have banned transgender girls from participating in school sports. Republicans in Tennessee and Wisconsin have introduced legislation to preempt local antidiscrimination protections. Then there’s Florida’s grossly homophobic “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which

seeks to eradicate any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity from the state’s elementary classrooms and allowing parents to sue if they believe little Johnny was forced to endure an “age-inappropriate” discussion about The Gays. (Here again, enforcement by bounty hunter.) When Disney’s CEO belatedly weighed in against the bill, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ spokeswoman dismissed the entertainment behemoth as a “woke corporation.” DeSantis banked $50,000 from Disney, while the state GOP brought in more than $900,000 during the 2020 cycle. (Having helped bigots take control of the state, Disney paused its political donations.) There are a few common themes in these examples. One is the constant search for new culture-war territory — another way to define themselves in opposition to the wokes and own the libs — which is the closest thing the post-Trump GOP has to an agenda. The other is control: leveraging power to impose white, Christian, heteronormative values on a society whose people — especially young people — are rejecting them. In that sense, the Fugitive Slave Act was little different. Southern states asserted the primacy of their beliefs over others’ freedoms and — by threatening secession — bend the rest of the country to their will. We haven’t gotten to secession. But Republicans are trying to privilege their beliefs over the rights of others.

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

11

NEWS & VIEWS The Incision

The COVID mistake we keep on making By Abdul El-Sayed

I’m sick and tired of COVID. I’m

tired of the worry. I’m tired of having to make hard decisions about participating in normal activities (my daughter is too young to be vaccinated). I’m tired of talking about COVID with friends, family, co-workers, and random people on the street. I bet you’re tired too. But I’m a little more accustomed to having to think, talk, and write about serious risks to people’s health. After all, I chose this life. I trained as a physician and epidemiologist. You (probably) did not. For most Americans, your introduction to the world of public health came through this pandemic: trying to interpret case rates, understand conditional probabilities, and wrap your mind around viral evolution. You received a public health education-by-pandemic. I worry that the experience of learning about public health in crisis has left Americans with a misplaced understanding of the most fundamental characteristic of this work. Public health, if nothing else, is about prevention. ike fire safety or accident prevention, the work is best done beforehand. If you only focus on public health from crisis to crisis, you’re failing at public health. And all most Americans have known is public health during a crisis — it’s a big reason Americans’ perspective on public health is so dour. But all this crisis response has led to the horribly misplaced assessment that once the crisis has abated, we can stop with all the public health. Yet that’s when public health is most important. Which is why we’re failing again. On Wednesday, at the behest of their GOP colleagues, Congressional Democrats decided to drop $15.6 billion dollars of COVID preparedness funding out of a sweeping spending package. This was already down from $22.5 billion requested by President Biden in his State of the Union, itself down from the estimated $30 billion he’d need to adequately fund his priorities. This would have been $15 billion for

What Congress’ failure to fund COVID prevention says about our government’s capacity to protect us from the threats we face. SHUTTERSTOCK

Our media-driven system rewards politicians more for responding to a crisis than preventing one. testing, antiviral medication, and vaccines. Things we need not just to close out the omicron surge, but prevent the next one. First of all, the pandemic isn’t over. As I’ve written again and again, you can’t declare a pandemic over from the present. It’s something we’ll have to do long after the final I surge has ended. And as alpha, beta, delta, and omicron should have drilled into our heads already, this virus mutates extremely efficiently. his is not the time to let off the gas. Just three months ago, in the midst of our worst surge yet, Americans were struggling to get their hands on testing. That should prove the folly of failing to prepare. From the jump, this inability — or unwillingness — to prepare has dogged our COVID response. Now we’re doing it again. Congress is bending to the onagain off again crisis driven response to the pandemic — the antithesis of public health preparedness. This failure exposes a bigger challenge in American governance. Ideally, the government operates the same way public health does: creating a stable infrastructure to prevent the next crisis, not acting reactively after a crisis has already ballooned. But our politics don’t reward steady, sober preparation. Our media-driven

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system rewards politicians more for responding to a crisis than preventing one. When you prevent the very crisis to which you’re supposed to respond, it’s hard to show people your work. In trying to look the part, politicians have little incentive to solve a problem before it ever arises. Worse still, funding decisions tend to follow crisis — just as we’re seeing now. We consistently rob Peter to pay Paul — of course until Peter comes knocking. In defunding successful prevention, we create the next crisis. Look at the Flint Water Crisis: when the governor-appointed emergency manager decided to skimp on corrosion controls after changing the city’s water supply to pay down Flint’s debt, he set the massive water crisis in motion. The scale of the COVID pandemic itself is another example. In the decade prior to the pandemic, funding for public health agencies had fallen by 17%, leaving them incapable of responding effectively when the virus emerged. And then it emerged. And then there’s Reaganism in the ’80s, which privatized much of the government’s work. Private corporations have an incentive to skimp on crisis prevention to pad their profits because prevention doesn’t make money. Consider the example of electrical utilities. Between 2009 and 2017, the number

of people affected by power outages tripled. Grid management doesn’t increase profits. rivati ation by its nature, eschews prevention. Healthcare is another example. Part of the reason we underfund public health is because it’s far more lucrative to wait for people to get sick — and then treat them. Healthcare is good business accounting for nearly a fifth of our entire gross domestic product. It’s no coincidence that we’re the only high-income country in the world that doesn’t directly guarantee health insurance to our people — and the U.S. has the most expensive health system in the world, by far. All of this comes to a head with the most daunting prevention challenge our world has ever faced: the climate crisis. Our addiction to fossil fuels is accelerating the crisis, yet we are failing to take meaningful steps to prevent it. Indeed, the consensus among climate scientists is that we have already failed. The best we can do now is curtail its worst consequences and protect ourselves from the fallout. But short-termist crisis governance won’t get us there. If we can’t even keep ourselves from making the same mistake twice in three months when it comes to preparing for a virus that’s already killed nearly a million people in the U.S. alone, I worry about our capacity for preventive action on climate at all. Originally published March 14 by The Incision. Get more at abdulelsayed. substack.com.

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

13

FEATURE

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Recognizing the year’s worst in government transparency By the Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock, illustrations by Caitlyn Crites

Each year during Sunshine Week (March 13-19), The Foilies

serve up tongue-in-cheek “awards” for government agencies and assorted institutions that stand in the way of access to information. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock combine forces to collect horror stories about Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state-level public records requests from journalists and transparency advocates across the United States and beyond. Our goal is to identify the most surreal document redactions, the most aggravating copy fees, the most outrageous retaliation attempts, and all the other ridiculeworthy attacks on the public’s right to know.

And every year since 2015, as we’re about to crown these dubious winners, something new comes to light that makes us consider stopping the presses. As we were writing up this year’s faux awards news broke that officials from the National Archives and Records Administration had to lug away boxes upon boxes of Trump administration records from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private resort. At best, it was an inappropriate move; at worst, a potential violation of laws governing the retention of presidential records and the handling of classified materials. And while Politico had reported that when Trump was still in the White House, he liked to tear up documents, we also just learned from journalist Maggie Haberman’s new book that staff claimed to find toilets clogged up with paper scraps, which were potentially torn-up government records. Trump has dismissed the allegations, of course. This was all too deliciously ironic considering how much Trump had raged about his opponent (and 2016 Foilies winner) Hillary Clinton’s practice of storing State Department communications on a private server. Is storing potentially classified correspondence on a personal email system any

worse than hoarding top secret documents at a golf club? Is “acid washing” records, as Trump accused Clinton, any less farcical than ushing them down the john? Ultimately, we decided not to give Trump his seventh Foilie. Technically he isn’t eligible: his presidential records won’t be subject to FOIA until he’s been out of office for five years releasing classified records could take years or decades, if ever). Instead, we’re sticking with our original 16 winners, from federal agencies to small town police departments to a couple of corporations, who are all shameworthy in their own rights and, at least metaphorically, have no problem tossing government transparency in the crapper.

THE C.R.E.A .M . ( CR A P R ED A CTI ON S EVERY W HER E A R O UN D ME) AWA RD

U.S. MARSHALS The Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing to F’ with…unless the F stands for FOIA. Back in 2015, Wu-Tang Clan produced Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, but they only produced one copy and sold it to the highest bidder: pharmabro Martin Shkreli, who was later

convicted of securities fraud. When the U.S. Marshals seized Shkreli’s copy of the record under asset forfeiture rules, the Twitterverse debated whether you could use FOIA to obtain the super secretive album. Unfortunately, FOIA does not work that way. However, BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold was able to use the law to obtain documents about the album when it was auctioned off through the asset forfeiture process. For example, he got photos of the album, the bill of sale, and the purchase agreement. But the Marshals redacted the pictures of the CDs, the song titles, and the lyric book citing FOIA’s trade secrets exemption. Worst of all, they also refused to divulge the purchase price – even though we’re talking about public money. And so here we are, bringing da motherfoia-ing ruckus. (The New York Times would later reveal that PleasrDAO, a collective that collects digital NFT art, paid $4 million for the record.) Wu-Tang’s original terms for selling the album reportedly contained a clause that required the buyer to return all rights in the event that Bill Murray successfully pulled off a heist of the record. We can only daydream about how the Marshals would’ve responded if r. eter enkman himself refiled Leopold’s request.

THE O PER ATI ON SLU G SPEED AWARD

U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION The federal government’s lightning fast (by bureaucratic standards) timeline to authori e fi er’s I 1 vaccine lived up to its Operation Warp Speed

name. But the Food and Drug Administration gave anything but the same treatment to a FOIA request seeking data about that authorization process. Fifty five years — that’s how long the FDA, responding to a lawsuit by doctors and health scientists, said it would take to process and release the data it used to authorize the vaccine. And yet, the FDA needed only months to review the data the first time and confirm that the vaccine was safe for the public. The estimate was all the more galling because the requesters want to use the documents to help persuade skeptics that the vaccine is safe and effective a time-sensitive goal as we head into the third year of the pandemic. Thankfully, the court hearing the FOIA suit nixed the FDA’s snail’s pace plan to review just 500 pages of documents a month. In February, the court ordered the FDA to review 10,000 pages for the next few months and ultimately between 50,000-80,000 through the rest of the year.

THE RE TURN T O S ENDER AWARD

VIRGINIA DEL. PAUL KRIZEK here are lawmakers who find problems in transparency laws and advocate for improving the public’s right to know. Then there’s Virginia lawmaker Paul Krizek. Krizek introduced a bill earlier this year that would require all public records re uests to be sent via certified mail, saying that he “saw a problem that needed fi ing according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The supposed problem? A records request emailed to Krizek got caught in

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his spam filter and he was nervous that he missed the response deadline. hat never happened the re uester sent another email that ri ek saw and he responded in time. Anyone else might view that as a public records and technology success story the ability to email re uests and uickly follow up on them proves that the law works. ot ri ek. He decided that his personal spam filter hiccup should re uire every re uester in irginia to venture to a post office and pay at least . to make their re uest. ransparency advocates uickly panned the bill and a legislative committee voted in late anuary to strike it from the docket. Hopefully the bill stays dead and ri ek starts working on legislation that will actually help re uesters in irginia.

THE F UTI LE SECR ECY AWA RD

CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT hen reporters from the Concord Monitor in 201 noticed a vague 100 line item in the oncord olice epartment’s proposed budget for covert secret communications they did what any good watchdog would do they started asking uestions. hat was the technology ho was the vendor And they filed public records re uests under

their public spending ledgers according to the procurement research tool ovSpend. he ity of Seattle even issued a public privacy impact assessment regarding its police department’s use of the technology which noted that ithout appropriate safeguards this raises significant privacy concerns. Armed with this new information the Monitor called oncord olice hief Brad sgood to confirm what we learned. He doubled down I’m not going to tell you whether that’s the product.

ASSORTED MASSACHUSETTS AGENCIES

ew Hampshire’s ight to now aw. In response provided a license agreement and a privacy policy but the documents were so redacted the reporters still couldn’t tell what the tech was and what company was receiving ta dollars for it. olice claimed releasing the information would put investigations and people’s lives at risk. ith the help of the A of ew Hampshire the Monitor sued but oncord fought it for two years all the way to the ew Hampshire Supreme ourt. he police were allowed to brief the trial court behind closed doors without the A lawyers present and ultimately the state supreme court ruled most of the information would remain secret. But when The Monitor reached out to FF for comment FF took another look at the redacted documents. In under three minutes our researchers were able to use a simple oogle search to match the redacted privacy policy to allyo a Motorola Solutions product that facilitates confidential phone communications. Hundreds of agencies nationwide have in fact included the company’s name in

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THE H IG HEST F E E EST IMATE AWARD

PASCO COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

THES E 10-D AY DE ADLINES GO T O 11 AWA RD

Most records re uesters know that despite nearly every transparency law imposing response deadlines they often are violated more than they are met. et Massachusetts officials’ time warping violations of the state’s 10 business day deadline take this public records’ reality to absurd new levels. DigBoston’s Maya Shaffer detailed how officials are giving themselves at least one e tra business day to respond to re uests while still claiming to meet the law’s deadline. In a mind numbing e change an official said that the agency considers any re uest sent after p.m. to have technically been received on the ne t business day. And because the law doesn’t re uire agencies to respond until 10 business days after they’ve received the re uest this has in effect given the agency two e tra days to respond. So if a re uest is sent after p.m. on a Monday the agency counts uesday as the day it received the reuest meaning the 10 day clock doesn’t start until ednesday. he theory is reminiscent of the This Is Spinal Tap scene in which guitarist igel ufnel shows off the band’s special amplifiers that go one louder to 11 rather than ma ing out at 10 like every other amp. hen asked why Spinal ap doesn’t ust make the level 10 on its amps louder ufnel stares blankly before repeating these go to eleven. Although the absurdity of ufnel’s response is comedic gold Massachusetts officials’ attempt to make their 10 day deadline go to 11 is contemptuous and also likely violates laws of the state and those of space and time.

transparency advocates. f course these records that ato got through its own F IA re uest were themselves heavily redacted. And this comes after the FBI withheld information about these records from the Archive when it re uested them back in 200 . hich makes you wonder how do we watchdog the spy who is secretly spying on the watchdog

THE SP Y IN G ON R EQUESTOR S AWARD

FBI If government surveillance of ordinary people is chilling spying on the public watchdogs of that very same surveillance is downright hostile. Between 1 8 and at least 200 the FBI kept regular tabs on the ational Security Archive a domestic nonprofit organi ation that investigates and archives information on you guessed it national security operations. he ato Institute obtained records showing that the FBI used electronic and physical surveillance possibly including wiretaps and mail covers meaning the .S. ostal Service recorded the information on the outside of envelopes sent to or from the Archive. In a secret 1 8 cable then FBI irector illiam Sessions specifically called out the Archive’s tenacity in using F IA. Sessions specifically fretted over former epartment of ustice Attorney uinan . Shea and former Washington Post reporter Scott Armstrong’s leading roles at the Archive as both were ma or

In September 2020 the Tampa Bay Times revealed in a multi part series that the asco ounty Sheriff’s ffice was using a program called Intelligence led olicing I . his program took into consideration a bunch of data gathered from various local government agencies including school records to determine if a person was likely to commit a crime in the future — and then deputies would randomly drop by their house regularly to harass them. ut of suspicion that the sheriff’s office might be leasing the formula for this program to other departments FF filed a public records re uest asking for any contact mentioning the I program in emails specifically sent to and from other police departments. he sheriff responded with an une pectedly high cost estimate for producing the records. laiming there was no way at all to clarify or narrow the broad re uest they pro ected that it would take 82 8 hours to review the 2 8 responsive emails — generating a cost of 1.1 8 million for the public records re uester the e uivalent of a 000 s uare seaside home with its own private dock in ew ort ichey.

THE RIP VAN W INK LE AWARD

FBI ast year Bruce Alpert received records from a 12 year old F IA re uest he filed as a reporter for the Times-Picayune in ew rleans. Back when he filed the re uest the corruption case of .S. ep. illiam efferson ew rleans was still hot — despite the 0 000 in cash found in efferson’s cold free er. In 200 Alpert re uested documents from the FBI on the sensational investigation of efferson which began in 200 . In the summer of that year FBI agents searched efferson’s ashington home and according to a story published at the time discovered foil wrapped stacks of cash between bo es of Boca burgers and illsbury pie crust in his apitol Hill townhouse.

efferson was indicted on 1 federal counts including bribery racketeering conspiracy and money laundering leading back to a multimillion dollar telecommunications deal with high ranking officials in igeria hana and ameroon. By the time Alpert got the 8 pages he re uested on the FBI’s investigation into efferson Alpert himself was retired and efferson had been released from prison. Still the documents did reveal a new fact about the day of the free er raid another raid was planned for that same day but at efferson’s congressional office. his raid was called off after an FBI official unnamed in the documents warned that while the raid was technically constitutional it could have dire conse uences if it appeared to threaten the independence of ongress. In a staff editorial about the e treme delay The Advocate which ac uired the Times-Picayune in 201 uoted Anna iakun a staff attorney with the night First Amendment Institute at olumbia niversity he Freedom of Information Act is broken. e suppose it’s better late than never but never late is even better.

THE F O I A G AS L I GHTER OF THE Y EAR AWARD

LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF LANDRY

In another case involving the TimesPicayune the F IA gaslighter of the year award goes to ouisiana Attorney eneral eff andry for suing reporter Andrea allo after she re uested documents related to the investigation into and seeming lack of action on se ual harrasment complaints in andry’s office. A few days later following public criticism andry then tweeted that the lawsuit was not actually a lawsuit against allo per se but legal action simply asking the ourt to check our decision on re ecting her records re uest. allo filed the original re uest for complaints against at Magee a top aide to andry after hearing rumblings that Magee had been placed on administrative leave. he first response to allo’s re uest was that Magee was under investigation and the office couldn’t fulfill the re uest until that investigation had concluded. A month later allo called the office to ask for Magee and was patched through to his secretary who said that Magee had ust stepped out for lunch but would be back shortly. nowing that Magee was back in the office and the investigation likely concluded allo started pushing harder for the records. hen late on a Friday

when allo was on deadline for another story she received an email from the A ’s office about a lawsuit naming her as the defendant. A month later a Baton ouge udge ruled in favor of allo and ordered andry to release the records on Magee. Shortly after allo received those documents another former employee of the A ’s office filed a complaint against Magee resulting in his resignation.

THE RE D A CTIN G IN FOR MATI ON TH AT ’S A LR EA D Y P U B LI C AWA RD

HUMBOLDT-AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT

Across the country police departments are notorious for withholding information from the public. Some agencies take months to release body camera footage after a shooting death or might withhold databases of officer misconduct. alifornia’s state legislature pushed back against this trend in 2018 with a new law that specifically puts officer use of force incidents and other acts of dishonesty under the purview of the alifornia ublic ecords Act. But even after this law was passed one northern alifornia sheriff was hesitant to release information to ournalists — so hesitant that it redacted information that had already been made public. After a local paper the orth oast ournal filed a re uest with the Humboldt ounty Sheriff’s ffice under the 2018 law the sheriff took two full years to provide the re uested records. hy the long delay ne possible reason the agency went to the trouble of redacting information from old press releases — releases that by definition were already public. For e ample the sheriff’s office redacted the name of a suspect who allegedly shot a sheriff’s deputy and was arrested for attempting to kill a police officer in May 201 — including

blacking out the name from a press release the agency had already released that included the suspect’s name. And it’s not like the press had accidentally missed the name the first time reporter hadeus reenson had published the release in the North Coast Journal right after it came out. hat isn’t reenson’s only e ample of law enforcement redacting already public information in response to another public records re uest the ureka olice epartment included a series of news clippings including one of reenson’s own articles again with names redacted.

THE CLEA R BULLY AWA RD

CLEARVIEW AI learview AI is the company that might end privacy as we know claimed he ew ork imes’s front page when it publicly e posed the small company in anuary 2020. learview had built a face recognition app on a database of more than three billion personal images and the tech startup had uietly found customers in police departments around the country. Soon after the initial reports the legality of learview’s app and its collection of images was taken to court. FF has filed friend of the court briefs in support of those privacy lawsuits. learview’s e istence was initially revealed via public records re uests filed by pen the overnment and Muck ock. In September 2021 as it faced still ongoing litigation in Illinois learview made an unusual and worrying move against transparency and ournalism it served subpoenas on its researcher Freddy Martine and hicago based ucy arsons abs none of which are involved in the lawsuit . he subpoenas re uested internal communications with ournalists about learview and its leaders and any in-

formation that had been discovered via records re uests about the company. overnment accountability advocates saw it as retaliation against the researchers and ournalists who e posed learview. he subpoena also was a chilling threat to ournalists and others looking to lawfully use public records to learn about public partnerships with private entities. hat’s more in this situation all that had been uncovered had already been made public online more than a year earlier. Fortunately following reporting by Politico learview citing further re ection about the scope of the subpoenas and a strong view of freedom of the press decided to withdraw the subpoenas. e guess you could say the face recognition company recogni ed their error and did an about face.

#W NT DW PRE A ( THE W H AT NOT T O D O W ITH PUBL I C REC ORDS E VER AWARD)

ANCHORAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT hat ot to o ednesday a social media series from the Anchorage olice epartment had been an attempt to provide lighthearted lessons for avoiding arrest. he weekly shaming session regularly featured seemingly real situations re uiring a police response. ast February though the agency became its own cautionary tale when one particularly controversial post prompted community criticism and records re uests which A declined to fulfill. As described in a pre alentine’s ay post officers responded to a call about a physical altercation between two lovebirds. he post claimed A officers told the two to be nice and go on their way but instead the situation escalated we ended up in one big pile on the ground and one person was ultimately arrested and charged. Some in the public found the post dismissive toward what could have been a domestic violence event — particularly notable because then olice hief ustin oll had pointed to domestic violence as a contributor to the current homicide rates which had otherwise been declining. Alaska’s soon re uested the name of the referenced arrested individual and was denied. A claimed that it does not release additional information related to hat ot o o ednesday posts. A subse uent re uest was met with a 00 fee. F I materials related to is not a valid e emption under Alaska’s public records law.

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By the end of February 2021, the APD decided to do away with the series. “I think if you have an engagement strategy that ultimately creates more concern than it does benefit then it’s no longer useful,” Chief Doll later said. It’s not clear if A is also applying this logic to its records process.

W H OS E C AR IS IT ANY WAY ? AWARD

WAYMO Are those new self-driving cars you see on the road safe? Do you and your fellow pedestrians and drivers have the right to know about their previous accidents and how they handle tight turns and steep hills on the road aymo owned by oogle parent Alphabet Inc. and operator of an autonomous ta i eet in San Francisco answers respectively none of your business, and no! A California trial court ruled in late February that Waymo gets to keep this information secret. aymo sued the alifornia epartment of Motor ehicles to stop it from releasing unredacted records requested by an anonymous person under the California Public Records Act. The records include aymo’s application to put its self driving cars on the road and answers to the M ’s follow up questions. The DMV outsourced the redactions to Waymo, and claiming that it needed to protect its trade secrets Waymo sent the records back with black bars over most of its answers, and even many of the M ’s uestions. aymo doesn’t want the public to know which streets its cars operate on how the cars safely park when picking up and dropping off passengers and when the cars require trained human drivers to intervene. Waymo even redacted which of its two models — a Jaguar and a Chrysler — will be deployed on alifornia streets even though someone on those streets can see that for themselves.

THE TR AN S PARENCY PEN ALT Y F L AG AWARD

BIG 10 CONFERENCE In the face of increasing public interest administrators at the Big 10 sporting universities tried to take a page out of the ol’ college playbook last year and run some serious interference on the public records process. In an apparent attempt to hide the ball” (that is, their records on when football would be coming back), university leaders suggested to one another that they communicate via a portal used across universities. eporters and fans saw the move as an

attempt to avoid the prying eyes of avid football fans and others who wanted to know more about what to e pect on the field and in the classroom. “I would be delighted to share information but perhaps we can do this through the Big 10 portal which will assure confidentiality isconsin hancellor Rebecca Blank shared via email. “Just FYI — I am working with Big en staff to move the conversation to secure Boardvantage web site we use for league materials Mark Schlissel then President of the University of Michigan, wrote his colleagues. “Will advise.” Of course, the emails discussing

if those records involve a government official — current e as A en a ton — and activities targeted at overthrowing the democratic process. On Jan. 6, 2021, Paxton (who is currently up for reelection facing multiple charges for securities fraud, and was reportedly the sub ect of a 2020 FBI investigation) and his wife were in ashington . . to speak at a rally in support of former resident onald rump which was followed by the infamous invasion of the apitol by rump supporters. urious about a ton’s part in that historic event, a coalition of e as newspapers submitted a re uest

the attempted circumvention became public via a records re uest. fficials’ attempt to disguise their secrecy play was even worse than a quarterback forgetting to pretend to hand off the ball in a play action pass. University administrators claimed that the use of the private portal was for ease of communication rather than concerns over public scrutiny. e’re still calling a penalty however.

under the state’s public records law for the text messages and emails Paxton sent that day in D.C. a ton’s office declined to release the records. It may not have even looked for them. he newspapers found that the A doesn’t seem to have its own policy for searching for responsive documents on personal devices which would certainly be sub ect to public records law even if the device is privately owned. The Travis County District Attorney subse uently determined that a ton’s office had indeed violated the e as open records law. a ton maintains that no wrongdoing occurred and, as of late February hadn’t responded to a letter sent by the DA threatening a lawsuit if the situation is remedied ASA . hen the public official responsible for enforcing public records laws violates those laws himself,” Bill Aleshire, an Austin lawyer, told the Austin AmericanStatesman it puts a dagger in the heart of transparency at every level in e as.

D O AS I S AY , N OT AS I D O AWA RD

TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON Texas law requires a unique detour to deny or redact responsive records directing agencies to go through the Attorney eneral for permission to leave anything out. It’s bad news for transparency if that office circumvents proper protocol when handling its own records re uests it’s even worse

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THE RE ME DIAL E DU C AT ION AWARD

FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Once a FOIA is released, the First Amendment generally grants broad leeway to the requester to do what they will with the materials. It’s the agency’s ob to properly review redact and release records in a timely manner. But after Callie Oettinger and Debra Tisler dug into a series of student privacy breaches by Fairfa ounty ublic Schools the school decided the uickest way to fi the problem was to hide the evidence. ast September the pair received a series of letters from the school system and a high priced law firm demanding the removal of the documents from the web and they return or destroy the documents. he impulse to try to silence the messenger is a common one A few years ago Foilies partner Muck ock was on the receiving end of a similar demand in Seattle. hile the tactics don’t pass constitutional muster they work well enough to create headaches and uncertainty for requesters that often find themselves thrust into a legal battle they weren’t looking to fight. In fact in this case after the duo showed up for the initial hearing a udge ordered a temporary restraining order barring the further publication of documents. his was despite the fact that they had actually removed all the personally identifiable data from the versions of the documents they posted. Fortunately soon after the prior restraint the re uesters received pro bono legal assistance from Timothy Sandefur of the oldwater Institute and etan Bhirud of routman epper. In November — after two months of legal wrangling negative press and legal bills for the school — the court found the school’s arguments simply not relevant” and “almost frivolous,” as the Goldwater Institute noted. The Foilies were compiled by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (Director of n esti ations a e Maass enior taff Attorney Aaron Mackey, Frank Stanton Fellow Mukund Rathi, Investigative Researcher Beryl Lipton, Policy Analyst Matthew Guariglia) and MuckRock (CoFounder Michael Morisy, Senior Reporting Fellows Betsy Ladyzhets and Dillon Bergin, and Investigations Editor Derek Kravitz), with further review and editing by Shawn Musgrave. Illustrations are by EFF Designer Caitlyn Crites. The Foilies are published in partnership with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. For more transparency trials and tribulations, check out The Foilies archives at eff.or iss es oilies.

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WHAT’S GOING ON

Marche du Nain Rouge.

Select events happening in metro Detroit this week. Submit your events to metrotimes.com/calendar. Be sure to check venue websites for COVID-19 policies.

FRI 3/18 - SUN 3/27 Dearborn Restaurant Week

An excuse to eat our way around Dearborn? Mmmm, yes please. This year’s Dearborn Restaurant Week features more than 30 businesses that are offering special discounted “meal deals.” Many of our faves are in on it, including Sheeba Restaurant East (and West), La Pita, Brome Modern Eatery, and Avenue Brunch House. You’ve got a whole week to try them all. —Randiah Camille Green Meal deals come in $15, $25, and $40 options. The full list of participating restaurants can be found at dearbornrestaurantweek.com.

KATE SASSAK

SUN 3/20 Marche du Nain Rouge

Tell Detroit’s folkloric Nain Rouge to get the hell out of Detroit at this rowdy annual parade. If you aren’t hip to the Marche du Nain Rouge, it’s an annual Detroit-style Mardi Gras-esque parade that symbolizes the coming of spring. Anyone who wants to join the parade can just show up. Bring the whole neighborhood and get ready for all the elaborate costumes (or don one yourself if you feel brave). But be ready to run the Nain Rouge out of town when he shows up with his warning of doom. While it really just seems like a nonsense party, it’s a great metaphor for getting rid of negative energy, people, relationships, and whatever else needs to GTFO of your life. —Randiah Camille Green To join the parade, gather at the corner o Can el an e on ne t to ra Jam & Snug at noon on Sunday, March 20. The parade will start at 1 p.m. and go all the way down to the Masonic Temple. Afterparties will follow.

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SUN 3/20 Psilocybin and plant medicine retreat

Want to learn more about the wonders of plant medicine specifically magic mushrooms? Join the women of the Healing Code for a plant medicine retreat on Sunday. This is actually part of a larger three-day weekend of psilocybin and kambo ceremonies (kambo is medicine made from the secretion of a frog in some South American cultures). But the full weekend tickets sold out so fast that they created this one day offering. A full day of classes are planned for the day including gong therapy, sacral chakra meditation, vegan nutrition, and “using meditation and mushrooms to cut manifestation time in half.” There’s both a virtual and in-person option available for people who are into wellness, alternative medicine and all that feel good stuff. —Randiah Camille Green From noon to 7 p.m. Tickets start at $75 to attend virtually. The in-person version is held at a secret location (in

metro Detroit) that’s disclosed upon ticket purchase. Tickets are available at lisahillaryj.com/retreats.

MON 3/21 - SUN 3/27 Copper House Revival Week

Copper House is a dope weed-friendly community space that’s dubbed itself as “Detroit’s 1st Bud & Breakfast.” Starting on Monday, March 21, they’ll be hosting a variety of daily events to invite people back into their basement studio after a bit of remodeling. This week-long series includes yoga, an “elevated and melanated” tea party, blunt rolling lessons, and more. The space is also queerfriendly. —Randiah Camille Green Copper House is located at 17418 Monica St., Detroit; copperhousedet.com. Tickets are $5 for each day. Times vary depending on the event. Full schedule is listed on Eventbrite.

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MUSIC The kids are alright

Gary Numan’s climate change-themed ‘Intruder’ is based on a poem written by his daughter By Konstantina Buhalis

English musician Gary

Numan will make a stop at Detroit’s El Club for a pair of shows in support of Intruder, his 21st studio album. Metro Times caught up with the 64-year-old electronic music pioneer to learn about the unexpected inspiration for the record. Metro Times: Intruder centers around climate change, while your previous release Savage was a science tion theme ie e. hat ins ire the change to switch from fantasy to reality, and how do these albums complement each other? Gary Numan: Savage is set in the future. It is very much science fiction, but it is based on a possibility of what the future could be like, should we not get on top of climate change in the coming years. [For Intruder I tried to find a different way of thinking about it, [which came from] my youngest daughter, Echo. She wrote a poem two or three years ago called “Earth,” and it was very lovely. The poem was the planet Earth speaking to the other planets in the solar system and explaining why it was sad, and what terrible things are happening here. She was only 11 or 12 when she wrote it, so it is a child’s view of it … and then I thought, well, that could be the way the Intruder works, where every song in the album is sung from the point of view of the planet — if the planet could speak, what would it say. She’s very clever. It’s not just the ability to be able to put the words together. It’s the understanding, and the sympathy, the empathy, that came with it. I’ve had our album printed out on every format so that the first thing that people see is the cover, but as soon as they open up the album, her poem is the very next thing that you see. It was such an inspiration for the album I thought it was only fair and proper that the poem should be in there as well, because that’s what started the whole thing. The sound of Intruder is so dynamic, and seems to pull inspiration from tra itional r ish m si .

Gary Numan performs two shows at El Club on Saturday.

I was inspired by a Turkish musician. I was talking to a fan a few years ago, and we were talking about how I’ve often had a hint of Middle Eastern melody and instrumentation in the albums before, but never a big, powerful kind of statement. But it’s always been there little avors of it. And he said there’s a man called Gorkem Sen that you should listen to, who’s a Turkish player who invented an instrument called the Yaybahar. He said it is, as far as I know, the only one of this kind in the world. He’s spent much of his life developing it. He’s the only one that can play it. And it was ama ing absolutely ama ing. So we got in touch with him we sent him some messages. And then I just said to him, “I’ve seen what you do, I’ve seen a session that you did with an electronic keyboard player.” I said I wanted to do much the same sort of thing. To begin with, he was a bit suspicious. I think he was worried that I was going to get him on the record and then sample all of these ama ing sounds that he makes and then go off and sell them.

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COURTESY PHOTO

I felt a bit like a thief in the night … so we had to write out a contract where I promised I wouldn’t do anything untoward, and then he was happy when he got to know when he was fully involved, and he felt confident we weren’t going to steal anything. He was ama ing and he absolutely threw himself into it. He played on three songs the first few songs in the album actually. And I ust think it’s a really ama ing contribution to the record. It just adds textures to it, which no other instrument can do. It really was brilliant. Intruder has a inemati ality. hat was the process for building the world of this album? I am a minimalist, but it’s the most capable studio I’ve ever had. I have one very large screen in the middle, which is like a giant iPad. There is a computer, which you can’t see, that’s hidden away. So there’s one big screen and a keyboard, and that’s it, and two speakers in the corner, and the chair, and that’s pretty much what’s in my studio. And yet within that computer, there is an

absolute world of sounds and capability. So I sit at the keyboard and usually, I just bring up a general piano sound, and I just just come up with tunes and start to weave them together, and that becomes the skeleton of the song. And then I start to e plore all the different sounds that are in there, bit by bit. It’s very much like walking in the dark with a small torch — you’re looking for something, and you know it when you see it. So you just start to explore. I’d like to say that it was all great fun, and it’s all very exciting, and I look forward to doing it every day, but that’s not entirely true. It’s often very stressful. You know that it needs something and you cannot find it or you find something and it’s ama ing but you cannot make it fit and it’s really frustrating. I write something in the morning, and I just go, “Oh that’s just fantastic I love that. And by dinnertime, I’m not quite so sure, and by early evening, I think it’s an absolute pile of shit and I don’t know why I wrote it in the first place so it isn’t always fun. It is sometimes quite tortuous and painful. Your daughters provided some back ground vocals on the album, so is it safe to say it’s all in the family, and can we expect a release from the girls anytime soon? es definitely. he youngest one Echo, who wrote the poem, she’s not heading in a musical direction, but she wants to write, she wants to write stories, she wants to write poetry. So I firmly e pect her to be published at some point in the not too distant future. The other two are very musically driven, and they both want to be making albums. They write songs all the time. Raven was writing a new one last night, Persia just wrote one … I would be surprised if, within the next year, they don’t have things out somewhere. It might be on Bandcamp or something. Gary Numan will perform an early show at .m. an a late sho at .m. on at r ay Mar h at l Cl ernor y. etroit el l etroit. om. i ets start at .

MUSIC A modern-day Delta blues prodigy

Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is keeping the spirit of his famous hometown alive By Alan Sculley

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram opened a lot of eyes with

his 2019 debut album, in sh. Here was someone coming on the scene at the age of 19 who showed surprisingly advanced skill as a guitarist, and more importantly had the solid songs to back up the playing. Ingram’s songs also showed that he was well acquainted with the foundational artists of the blues and the sound artists like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy created during the post-World War II era — a style that paved the way for the rock music of the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Allman Brothers, and a host of acts that have come along since the 1960s. Where many younger blues acts seem to draw from more recent blues-based artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan or Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Ingram, who actually was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which is considered by many to be the birthplace of the blues, sounded like a genuine Delta blues artist. The accolades for in sh came ooding in and the album earned a Grammy nomination, while many writers touted Ingram as the next big thing in blues and an artist who would be handed the torch by the likes of Guy (an early supporter of Ingram) and would carry blues forward to the next generations. Ingram seems to be taking the acclaim in stride. “I tend to believe that my answer to that always changes whenever someone asks me that,” Ingram, who turned 23 in January, says in a phone interview. “Like you want to say that ‘Ah man, it doesn’t faze me. It’s not no pressure.’ But once you really think about it, I’m able to say it is pressure a little bit, but I’ve tried hard not to focus on it. ... It tends to rattle the brain and honestly, I’ve kind of had my share of those.” The initial hype that surrounded in sh will probably die down, but with his 2021 follow-up album 662, the guitarist-singer walks all over any worries about a sophomore slump, showing considerable growth as a songwriter and vocalist, delivering an album that’s notably richer both musically and lyrically. The career that is unfolding now for Ingram is pretty much what he wanted

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram performs at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Sunday.

to pursue since he was a kid. ell it started off with my dad. I want to say my dad was the one who would buy me all of the instruments. I think he saw something [in me] early on himself, even though he’s not musically inclined, or anyone on his side of the family is,” Ingram says. “And people would tell him, ‘Why are you buying him all of those guitars and keyboards? He should be playing football.’ On my mom’s side of the family, that side, they were the reasons why I wanted to play because I would go to church and see them in the quartet [gospel] groups.” Ingram started out on drums, then toyed brie y with guitar before learning bass. (“I started on guitar but I felt like my fingers were too big for the neck he says. He played his first gig at age 11 and by his early teens, he was playing bass in local bands. He also took classes at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale under teachers and Mississippi bluesmen Daddy Rich and Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry, which furthered not only his playing skills once he returned to guitar, but his education into the history of blues. Ingram also explored other

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more contemporary artists and genres, which helps explain the wider reach of the songs on 662. The rock edge was present on ingfish but it re emerges even more strongly on the second album, while there are also moments that touch on jazz, funk, and soul. Still, his music first and foremost is blues. “Me knowing it [blues] as the foundation, I think for one, that’s what set me up big time to go out and discover new things all while not disrespecting the [blues] genre,” Ingram says. “They taught us about Son House and Robert Johnson and the list goes on and on. And then me being younger, of course, I was going to go and find other stuff like the rock music and Prince. I think with me knowing all of that [blues] was the foundation it definitely set me up for this as well.” Ingram was still touring the in sh album, gaining momentum along the way, when the pandemic put a stop playing shows in early 2020. During his time away from touring, Ingram faced some personal challenges, including the death of his beloved mother and a cancer scare for his father. But he was productive while he waited out the

JUSTIN HARDIMAN

pandemic back home in Clarksdale. The songwriting included writing the songs for 662, which is named after the area code for the Clarksdale area. As with the in sh album, he hooked up with producer/songwriter Tom Hambridge, and the two held weekly songwriting sessions via Zoom from May to September before heading into the studio, where the album was pretty much completed in five days. Ingram is back on tour, playing in a four-piece format with bass, drums and keyboards, and he plans to perform plenty of songs from his two albums. “We’re just trying to mix in both of the albums because there are some people who still listen to the first one and they really enjoy that one,” he says. “But with this tour, I’m happy I’m at a point now where I can play a whole show and do all of my own stuff. So that’s where we’re at now, putting both records together for one set.” n ram er orms on n ay Mar h at the oyal a M si heatre . th t. oyal a royaloa m si theatre. om. oors o en at .m. i ets start at . .

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

27

FOOD Detroit around the edges By Tom Perkins

Somewhere in the Detroit-

style/Sicilian pizza phylum is a new genre of pie, round and deep dish with a sourdough crust about an inch thick, and caramelized/carbonized cheese encircling the package along the edges. It’s Hamtramck-style pizza. As pizzaiolo Jermey Duncan, who gave his pies the tongue-in-cheek moniker, put it: “It’s Detroit around the edges, like Hamtramck.” He also simply calls it puffy pan pi a. Also like Hamtramck, there’s also a Polish thread or two at HenriettaHaus, the Hamtramck-style pizza purveyor co-owned by Amy and Jeremy Duncan. Arguably its best pizza is the Polglish, a dill pickle soup-inspired pie, and the vegetarian cafe opened on Hamtramck’s south side in a building that formerly housed Albert Sinicki and Son’s Meat Market and Grocery, a Polish deli. After attempting to buff a century’s worth of szynka juice from the walls and oors the uncans built out a meatless cafe that’s also a coffee roastery, pizzeria, and small bar. A few things to note: HenriettaHaus’s food menu is short – basically four pizzas and soup. The cafe doesn’t have phones, so no ordering ahead. That means you eat in, or come in to order carryout. It might even take a minute to get your pie because the kitchen is small and run by one pizza maker. But that’s OK, because Amy developed an impressive list of cocktails worth passing a wait with, and stocks way more than the just Michigan beers — plenty of Belgian sours, Oud Geuze Boon Black Label, Hitachino and Rothaus Pils, and De Proofs-Surly’s Black Star. ou’ll also be hard pressed to find a more original, whimsical and pleasant restaurant interior. Amy disassembled and chopped up pieces of furniture of Eastlake, renaissance revival, and other styles, like an antique bed, dining room table, pump organ, piano, and china cabinet. The pieces were reassembled to help make the bar, bar back, and other furnishings. That’s accompanied by weird paintings, like a portrait of the titular Henrietta, or the Duncan’s dogs in a sailboat in the Detroit River, and plants all set against a teal and subway tiled wall. When you do get your Polglish, you’ll find a sauce that is basically Amy’s pickle soup recipe thickened with a roux — vegetarian stock, lots of butter,

HenriettaHaus introduces ‘Hamtramck-style’ pizza. Clockwise from left: Sweet Gerald, Penniman, and Polglish.

our and milk that’s whipped in until everything thickens, at which point Jeremy adds pickle brine, carrots, parmesan cheese, and pepper, then cooks it all down. The sauce is applied to the crust, and topped with mozzarella cheese, chopped potato pancakes from Srodek’s, sliced pickles either from Srodek’s or Grillo’s, and a sour creamdill drizzle. The Polglish ranks in the same echelon as Pie Sci’s Salami Kilpatrick, Supino’s “Supino,” San Morello’s Tartufi or anything from oui’s. hese are the pies that stand out in a city with too many pizzerias. If you want to try it, maybe act fast. It’s a wintertime pizza, and will be gone in the summer. Jeremy has been talking about a vegetarian cevapi pizza. Please do. The pizzas’ success owes in no small part to the crust. Jeremy blends King Arthur A bread and aputo 00 ours and the dough’s slow, two-day rise gives the wild yeast time to do its thing and develop a slightly more complex and sour avor. nce cooked it holds a focaccia-like crust that’s similar to Detroit-style pizza. It’s a fantastic base for all four pies, and especially the Sweet Gerald, made with a red sauce, hot (as in spicy) honey drizzle, roasted garlic, blue cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and basil. I have a pretty strong re e against honey on pizza, but it only adds a slightly sweet

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dimension, and that component is especially pleasant in the carmelized/carbonized cheese around the pie’s edge. The Pangherita is a margherita in deep dish form — mozzarella, basil, and a “red sauce” that’s more like orange red from the emulsified olive oil and salt and pepper. The sauce is made with San Marzano or San Marzanostyle tomatoes that are slightly sweet, and red wine vinegar bumps the saue’s acidity and helps it pop. Finally, the Penniman is similar to the margherita, except Duncan swapped out the tomatoes for peaches after it occurred to him that peaches and tomatoes are similar in their sweetness and acidity. With a few tweaks, the experiment worked, and he also adds blue cheese to the mix, as well as balsamic vinegar in place of olive oil. It’s topped with parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and though it sounds like a sweet pizza, it’s actually quite balanced with a savory and sweet element. At some point, customers may be able to build their own pies, but Jeremy says HenriettaHaus is still looking for good fake meats, and they’re happy with the slow growth. Amy’s soup is a lemony — very lemony on some days — mix of chickpea, carrots, celery, orzo, tons of oregano, salt, and pepper, and it’s awesome. Sometimes HenriettaHaus offers sweet Belgian wa es or a moist pineapple

TOM PERKINS

HenriettaHaus 8609 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck facebook.com/HenriettaHaus $4-$17 Handicap accessible 4-11 p.m. Thurs-Sat, noon-5 Sun, closed Mon-Wed

banana cake with cream cheese and brown sugar frosting. There’s also some talk of expanding the menu to include salads, sandwiches, or cheese boards. The pizza is only half the draw. The Henrietta is the cafe’s signature drink, with coffee bourbon and lemon — an ingredient list that might give one pause, but is actually a best seller that works really well because the mix of acidic lemon and the coffees’ oils imparts a creaminess. It’s part of a roster of coffee based drinks and Amy ust purchased an ice shaver for “snow conish, slush-y options” this summer. The whole HenriettaHaus concept started in 2003 when Amy began roasting coffee and she eventually set up a small shop at the Rust Belt Cafe in Ferndale in 2011. She sources beans from Oakland, California’s Green Coffee Brokers, which buys directly from farmers. Amy says she gravitates toward Ethiopian and Guatemalan, “crowd pleasers with not too cra y of a profile and her roasts are generally light to medium.

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

29

FOOD Bites

That second Detroit Mudgie’s location is probably not happening By Lee DeVito

It’s been a rough year for Mud-

gie’s Deli & Wine Shop. Just months after owner Greg Mudge died at the age of 46 of heart disease, the Corktown restaurant was damaged in a fire on hursday. he business is now closed as crews clean up the damage. Given the recent developments, a second Mudgie’s location planned for Meijer’s Rivertown Market in downtown Detroit is likely not happening anytime soon, if at all. A representative from Meijer confirmed that the initial plan for a second location at Rivertown Market, which opened in ctober at 1 . efferson Ave. was abandoned. Mudge died weeks earlier in September. “We were going to have Mudgies at the market but unfortunately but understandably after his passing the brand decided to focus on their agship location in Corktown,” a store representative tells Metro Times. Metro imes visited the orktown restaurant hursday morning as crews were cleaning the fire damage but workers did not wish to talk. eached by phone etroit deputy fire commissioner ave Fornell said it received calls of the fire at 1 1 Brooklyn St., at 4:48 a.m., and crews didn’t leave until about a.m. ater on hursday Fornell determined that the fire was likely arson. “Our investigators have determined that it was an arson fire Fornell tells Metro Times. It was deliberately set on the e terior of the building. uckily the neighbor saw the fire and called us. here was very minimal damage to the outside and very little damage to the inside.” Fornell says there is no suspect at this time. “We scour the area for videos, we interview folks and everything else,” he says. he investigation continues. He adds he biggest thing is there was not extensive damage.” n Friday the restaurant had re-

Mudgie’s is back open for business after a mysterious arson.

opened for carry-out, just in time for the weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and 1 aka etroit ay festivities. e plan to be open and have inside service and carryout, plus we’ll have the patio bar and open seating available outside. Come see us,” the post reads. “We are grateful to all the responders who came to our aid yesterday,” the Instagram post reads. A fire that started outside of the building has impacted a portion of our operation. he damage assessment is ongoing and we will have to make some pivots to our service model. We are really mastering pivots at this point Indeed they have. In the Instagram post, Mudgie’s used the seal of the city of Detroit, which has the words “speramus meliora resurget cineribus we hope for better things it will rise from the ashes.” Still, it’s likely that the Mudgie’s owners will have plenty of work to do getting the orktown location back in order. he restaurant opened in 2008 in the former ph Mc ally’s another sandwich spot that opened in 1 . Additional reporting by Randiah Camille Green.

Chelsea’s longstanding Common Grill acquired by Zack Sklar’s hospitality group

helsea’s ommon rill won’t be closing after all. Peas & Carrots Hospitality, the restaurant group owned by co owned by chef ack Sklar has purchased the

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acclaimed 0 year old restaurant and business will resume in April. Craig Common, who co-owned Common Grill with his wife Donna, previously announced they would retire on Sunday March 1 . In a press release, the new owners say the plan is to keep the menu and staff intact. I’m delighted to hand my business off to a capable team one that I know will uphold the legacy my wife Donna and I have built in the community that we call home,” Common said in a statement. I will be staying on to oversee the transition and look forward to sharing my lifelong vision with the new team. If you stop in over the next few months, you’ll see me in my chef coat passing through the dining room, enjoying the familiar faces I’ve come to know so well over the years.” Peas & Carrots Hospitality also owns M in Bloomfield Hills and Social in Birmingham among others. In 201 it purchased Beau ack’s in Bloomfield Hills and renamed it Beau’s rillery. In 201 it purchased omo’s in Ferndale giving the space a much-needed makeover. he ommon rill has been a mainstay in helsea for more than 0 years and we intend for it to stay that way, continuing to focus on fresh ingredients, imaginative dishes, and outstanding service,” Peas & Carrots Hospitality chief operating officer osh Humphrey said in a statement. he menu will remain the same, with guest favorites, including the Miso Glazed Atlantic Salmon, Parmesan Crusted Lake Superior hitefish and he rill’s Burger.

LEE DEVITO

In a statement, Peas & Carrots Hospitality said its culinary director José Colín will work with chef Common to “ensure a seamless transition.” “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to be such an integral part of the helsea community, one that is near and dear to my family’s heart,” Colín said. “My wife Anna Foley grew up in helsea and has fond memories of her time spent enjoying meals and special occasions at the restaurant with family and friends. We look forward to carrying on those time-honored traditions for everyone as we make new memories together.” According to MLive, Common was a self-taught chef who came up through huck Muer restaurants before opening ommon rill in 1 1. It became notable after a favorable Ann Arbor ews review ommon said. hat weekend the restaurant was packed and it kept going that way. It was incredible ommon said. It’s nerve-wracking, trying to see if this is the right concept and all that but I knew we had a winner as soon as that came out. And the people just came out in droves.” he etroit Free ress reported that ommon was named a semifinalist for the 2011 ames Beard Award for best chef in the Great Lakes region. he ommon rill is located at 112 S. Main St., Chelsea. It will close after dinner service on Sunday March 1 and reopen again on Friday April 1 so the staff can get time off the new owners said. More information is available at commongrill.com. —Lee DeVito

Thurs 3/17 st. patty’s day celebration detroit hustles harder pop-up Tullamore Dew PROMO & Bagpipers

Happy Birthday, derek templeton! Fri 3/18 scheme 13 presents: let it rot/ gravebloom/mafia birdhouse/ kill hours/living dissection/ into the void (metal/core) Doors @ 9pm • $5 Cover

Happy Birthday, donny tyree & andrew l! sat 3/19 billy swivs & his operatives with special guest DJ Doors Doors @ 9pm • $5 Cover

sun 3/20 le nain rouge parade! something elegant Lady DJ Dance Party! Doors @ 1pm • $5 Cover

detroit hustles harder pop-up taco papi pop-up mon 3/21 free pool Happy Birthday, nelly birdwell! tues 3/22 You Can DJ @ 9pm • B.Y.O.R. Bring Your Own Records! NO COVER!

Coming Up: 3/25 funk night (monthly) 3/26 something elegant lady djS (MONTHLY) 3/27 SMILEY’S BDAY SHOW: ASKLEPIUS/ GOODS/LANS NAM/LULU SUMMERFIELD 4/01 KNUCKLEDRAGGER + TBA 4/02 BOOTY MUZIK (TWERK HOUSE/GHETTO TECH) 4/08 TIGER’S OPENING DAY Weekly Drink Special (M-Th) Jim Beam Shot & 9oz Miller Draft $5 JELLO SHOTS $1

IN LOVING MEMORY Robert “RICO AFRICA” Berry 2-22-2022 Celebration of Life: The Old Miami, April 16, 2022 @ 4pm

metrotimes.com | March 16-22, 2022

31

WEED

One of Ripple’s most popular products is QuickDissolves, a powder that you can put in any drink or food.

One-Hitters

New cannabis company that pioneered dissolvable THC to sell fastacting edibles in Michigan By Steve Neavling

A Colorado-based cannabis company known for its fast-acting edibles will soon begin selling its popular products in Michigan. Ripple Michigan opened an 8,000-square-foot manufacturing and processing facility in Dimondale near Lansing. Two of its founders — Missy Bradley and Justin Singer — grew up in metro Detroit. The company has plans to distribute its products to more than 140 medical and recreational dispensaries in Michigan, and they will begin showing up on shelves next week. By March 21, the products will be widely available.

The products are water-soluble, and the company touts studies that show a measurable amount of THC enters the bloodstream within 10 minutes, compared to 30 minutes to two hours from fat-soluble products sold by other companies. One of its most popular products, QuickDissolves, is a powder that you add to any food or drink. “You can make everything an edible, and you can decide how you want to dose it,” Bradley, who grew up in West Bloomfield and is ipple’s vice president of marketing, tells Metro Times. The company also sells fast-acting gummies and QuickSticks, which includes avored powder you place on your tongue. Singer the company’s says ipple is different than other cannabis companies because its products are backed by “published, peer-reviewed human clinical research to substantiate our fast-acting claims.” e’re delighted to have our products available in the same state that pioneered ernor’s Faygo ed op Better Made Chips, and the Coney Dog,” Singer adds.

The High Times Cannabis Cup is returning to Michigan

Getting completely stoned to decide which brand has the best weed probably sounds like a dream job for some. Well, that dream could soon become a

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reality when the High Times Cannabis Cup returns to Michigan this April. he people’s choice contest is inviting everyday pot smokers to judge the competition. retty much anyone who can legally buy recreational or medical cannabis in Michigan can participate. So other than actually smoking cannabis, how do you become a judge? Here’s the deal. More than 00 udging kits with 1 to samples of ower, gummies, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, and more will be available at select Michigan dispensaries from April 16. ick one up sample the products and place your vote for each category. The kits come in discreet, “smellproof” black backpacks with a huge High Times logo across the front. On second thought maybe that’s not really that discreet after all. hat’s the catch here isn’t one as long as you’re cool with paying 100 to 00 to get your hands on a bag. ast year’s annabis up in Michigan featured 76 brands and nearly 300 products, and even more are expected to join this year. “This April, we are launching the largest-ever Cannabis Cup in Michigan’s history with 1 uni ue categories across recreational and medical products for a total of over 3,300 judge kits,” High Times director of events and competitions, Mark Kazinec, said in a press release. “...If this year is anything like last year, we expect lines of enthusiasts ready to purchase their

COURTESY PHOTO

kits at the select dispensaries, which may very well sell out the same day.” That part about selling out is no oke. mar Hishmeh of clusive Brands told the Free Press that people were lining up outside the brand’s Ann Arbor location at 3 a.m. last year. hat’s si hours before the shop opened. clusive’s Heavyweight Heads took first place in the recreational sativa ower category last year with its Orangutan strain. here are 12 recreational and five medical categories, including indica ower sativa ower hybrid ower edibles (gummies and non-gummies), and more. Winners will be announced on June 26 during the High Times Cannabis Cup Michigan Awards Show. Judges are asked to give detailed comments on aroma, taste, aesthetics and effects of each product so ust smoking it up and saying, “yeah, that weed got me so high I thought I was in another dimension probably isn’t good enough. While the Cannabis Cup goes way back to 1988 in Amsterdam, the people’s choice format began in 2021 after the in-person event was canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020. Before, famous folks like Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson were the ones doing the judging. Full contest rules and a list of Michigan’s previous annabis up winners can be found at cannabiscup.com. —Randiah Camille Green

CULTURE When romance is and isn’t easy By George Elkind

For a director obsessed with

questions of fate, power, choice, and consequences, Joachim Trier’s largely realistic suite of work focused on the everyday might not seem like the most natural mode. But with the exception of 2017’s Thelma, the Norwegian director has routinely plied renderings of everyday life to explore these themes nonetheless. Across Trier’s work, the weight of choice is puzzled over, but cards are dealt anyway, with a fair degree of arbitrage. As with the rest of his informal “Oslo trilogy,” romantic struggles, career crossroads, and weightier, inevitable cycles of life comprise The Worst Person in the World’s action, making it part of an increasingly rare filmic genre of its own one which treats the regular stuff of adult day-to-day life directly. he film’s impossible to watch without doing so from within a contemporary context starved of this kind of stuff which finds few stateside points of comparison onscreen beyond the work of Mike Mills or Noah Baumbach. No one (and certainly not critics) can read or watch any text from a truly neutral ground and so every film’s reception is shaped by the experience and position of whoever’s watching. But Worst Person would hold up, I suspect, even read outside its own context, for the questions that guide it, and Trier’s work more generally, are ubiquitous. Swirling around the character of Julie (a remarkably expressive Renate einsve a woman torn between different vocations at the film’s start as she approaches 30, Worst Person makes her waves of romantic longing fulfillment and discontentment — along with their consequences — its prime subject. Working with a light touch in scripting, a drifting, probably rig-mounted camera, and a newfound intimacy with shadow thanks to cinematographer asper u en rier’s film moves freely between tones across its prologue, epilogue, and twelve chapters. While this structure may seem arbitrary beyond alluding to a novel (Julie’s a bookseller for most of the film it permits a narrative looseness that highlights the potential for change across its parts, befitting a particularly turbulent phase of life. Between chapters and even frames, Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt allow for shifts in characters’ feelings and circum-

The Worst Person in the World Rated: R Run time: 128 minutes

Renate Reinsve in The Worst Person in the World.

stances to arise without heavy drama or explanation. At times, this risks making proceedings feel uffy — it doesn’t seem to matter whether Julie works in psychology, in writing, or in photography — nor is it clear what these career paths could or might give her. But this sense of vagueness is no more arbitrary than the burdensome, typical rules of Hollywood scripting, which dictate that characters require a series of obstacles separating them from some clear want. (It’s also possible that career changes in Norway simply are lower stakes, considering the stronger social safety net there.) In the case of Julie, an ultimate want, the thing she desires throughout the film’s duration, is obscure to us and her: a mythical sort of compass I’m not sure many have. In place of this, she feels a more acute range of smaller wants, coming from places she likely couldn’t name if pressed which give the film its shape. If Worst Person has a cardinal rule, it’s that the origin of a feeling need not be pinpointed or even judged. This proves truer nowhere than in romance, especially for Julie: a character stubbornly resistant to the often reductive, even repressive forms of logic suggested by an analytical frame. As a character and performer, her openness to feeling sets her apart within a bit of a repressed culture — but it also connotes a certain inarticulacy, a trouble giving voice to, much less navigating, the range of what she feels. Her partner Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie, a Trier regular), who she meets early in the film has no such troubles; as a Zap!-schooled comic artist and cultural provocateur, he’s better in love than he is in art, direct and sure

34 March 16-22, 2022 | metrotimes.com

COURTESY PHOTO

in speech, if a bit too prone to explanation. hile the film’s politics are fairly peripheral, albeit current, the nature of Trier’s work provides an illuminating tell. In Norway’s (from here dreamy) political climate of widespread, left-leaning orthodo y his barely filtered reactionary work is itself no less telegraphed, taking the form of an equally structured and predictable critique. His regressive art is even more wrapped up in personal, positional experience and self-conception as any of Julie’s tempestuous swerves in romantic and professional interest are. While she can’t necessarily separate her feelings, which are bound up in contemporary feminist self-conceptions about family, her career, her partner, and her politics, from her own place in the world, she can and does allow herself to embrace them. What Aksel demands of himself in terms of a sort of imagined levelness or coherence in viewpoint, Julie answers with a combination of an openness to her inner life and a deeper e periential hunger the latter offering another plausible but indefinite source among many for her periodic waves of discontent. It’s no real spoiler, then, to say that Julie’s position on her relationship together changes (Chapter 2 is titled “Cheating,” though it’s smarter than its title), dooming it in part thanks to her fidelity to her own feelings on the matter. While there are potential causes oated — he’s a decade plus older and longs to have children, she feels alienated from his friends and seems to feel outstripped at times in terms of his career, and there is indeed another man — the core of this faltering chemistry

is presented almost as a force beyond her, something more like a religious mystery. If this positioning seems to fall along too familiar or familiarly gendered lines, it’s worth noting that it’s something the film proves happy to disrupt. Thankfully, Worst Person is premised on constant complication, and the notion that no one’s idea of themself can be too sure or pure. ulie’s choice to leave Aksel brie y provides a brief glimpse of near-certainty amid a sea of fog, giving Worst Person its two centerpiece sequences. Trier monumentalizes her decision to leave first through a playful fantasy and then a surrealist reverie. In each, the decisive moment, or movement on Julie’s part, is presented as an intoxicating, freeing rush of power while also being re-imagined as more escapist than it could be, freed of negative stakes. This second aspect is what Worst is most willing to counter, engaging with the friction between what we owe ourselves and the things we’d wish to give others, which are sometimes things they probably deserve. The emotional fallout that stems from Julie’s both regular and weighty decision is pointedly not treated in moral terms, but as an inevitable risk of becoming close to anyone in full and ultimately right possession of themself. Buoyant and absorbing though it is, and due largely to Reinsve’s tremendous performance, Worst Person digs in quite deeply anyway into the messiness of life’s most basic features, which will likely feel familiar. But that sense of broad familiarity stems from a certain elemental quality, one accessed through the particulars of its characters and their entanglements – invitingly shaped though they and the film both are. Balancing these traits of emotional generality with a sensation of precision is on Trier’s part no mean feat, and is a case for and not against the film. It’s also a case also for the film and more like it to address the things it does: the recurrent, bedrock struggles of being alive to and in the world.

CULTURE Q : I have a problem. (How’s that

for an opener?) I’m a 60-something cis woman with a 30-something cis man lover. The problem is my vagina is extremely tight. Also, sometimes I bleed a little bit after PIV and then urinatin rns t only rie y. e are only able to hook-up about every other week, so frequency isn’t going to “stretch me out.” I had previously been diagnosed with vaginal atrophy, which for many women can result in pain during PIV inter o rse. e e een sin erl e with silicone, which has helped but it still gets painful. Any suggestions? I’ve been on an estradiol vaginal insert for three months, which helps my overall dryness but not PIV so much, although he has said I feel softer inside. I could really use some help because as much as I love having sex with him, I’m going to have to pause PIV altogether due to my discomfort. I also will say that before him it had been 17 years since I’d had se . n this em arrassin to a mit but it may be information that will help you answer my questions. —Age-Gap Enhancing Intense Sexual Treats P.S. He propositioned me. I was initially morti e t ha e sin e o er ome my ageist bias against relationships with large age gaps. Oh, and last night I experienced the “luxurious” sensation of ha in my an s li e or the rst time

A : “Vaginal atrophy is very common

in women and people with vaginas, and it can make not just PIV but any type of penetration painful,” said Dr. Lori Brotto, a clinical psychologist, author, and sex researcher at the University of British Columbia. “And while Uberlube is a fantastic external lubricant that makes sex more comfortable, it does nothing to moisturize the vagina.” Dr. Brotto says your hunch — that more frequent penetration might help — is correct, but you don’t have to wait for your lover to return to experience it. “There are well-known advantages to regular vaginal dilation for people who have not had penetration in a long time,” said Dr. Brotto. “So, I would recommend that in between the times AGEIST has sex with her partner, she uses a dilator — or uses a dildo — to engage in solo vaginal penetration. She should do it at least once per week, with copious amounts of lubricant, and use it while fantasizing or enjoying erotica, to stimulate her mind’s arousal.” You don’t have to simulate fucking with a dilator or a dildo (and a dilator in this case is just a dildo by another

name); instead, gently insert the lubedup dilator, remember to breathe, and then — once it’s all the way in — read some erotica or watch some porn. And then, if you’re feeling it, masturbate to climax. And then, when you’re with your lover, do the same but with his dick. Get his P in your V without it being about his pleasure. It’s about yours. When you do feel ready to let him fuck you, don’t feel obligated to endure it until he finishes. Only let him fuck you for as long as it feels comfortable and/or good for you, and then pivot to something else you both en oy if he hasn’t finished. Dr. Brotto also suggested that you talk to your gynecologist about switching to a different vaginal estrogen delivery system — there are tablets, creams, and rings in addition to the inserts you’re using — while at the same time adjusting your dose. “She might also consider seeing a pelvic oor physiotherapist in case some of the discomfort is arising from pelvic oor tightness said r. Brotto. elvic oor physiotherapists have very effective e ercises to deal with vaginal pain. Additionally, some positions can create more pain in an already painful vagina, so AGEIST and her lover should try different positions. And since the length and girth of a partner’s penis can also be a contributing factor, some couples use OhNut (www.ohnut.co), which are a series of rings that can be placed at the base of the shaft of the penis to reduce the length.” It’s also important that you’re feeling aroused — not feeling dread — when your lover is on his way over. Knowing you can look forward to what works for you and makes you feel good, and knowing that he doesn’t expect you to grin and bear what doesn’t (even if that means taking I off the menu for now), will not only be the best way to make sure you feel relaxed and aroused, but it’s also the quickest way to get PIV back on the menu. Good luck. Follow Dr. Lorri Brotto on Twitter @ DrLoriBrotto. And you can see Dr. Brotto in the new et i docuseries he Principles of Pleasure, which premieres on March 22. he first episode focuses on the erogenous parts of a woman’s anatomy, AGEIST, and Dr. Brotto suggests you watch it with your partner!) P.S. No need to put “luxurious” in scare quotes when you’re talking about anilingus!

Q:

I’ve been dating the same guy onan off or years. met him in my s I’m now in my 40s. Even though we’re

36 March 16-22, 2022 | metrotimes.com

Savage Love By Dan Savage

nothing alike — I’m kinky and adventurous, he’s vanilla and extremely vanilla — we always come back together. The problem is, any time we have the slightest disagreement, he stops talking to me, usually for weeks, sometimes for months. The last time it happened was when I moved a year ago. He was helping but he snapped at me because he didn’t hear my directions, and I got upset. e i n t s ea to me or months reached out to him repeatedly, but he only responded recently. So, we made plans to meet. But when I call him to ask when he’s picking me up, he says, “I or ot ha other lans toni ht t s an event I’m not allowed to attend, because “he’ll be working,” but his ex-girlfriend is omin . t s ne or her to e there t not me the erson he s no n or years ot ma o o rse an as e him to call me after the event. And he didn’t. I can’t show any disapproval itho t him i norin me in e nitely and even though it’s always been this way, it still hurts. Months of silence for something that wasn’t even a full-on argument seems extreme, and I have no idea why he does this. I’m just trying to re him o t. —Infuriatingly Mysterious Silences After Disagreements

A : You can’t make a long-term

relationship work with someone who responds to routine con ict — the kind of con icts you’ll face almost daily in any relationship lasting longer than a weekend — with months of the silent treatment. Well, maybe a person can make a relationship with someone like that work; you’ve been making this work for 20 years, IMSAD. My point is, you shouldn’t try to make a relationship like that work. You’re wasting a lot of time and emotional energy trying to figure out a guy who really isn’t that hard to figure out. I mean the ancy Drew novelization of this mystery would have just one page, IMSAD, and it would be the title page: The Not At All Mysterious Case of the On-Again, ff ain Boy rien ho s an sshole an hose m er o ho l Blo and Delete. So, stop calling this asshole, stop sitting by the phone waiting for this asshole to call you, stop fucking this asshole when he shows up, stop thinking about fucking this asshole when he’s off sulking and or fucking someone else. he effort you’re putting into making this relationship work would be much better spent trying to find a guy who isn’t an asshole and who shares your kinks.

Q:

My boyfriend and I have been to ether or si years. e ha e a great relationship, he’s very caring and thoughtful, and we survived the pandemic together, so I think we’re very compatible. I’m in my late 30s now, and I’m starting to realize that time is running out if I ever want a baby. The problem: my boyfriend is 30 years older than me. If he were 45, he would be a great dad, but it doesn’t seem fair to have a child with a man who is almost 70. He doesn’t have children from his previous marriage so this would be his rst. ho l let o o the man lo e to see hat else is o t there an n someone more suited to a future that hopefully includes a child? Or do I take the plunge with my boyfriend and hope for the best? —Tick Tock Bio Clock

A : Let’s say dump the old man you

love — an old man who could live for another 20 years — to go find a younger man. How long would that take, TTBC? A year? Two? Because it’s not just a guy closer to your own age you need. You have to find a guy you like a guy who wants children and wants them soon, and then date that guy long enough to fall in love with him. And then you’re going to have to live with that guy long enough to know you aren’t going to fall out of love with him anytime soon. And if it doesn’t work out — if the first guy you pick isn’t the right guy — you’re gonna have to start all over again. And before you know it, TTBC, you’re 50. As I see it, TTBC, you have three possible choices/likely outcomes to choose from here: having to get out there and find a new guy who wants a kid having to date as a widowed single parent if your current boyfriend dies while your child is still young, or having to date as a single parent if the relationship you rushed into with some 30-something dude you barely knew after dumping the 60-something man you loved didn’t work out. In your shoes, TTBC, I would go with the guy I’ve got — the known quantity — over a stranger I hadn’t met, might never meet, or might come to regret meeting. P.S. You don’t mention discussing this with your boyfriend. Does he wanna have a child? That seems… germane.

s estions sa a elo e.net. isten to an on the a a e o e ast ollo an on itter a e an a a e Columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at sa a e.lo e

CULTURE ARIES (March 21-April 19): Singer, dancer, and comedian Sammy Davis Jr. disliked the song “The Candy Man,” but he recorded it anyway, heeding his advisors. He spent just a brief time in the studio finishing his vocals in two takes. “The song is going straight to the toilet,” he complained, “pulling my career down with it.” Surprise! It became the best-selling tune of his career, topping the Billboard charts for three weeks. I suspect there could be a similar phenomenon (or two!) in your life during the coming months, Aries. Don’t be too sure you know how or where your interesting accomplishments will arise. TAURUS: April 20 – May 20 I love author Maya Angelou’s definition of high accomplishment and I recommend you take steps to make it your own in the coming weeks. She wrote, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” Please note that in her view, success is not primarily about being popular, prestigious, powerful, or prosperous. I’m sure she wouldn’t exclude those qualities from her formula, but the key point is that they are all less crucial

Free Will Astrology By o Bre sny warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power.” 4. “Do your best to satisfy me—that’s all I ask of everybody.” 5. “I’m just moving clouds today, tomorrow I’ll try mountains.” 6. “A terrible thing has happened. I have lost my will to suffer.

than self-love. Please devote quality time to refining and upgrading this aspect of your drive for success. GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 “I’m not fake in any way,” declared Gemini actor Courteney Cox. On the face of it, that’s an amazing statement for a Gemini to make. After all, many in your tribe are masters of disguise and shapeshifting. Cox herself has won accolades for playing a wide variety of characters during her film and TV career, ranging from comedy to drama to horror. But let’s consider the possibility that, yes, you Geminis can be versatile, mutable, and mercurial, yet also authentic and genuine. I think this specialty of yours could and should be extra prominent in the coming weeks. CANCER: June 21 – July 22 “Sometimes I prayed for Baby Jesus to make me good, but Baby Jesus didn’t,” wrote author Barbara Kingsolver about her childhood approach to self-improvement. Just because this method failed to work for her, however, doesn’t mean it won’t work for others. In saying that, I’m not implying you should send out appeals to Baby Jesus. But I suggest you call on your imagination to help you figure out what in uences may, in fact, boost your goodness. It’s an excellent time to seek help as you elevate your integrity, expand your compassion, and deepen your commitment to ethical behavior. It’s not that you’re deficient in those departments just that now is your special time to do what we all need to do periodically: Make sure our actual behavior is in rapt alignment with our high ideals. LEO: July 23 – August 22 Leo classicist and author Edith Hamilton specialized in the history of ancient Greece. The poet Homer was one of the most in uential voices of that world. Hamilton wrote, “An ancient writer said of Homer that he touched nothing without somehow honoring and glorifying it.” I love that about his work, and I invite you to match his energy in the coming weeks. I realize that’s a lot to ask. But according to my reading of the astrological omens, you will indeed have a knack for honoring and glorifying all you touch. VIRGO: August 23 – Sept. 22 Starhawk, one of my favorite witches, reminds us that “sexuality is the expression of the creative life force of the universe. It is not dirty, nor is it merely normal’ it is sacred. And sacred can also be affectionate joyful, pleasurable, passionate, funny,

38 March 16-22, 2022 | metrotimes.com

JAMES NOELLERT

or purely animal.” I hope you enjoy an abundance of such lushness in the coming weeks, Virgo. It’s a favorable time in your astrological cycle for synergizing eros and spirituality. You have poetic license to express your delight about being alive with imaginative acts of sublime love. LIBRA: Sept. 23 – Oct. 22 In 1634, English poet John Milton coined the phrase “silver lining.” It has become an idiom referring to a redemptive aspect of an experience that falls short of expectations. Over 350 years later, American author Arthur Yorinks wrote, “Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.” Now I’m relaying his message to you. Hopefully, my heads-up will ensure that you won’t miss the silver lining for any reason, including the possibility that you’re fi ated on gold. SCORPIO: Oct. 23 – Nov. 21 “This is the most profound spiritual truth I know,” declares author Anne Lamott. “That even when we’re most sure that love can’t conquer all, it seems to anyway. It goes down into the rat hole with us, in the guise of our friends, and there it swells and comforts. It gives us second winds, third winds, hundredth winds.” Lamott’s thoughts will be your wisdom to live by during the next eight weeks, Scorpio. Even if you think you already know everything there is to know about the powers of love to heal and transform, I urge you to be open to new powers that you have never before seen in action. SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22 – Dec. 21 Witty Sagittarian author Ashleigh Brilliant has created thousands of cheerful yet often sardonic epigrams. In accordance with current astrological omens, I have chosen six that will be useful for you to treat as your own in the coming weeks. 1. “I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent.” 2. “I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy.” 3. “All I want is a

CAPRICORN: Dec. 22 – Jan. 19 “All experience is an enrichment rather than an impoverishment,” wrote author Eudora Welty. That may seem like a simple and obvious statement, but in my view, it’s profound and revolutionary. Too often, we are inclined to conclude that a relatively unpleasant or inconvenient event has diminished us. And while it may indeed have drained some of our vitality or caused us angst, it has almost certainly taught us a lesson or given us insight that will serve us well in the long run—if only to help us avoid similar downers in the future. According to my analysis of your current astrological omens, these thoughts are of prime importance for you right now. AQUARIUS: Jan. 20 – Feb. 18 “Life swarms with innocent monsters,” observed poet Charles Baudelaire. Who are the “innocent monsters”? I’ll suggest a few candidates. Boring people who waste your time but who aren’t inherently evil. Cute advertisements that subtly coax you to want stuff you don’t really need. Social media that seem like amusing diversions except for the fact that they suck your time and drain your energy. That’s the bad news, Aquarius. The good news is that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to eliminate from your life at least some of those innocent monsters. You’re entering a period when you’ll have a strong knack for purging nice in uences that aren’t really very nice. PISCES: Feb.19 – March 20 “Never underestimate the wisdom of being easily satisfied wrote aphorist Marty Rubin. If you’re open to welcoming such a challenge, Pisces, I propose that you work on being very easily satisfied during the coming weeks. See if you can figure out how to enjoy even the smallest daily events with blissful gratitude. Exult in the details that make your daily rhythm so rich. Use your ingenuity to deepen your capacity for regarding life as an ongoing miracle. If you do this right, there will be no need to pretend you’re having fun. You will vividly enhance your sensitivity to the ordinary glories we all tend to take for granted. This week’s homework: What small change could you initiate that will make a i ene ial ifferen e

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