VOL. 40 | ISSUE 5 | NOVEMBER 6–12, 2019
PROJECT CENSORED’S TOP 10 STORIES OF 2019
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS ~ B Y
P A U L
R O S E N B E R G ~
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Vol. 40 | Issue 5 | Nov. 6-12, 2019
News & Views Feedback/Comics ................. 8 Informed Dissent .................. 9 Devil’s Night is dead .......... 10
Feature Project Censored’s Top 10 stories of 2019 ....... 12
Food Karl’s .................................... 20
Publisher - Chris Keating Associate Publisher - Jim Cohen
EDITORIAL Editor in Chief - Lee DeVito Digital Editor - Sonia Khaleel Investigative Reporter - Steve Neavling Music and Listings Editor - Jerilyn Jordan Copy Boy - Dave Mesrey Contributing Editors - Michael Jackman, Larry Gabriel Editorial Interns - Brooklyn Blevins, Miriam Francisco, Marisa Kalil-Barrino, Gabriel Silver, Lindsey Yuchna
ADVERTISING Regional Sales Director Danielle Smith-Elliott Senior Multimedia Account Executive Jeff Nutter Multimedia Account Executive Jessica Frey Account Manager, Classifieds - Josh Cohen
BUSINESS/OPERATIONS Business Support Specialist - Josh Cohen Controller - Kristy Dotson
What’s Going On ............... 22 Livewire: Local picks ......... 28 Fast-Forward....................... 30
CREATIVE SERVICES Graphic Designers - Paul Martinez, Haimanti Germain
CIRCULATION Circulation Manager - Annie O’Brien
EUCLID MEDIA GROUP
Music Rogue Satellites .................. 32 Doug Hammond .................. 34 Carolyn Striho ..................... 36
Arts & Culture Johnathan Van Ness .......... 38 Richard Prince ..................... 40 Jojo Rabbit........................... 42 Higher Ground .................... 46 Savage Love ........................ 50 Horoscopes .......................... 54
On the cover: Illustration by Anson Stevens-Bollen
Printed on recycled paper Printed By
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248-620-2990
Chief Executive Officer - Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers - Chris Keating, Michael Wagner Creative Director - Tom Carlson VP of Digital Services - Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator - Jaime Monzon euclidmediagroup.com National Advertising - Voice Media Group 1-888-278-9866 vmgadvertising.com Detroit Metro Times 30 E. Canfield St. Detroit, MI 48201 metrotimes.com Editorial: 313-202-8011 Advertising: 313-961-4060 Circulation: 313-202-8049 Got a story tip? Email editor@metrotimes.com or call 313-202-8011 Get social: @metrotimes Detroit distribution: The Detroit Metro Times is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. The Detroit Metro Times is published every Wednesday by Euclid Media Group. Verified Audit Member
EUCLID MEDIA • Copyright - The entire contents of the Detroit Metro Times are copyright 2019 by Euclid Media Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. 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, 30 E. Canfield St., Detroit, MI 48201. (Please note - Third Class subscription copies are usually received 3-5 days after publication date in the Detroit area.) Most back issues obtainable for $5 at Metro Times offices or $7 prepaid by mail.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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NOVEMBER CONCERT CALENDAR
11/6 – X AMBASSADORS WITH BEAR HANDS AND VERITE
11/7 – JONATHAN VAN NESS (EARLY AND LATE SHOW) * 11/8 – CONAN GRAY WITH UMI
11/9 – THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH SLOW HOLLOWS AND CLAUD
11/10 ANGELA YEE’S LIP SERVICE PODCAST LIVE * 11/12 K. MICHELLE 11/13 WORLD OF DANCE * 11/14 KING DIAMOND WITH UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS AND THE IDLE HANDS
11/15 YELAWOLF
WITH THE OUTFIT, TX AND WILD THE COYOTE AND BADD WOLF
11/16 SHORELINE MAFIA with 1TAKEJAY AND AZCHIKE
11/17 JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING * 11/20 SCHOOLBOY Q WITH NAV
11/21 NICK OFFERMAN * (SELL OUT ALERT) 11/22 CHON & BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME WITH INTERVALS
11/23 AARON LEWIS WITH BEN DANAHER
11/27 SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD WITH POUYA, DJ SCHEME, DANNY TOWERS
11/29 BATTERY: A TRIBUTE TO METALLICA * denotes a seated show
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on sale friday:
coming soon concert calendar:
11/8 – pigeons playing ping pong w/ dizgo 11/9 – knocked loose w/ rotting out, candy & seeyouspacecowboy
dec. 27 every avenue 2019 st. andrew’s
11/10 – sasha sloan feb. 6
earthgang
st. andrew’s w/ mick jenkins
coming soon:
@ the shelter w/ winnetka & bowling league
11/12 – white denim
@ the shelter w/ spaceface
11/13 – cannibal corpse w/ thy art is murder perdition temple
11/15 – counterparts
@ the shelter w/ stray from the patch, varials, chamber & greyhaven
11/16 – domo wilson the acacia strain aug. 24 3 magic jan. w/ kublaicity khanhippies st. andrew’s the shelter
feb. 23 anna of the north the shelter
@ the shelter
11/16 – la dispute w/ touche amore & empath
11/17 – pj morton
w/ asiahn & brik.liam
11/18 – dreamers @ the shelter w/ arrested youth & irontom
11/20 – tobe nwigwe w/ the amours
feb. 26 marc e. bassy the shelter w/ gianna & kyle
apr. 10 lawrence the shelter
11/21 – the dirty nil w/ single mothers
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NEWS & VIEWS Feedback We received a number of responses to our cover story on pit bull attacks. @widow_jones: Language like this is disappointing: “In a good home, pit bulls are usually docile and obedient companions. But in the wrong environment, they can be extremely dangerous.” That’s true of literally any dog breed larger than a Pomeranian. Pit bulls are a favorite of abusers (as well as extremely common in general) and that’s the only reason they’re involved in attacks more than others. Trump Is Lying Filth: So tired of
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people with their overpowered dogs pretending that they are no different from any other breeds. Pits and Rottweilers make up 80%+ of fatal attacks due to their size and strength. People get these breeds like gun nuts go for military grade weapons. Clay Hundenshire: Lies, lies, and more lies! No matter how you raise and train a breed genetically bred to fight and kill, it will always be a natural born killer. Most pit bulls that maul and kill were raised in loving homes. The stats don’t lie. Have an opinion? Of course you do! Send feedback to letters@metrotimes.com.
NEWS & VIEWS Informed Dissent
The president’s defenses By Jeffrey C. Billman
In a mostly party-line vote
Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution establishing ground rules for the ongoing impeachment inquiry, allowing the release of deposition transcripts, providing opportunities for the president’s lawyers to present evidence, and setting up televised public hearings just in time for Thanksgiving. This, of course, didn’t stop House minority whip Steve Scalise from complaining about “Soviet-style impeachment proceedings.” Other Republicans argued that Democrats were “abusing the process” or that, because no Republicans voted for the inquiry, it’s no more than a partisan sideshow. Even so, now that the impeachment in iry i o cially o cial e should be getting a sense of how the White House and its allies plan to defend Donald Trump against mounting evidence that he withheld military aid as leverage to get Ukraine to dig up dirt on his political rivals. What we’re actually seeing, however, is not one defense, but a scattershot of defenses, some contradictory, some conspiratorial, some that seem culled from a Reddit thread, all led by a president who refuses to admit the possibility that he did anything inappropriate, let alone illegal. As best I can tell, there are four at play: (1) No quid pro quo. (2) Sure, a quid pro quo, but it wasn’t illegal. (3) An attempted quid pro quo, but that doesn’t count. (4) Hell yeah, a quid pro quo, but it was a good thing, because The Truth Is Out There, man. he fir t defen e belong to onald Trump, and increasingly, to Donald Trump alone. In his mind, and on his Twitter feed, the July phone call with Ukraine’s president — in which, according to the White House’s edited account of the conversation, he conditioned aid on an investigation into a conspiracy theory that the Ukrainians framed Russia for the 2016 DNC hack and urged an investigation into the Bidens — was “perfect.” There was nothing inappropriate about it, no quid pro quo. Since Trump did no wrong, every-
LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
one who says he did must be part of a conspiracy. The whistleblower, Trump tweeted Monday, “must be brought forward to testify.” The top Ukrainian expert on the National Security Council ho te tified that he a told r m would only meet with Ukraine’s president if Ukraine opened the investigations Trump demanded is a “Never Trumper,” Trump has asserted, as if that has any bearing on the substance of his testimony. The no-quid-pro-quo line has become a bridge too far for even some loyalists. After all, even the best news the White House got last week — that a Trump appointee to the NSC said he didn’t think there was anything illegal about the call with the Ukrainian president — also came with the confirmation that r m fro e military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate his enemies. That brings us to defense no. 2: The quid pro quo happened, but it wasn’t criminal (or impeachable). The Washington Post reported that, during a private Senate GOP lunch last week, some senators pitched this line of attack — “the U.S. government often attaches conditions to foreign aid and that nothing was amiss in Trump’s doing so in the case of aid to Ukraine.” As Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) told the Post, “To me, this entire issue is gonna come down to, why did the president ask for an investigation. To me, it all turns on intent, motive.”
This defense would work better if Trump didn’t stomp on it. On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the story was “false.” Perhaps a quid pro quo wasn’t impeachable, he said, but it doesn’t matter because there wasn’t one. Then there’s defense No. 3, that Trump’s conspiracy failed, so no harm, no foul. Per The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page: “Democrats want to impeach Mr. Trump for asking a foreign government to investigate his political rival for corruption, though the probe never happened, and for withholding aid to Ukraine that in the end wasn’t withheld.” It’s true that Trump released the money just before the scandal broke, but the fact that he got caught before his extortion scheme bore fruit hardly speaks to a presidential temperament e ide hi effort to to e an investigation in Ukraine continue. Just last week, NBC News reported, Rudy Giuliani was in Ukraine meeting with a former diplomat who alleges that Ukraine’s government conspired with the DNC to hurt Trump in 2016. At the same time, a group of Russia-friendly Ukrainian parliamentarians are seeking an investigation into whether their country set up Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, now a resident of a federal prison. Giuliani tweeted last week that fren ied emocrat are co ering because it’s bigger than you think.” And herein lies the last line of de-
fense, that there is a grand conspiracy yet to be unraveled, connecting the Deep State and the Obama administration and Joe Biden and the DNC and Ukraine and Russia and George Soros and probably Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files. Trump’s die-hards are pinning their hopes on John Durham, the prosecutor Attorney General William Barr tapped to investigate the investigators who fir t loo ed into the r m cam aign tie to ia an effort li e i liani in Ukraine — to discredit the Intelligence Community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. Over the weekend, The Independent reported that, based on Barr’s requests to British intelligence er ice o cial there belie e they are basically asking, in quite robust terms, for help in doing a hatchet job on their own intelligence services.” As incoherent as they seem, these defenses are all aimed at a singular audience. Over the weekend, NBC and Fox News released polls showing that 49 percent of voters believe Trump should be impeached and removed from o ce t both oll al o ho ed that about 90 percent of Republicans oppose impeachment. And as long as that’s the case, the White House’s bet is that there’s no way the Republican-led Senate will convict Trump, so long as there’s a thin reed to cling to. Anything will do, really.
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NEWS & VIEWS Devil’s Night is dead
Detroit’s infamous Halloween Eve fires have disappeared in recent years By Steve Neavling
For decades in Detroit, Hallo een e a ynonymo ith fire Photographers from around the globe oc ed to the city to itne hat became no n a e il ight the notorio tradition of etting fire to ho e b ilding car and d m ter Between 1979 and 2010, more than fire bro e o t each year he or t year a hen firefighter responded to more than 800 blazes that co ered the entire city in an eerie mo y ha e on allo een morning er the a t nine year the fire teadily declined or the econd year in a ro e il ight a nothing more than an a erage night for firefighter la t edne day nly e en fire bro e o t and ome ere accidental etroit e ty ommissioner Dave Fornell tells Metro Times here i going to be a ne generation of id ho remember allo een a dre ing and getting candy ornell ay he city i changing n allo een e ening firefighter handed o t candy at fire ho e n after e il ight fire reached a record lo ayor i e ggan ended ngel ight the mobilization of thousands of volunteers to patrol the treet o re ident co ld foc on the o iti e fe ti itie of allo een he e act origin of e il ight i n no n b t the hra e date bac to at lea t the early th cent ry hen ran ter rang doorbell oa ed indo and tole b ggie ince the fire ha e been a art of the allo een tradition in etroit t dent at the former etroit ollege of edicine ed to et large bonfire in the treet and e en handed cigar to arri ing firefighter y the
STEVE NEAVLING
fire t rned more iolent and bro e o t in car ho e and b ilding d ring a three day eriod beginning ct ore than fire bro e o t each year from to fter fire bro e o t in then ayor enni rcher created ngel ight ith tho and of ol nteer atrol trict c rfe and ban on ortable ga container
n the n mber of fire declined to hat do n ard trend contin ed and ne er to ed t nclear hat n ffed o t the notorio tradition t co ld be attrib ted to fewer houses and buildings to burn, a trong re ence of olice ol nteer ar on in e tigator and agent and a di regard for the mi chie o tradition
nd the fire ha en t t di a eared on e il ight erall the n mber of fire o far thi year ha declined ercent com ared to the ame eriod in ith more time on their hand firefighter are re onding to medical r n he a erage time to get medical care i act ally better than the national a erage ornell ay
News hits
Founders Brewing Co. settles racial discrimination lawsuit: Founders Brewing Co. is looking to put a racial discrimination lawsuit that made national headlines behind it. Last month, Metro Times published a transcript of the case’s deposition, in which management claimed it did not know the employee, Tracy Evans, was Black (as well as former President Barack Obama, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, or baskebtall legend Michael Jordan, for that matter). The story swiftly went viral, causing Founders more than a few headaches. Initially, Founders said Evans’ allegations were unfounded and that the company was confident it would prevail in court. But now the company has decided to settle with Evans for an undisclosed amount, according to a joint statement provided to Metro Times. Previously, Evans was asking for damages and fees in excess of $75,000. “We are pleased to settle this case and focus on the future,” Founders’ co-founders Dave Engbers and Mike Stevens said in a statement. “Through recent discussions with Tracy, we listened, engaged in selfdiscovery, and reached common ground to make amends. We agreed that nobody be viewed at fault here. Most importantly, this serves as an opportunity to place our full at-
tention on the work we now have to do, as a company of more than 600 dedicated team members, to rebuild our relationships.” “Significantly, we are committed to moving the cause of diversity and inclusion forward for Founders,” the statement adds. “We want every employee to feel valued, respected and safe. We abhor discriminatory action of any type and believe that beer should bring people together and not divide.” “I am not going to say too much here but I want the world to know the power we have when we step forward and make ourselves heard,” Evans said in a statement. “Upon hearing us, businesses also have the power to make changes or not.” Evans, a former manager who worked at Founders’ Detroit and Grand Rapids locations, alleged “a racist internal corporate culture” that included white employees repeatedly using the “N word” around him. Since then, dozens of local bars dropped Founders from their menus, the company announced it was closing its Detroit taproom until further notice, it pulled out of Detroit’s Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival, and its diversity and inclusion director, Graci Harkema, announced her resignation from the company. —Lee DeVito
Pit bull fatally mauls Hazel Park boy: A pit bull mauled a 4-year-old boy to death inside his family’s Hazel Park home on Tuesday, Oct. 29 — just hours before last week’s Metro Times headed to newsstands. That issue’s cover story looked at pit bull attacks, showing how a lack of enforcement and negligent owners are creating a dangerous environment for residents in neighborhoods. The 60-pound dog, which the family had been fostering, attacked the boy at about 6:45 p.m. and did not stop until police arrived with Tasers. The boy’s 38-year-old mother also was injured while trying to defend her son. She cut the dog with a knife, but that wasn’t enough to stop the attack. When officers arrived, they freed the boy by Tasering the dog, which ran out of the house. Officers tracked down the pit bull and took it to a local veterinarian office, where the dog was euthanized. The boy, who was seriously wounded on the body and neck, was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The attack comes less than three months after 9-year-old Emma Hernandez was fatally mauled by a pit bull in Southwest Detroit. —Steve Neavling
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THE
Through Looking Glass
Project Censored’s Top 10 stories of 2019 ~ BY PAUL ROSENBERG ~ Every year, Project Censored scours the landscape for the most important stories that the mainstream corporate media somehow missed, and every year the task seems to get a bit stranger. Or “curiouser and curiouser” as suggested in the subtitle of this year’s volume of their work, Censored 2020: Through the Looking Glass, which includes their full list of the top 25 censored stories and much, much more about the never-ending struggle to bring vitally important hidden truths to light. In the foreward, “Down the Rabbit Hole of ‘Media Literacy’ by Decree,” Sharyl Attkisson, an Emmy Award-winning investigati e o rnali t highlight the ab rdity of o many ell organi ed ell f nded effort to root o t o called fa e ne hich a e ll ee belo ha e ignificantly im acted the ind of o rnali t and o tlet ho ha e hi torically rod ced the torie that ma e ro ect en ored li t in the fir t lace “The self-appointed curators, often wielding proprietary algorithms, summarily dispense with facts and ideas that they determine to be false — or maybe just dangerous to their agendas,” Attkisson notes. “Thanks to them, we will hardly have to do any of our own thinking. They’ll take care of it for us.” Does that seem hyperbolic? Well, read on, dear reader, read on. In Project Censored’s No. 2 censored story this year, you’ll discover Facebook partnering with a NATO-sponsored think tank to “monitor for misinformation and foreign interference” — a think-tank whose funders include the U.S. military, the United Arab Emirates, weapons contractors, and oil companies. And whose board includes Henry Kissinger, the world’s most famous war criminal. Who better to tell you who to believe? Or better yet, decide who you’ll never even hear from? “Through the Looking Glass.” Yes, indeed. In the beginning, Project Censored’s founder, Carl Jensen, was partly motivated by the way that the early reporting on the Watergate Scandal never crossed over from being a crime story
to a political story until after the 1972 election coverage. It wasn’t censorship in the classic sense practiced by church and state since time immemorial, but it was an example of something even more insidious, because no clear-cut act of
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censorship or all-powerful censor was needed to produce the same result of a blic left in the dar en en defined censorship as “the suppression of information, whether purposeful or not, by any method — including bias, omission, underreporting or self-
censorship — that prevents the public from fully knowing what is happening in its society.” And the most obvious ay to tart fighting it a to highlight the suppressed information in the form of the stories that didn’t get widely told. Thus Project Censored and its annual list of censored stories was born. Jensen’s conception of censorship may be light-years away from how most media fig re thin of thing t hile introducing this year’s list of stories, the volume’s co-editor Andy Lee Roth quotes media legend Walter Lippmann echoing the same sensitivity in his 1920 book, Liberty and the News: “whether one aspect of the news or another appears in the center or at the periphery ma e all the difference in the orld t ro ect en ored a ne er t about the individual stories, it was about the patterns of marginalization and suppression that could be seen through the lens of connecting them. In his introduction, Roth says, “identifying these unifying themes is one ignificant ay to ga ge the y temic blind spots, third rails, and ‘no go’ zones in corporate news coverage.” He identifie e eral ch attern hich are stronger and more vivid in the full list of Project Censored’s Top 25 stories, but still illuminating in terms of the Top 10. Stories: 1 and 2 deal with press freedoms, stories 2, 4, and 9 deal with corporate misconduct, stories 2 and 10
econd hy did the tice e artment keep these rules secret when it updated its “media guidelines” in nd third i the tice e artment using FISA court orders — along with the FBI’s similar rules for targeting journalists with National Security Letters (NSLs) — to “get around the stricter ‘media guidelines’”? The corporate media virtually ignored these revelations when they occurred. The subsequent media interest in FISA warrants targeting President onald r m cam aign ad i er Carter Page “has done nothing at all to raise awareness of the threats posed by FISA warrants that target journalists and news organizations,” Project Censored observed. They ended with a quote from amya ri hnan a taff attorney ith the Knight Institute, summarizing the stakes: “National security surveillance authorities confer extraordinary powers. The government’s failure to share more information about them damages journalists’ ability to protect their sources, and jeopardizes the news gathering process.”
2. Think tank partnerships establish Facebook as a tool of U.S. foreign policy
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ANSON STEVENS-BOLLEN
deal with technology, stories 3 and 4 deal with the environment, stories 5, 6, and 8 deal with gender inequalities, and stories 6, 7, and 8 deal with criminal justice, prisons, and detention. As you can see, these patterns overlap. Stories 2, 4, 6, and 8 are all part of at least two. And there may well be other patterns you discover for yourself. These patterns don’t just connect issues and problems that those in power would rather neglect. They also connect people, communities, and potential solutions, which those in power would rather see stay disconnected. So don’t just read the following as a list of stories “out there.” Read it as an opportunity to connect:
1. Justice Department’s secret FISA rules for targeting journalists
T
he federal government can secretly monitor American journalists under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which allows invasive spying and operates outside the traditional court system, according two 2015 memos from then-Attorney General Eric Holder. The memos were obtained by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the Freedom of the Press Foundation through an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit,
which was reported on by The Intercept, whose parent company provides funding for both organizations, but was virtually ignored by the corporate media. The secret rules “apply to media entities or journalists who are thought to be agents of a foreign government, or, in some cases, are of interest under the broader standard that they possess foreign intelligence information,” The Intercept reported. Project Censored cited three “concerning” questions the memos raise: ir t ho many time ha e court orders been used to target journalists, and are any currently under investigation?
n the name of fighting fa e ne to protect American democracy from foreign in ence aceboo formed a set of partnerships with three e ert foreign in encer in augmenting its bias toward censorship of left/progressive voices. In May 2018, Facebook announced its partnership with the Atlantic Council, a on ored thin tan to “monitor for misinformation and foreign interference.” t f nded by the e artment of State and the U.S. Navy, Army and Air Force, along with NATO, various foreign powers and major Western corporations, including weapons contractors and oil companies, (including he ron on obil oyal tch hell noted dam ohn on riting for the media watch group FAIR. It went on to note that the major news outlets covering the story said nothing about any of the above conict of intere t In September, Facebook announced it would also partner with two Cold War-era U.S. government-funded propaganda organizations: the National emocratic n tit te and the nternational Republican Institute. n ctober onathan igri t writing for Global Research, described one of the greatest Facebook account and page purges in its troubled history:
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FEATURE “559 pages and 251 personal accounts were instantly removed from the platform… This is but one of similar yet smaller purges that have been unfolding in front of our eyes over the last year all in the name of fighting fa e ne and o called ian ro aganda.’”
3. Indigenous groups from Amazon propose creation of largest protected area on Earth
W
hen news of unprecedented ildfire in the ma on grabbed headlines in late g t mo t merican ere ill prepared to understand the story, in part because of systemic exclusion of indigenous voices and viewpoints, highlighted in Project Censored’s number three story — the proposed creation of an ma onian rotected one the i e of e ico re ented to
the UN Conference on Biodiversity in November 2018. The proposal, which Jonathan Watts, writing for The Guardian, described as “a 200m-hectare sanctuary for people, wildlife and climate stability that would tretch acro border from the nde to the tlantic a ad anced by an alliance of some 500 indigenous groups from nine co ntrie no n a the oordinator of the ndigeno rgani ation of the ma on a in who called it “a sacred corridor of life and culture.” “We have come from the forest and we worry about what is happening,” declared ntia atan ice re ident of oted in The Guardian. “This space is the world’s last great sanctuary for biodi er ity t i there beca e e are there ther lace ha e been destroyed.” “The organisation does not recognise national boundaries, which were put in place by colonial settlers and their descendants without the consent of in-
‘We have come from the forest and we worry about what is happening.’ digenous people who have lived in the ma on for millennia The Guardian ent on to note atan aid the gro a illing to tal to anyone ho a ready to protect not just biodiversity but the territorial rights of forest communities.” n contra t The Guardian explained, “Colombia previously outlined a similar tri le nde ma on and tlantic protection project that it planned to put forward with the support of Ecuador at ne t month climate tal t the election of new rightwing leaders in olombia and ra il ha thro n into doubt what would have been a major
contrib tion by o th merican nations to reduce emissions.”
4. U.S. oil and gas industry set to unleash 120 billion tons of new carbon emissions
T
hree months after the United ation ntergo ernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that we have just 12 years to limit catatro hic climate change il hange nternational relea ed a re ort that went virtually ignored, warning that the United States was headed in exactly the wrong direction. The report, Drilling Towards Disaster, warned that rather than cutting do n carbon emi ion a re ired to avert catastrophe, the United States under Donald Trump was dramatically increasing fossil fuel production, with the United States on target to account for 60% of increased carbon emissions
Curiouser and Curiouser The trouble that comes with decoding a party to which you weren’t invited BY TERELLE JERRICKS
T
his year’s edition of Project Cenored ado ted the ad atter tea party from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as an apt metaphor for the gas-lighting of important storylines, even as entertainment obscures those very same stories. he a thor of thi cha ter y no and an ahman criti e the power of corporate media to capture consumer attention spans and hold them ho tage hey li en thi dynamic to the ad atter tea arty in Alice in Wonderland. Project Censored founder Carl Jensen coined the term n ood e in 1983 when referring to the sensationalist stories that consumed valuable airspace and attention spans. These em ty caloric torie are li e a red tide c ing the o ygen o t of ea ater They displace the real investigative o rnali m that i re ired to maintain a healthy democracy. Project Censored has covered the phenomenon ever since, charting its unfortunate and
meteoric ri e er the a t fe year the orld of n food ne ha gotten dar er and more t i ted too no and ahman noted that logic and roportion fell sloppy dead, torn apart by headlines that spread disinformation, propaganda, and utter nonsense.” This is probably most easily observed in corporate media’s relationship ith merica fir t reality tele i ion re idency a match made in hea en or hell de ending on one er ecti e n r m admini tration cor orate media has found a lover that provides drama and intrigue with every new tweet and faux pas. no and ahman cited the birthing stories of rap artist Cardi B and the merican royal eghan ar le a ell a the o called ame ar bet een the arda hian and a hion o a a rime n food ne e am le he a thor arg ed that ar le pregnancy overshadowed direct action of tinction ebellion rote ter who have used a variety of nonviolent techni e from gl ing their hand to the gate of c ingham alace to lanting tree in arliament are to digging a hole and lacing a co n in it to represent humanity’s future if no f rther action i ta en to to climate change.
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The demonstrators’ goal was to create a citi en a embly to e al ate current research on climate change and map a course of action to prevent it detrimental effect a ing their c e from tinction ebellion the birth tri er o ed to not to concei e children as a response to climate change. Corporate media’s response to this tatement embodied by c er arlon on o e a no and ah-
man pointed out, was to gaslight the activists by telling them to have more children if they wanted to be happier. no and ahman arg ed that ardi birthing di c ltie eighed larger than the prenatal health of Latinas even as this country’s immigration policies have targeted Latino communities, and our president slanders them in the media f that eren t eno gh the fire that ravaged the Notre Dame Cathe-
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FEATURE worldwide by 2030, expanding extraction at least four times more than any other country. References to the report “have been limited to independent media outlets,” Project Censored noted. “Corporate news outlets have not reported on the re ort relea e or it finding incl ding its prediction of 120 billion tons of ne carbon oll tion or it fi e oint checklist to overhaul fossil fuel production in the US.”
5. Modern slavery in the United States, around the world
A
n estimated 403,000 people in the United States were living in conditions of “modern slavery” in 2016, according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, or GSI, about 1% of the global total he define modern slavery” broadly to include forced labor and forced marriage.
dral in ari thi a t ril and the ma i e f ndrai ing re on e o erhado ed the ar on fire that b rned scores of black churches in Louisiana. The dominance of reporting like this provoked the authors to ask what other fire ere not being co ered beca e of Junk Food News. Curiouser and curiouser, indeed, but the argument that coverage of one means there’s less room for the other isn’t altogether convincing until we consider the pressures that are crowding out the alternative press and the shrinking of newsrooms overall in the United States. Although Snow and Rahman’s critique of corporate media’s gaslighting important movements and issues is remarkably on target, their work ometime ffer from t nnel i ion given the restriction in chronology due to Project Censored’s annual publication. Also, the authors don’t ever really say who is playing the roles of Alice, the Mad Hatter, March Hare, or the Dormouse. In the iconic novel, Alice follows directions from the grinning Cheshire Cat to encounter these three characters engaged in a never-ending tea party. after following the Cheshire Cat’s directions in the prior chapter. Alice didn’t have a particular destination in mind when she asked for directions, but when she arrived it was apparent that she was not welcome. Regardless of etiquette or convention, Alice elbows her way into the gathering. As the chapter unfolds, Alice engages
Because forced marriage accounts for 15 million people, more than a third of the global total, it’s not surprising that a majority of the victims are female (71 percent). The highest levels were found in North Korea, where an estimated 2.6 million people — 10% of the population — are victims of modern slavery. The GSI is produced by the Walk Free Foundation, whose founder, ndre orre t called the fig re “a truly staggering statistic, (which) is only possible through a tolerance of exploitation.” “Walk Free’s methodology includes extrapolation using national surveys, databases of information of those who ere a i ted in tra c ing ca e and reports from other agencies like the UN’s International Labour Organization,” explained The Guardian, to com ile it fig re There are problems with this, according to other or ing in the field The Guardian noted. There’s no universal legal definition and tab lation di c l-
the Wonderland characters in a discussion about meaning and logic, starting with a riddle Alice thought she could guess. Do you mean that you think you can find the an er to it aid the arch Hare. “Exactly so,” said Alice. “Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on. “I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least — at least I mean what I say — that’s the same thing you know.” “Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. It has been argued that Alice in Wonderland is a double-coded narrati e re ected at the te t al le el e em lified by the ord lay that exhibited throughout the work, and the ignifier le el here thi fanta y world serves as a metaphor to reality. With that said, Snow and Rahman’s reading of this moment seems to leave behind the casual reader who is actively attuned to popular culture of this moment. Celebrity blogs and entertainment magazines butter both sides of their bread with any bit of news, foible, mi ha or con ict a celebrity may encounter as they promote cult-of-personality stories in search of authenticity. But what’s to be done when a celebrity cuts out the middleman and uses their platform to direct attention
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ties abound. But the GSI addresses this as an issue for governments to work on and offer ecific ro o al “The GSI noted that forced labor occurred ‘in many contexts’ in the US, including in agriculture, among traveling sales crews, and — as recent legal cases against GEO Group, Inc. have revealed — as the result of compulsory prison labor in privately owned and operated detention facilities contracted by the Department of Homeland Security,” Project Censored noted. Newly restrictive immigration policies have further increased the vulnerability of undocumented persons and migrants to modern slavery.
6. Survivors of sexual abuse and sex trafficking criminalized for self-defense
O
n Jan. 7, outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown,
to ne or i e that are rele ant How is the alternative press to treat such lightly regarded celebrities who demand to be treated seriously when they address serious issues, particularly celebrity omen ho don t fit a artic lar definition of femini m or re ectability Pop artists and pop culture mavens generate their own revolving newscycles when they post to their social media platforms, reaching tens or hundreds of millions of eyeballs daily. Cardi B gained a following by posting content on the Vine, Instagram, and YouTube diary-like confessionals as a stripper and her budding music career. Her social media following led to a spot on the faux reality series Love and Hip Hop: New York. The same can be said of Kim Kardashian, who owes her celebrity to the professionally managed leaking of a sex-tape and relationships to various recording artists and professional athletes before her current marriage to recording artist Kanye West. The issues they address on their platforms are generally inane and inconsequential until they post something that isn’t. From the political to the personal, Cardi doesn’t shy away from controversy. She jumped into the fray when British rapper 21 Savage was arrested by c tom and immigration o cer for overstaying his visa. Cardi has made some comments critical of the Trump administration, has called on her fans
who had been sentenced to life in prison in 2004, at age 16, for killing a man who bought her for sex and raped her. Brown’s case gained prominence via the support of A-list celebrities, and Haslam cited “the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.” But despite public impressions, Brown’s case was far from unique. “There are thousands of Cyntoia Browns in prison,” organizer Mariame Kaba, co-founder of Survived and Punished, told Democracy Now! the next day. “We should really pay attention to the fact that e ho ld be fighting for all of those to be free,” Kaba said. “When you look at women’s prisons, the overwhelming majority, up to 90 percent of the people in there, have had histories of sexual and physical violence prior to ending up in prison.” “In contrast to the spate of news coverage from establishment outlets, which focused on Brown’s biography and the details of her case,” Project Censored
to pay attention to the work of political activists such as Shaun King on issues related to police abuse and taking back the Senate from the Republicans. During this same period, it has been reported that Kardashian has been leveraging her platform as a multi-billionaire beauty and fashion entrepreneur to a Trump-whisperer on behalf of wrongfully and unjustly incarcerated prisoners. In fact, it’s been reported that she had been bankrolling the legal advocacy of such prisoners long before the work became public knowledge. The point here is that the media land ca e of today i far different than it was in the 1980s, when gatekeepers determined what’s important for better or worse. Today’s media landscape teems with characters with varying degrees of ability in attracting attention. At the end of Carroll’s chapter: A Mad Tea-Party, Alice gives up trying to crash the party after being insulted and reb ffed for the ery la t time lice goes about her business through this fanta y orld efore long he find the long hall that would transport her to the Queen’s croquet grounds. The stripper from the Bronx and the sexpot turned fashion and beauty maven have both donned the veil of feminine respectability with marriage and motherhood. In a contextual moment where it’s no longer clear who’s playing the role of Alice, it’s a strange juxtaposition for a gate-keeperless tea party to decide who gets to party.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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FEATURE wrote, “independent news organizations, including The Guardian, Democracy Now!, Rolling Stone and Mother Jones, stood out for reporting that cases like Brown’s are all too common.” Later in January, Kellie Murphy’s Rolling Stone story quoted Alisa Bierria, another Survived and Punished co-founder, and highlighted several other cases prominent in alternative media coverage. In May, Mother Jones reported on the legislative progress that Survived and Punished and its allies had achieved in advancing state and federal legislation. “Corporate news organizations provided considerable coverage of Cyntoia Brown’s clemency,” Project Censored noted. “However, many of these reports treated Brown’s case in isolation, emphasizing her biography or the advocacy on her behalf by celebrities such as Rihanna, Drake, LeBron James, and Kim Kardashian West.” It went on to cite examples from The New York Times and NBC News that did take a broader view, but failed to focus on e tra c ing or e al iolence
7. Flawed investigations of sexual assaults in children’s immigrant shelters
‘O
ver the past six months, ProPublica has gathered hundreds of police reports detailing allegations of sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters,” ProPublica reported in November 2018. “[The shelters] have received $4.5 billion for housing and other services since the surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America in 2014 and the re ort re eal that both taff and other residents sometimes acted as predators.” “Again and again, the reports show, the police were quickly — and with little investigation — closing the cases, often within days, or even hours,” ProPublica stated. In the case of Alex (a 13-year-old from Honduras) used to highlight systemic problems, the police investigation lasted 72 minutes, and resulted in a three-sentence report. There was surveillance video showing two older teenagers grabbing him, throwing him to the oor and dragging him into a bedroom. But ProPublica reported, “An examination of Alex’s case shows that almost every agency charged with helping le ith finding o t the f ll extent of what happened in that room
‘Pregnant women could face a higher risk of criminal charges for miscarriages or stillbirths, due to lawmakers in numerous states enacting laws that recognize fetuses as people, separate from the mother.’ — had instead failed him.” “Because immigrant children in detention are frequently moved, even when an investigator wanted to pursue a case, the child could be moved out of the investigating agency’s jurisdiction in just a few weeks, often without warning,” Project Censored noted. “When children are released, parents or relatives may be reluctant to seek justice, avoiding contact with law enforcement because they are undocumented or living with someone who is.”
8. U.S. women face prison sentences for miscarriages
‘T
here has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions, then-candidate Donald Trump said in early 2016, which led to a wave of denials from antiabortion activists and politicians, who claimed it was not their position. These women were victims, too, they argued: That had always been their position. But that wasn’t true, as Rewire News reported at the time. Women were already in prison, not for abortions, but for miscarriages alleged to be covert abortions. And that could become much more widespread due to actions taken by the Trump Administration, according to a 2019 Ms. Magazine blog post by Naomi Randolph on the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, especially if the decision is overturned. “Pregnant women could face a higher risk of criminal charges for miscarriages or stillbirths, due to lawmakers in numerous states enacting laws that recognize fetuses as people, separate from the mother,” Project Censored explained.
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“One example that Randolph provided is in Alabama, where voters recently passed a measure that ‘endows fetus’ with ‘personhood’ rights for the fir t time otentially ma ing any action that impacts a fetus a criminal behavior with potential for prosecution,” Project censored added. “Collectively, these laws have resulted in hundreds of American women facing prosecution for the outcome of their pregnancies.” In fact, a 2015 joint ProPublica/ AL.com investigation, found that “at least 479 new and expecting mothers have been prosecuted across Alabama since 2006,” under an earlier child endangerment law, passed with methlab explosions in mind, which the “personhood movement” got repurposed to target stillbirths, miscarriages and suspected self-abortions.
9. Developing countries’ medical needs unfulfilled by Big Pharma
‘T
he world’s biggest pharmace tical firm ha e failed to develop two-thirds of the 139 urgently needed treatments in developing countries,” Julia Kollewe reported for The Guardian in November 2018, according to a report by Access to Medicine Foundation, which “found that mo t firm foc on infectio diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis but had failed to focus on other serious ailments….. In particular, the foundation called for an infants’ vaccine for cholera and a single-dose oral cure for syphilis.” It’s not all bad news. “The foundation’s report also highlighted 45 best and innovative practices that could ‘help raise the level of standard practice’ and ‘achieve greater access to medicine,’” Project Censored noted. “The report highlights examples such as the development of a child-friendly chewable tablet for roundworm and whipworm, which infect an estimated 795 million people,” The Guardian reported. “Johnson & Johnson has pledged to donate 200m doses a year until 2020.” The possibilities underscore why attention is vital. ttention ma e a difference ro ect Censored pointed out. n an effort to mobili e in e tor to pressure pharmaceutical companies to make more medicines available to developing countries, the foundation re ented the finding of it re ort to 81 global investors at events in London,
New York, and Tokyo,” Project Censored noted. “As of April 2019, Access to Medicine reported that, since the release of the 2018 Access to Medicine Index in November 2018, ninety major investors had pledged support of its research and signed its investor statement. But attention has been sorely lacking in the corporate media. “With the exception of a November 2018 article by Reuters, news of the Access to Medicine nde finding a ear to ha e gone unreported in the corporate press,” Project Censored concluded.
10. Pentagon aims to surveil social media to predict domestic protests
‘T
he United States government is accelerating effort to monitor social media to preempt major anti-government protests in the US,” Nafeez Ahmed reported for Motherboard in October 2018, drawing on cientific re earch o cial go ernment doc ment and atent filing ecifically he ocial media o t of American citizens who don’t like President Donald Trump are the focus of the latest U.S. military-funded research,” which in turn “is part of a wider effort by the r m admini tration to consolidate the U.S. military’s role and in ence on dome tic intelligence The Pentagon had previously funded Big Data research into predicting mass o lation beha ior ecifically the o tbrea of con ict terrori m and civil unrest,” especially in the wake of the Arab Spring, via a program known as “Embers.” But such attention wasn’t solely focused abroad, Ahmed noted, calling attention to a U.S. Army-backed study on civil unrest within the U.S. homeland, titled “Social Network Structure as a Predictor of Social Behavior: The Case of Protest in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.” hmed di c ed t o ecific atents that contribute to “a sophisticated technology suite capable of locating the ‘home’ position of users to within 10 kilometers for millions of Twitter accounts, and predicting thousands of incidents of civil unrest from microblogging streams on Tumblr.” Project Censored made no mention of any coverage of this story by the corporate media. More information is available at projectcensored.org.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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FOOD
TOM PERKINS
Steak and eggs.
A sophomore success By Tom Perkins
With certain chefs, a new concept isn’t really a question of if it’s going to be good, but rather how good it’s going to be. Recently opened Pernoi by chefs Takashi Yagihashi and Luciano DelSignore of Slurping Turtle and Bacco, respectively, is one such spot. Magnet, the latest from Takoi’s Brad Greenhill that just opened in Core City, is another. And just before them, Lady of the House’s Kate Williams launched Karl’s, an American diner concept in the second story of the Siren Hotel in the recently renovated Wurlitzer Building. Karl’s menu is short-but-solid, with chef-driven versions of simple, classic dishes built with impeccable sourcing and a dose of creativity. It’s a departure from what Williams has going at her fir t lace b t ch a conce t i al ay a crowd-pleaser when done right, and Karl’s does it just so. The ham sandwich, for example, is a Detroit diner staple, and here it’s stacked with the incredible hog from Jake’s Country Meats. It’s essentially the same as the well-loved ham at Lady of the House, though LOH uses pork butt while Karl’s uses cuts from the shoulder. The pig arrives between two pieces of white bread with housemade pickles and two kinds of mustard — a
dijon and a blend of yellow mustard, butter, and dijon. It’s excellent. Similarly, the steak and eggs are a giant late filled ith t o egg and er tender and tasty teres major beef from western Michigan’s Cover Crop Ranch, and it’s likely the highest quality steak that yo ll find ne t to a air of nny ide egg he di h i filled o t ith a generous helping of fried redskin potatoes and a milk gravy made with sweet Vidalia onion, roux, rosemary, cayenne and a fini h of eet cherry Mix and mash the plate’s components for some of Karl’s best bites. Beyond the ham sandwich, Karl’s b ild a fine atty melt ith o er ro ground chuck, American cheese, pickles, and onions — but not the caramelized onions that are standard on a patty melt. Instead, chef de cuisine Brendan Calnin says Karl’s is going for a lighter, brighter take on the sandwich with onions pickled with a little sugar, salt, lemon juice, and zest. The “grilled cheese of the day” was made with mushrooms and Swiss chard that’s cooked down with Left Hand Stout beer and put between two slices with provolone. That arrives next to an excellent cup of thick tomato soup for $6 more. Karl’s bills its chicken salad as “the
20 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
best around,” and it makes a good case, though I’m not particularly a connoisseur. It roasts its bird in-house, then mixes it with green apples, house mayo, fried shallots, balsamic dressing, and fi h a ce for hat alnin characteri e as an “east meets west” salad. A small mound is served with bread with which one can build their own sandwich. The attention to detail extends to the sides. During the menu’s development, indecision over creamy or vinegarbased coleslaw led to a compromise — a little of both. Karl’s lets it cabbage chill with salt for a couple hours before it’s rinsed, then mixes dijon, a small amount of mayo, and celery seed. The fries are dusted with a seasoning that’s equal parts sugar and salt, as well as thyme and red e er a e t arri e with a fry sauce made with housemade mayo, house steak sauce, lemon zest, and a few other things. All awesome. House-made pickles rotate, but are the bright and crunchy refrigerator variety. recent ee offering a a nchy radish and wakame. arl al o offer e eral alad including a wedge salad that’s almost cartoonish in how giant and busy it is. It sits in a small pool of dressing with blue cheese and is ringed by halved
Karl’s 1509 Broadway St., Detroit 313-855-2757 karlsdetroit.com $10 to $26 Handicap accessible
cherry tomatoes, then crowned with fresh sprigs of dill and thin slices of red onion. The whole package is dusted with everything bagel seasoning. Perhaps one dish that doesn’t seem to fit in ith a men f ll of traditional diner stapes is the seafood boil, which arri e in a mall ot filled ith corn on the cob, redskin potatoes, and shrimp in a er a orf l hrim broth made with beer and Old Bay seasoning and butter. Calnin notes that it’s diner fare in spirit, and he’s not wrong. Karl’s super-thick chocolate shake is made with Guernsey’s ice cream and enhanced with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The full bar stocks a hort li t of craft beer offer a boilermaker menu, and mixes some of the classic cocktails. t hard to find m ch in the ay of a in arl o eration tho gh if it ha anything working against it, the location i a bit of a di c lt o rney for anyone who doesn’t live downtown. The Siren otel i bea tif l b t finding ar ing in that part of downtown is a pain. But, alas, Williams’ restaurant is worth the e tra effort it that good.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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THIS WEEK
photos with one of Twin Peaks’ most complex murderers, er, characters. Screenings begin at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.; 6424 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-8940850; beyondtheblacklodge.square.site. Tickets are $42.
SATURDAY, 11/9 Tool @ Little Caesars Arena
MUSIC If you were to suggest that 2019 was the year of Tool — the beloved nü-metal band of millennial boyfriends everywhere — you would not be wrong. he aynard ame eenan led o tfit relea ed it fir t alb m in year the critically acclaimed Fear Inoculum in August, just a month after the band released its entire catalog on streaming services so that millennial boyfriends could now force their personal theses as to why Tool is the sonic equivalent to opium on their unsuspecting millennial girlfriends. The power of the millennial boyfriend is strong, too. Following the digital release of their catalog, Tool albums racked up Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Senate Theater, Nov. 9.
CIBBY 2000
What’s Going On
A week’s worth of things to do and places to do them FRIDAY, 11/8 Blue Hawaii @ UFO Factory
MUSIC For those of us who never had the pleasure of experiencing the ecstasy of gyrating against sweaty strangers and future lovers in a ’90s nightclub, fret not, fellow weirdos — there’s an electronic duo to help satisfy our impossible FOMO. Former couple Alex “Agor” Cowan and Raphaelle “Ra” Standell-Preston have been making ambient techno as Juno Award-nominated duo Blue Hawaii since 2010, releasing their fourth record, Open Reduction Internal Fixation, just last month. The record, which is titled after an emergency foot surgery Agor had to undergo after smashing his heel in Berlin, was born of pain and recovery, as Raphaelle had endured a painful breakup during the same time. The result is a himmering dance oor ready re ite from the bullshit that calls to mind Robyn and Röyksopp. Detroit’s Jenny & Jackie and 2000 Blue are also on the bill. Doors open at 9 p.m.; 2110 Trumbull St., Detroit; facebook.com/ufofactorydetroit. Tickets are $10.
SATURDAY, 11/9 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me screening with actor Ray Wise @ Senate Theater
FILM hen e fir t meet Laura Palmer, the slightly troubled and totally beautiful homecoming queen, she’s already dead, wrapped in plastic. Palmer, of course, is the axis on which the David Lynchcreated psychological cult series Twin Peaks spins, and the inspiration behind the prequel, Fire Walk With Me. The 1992 film hich a relea ed follo ing Twin Peaks’ econd and a med to be final season (Lynch resurrected the series in 2017 for Showtime and it’s rumored to return for a fourth) gives insight into Laura’s life a week before her murder, which, in true Lynchian fashion, provides more questions than answers. As part of a special screening engagement, the enate heater ill creen the film and will welcome special guest actor Ray Wise, who portrays one of the most vital characters in the series — Laura’s father, Leland. Wise will conduct a Q&A with the audience, and guests will have the opportunity to purchase autographs and
22 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
CCS Sexpo, Taubman Center, Nov. 13.
BOYLESQUE DRAG CO., COURTESY OF BOYLESQUE
highlights from the epic soundtrack as part of its Pops Concert Series. Performance begins at 8 p.m.; 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-668-8397; michtheater.org. Tickets are $30+.
SUNDAY, 11/10 Mystery Science Theater 3000 @ Capitol Theatre
FILM + MORE For 31 years, we’ve been cheering and jeering alongside snarky, shiny, silhouetted robots/cult movie critics Tom Servo and Crow. Mystery Science Theater 3000 ill embar on it final li e tour with the show’s creator and original host, Joel Hodgson. The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour will invite Hodgson, MST3K’s robo-critics, and Gypsy — the real brains behind the Satellite of Love to di e into the film Circus of Horrors. While most circuses are in fact horrible, this campy British thriller has everything: plastic surgery, furries, knife-throwing, and gratuitous use of the song “Look for a Star.” The MST3K event will also visit Detroit’s Fox Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Blue Hawaii, UFO Factory, Nov. 8.
more than 20 million streams in the 48 hours that followed, and 1996’s Ænima even landed at No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 charts. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-471-7000; 313presents. om. Ti ets are eri ed resale.
SATURDAY, 11/9 Second Annual For the Girls Market @ Loving Touch
ARIANA MOLLY
available for purchase via Guerrilla Food, as will sweet treats by Cake by Maranda. Event begins at 6 p.m.; 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-820-5596; shopoldsoulvintage.com. Admission is min. $2 donation and/or donation of a femine hygiene product.
SATURDAY, 11/9 Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra presents the Music of Star Wars @ Michigan Theater
SHOP + MORE ’Tis the season for shopping, yes, but it’s also the time of year to re ect on ho ble ed yo are. Like, really. Who needs two fucking iPads and an Apple watch? And of course you “lost” your airpods. Anyway, the Annual For the Girls Market returns for its second year to give local vendors an opportunity to hawk their wares for a good cause. Hosted by Old Soul Vintage, the Girls Market seeks to raise money for homeless girls and women. For access to the event’s 15 local vendors and their vintage clothing, antiques, jewelry, and art, shoppers are asked to contribute a minimum of $2 and/or donate feminine hygiene products. The event will also host sounds from Alyssa Wettlaufer, Mike and Joe, Natalie Lucassian, and the True Blue. Vegan and vegetarian food will be
MUSIC It’s hard to believe that we’re less than two months away from the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — the final in tallment of the late t trilogy in the greatest space opera in the history of cinema n the year ince filmma er George Lucas invited us to a galaxy far, far away, the franchise has taken us on a wild ride upon the ol’ Millennium Falcon — from a hunky Harrison Ford, a square-bodied Kylo Ren, the galaxy’s one true princess, a lifesaving Wookie, and, at its worst, Porgs, podracing, and the unforgivable Goofy-inspired CGI disaster Jar Jar Binks. Perhaps the most iconic character is that of the score, crafted by the incomparable John Williams. To commemorate the final entry the nn Arbor Symphony Orchestra will perform
Event begins at 6 p.m.; 140 E. Second St., Flint; 810-237-7333; thewhiting.org. Tickets are $31+.
WEDNESDAY, 11/13 Second annual College for Creative Studies Sexpo @ Taubman Center
SEXPO Sex Education has come a long way since the days of awkward “the birds and the bees” chats with ill-equipped gym teachers. Entering the conversation, once again, is the College for Creative Studies’ annual celebration of enthusiastic consent, gender identity, body positivity, and physical and emotional health. The single-evening sexpo will host an array of vendors and workshops, as well as performances and an art show. Wayne County Safe, which specializes in sexual assault counseling, and support and consent educators Hollaback will be on ite offering re o rce a ill ea and Cookies, men’s peer practice group EMBAC, and the Department of Health, hich ill offer te ting o hia on Stardust will lead a burlesque workshop, and Ypsilanti-based drag troupe Boylesque will return to host sex-ed drag bingo. The sexpo afterparty will take place at PizzaPlex in Southwest, where haireoke host Cole Davis will wig out. Event runs from 4-9 p.m.; 460 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; facebook.com/ ccswellnesscenter. Admission is free.
Thursday 11/7
YaM YaM
Friday 11/8
PhLuFfHeAd
Saturday 11/9
KuNg Fu
WsG ThE JaUnTeE
Wednesday 11/13
FrUiTbAtS
WsG SkYwAy MaN
Friday 11/15
TrAvErS BrOtHeRsHiP
WsG RoYaL GrAnD BaNd
Saturday 11/16
ThE NoRtH 41 WsG MeLoPhObIx
Friday 11/22
FuNnY FrIdAyS Saturday 11/23
RoOtS ViBrAtIoNs
Friday 11/29
RaIsInG ThE DeAd
Saturday 11/30
AlLmAn BrOs BaNd TrIbUtE
FeAt B. LuCaS & K. KuRzAwA FoR TiCkEtS & DiNnEr ReSeRvAtIoNs
ViSiT OtUsSuPpLy.CoM 345 E 9 MILE RD
FeRnDaLe
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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THIS WEEK
Tool, Little Caesars Arena, Nov. 9.
MUSIC Wednesday, Nov. 6 Bob Dylan 8 p.m.; Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor; $152+. Follow the Leader Tour 8 p.m.; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; $39.50. Ghostemane 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $33. Hamtramck Unplugged 2 p.m.; Trixie’s, 2656 Carpenter St., Hamtramck; HIRIE, RDGLDGRN, Kash’d Out 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$17. Hughes/Smith Jam @ Cliff Bell’s m liff ell ar en e Detroit; $10. Ida Mae 7:30 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20. Laura Mendoza Live in Concert m read rt o a ar l d etroit
TRAVIS SHINN
Ben Sharkey ar en e
m liff ell etroit
LULLWATER 7 p.m.; The Machine Shop, 3539 S. Dort Hwy., Flint; $15.
Black Midi 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 ibrary t etroit
Chastity Belt 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, ibrary t etroit
Cadieux Cafe Presents: Slim Gambill from Lady Antebellum 8:30 p.m.; Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Rd., Detroit; $10.
Conan Gray 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25-$39.50.
The California Honeydrops 7:30 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $25.
The Jeff Cuny Trio m ar en e etroit
The Jimmy Blues Band fir t h r day of every month, 9:30 p.m.; Northern ight o nge altimore t Detroit; No cover.
Harley Poe 8 p.m.; The Sanctuary, 1501 Outer Dr E, Detroit; $15-$18. liff ell
Joe Bonamassa 8 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $59-$199. Josie Dunne agina ontiac
m
i e oom
Joseph Arthur m agic ag 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15.
Malaa 8 p.m.; Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay Ave., Detroit; $30-$40.
Sonny Fodera & Dom Dolla 9:30 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $20.
Mar Monroe Love Chronicles Tour 9 p.m.; Cork Town Tavern, 1716 Michigan Ave, Detroit; $12-$20.
U-M School of Music Jazz Showcase m he l e ama a l b 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor;
Phluffhead 9:30 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $17-$20.
Pentagram 7 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, aniff t amtramc
Walk Off the Earth 8 p.m.; Caesars alace ind or g t allroom E. Riverside Dr., Windsor; $39+. .
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong with special guest Dizgo 8:30 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $44.
Stars And Strings 2019 7:30 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $49-$139.
Friday, Nov. 8
Rezz 8 p.m.; Detroit Masonic Temple ibrary em le t etroit
A$AP Ferg: The Yedi Tour 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $55+.
Riot Ten 9:30 p.m.; Elektricity Nightcl b agina t ontiac
Tomeka Reid Quartet 9:30 p.m.; he l e ama a l b ain St., Ann Arbor; $15+. X Ambassadors 6:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $32.28-$52.28.
Thursday, Nov. 7 Aaron Watson 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $23.
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Anthony Gomes 7 p.m.; Token o nge oy d e tland $25. The Big Lonesome 8 p.m.; New Way ar ood ard e erndale The Bill Heid Trio ell ar en e
m liff etroit
BLACKTOP MOJO OTHERWISE
The Schizophonics 8 p.m.; Outer imit o nge aniff t amtramck; $35+ The Score, the Unlikely Candidates, the Orphan The Poet 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$18. Second Hand Mojo w/ The Funk Factory & River Bottom Mud
Junkies 9 p.m.; The Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; $5. Shahida Nurullah & Good Company 7 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; Solomun with Chuck Flask and Soul Goodman 9:30 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Sold-out.
Would It Be Better If I’d Told You... The Tour 9:30 p.m.; Elektricity Nightclub, 15 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $15+.
Sunday, Nov. 10
The
Old
Miami
Angela Yee’s Lip Service Live 8 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $48.
OUR PATIO NIGHTLY BONFIRES ON
ann arbor’s 107one presents Hiss Golden Messenger 7:30 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $22.
WISHING OUR VETS A SAFE & LOVING HOLIDAY!
A Perfect Circle 7 p.m.; Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St., Detroit; Soldout.
Bob Sweet Quartet 11:30 am; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor;
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH
The Bill Heid Trio m liff Bells, 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit; $10.
Fantasia 7:30 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $48.50-$125.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH
Chromeo (DJ Set) 9:30 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $29.99.
Logic: The Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Tour 8 p.m.; Caesars Palace Windsor - Augustus Ballroom, 377 E. Riverside Dr., Windsor; $48+.
Willy Porter 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $25.
Saturday, Nov. 9
Dick Siegel 8 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $20. Evan Mercer Trio m 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit;
liff ell
Fruit Of The Womb/Spacecadet 9 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; FSO Master Works II Classical Concert 7:30 p.m.; The Whiting, 1241 E. Kearsley St., Flint; $25+.
MERAUDER • LEEWAY 7 p.m.; anct ary etroit aniff t amtramck; $15. Sandy Alex G 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $20-$24. Sasha Sloan 6 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20. Sorry Girls 7 p.m.; Deluxx Fluxx, 1274 Library St., Detroit; Free.
Hollywood U2 8 p.m.; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $15.
Sunday Brunch with Jarrod Champion am liff ell Park Avenue, Detroit;
Knocked Loose 6 p.m.; Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $25.
Monday, Nov. 11
Kung Fu 8 p.m.; Otus Supply, 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $17-$20. The Music of Star Wars 8 p.m.; Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; $35. The Roadhouse: A Twin Peaks Party 8-11:30 p.m.; PJ’s Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; $10. Start Making Sense 8 p.m.; Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; $15+. Subtronics, He$h, Chee, Bommer, Level Up 9 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $30. The Interrupters, Skinny Lister, Sharp/Shock 7 p.m.; Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $25-$30.
Cinematic Orchestra 8 p.m.; Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay Ave., Detroit; $25-$30. An Evening with The Flatlanders 7:30 p.m.; The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; $35.
Tuesday, Nov. 12 Dennis Coffey 8 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; Free. Ghost-Note 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $18. K. Michelle - O.S.D. Tour 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $32+. Nile 7 p.m.; The Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland;
The Neighbourhood 7 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $32+.
Nile, Terrorizer 6 p.m.; Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Rd., Westland; $25.
Tool 7:30 & 8 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $120.
Ryan Caraveo 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $14-$60.
Vincent Chandler Septet 7 p.m.; The Blue LLama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; No cover.
White Denim 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $17.
White Reaper, The Nude Party, Wombo 7 p.m.; El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; $15-$18.
THEATER A Christmas Carol Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Saturday Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 10, 2 p.m.; Meadow Brook
~HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANGIE!~
THE FUNK FACTORY, SECOND HAND MOJO, RIVER BOTTOM MUD JUNKIES 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER (TOLEDO FUNK, GROOVES, R&B INVASION!)
~HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GENA!~
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH NOTHING ELEGANT 9PM DOORS / $5 COVER (MONTHLY LADY DJ DANCE)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS!
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH VETERANS DAY! • FREE POOL
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH
TRE LB (RECORD RELEASE), GUERILLA FIST RECORDS, ANT G, FURY, EGYPT, GOOFY MIKE, FLY YOUNG, EJ, BOSS BREAD, GOD ALLMIGHTY ENT., DOUGHBOYY, TRUTH HURTZ, HOSTED BY RUDE BOY + DJ CARLITO
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH
THE FRUITS, WALLY DOGGER, ROTTENMOUTH
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND
COLIN & THE COUGARS, JACK OATS, JENN’S APARTMENT, JAKE WEBB & THE COMMITMENTS
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD
ANCIENT LANGUAGE, TORUS EYES, JOBBALOON
OPEN EVERY DAY INCLUDING HOLIDAYS INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK: THEOLDMIAMI CALL US FOR BOOKING! 313-831-3830
The Old Miami
3930 Cass • Cass Corridor • 313-831-3830
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
25
THIS WEEK
The Music of Star Wars, Michigan Theater, Nov. 9.
Theatre, 207 Wilson Hall, Rochester; $24. Broke-ology Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.; The Blueprint Theatre, 892 W. Baltimore, Detroit; $15-$25. FOLLIES IN CONCERT by Stephen Sondheim & James Goldman Thursday, Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.Theatre Nova, 416 W. Huron, Ann Arbor; $30. Imagination Movers Saturday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m.; Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts, 12 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac; $15-$25. Je’caryous Johnson Presents “Set It Off” Saturday, Nov. 9, 3 & 8 p.m.; The Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit; $65.50+. Jitney Tuesday, 8 p.m.; The Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit; $34-$44. Jonathan Van Ness: Road to Beijing Thursday, Nov. 7, 7, 8 & 10 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $47+. . Little Black Dress The Musical Thursday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 9, 3 & 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 10, 3 p.m. City Theatre, 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $39.50. Love, Hate and Other Oddities Again Thursday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m.; Oakland Community College, Royal Oak Campus, 739 South Washington Ave., Royal Oak; $5+. Mirza Shrine Club of Oakland County Presents: Channel Cat
26 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Saturday Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Detroit Repertory Theater, 13103 Woodrow Wilson Street, Detroit; $25. So You Think You Can Dance Live Sunday 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $55+.
COMEDY
LUCAS FILMS
p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $20. Monday Night Improv Mondays, 8-10 p.m.; Planet Ant Black Box, 2357 aniff treet amtramc Name This Show Fridays, Saturdays, 11:45 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free.
313 Comedy Night Sunday, 8 p.m.; Detroit Shipping Company, 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; Free.
Open Mic Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $5.
All-Star Showdown Fridays, Saturdays, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20.
Pandemonia Every other Friday, 8 & 10 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $20.
Cocktail Comedy Hour process. Fridays, Saturdays, 8-9 p.m.; The Independent Comedy Club at Planet Ant, 2320 aniff e amtramc Eddie Griffin Friday, Nov. 8, 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $42-$55.
Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara, feat. special guest Dana Nessel Tuesday 7 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $39+. Sunday Buffet Sundays, 7 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; $10.
Fresh Sauce Sundays, 9 p.m.; Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; Free.
The Second City Greatest Hits Vol. 59 Thursday Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.; The Capitol Theatre, 140 E. Second St., Flint; $38.50+.
Gus Johnson Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle, 310 S. Troy St., Royal Oak; $25-$50.
Thursday Night Live! Thursdays, m nt all aniff t amtramck; $5.
Jim Breuer Wednesday, Nov. 6, 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $25-$35. Joey CoCo Diaz Thursday Nov. 7, 8 p.m.; Sound Board, 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; $22-$30. John Heffron Thursday, Nov. 7, 7:30
FILM Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour Saturday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.; Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $10-$60.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
27
THIS WEEK
Junk Food Junkies, Trumbullplex, Nov. 7.
Livewire
Local music picks By Jerilyn Jordan
THURSDAY, 11/7 London Beck @ Blind Pig
Ann Arbor’s London Beck is a perfect storm. Burlesque-pop and hip-hop come together ith lo ngey dance oor am for Beck’s recently released six-track Drift EP, on which Beck channels the Weeknd and Ariana Grande with hip-rolling musings on intimacy and late-night decisions. Curiously, their background is a bit more traditional, as Beck has spent most of their life playing piano by ear and close to nine years playing the viola, and a brief stint at New York University as a viola erformance ma or hich might e lain Beck’s penchant for complex and lush arrangments. Atlanta-based artists Mebo and Myleage are also on the bill.
CARRIE LA HUMANA
Doors open at 8:30 p.m.; 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; 734-996-8555; blindpigmusic. com. Tickets are $10.
THURSDAY, 11/7 Soviet Girls, Junk Food Junkies, and Prude Boys with Lisa Prank
Doors open at 7 p.m.; 4210 Trumbull St., Detroit; 313-832-7952; trumbullplex.org. Suggested $5 donation.
FRIDAY, 11/8 Hala, Handgrenades, and Mac Saturn
28 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
SUNDAY, 11/10 Sky Covington’s Billie Holiday Revue @ Tangent Gallery
If Vampire Weekend and Arctic Monkeys had a little music baby, it might sound a little like Detroit’s Ian Ruhala, who ma e fe ti al ready ma e o t am a Hala. t t ala o t t ha been retty damn rolific ince relea ing hi deb t elf titled record hich sounds incredibly uncertain compared to last year’s Jon Zott-produced single orry ala ill be oined by am iric rockers Handgrenades, fronted by Jesse Shepherd-Bates, who are celebrating a decade of shapeshifting rock. Also on the lineup, Detroit foursome Mac at rn ho e record Stomp Shop, could give the Black Keys a run for their guitar-music money.
According to science, hugging another person releases the hormone oxytocin, also referred to as “the bonding molecule,” which can reduce stress, feelings of loneliness, and anxiety. Though there is little to no research based on the longterm effect of li tening to the m ic of the late, great Billie Holiday, we have to imagine it’s not too dissimilar from a hug. The annual Hug Detroit Day Billie Holiday Revue returns to Tangent Gallery ith etroit a main tay y o ington at the helm. The event, which features performances by the Satin Dolls Revue, helly a lla it gerald ina imone as Dinah Washington, Faye Bradford as Nina Simone, and Covington as Lady Day herself, also serves as a coat and blanket drive.
Doors open at 8 p.m.; 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-820-5596; thelovingtouchferndale.com. Tickets are
Doors open at 5 p.m.; 715 E. Milwaukee St., Detroit; 313-873-2955; hugdetroitday. com. Tickets are $10.
@ Loving Touch
@ Trumbullplex
Supporting Seattle-based DIY TMI punk star Lisa Prank and her latest release, Perfect Love Song, are Detroit’s Soviet Girls featuring Anya Baghina, Devin Poisson, and Jonathan Franco. The trio released Filled Up With Nothing last year, which sounds like being trapped at your ex’s house during a snowstorm while his roommates insist on sitting in the living room, too. Also on the bill, Detroit’s deep-fried answer to the Shangri-Las, Junk Food Junkies, who make songs about Chinese takeout, Burger King, and being stranded in the drive-thru (probably at the White Castle on Michigan Avenue in Corktown, if we’re being honest). Rounding out the evening is Prude Boys, who also released easily one of the best local tracks of the year, “Daddy,” this past summer.
$12-$15.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
29
Sturgill Simpson Masonic Temple, Feb. 29, 6:30 p.m., $79.50+
RETO STERCHI
Fast-Forward Gucci Mane Fox Theatre, Nov. 16, 8 p.m, $49+ Moon Duo MOCAD, Nov. 19, 8 p.m., $15 Elvis Costello & the Imposters Michigan Theater, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.; $69.50+ Nick Offerman The Fillmore, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $59.50+ Brockhampton Masonic Temple, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., $45 Devendra Banhart MOCAD, Nov. 31, 8 p.m., $31 Eric B and Rakim Sound Board, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m, $42+ Snoop Dogg The Fillmore, Jan. 26, 8 p.m., $57+ Chance the Rapper Little Caesars
30 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Arena, Feb. 6, 7 p.m.; $59.95 King Princess Royal Oak Music Theatre, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $29+ The Lumineers Little Caesars Arena, Feb. 7, 7 p.m., $34+ Tim & Eric Masonic Temple, Feb. 19, 7 p.m., $47.50+ Blake Shelton Little Caesars Arena, March 21, 7 p.m.; $44+ Billie Eilish Little Caesars Arena, March 23, 7 p.m., Sold-out Elton John Little Caesars Arena, May 1-2, 7 p.m., $235+ Journey DTE ENergy Music Theater, July 5, 7 p.m., $35+ Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy Comerica Park, Aug. 19. 7 p.m., $59.50+
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
31
MUSIC
Jaye Allen Thomas and Lisa Poszywak.
LISA POSZYWAK
A cosmic balance
Rogue Satellites on nearly a decade of creative collaboration By Jeff
The music of Lisa Poszywak and Jaye Allen Thomas — better known as the duo Rogue Satellites — tempers unnerving existential dread with a surreally soothing reverie and cathartic sonic exertion. We’re chatting in their home studio in Detroit about the band’s new EP, Baby I m Jeff, out this week. “I think the original ideas behind most of the Rogue Satellites’ music was kind of a social satire,” says Thomas, noting that much of it was inspired by the self-serious pageantry of music scenes. “Recently it’s been reacting to the world at large, though…” The band’s signature sound of sugarcoating gloom and observing oblivions through softened sheens of the sublime comes from the certain catalyst that could only occur in the musical laboratory of its members’ shared domicile. The overlap of the pair’s artistic venn diagram is that they do both appreciate some of the darker avant-garde, but also can’t deny indulgence of melodic pop — not that these are adrenalineraising dance-tunes, but there is a strangely tranquil sense of restoration when you waltz through one of their
ilo dreamy, dirgey tunes. It’s where electrorock, psychedelic folk, and apocalyptic pop meld together. But there’s something else to their formula. “Having an art school background, I’ve always appreciated when something i hard to define o y a ay Unique to Rogue Satellites, Thomas lays the lyrics and skeletal arrangements down as a songwriter on guitar, but then Poszywak, as a painter and i al arti t effecti ely color in the song, be it with vocal harmonies, synthesizer, bass, or even taking the lead melody. “It’s a balance between polished and unpolished. I’ve grown to dislike super-clean production, because it just loses the life of the song.” “I’ve always loved music and art that was rough, yet beautiful,” says Thomas. “I like things that are ugly and pretty at the same time. I’ve always appreciated artists who have that juxtaposition of the dark and the light, heavy and soft, noisy and calming. That feels like life to me.” The EP’s title is a loose threading of political commentary and art gallery do ble dare hotogra her eff ancelosi playacted for the artistic couple
32 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
during a reception they hosted at or to n t dio moc ing archety al dude-bros as if he would ever sidle up to a bar accosting ladies with “Hey baby m eff homa remember telling ancelo i that he and o y a half-jokingly promised to make that the title for their next release, but it expanded in its commentary when they detected that same kind of toxic strain of entitled machi mo that ancelo i satirized on display in the news during the hearing for reme o rt tice Bret Kavanaugh. “So the title track is a fictitio ong abo t an imaginary douchebag,” Thomas says, “who was inspired by a real life douchebag.” Poszywak served as Gallery Director for eight year at etroit or to n Studios up until 2017; she graduated from and ha ince e hibited works in notable shows locally and nationally. Poszywak stepped back from that position to focus on, among other things, working with Thomas on developing the duo’s new creative headquarters in northwest Detroit. With her painting gallery upstairs and Thomas’ cornucopia of recording gear and instruments downstairs, the two ere able to foc on the e fi e da zling, drifting, space-rock splendors, bouncing them back and forth to producer (and musician) Eric Oppitz (of i ter of o r n hine a or at fir t for input and recommendations, then for mi ing and finally ma tering “Eric’s production really took this EP up a notch,” Thomas says. “I was really
impressed with what he was able to extract from what we did … I was really r ri ed at the difference bet een what we sent him and what we got back. It did become quite collaborative.” Oppitz is a skilled engineer who has worked on several other recordings, but he has a deepened familiarity with Poszywak and Thomas, because he’s been listening to their musical evolution for more than eight years now. Rogue Satellites started out with Thomas and drummer Scottie Stone back in 2007, combining guitar, drums, and a sequencer, but when their collaboration ended, Poszywak stepped in. “We’ve been together, as a couple, for almost 10 years now,” Poszywak says. “And I know that just from the (artistic) proximity, while we’ve worked obviously the most on Rogue Satellites material, but we have done some visual art together, I just think that I’ve become more relaxed and that (Thomas) has become a little more organized. I’m more about structure and linear progression, and he’s kind of the opposite. We accept that and we’ve learned from each other.” “We do come to a middle ground,” Thomas says. “My favorite metaphor for every way in which (Poszywak) has affected me i that before he a in the band, we never had setlists...” hat a the fir t thing to do hen I was just learning this shit,” she says, as they both laugh. “I can’t just go on stage and not know what song’s coming next.” This is the duo’s fourth proper release, following up last year’s fever-dream of fuzz and foreboding earworms, Bla Wings. In fact, these songs were written before the last album came out. That’s actually another reason the couple stepped away from or to n homa cache of ong and lyrics was spilling out, and they needed the necessary time (and solitude) to organize their creations so that one year’s album isn’t tripping over premature installations of future albums. But now, an equilibrium has been achieved. “We like working together as a duo; we wouldn’t want to shift that balance,” Poszywak says. “We just want to keep it as simple as possible.” Beyond that, Thomas says, gesturing to the recording studio’s sound-proofed sanctuary, “I love that we’re able to do this on our own, and on our own terms.” ogue Satellites elebrate an P release sho ith ST S and uddy Bolly on Saturday o . at uter imits ounge Caniff St. etroit outerlimitslounge. om. oors at p.m. Co er is .
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
33
MUSIC
Doug Hammond.
DENEKA PENISTON
A Detroit homecoming
Illustrious drummer Doug Hammond on ‘Moves’ and more By Ana Gavrilovska
Detroit has long been a
pitstop or adopted home for many jazz musicians. For drummer, vocalist, composer, and poet Doug Hammond, it has been both. Born in Tampa, Florida, ammond fir t mo ed here in e was one of the founding members of the Detroit Creative Musicians Association, serving as vice president and coordinator. His work with that organization gave him the space to showcase the work of independent musicians, as well as produce concerts for his own groups, the most vital of which was a highly progressive quintet called Focus Novii. Other members included guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer, trombonist Patrick LaNier, bassist John Dana, and saxophonist William T. Wiggins. These productions went beyond music, incorporating poetry and dramatic dance into their artistic explorations. ammond then left the city in and headed to California to record the
album e e tions in the Sea o urnen which would become indelibly connected to Detroit despite not being recorded or really ever performed here, then split for the jazz mecca New York. n the he ret rned to etroit b t soon moved to Linz, Austria, where he worked as a professor at Bruckner University, teaching drums, composition and en emble e retired in but has maintained residence both here and abroad ever since. Hammond has traversed jazz from back to front and side to side, working in everything from blues and bop to soul jazz and avant-garde, with a healthy dose of classical training to boot. He has also performed with virtually every single Detroit jazz musician under the sun, as well as a whole host of national and international fig re both established and up and coming. These include everyone from celebrated bassist and composer Charles Mingus and living legend tenor saxophonist Sonny
34 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Rollins to the many European players that appear on his most recent album. That album is ay Be Blue, a swingin’ selection of compositions culled mainly from two live performances, one with a quartet and another with a trio. But Hammond is probably best known for two things: composing the song “Moves,” a gingerly groovy tune most familiar from Mingus’ version on ingus o es, where Hammond is joined by Honi Gordon for a vocal duet; and hi o n ribe relea e e e tions in the Sea o urnen, which has become something of a Detroit jazz cult classic, thanks to revived interest in recent years from crate-diggers and the accessibility of reissues. e e tions in the Sea o urnen found a perfect home on Tribe, with the collective’s focus on Black independence, socio-political commentary, and sonic experimentation. Hammond shares a leader role with keyboardist David Durrah, each contributing three
original compositions. The songs are a rhythmic mix of acoustic and electric, including some innovative Fender Rhodes and Moog from Durrah, with a stirring, soulful, honest message that o and ing ith ing lar bea ty Hammond will perform as part of a string of three nights at Detroit’s Trinosophes this week, with an all-star quartet of local musicians, including ight dam on tr m et and gelhorn, Marcus Elliot on tenor sax, and Rocco Popielarski on bass. The Doug Hammond Special will be performing music composed and recorded in Detroit, Paris, and all around the world, incl ding i y rofile a rare harle Mingus composition that appears on ay Be Blue. Hammond spoke with etro Times over the phone from his home in Austria, freely sharing his opinions (he doesn’t like fusion, Freud, or war) and stories (like the one about Mingus you’ll read below), peppering it all with deep laughter and philosophical asides. Metro Times: What drew you to music? Doug Hammond: My father and mother were ballroom dancers in Florida. They danced to the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and
Afro-Cuban music. When I was a small child, my father made me a three-piece suit and took me to the hall where I would see these bands and watch them dance. As I grew, I wanted to be a violin player because I liked the sound of the violin. In elementary school, it was an all-Black school [and they didn’t] have violins, so my mother rented a trombone for me. For one year I did that. I thought that was a good instrument because it was closer to the human voice. In junior high, a band director asked me, “What do you want to play?” I said violin … and he said, “[We have] a violin with a broken neck ... you should buy some drumsticks. We have drums.” [Laughs.] So I said, “OK, I’ll do this,” and I fell in love with the drums. MT: What do you love about the drums? Hammond: I love everything about the drums. Without rhythm, you don’t live. Rhythm is the basis of all of it. MT: Can you tell me about being a part of Tribe? Hammond: When I left Detroit in 1970, I went to California and recorded e e tions in the Sea o urnen. We recorded that in San Francisco with David Durrah and the other guys, some from Detroit. I had already composed “Moves” [while I was] in Detroit, so I composed two other pieces, “Wake Up Brothers” and “For Real,” because my idea was to do something commercial [that was] also against the Vietnam War because I hate war. I thought of it as a project [because I didn’t] really want to play this kind of music on tour, but it needed to be made because this would be something that the guys can take and go on to [make] jobs for themselves. I was studying in Oakland at the time, but things got ridiculous in California because … there was no work. So I got an NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] grant for composition and took that to New York. In New York, a friend of mine had a [space] that was like a meeting place, and I did some seminars there with Reggie Workman and Charles Tolliver. This recording I had, I wanted to do with Strata-East, I had talked with [label founders] Stanley Cowell and Tolliver, but Strata-East was going through some internal things. So [Detroit trumpeter] Marcus Belgrave happened to be in town, he came by the place, and I was telling him about the record and he said, “Why don’t you just put it on Tribe? You’re part of the family!” So that’s how that happened. I never played a live concert with this music, only “Moves.”
MT: So you never play any of those songs live? Hammond: Except “Moves.” “Moves” has a history. “Moves” was originally called “Rita’s Moves,” for my girlfriend [at the time], Rita from Inkster. I was working with [Detroit harpist] Dorothy Ashby — I used to work with her, one of my best jobs was as her drummer. When I wrote “Moves,” I did an arrangement of it, and I asked her if she would look at my arrangement and write some chords to it. She said my chords were OK but that she’d dress it up for me, so she helped me with that. And then I got married, years later in 1971, and I [showed] the lyrics to my wife, I said “What do you think about this? This tune is called ‘Rita’s Moves,’ I wrote the lyrics. They’re beautiful, but I can’t call it ‘Rita’s Moves’.” She said, “Why not? You loved the woman, didn’t you?” I said, “That’s nice. But why don’t I just call it ‘Moves’”? [Laughs] MT: Can you tell us about Mingus? Hammond: When I was living in the Village, we had this half-basement where we lived where we could play until [late] at night. [Mingus’] trumpet player needed a place to sleep, so the saxophone player who I was living with, he brought the trumpet player over one day … He heard us, and he said, “Man, the way you write, you should have a job!” … [Detroit drummer] Roy Brooks was in [Mingus’ band at the time], but he was bipolar, so Mingus was having some problems. The trumpet player said, “I told Mingus about you, and he said that you can have the gig! So tomorrow I’m going to come over and go over a few songs.” … When we played the gig, I could read everything [because] we had the charts there, but I’d never seen the music of Mingus. But when we played, I played it all. After, Mingus took me around and said, “Nobody ever plays my music the fir t time o ld yo con ider or ing in my band?” So I swallowed a couple times and said, “Yes, sir.” [Laughs] But the thing is, when I was in Florida, my teacher was from New York and he said, “If you want to play with somebody, learn their repertoire.” Mingus didn’t know I had learned everything I could that he ever recorded. I had learned the t ff tho ght it loo ed a little different, but I knew it already. So I never told him I had learned it, and he was just like, “Wow!” [Laughs] oug ammond per orms on Thursday o . Friday o . and Saturday o . at Trinosophes ratiot e etroit - trinosophes. om. oors open at p.m. ea h night. Ti ets are rst t o ro s general admission.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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MUSIC
Carolyn Striho.
LYNN MASLOWSKI
A lifetime of rock ’n’ roll Rocker Carolyn Striho releases her first book By Jim McFarlin
This appears to be the year
for several of rock’s legendary artists — Elton John, Debbie Harry, Ringo Starr — to publish their memoirs. So it only eem fitting that one of etroit resident rock legends — the ageless, irrepressible Carolyn Striho — should choo e to relea e her fir t e er book, as well. Detroit (Maiden Energy), published in ctober by etroit ba ed ari re i a collection of inger g itari t iani t ong riter triho original lyrics and haunting personal introspec tions, amassed over decades of chal lenging and captivating audiences here and overseas. he time etroit ic ard winner’s most recent album, Afterthought, made it onto the Grammy ard fir t ballot for e t oc lb m of the ear o hat harder Carolyn Striho? Recording a great alb m or com iling a fir t boo o mean a far a tting a hole
record together versus putting the book together?” asks Striho, who’ll be promoting both words and music in concert Saturday night at Cadieux afe ell yeah thi a different t a a little harder for me beca e d ne er done it hen a or ing on a memoir reali ed it a going and going had age of riting and it a going to be don t no yo d ant to call it an ordeal, but it would be re ally di c lt Detroit (Maiden Energy) was initially concei ed a a memoir by ari re o ner bli her eather chanan really hed the idea of an actual memoir, but Carolyn felt she’s not ite ready chanan ay he said she had a lot of interesting stories to tell, but she wasn’t sure how much to reveal. She’s still mentally sorting out her past.” Well, yeah. Hers is a rock ’n’ roll past, and Striho has lived it so long that she co ho ted etroit fir t alternati e
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music radio show, Radios in Motion, on WDET and once released a vinyl EP. “Going through a lifetime of rock ’n’ roll, there’s a lot to say — and some of it ind of cra y he confe e o no yo go thro gh t ff and thin hat ho ld t in here abo t this? t o ld ma e for great reading b t it li e mmm o itched aro nd to ell e been anting to collect my poetry and lyrics for years, so let’s make it become that kind of thing.’” Even with that sea change in direc tion, however, Striho was still faced ith the age old fr tration defined by ob eger in gain t the ind hat to leave in, what to leave out. t e t tting more in t ting more in beca e had o m ch she says. “Then after everything was retty m ch aid and done fo nd a ton more t ff o m really lea ed ith ho it t rned o t b t feel li e anted more yo no t li e h tho ght had that oem in there or
hat didn t t that lyric in t fig red eo le are robably not going to want to read 300 pages, so at some oint had to to ell that co ld be material for oo o t hy oo ne no after all thi time eca e eo le clo e to me were asking, and the ‘you shoulds’ were tarting to come o t he ay began thin ing aybe they re right triho tan a ere re ie ed and catalog ed by chanan ho re m
SCOTT DAILEY
ably never worked with a rock ’n’ roll street princess before. “Yes, that is correct,” Buchanan says, laughing. “Carolyn was referred to me by one of the fir t oet e er bli hed ohn e re he told me he li ed hat had done ith ohn or and a ed if o ld be intere ted m ician my elf li e her broad range of talent beyond roc he ble me away at her recent Hamtramck show with her classically trained piano skills, hich ne nothing abo t Detroit (Maiden Energy) is neatly structured into three broad headings, oem bo t ro ing oem bo t o e and ar and ong of o e o ld that real life co ld be o ea ily organi ed triho i a brea t cancer r i or and ad ocate fter her decades-long marriage to husbandmanager Freddie Brooks ended, she fo nd lo e again and ed g itari t cott Dailey, an integral member of her band. ancer a a r ri e b t g e it i for e erybody h h m e triho ho or ing on a ne for “You go through a lot, and you adjust to e erything o g e e t ad ted mean hat el e co ld do e had di c ltie ith certain thing and yo can ha e aftereffect b t yo no hat m gratef l m doing retty good and m really ha y to tell yo that.” On top of it all, her full-time “day gig” is teaching English to high school ecial ed cation t dent t hard to believe anyone who has seen Carolyn triho on tage o ld mi ta e her for a special-ed teacher. hile he concede time and circ m-
stances have toned her down a little — at least, she sits behind her keyboard more than he ed to triho remains an aggressive, melodic, wildly sensual force of nature in concert. The opening stanza to her poem “Running on ce erha inad ertently e o e a en e of hat it li e to ee triho in performance: “Like running on ice, fell down, so frozen I needed direction or some kind of discovery I heard electric sounds and excited hounds barking all night long” tr ly adore thi boo and not t beca e m the bli her chanan ay t contain the heart and o l of a songwriter, a Detroiter through and through, who experienced the ebb and o of life in thi great city arolyn has seen a lot and been through a lot, but her spirit soars.” Buchanan describes Detroit (Maiden Energy) as “a poetic memoir set to muic t roc it o l it gy y ri h iddle a tern rench anadian t represents just about every cultural o ri h im rinted on thi city ery verse, whether it’s a song lyric or not, is musical.” Carolyn Striho and her band will perform at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Cadieux Café, 4300 Cadieux Rd.., Detroit; 313882-8560; cadieuxcafe.com, Striho will sign copies of her new book, Detroit aiden nergy treet rince oem yric .
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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CULTURE Gay Jesus, take the wheel
‘Queer Eye’ star Jonathan Van Ness on his new memoir, being a cat dad, and why the totality of gender binary is a beauty myth By Jerilyn Jordan
In the sixth grade, Jonathan Van Ness had an idea: He would try out for his school’s talent show by doing a lyrical interpretative dance to Jewel’s 1995 track “Pieces of You.” Eager to share his sure-to-shine routine with his mother, a woman whom he describes as being both supportive and professional, Van Ness performed the spectacle in its entirety in the family basement. When he fini hed hi mother fell ilent and took his hands in hers. “Jack, if you do this, if you try out with this, the kids will never let you live this down. They will always remember you for this,” she said. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he fear of re ection or not fitting in as a result of his dance as suggested by his mother did not keep “little baby queen Jack” — which is how Van Ness often likes to refer to his adolescent, fig re ating ob e ed o dered doughnut-loving self — from performing at the talent show in a handmade ff y aint hirt f anything it a an early indicator that he was made up of many pieces and parts, all of which are on full fabulous display in his recent n inching New York Times bestselling memoir, Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love. Ever since Van Ness pranced onto screen as the Fab Five’s bubbly, twirling, “yas queen” grooming expert on the mmy ard inning et i reboot of Queer Eye last year, the 32-year-old hairstylist, comedian, and podcast host has curled, tweezed, and moisturized his way into our hearts, homes, and daily skincare regimens, all while wearing lots of mesh, many a crop top, and sky-high platforms, slaying stigmas and shifting the global conversation as “a member of the bea tif l o iti e community.” Van Ness, who performs on Thursday at the Fillmore with two shows, is having a major gorgeous moment. We talk to Van Ness on Halloween. i n tagram tory feed from the day ho ed an e re aring coffee twirling around his spacious kitchen, and admiring his four — yes, four — cats: Genevieve, Matilda, Harry Larry, and Liza Meow-nelli. Naturally, he
was dressing as a cat for the holiday, a co t me that i all too fitting con id ering being a cat dad has served as a lifeline for Van Ness, who managed to escape the tense conservative climate of hi r ral hometo n of incy llinoi at the age of 17 to attend the University of Arizona on a partial cheerleading cholar hi e o ld e ent ally n out, as he was blowing his monthly $200 allowance on cocaine and other party supplies. Too ashamed to ask for more money he began offering e in exchange for pay on gay personal sites and chat rooms, eventually working regularly as a sex worker. During his escorting months, however, Van Ness happened upon a little black kitten under the hood of a car, which he took in and named Bug. He would sleep with Bug on the couch each night, promising the kitten that he would get him o t of the filthy a artment and chaotic lifestyle. Bug died last year, after 13
deepens your ability to love — even if it’s just, like, yourself.” Loving yourself is absolutely the ethos of Van Ness’s memoir and of the revived Queer Eye, which is less about the “metrosexuality” makeover of the show’s 2003 original run and more focused on syncing the internal with the external of those men, women, and non-binary folks who have gotten lost along the not-always glamorous, but unassumingly spiritual path to self-care. The series, which, since making its debut in 2018, has produced four seasons, one special, and a set of episodes set in Japan, which was released earlier this month. Van Ness’s choice to write and release a memoir amid QE’s filming ched le a comedy to r daily gymna tic and fig re ating practice (sometimes with his idol and two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan), hosting Funny or Die’s Emmy Award-nominated recap series “Gay of
‘There are so many different ways that we can express gender. So, really, the gender binary itself is a much newer historical phenomenon.’ year ith an e g hom he adopted a year later, tragically fell from his apartment window in August. “Cue uncontrollable sobbing,” Van Ness pre-warns during our phone call. t thin that if yo re tr ggling with learning how to love yourself — hich definitely a hen met g the fir t a li e and going thro gh a lot — to be consistently shown unconditional love by another living being is so helpful because that means you have to show up for another living thing and be there for that thing and make sure it has a roof over its head,” he says. “You have something else to love. thin being a cat arent did ind of help me learn how to take care of myelf and t thin that cat arent hi or any sort of animal parentship really
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Thrones,” and maintaining his podcast, Getting Curious, where he asks probing e tion ch a there an n lin crisis happening in the U.S.?” to “How many cat am allo ed to fo ter before it’s illegal?” — had little to do with an Oprah “aha” moment. Van Ness needed space. thin it a ind of a collection of experiences, like the success of Queer Eye b t al o ind of no ing that a omeone ho a li ing ith and was someone who survived abuse and has had disordered eating. There were o many thing that anted to tal about more openly. So it wasn’t really one moment he ay t a a lot of things: The political climate and the constant attack on LGBTQ+ American and eo le li ing ith in the
United States under the Trump-Pence administration.” At 25, Van Ness visited a Planned arenthood after e eriencing li e symptoms and fainted at a hair salon. e t re ealed that he a o iti e “That day was just as devastating as you would think it would be,” he writes of the experience in Over the Top. Though he admits he was nervous to appear vulnerable as he does so many times in his book, detailing his sex addiction, experiences with meth, sex work, rehab, the death of his beloved te father and diagno i an Ness was more concerned with getting it right and making sure the information abo t a ell re earched and cientifically o nd o that hi story is out, he’s just ready to do the or n the a t year he met ith Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to discuss the importance of the Equality Act, locked arms with congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and had very cute fangirl moment with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he has publicly endorsed for president for her Medicare-for-all platform after mi lacing hi med he co t to replace? $3,500 out of pocket with high-tier insurance coverage. can g arantee yo that there nothing that co ld e er go thro gh [that] could be more tiring or frustrating than learning to navigate all of the different thing that yo ha e to na igate hen yo find o t that yo are o iti e and all of thi di crimina tion and stigmatizing and misunderstanding that you will face when you’re finding doctor and finding li e hat your new normal is,” Van Ness says. “Which is just such a shame because it really ho ldn t ha e to be a di c lt and gut-wrenching as it is.” he fir t time e ee an e in action as Queer Eye’s resident-stylist, he e laining to the ab i e fir t project, a bearded, rugged, car-loving, recluse named Tom, that SPF is the key to ee ing hi ba ed in are ups at bay and, like some Elle Woods realness, breaks down the ingredients in his body wash, informing him that they’re the same ingredients used to
CULTURE The art of the troll MOCAD exhibition stirs controversy By Lee DeVito
A little more than a century ago,
Marcel Duchamp famously pushed the limits of what could be considered art when he took a urinal, rotated it 90 degrees, signed it with the pseudonym “R. Mutt,” and submitted it to the Society of Independent Artists’ inaugural exhibition in New York. At the time, the work ignited a debate within the Society, with the show’s committee writing that the work “is by no definition a or of art he e York Dadaists later defended the work in an editorial. “Whether Mr Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance,” they wrote. “He CHOSE it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful ignificance di a eared nder the new title and point of view — created a new thought for that object.” In the end, Duchamp won; today, “Fountain” is regarded by art historians as a major landmark in 20th-century art. he contem orary arti t ichard Prince puts a 21st-century spin on the concept in his latest exhibit, which is now hanging at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit — and like Duchamp, he has also sparked a controversy. For the show, Prince took screenshots of other people’s Instagram posts, adding his own nonsensical comments in the post’s replies. He then enlarged the screenshots, printing them on can a e ome more than fi e feet tall he ho hich i h ng at salon-style, went up last month. Like scrolling through Instagram’s infinite algorithmically dri en feed the experience of walking through the show, a phantasmagoria of seemingly unconnected images, is certainly disorienting. It features a mix of images pulled from both relative unknowns, as well as celebrities like Miley Cyrus, drag queen Violet Chachki, transgender o be tar igi orgeo a ell a brands like Afropunk. Many of the selfies and photos have a strong feminist streak, with the women subverting the male gaze by presenting themselves as sexualized yet confrontational, and accom anied ith elf a rming ca tions. Prince gives himself the last word, however, with his gibberish replies, ritten in hat he call irdtal he
comments are written from a number of different acco nt beca e rince allegedly keeps getting banned from Instagram for breaking posting rules — like richardprince1234 and joankatz, which is the name of a longtime friend. All are written in the same nonsensical style, and are the last thing the viewer sees when reading the image from top to bottom n e am le ran lation which is more essential? Beauty or tr th here no ol tion in ord idelity or freedom he an ietie of one’s own past and its connection to the parallel impact of an invading army. re there fig re in yo r family yo feel driven to emulate? And if not, why? Is it [too] much to ask for a modest oil portrait?” And that’s one of the more coherent one he e hibition re licates the uncanny valley experience of using the internet in 2019, where you can’t tell if you’re engaging with real people or Russian troll farms or bots. Is it art? Of course it is. Is it good art? hat al ay been to the beholder But Zöe Ligon, a sex educator who runs the Detroit-based sex-toy store Spectrum Boutique, put the show on blast last week, objecting to the use of a elfie lled from her n tagram account. In the original Instagram post, Ligon appears in a daring red bra, and follows it with a caption decrying laws against sex workers and sex acts. “I don’t care if you masturbate to my mostly naked body as long as you listen to what I have to say about sexual freedom, which inherently includes matters of class, race, gender and ability,” she wrote in the caption, in part. “We cannot divorce the enjoyable aspects of pleasure from the injustices and oppression that permeate every layer of society.” In his “Birdtalk” comment, Prince replies, “Red Bra & 21throw others. Right no olden tate arrior are illin it Arugula salad. Sum potato chips & Diet Coke. Looks 2B cousins and nieces. Sold back to Jerry Lee.” On Friday, Ligon posted a photo on her Instagram of workers installing a canvas featuring her image at MOCAD. “I didn’t consent to my face hanging in this art gallery,” she writes, in part, in the caption. “What Richard is doing is questionably legal, but even if some-
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thing is legal and ‘starts a dialogue’ it doesn’t mean you should actually do it. ot all legal thing are ethical hi in my opinion, is a reckless, embarrassing, and uninformed critique of social media and blic domain hi i a ro riation art or hi i n t rogre i e thi i n t even subversive. Maybe it was when he began doing this in 1977, but in 2019 it’s tone deaf.” Ligon also said the use of her image made her feel exploited. “I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse,” she writes. art of the rea on ta e e y elfie i because I am reclaiming my own sexuali ed image o ee my image on the all of MOCAD feels as though a picture I’ve taken of myself to reclaim my sexual body is being used to violate me all over again i en that million of eo le are sexually assaulted each year, I imagine I’m not the only one who feels this work is a violation of boundaries on a much deeper level.” As of Monday, Ligon’s post has garnered more than 36,000 likes. MOCAD director Elysia BorowyReeder released a statement defending the work. It reads: “Like many contemporary cultural institutions, MOCAD has always been a space for the playing out of di arate and con icting idea e state in our mission that we fuel critical dialogue, we are proud of the critical and important work we are doing to present progressive and challenging artists and exhibitions for a t a dience he or in the exhibition are not for sale, and are designed to prompt discussions about context, ownership, and originality e tion fir t a ed in an institutional setting over 100 years ago by Marcel Duchamp, and more pressing than ever in our world of social media and big data. We invite audience/visitors to our free public programs to engage in the dialogue. MOCAD presents over 17 exhibitions and over 250 free public programs a year. A talk by Brian Wallis on the work of Richard Prince will be held on Nov. 7 with a community dinner to follow, furthering the discussion. RSVP would be greatly appreciated. he oint of the e hibition i to
speak about these issues of ownerhi and a the e e tion hi i a very relevant discussion. Is social media empowering people or coopting artistic production? Where do our expectations and perceptions around privacy and consent lead us when using social media? What are you consenting to when posting? Is all photography exploitive? MOCAD respects the opinions
A picture of pictures of pictures at MOCAD.
of the community that it serves and artists that are exhibited and stands by their right to express themselves freely. With regard to the subject of the portrait, as soon as I learned of her concern I reached out and invited her to come and speak and share concerns. We met before the show opened to the public at the Museum. We asked if she wanted us to remove the work from the
LEE DEVITO
exhibition and at the time, she said that she did not want it taken down unless we removed all the works in the exhibition. MOCAD has no plans to censor the entire exhibition. Anyone who undertakes a Richard Prince show understands that some i itor may ha e di c lty ith the work. We invite their perspectives and further discussions about Richard’s artwork.”
MOCAD was likely not blindsided by the controversy. ArtNews reports that when Prince showed the work in New York in 2014, he was hit with at lea t fi e la it from eo le ho objected to the use of their images in the show. In 2015, Missy Suicide, the founder of the Suicide Girls pin-up collective, sold her own versions of images appropriated by Prince for $90 each, vastly undercutting Prince’s
reported gallery price of $90,000. In the show’s artist statement, Prince seems to know how his work might be received. “‘Trolling?’” he writes. “If you say so.” Richard Prince: Portraits is on view through Jan. 5 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit; 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-6622; mocadetroit.org.
metrotimes.com | November 6-12, 2019
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CULTURE
Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis in Jojo Rabbit.
Ha ha, Holocaust? By Corey Hall
Johannes “Jojo� Betzler
oman ri n a i i a retty reg lar year old id circa erlin e lo e dra ing bi e ride cam ing and mo t of all he lo e dolf itler i adoration for the great de ot i o com lete that the lad ha an elaborate fanta y life in hich er hrer ai a aititi i hi imaginary be t friend and mentor e en if hi ad ice i generally terrible and he ee habit ally offering the boy cigarette dolf i an n orthy idol real or imagined b t o o i h ngry for male a ro al a hi father ha been a ay on the frontline for t o year and i re med mi ing o ro ide tr ct re and conform to the ational ociali t life tyle o o i enli ted in the itler o th and ent to a mmer training cam nder the n atchf l eye of the amboyant dangero ly ca alier a tain len endorf am oc ell a illed b t carele oldier ho ha been relegated to babyitting a b nch of tittygrabber
ean hile o o other o ie carlett ohan on trie aliantly to t on a ha y face and ing and dance her ay thro gh the daily de ri ation of artime tho gh he miling to hide m ch more than t her feeling abo t the hird eich fter an accident ith a hand grenade end the boy home to reco er o t of boredom he t mble on om bigge t ecret he been hiding a e i h f giti e in her home he teen girl hidden in the cra l ace i l a homa in c en ie a cla mate of o o decea ed i ter and a fiercely intelligent and re o rcef l r i or ally terrified and fa cinated by the girl tra ed in hi all o o begin interrogating her abo t the trange and ic ed e i h o er he been con inced he o e e b t begin to learn more and more abo t her hi tory her er onality and her dream ent ally thi tentati e bond ill be ital to their m t al r i al in the chao nfolding all aro nd them
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KIMBERLEY FRENCH, TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
a ting one of hi tory mo t e treme mon ter a a goofy comedic foil i an a dacio and intentionally aggre i e mo e b t Jojo Rabbit i not concerned ith laying it afe f the remi e eem in bad ta te recall that el roo made moc ery of the a i one of hi career trademar year ago and that ame irit of irre erence i on di lay here he ab rdi t comedy i deli ered ith all the btlety of a blit rieg a a lt a in a cene here an ad lt tra an e lo i e to a child bac and tell him to go h g an merican n another rec rring bit a room f ll of o cer indi id ally e change ieg eil al te to a ridic lo length of re etition ho gh there are broad la tic moment and b r t of heer illine the o e or be t hen they re nder layed and o trageo line are almo t thro n a ay he ca al cr elty and the bl nt e re ion of hoc ingly horrible idea i intended to ho the banality of e il and the in anity that often ee reg lar fol in large cale atrocitie irector and tar ai a aititi (Thor: Ragnarok What We Do in the Shadows ha b ilt a re on hi ir y dead an i i indie en ibility b t here
Jojo Rabbit Rated: PG-13 Run-time: 108 minutes he cran ed the inten ity to ele en tyli tically aititi eem to ha e borro ed ite a bit from e nder on echoing nder on fa tidio ne colorf l com o ition and attention to eriod detail do n to e ery la t b tton on the niform hi ecificity hel gro nd the goofier moment in reality and ma e the ieter more emotionally harro ing moment bet een the la gh more effecti e he ca t i niformly great from the yo ng tar to ace comedy ro li e ebel il on and te hen erchant ho nail the tric y tone and ohan on ho get a l m role and deli er one of her mo t engaging erformance Jojo Rabbit ill be olari ing and on t or for ome b t it re ard the o en minded ith belly la gh and a r ri ingly rich emotional e erience he hi la h bet een gag and earne t drama create ome arring tonal hift b t then ar doe n t ta e the time to ea e yo into the ne t cene
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CULTURE
Lori Beth Coolidge.
COURTESY PHOTO
Higher Ground
The pot poet By Larry Gabriel
Cannabis brings out the creative in some people. There are stoner bands and music and artwork and even literature. A few weeks back, I referred to the “poetry of strain naming” in a discussion of a new way of identifying train by ea y com t t seems that people get super hyperbolic hen it come to naming their o er It may be the very personal sense of creativity, of having spawned a strain that is extremely pleasing and never existed before. It could be the result of careful breeding, it could be a fortunate spin on the roulette wheel of DNA. Whatever it is, growers feel the right to wax poetic about the creations they 46 November 6-12, 2019 | metrotimes.com
helped bring to bear. What else would lead one to name their cannabis Wonder Diesel, Everest Queen, Black Widow, Butterscotch Hawaiian, Full Moon, or White Widow? You might say that the strain-namer was likely high when these thoughts itted into her brain nd that may well be true. But you might also say that cannabis brings out the poet in eo le ho ha n t mo ed a oint and suddenly began having deep, meaningful feelings that they want to put into words? Some people put their thoughts into a lot of words. Lori Beth Coolidge is one of them. She’s been reading her verse at
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CULTURE cannabis events around town since 2015 hen he fir t read at the a h a h This past week, she did her thing at the Pumpkin Cup and at Dab-o-Ween, using the names of strains as the driving force of the iece Coolidge is a retired International rotherhood of lectrical or er member who uses cannabis to help treat her lti le clero i a an electrician ay oolidge “When I was diagnosed, they wouldn’t let me or anymore ref ed to ta e all those pills — the medicines — so e mari ana in tead m an acti i t a one of the one r nning around saying sign my petition for legali ation The poetry bug hit Coolidge long before he enco ntered cannabi t been a lifelong practice, and she keeps a noteboo to cribble her er e do n They feed the work in her two selfpublished books, Without a Doubt and About the Truth, sold proudly from the tr n of her car “I’ve been writing poetry since I was in fifth grade hen fo nd o t co ld write poetry that people actually listen
to
he ay t a an o tlet for me oolidge ha a ne o tlet coming She’s scheduled to perform in a Shawn ntertainment re entation of The Vagina Monologues in ebr ary t before she moves on to an entirely different subject matter, let’s check out the iece he feat red in la t ee e ent All the references to strain names or cannabis products are capitalized: For my 420 Friends Lemon Wheel was tired of rolling around San Fernando Valley he saw Gorilla Glue and Cindy 99 standing in line in an alley Black Water was the club they were waiting to get in he saw the Cannaoil crew come around the bend everybody stopped-stared-and froze when in came Tangie with Black Sugar Rose Cherry Pie stepped on the scene Lemon Wheel knew this was the place to be a Purple Alien walked in the place everyone gave him plenty of space because all about and surrounding
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You might say that the strainnamer was likely high when these thoughts flitted into her brain. And that may well be true. But you might also say that cannabis brings out the poet in people. were 4 big Rockstar Romulans he pulled out some buds some Galaxy God people all around started to smile and nod Kalifa came out with some Fortune Cookies White Fire called him out said he was a rookie Wicked Alien had Cotton Candy then Deadhead decided to rip off rannies Panties She hit him on the head with a Nine Pound Hammer he ran to get help from a Critical Mass called Bruce Banner this caught the attention of the Cannaoil Crew Shatter, Rosin, Sap and Crumble too
then all of a sudden they started to rumble dude Burmese Kush kicked Permafrost into the Vortex looking around at Space Jill saying bitch you next Sensei Star was smoking Green Crack when Keif and Hash jumped on his back the place was looking like Chernobyl when someone yelled out oh no! then out of the sky Captain ir ame ying by with his award-winning Key Lime pie got everybody high no one could deny Cap’n Kirk won the top prize When it comes to creative output, marijuana is often the gift that keeps on gi ing
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Savage Love
CULTURE
By Dan Savage
Q:
I am male. A close female friend was raped by an old acquaintance of mine. I knew this guy when we were tweens, I didn’t really care for him as we got older, so it goes. It turns out that a few years ago, he raped my friend in an alcohol blackout situation. I don’t know more than that. She says she considers the encounter “not strictly consensual” and on ded that this guy didn t rea t well when she tried to talk to him about it. This isn’t something she’s “out” about. My feelings toward this guy are pretty dark. Now he’s moved back to town and I see him around, and some good friends of mine who stayed in onta t ith him in ite him to stuff. I don’t know what to say or how to act. I know I don’t want to talk to him or be his friend. I would like to tell my other friends about this guy so I don’t have to see him, but I can’t because it’s not my story to tell. I would rather just skip social events he’s at. But without an explanation, I doubt my friends will understand, and it feels like I’m surrendering my friends to someone who assaulted a dear friend. I told someone once to please not invite him to something or I would skip it. They were confused, and it felt like an awkward ask. What should I say to my friends about this guy? What can I do to keep him out of my life? — ngry Con dant
A : “I don’t like hanging out with
Chuck and would appreciate it if you didn’t invite him to the party/show/ bris/whatever.” “What’s the issue between you guys?” “Look, we go a long way back, and it’s not something I want to discuss. It’s just awkward for us to be in the same place.” That’s the best you can do without outing your friend — without telling a story that isn’t yours to tell — and it’s likely your mutual friends will be confused by the ask, AC, but you’ll just have to be at peace with that. You could add something vague that omits identifying details (“He did a shitty thing to a friend”), but any details you share — however vague — could result in questions being put to you that you can’t answer or are tempted to answer. Even worse, questions will be put to “Chuck,” and he’ll be free to lie, minimize, or spin. My only other piece of advice would be to follow your close female friend’s lead. You describe what transpired between her and Chuck as rape, while your friend describes the encounter as “not strictly consensual.” That’s a little more ambiguous. And just as this isn’t
your story to tell, AC, it’s not your experience to label. If your friend doesn’t describe what happened as rape — for whatever reason — you need to respect that. And does your friend want Chuck excluded from social events hosted by mutual friends or is she able to tolerate his presence? If it’s the latter, do the same. If she’s not making an issue of Chuck being at a party, you may not be doing her any favors by making an issue of his presence yourself. If you’re worried your friend tolerates h c re ence to a oid con ict and that being in the same space with him actually upsets her (or that the prospect of being in the same space with him keeps her from those spaces), discuss that with her one-on-one and then determine — based on her feelings and her ask — what, if anything, you can do to ad ocate for her effecti ely without white-knighting her or making this not-strictly-consensual-and-quitepossibly-rapey thing Chuck did to her all about you and your feelings. It’s really too bad Chuck reacted badly when your friend tried to talk to him about that night. If he’s an otherwise decent person who has a hard time reading people when he’s drunk, he needs to be made aware of that and drink less or not drink at all. If he’s a shitty person who takes advantage of other people when they’re drunk, he needs to know there will be social and potentially legal consequences for his behavior. The feedback your friend offered thi g y the ay he tried to hold him accountable — could have prevented him from either fucking up like this again (if he’s a decent but dense guy) or taking advantage like this again (if he’s a shitty and rapey guy). If he was willing to listen, which he wasn’t. And since he wasn’t willing to listen … yeah, my money is on shitty and rapey, not decent but dense.
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Q:
I’m a single straight man. A friend recently told me her 20-year marriage hasn’t included sex for the past six years. ids stress et . I offered to ha e sex with her, but only if her husband approves. If I were her husband, I would want to know. But I think it’s unlikely her husband would approve our coital encounter. Have I done wrong? —Married Asshole Refuses Intercourse To ffe tionate ady
A : If discreetly getting sex outside
her marriage allows your friend to stay married and stay sane, and if she doesn’t get caught, and if the sexual connection with her husband should revive after their kids are older — a lot of ifs, I realize — then the condition you set could result in your friend and her husband getting divorced now, which would preclude the possibility of their sexual connection reviving later. (Although we shouldn’t assume that sex has to be part of a marriage for it to be loving and valid. Companionate marriages are valid marriages.) That said, your friend is free to fuck some other guy if she doesn’t like your terms. Finally, MARITAL, unless you’re brainstorming names for a My Chemical Romance cover band, there’s really no reason to use the phrase “our coital encounter.”
Q:
I’m a straight 45-year-old man. Good-looking. Three college degrees and one criminal conviction. Twice divorced. I’ve had some intense relationships with women I met by chance — one knocked on my door looking to borrow an egg — so I know I can impress women. But online dating doesn’t work for me because I m only e oot se en. ost omen online lter me out based on height. The other problem is that I’m extremely depressed. I’m trying to work on the depression (seeing a psychiatrist and
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a psychologist), but the medications don’t seem to do much for me. This is probably due to my alcoholism. I’d lo e to start my online pro le by boldly proclaiming my height and my disdain for shallow women who disregard me for it, but that would come across as bitter, right? —Serious Heartbreak Over Relationship Travails
A:
here are lenty of fi e foot tall women out there, SHORT, women you’d tower over. But there are very few women who would respond positively — or at all — to a man whose online dating rofile dri ed ith contem t for women who don’t want to fuck him. Rejection sucks, I know, but allowing yourself to succumb to bitterness only guarantees more rejection. nd fir t thing fir t ee or ing on your depression with your mentalhealth team and please consider giving up alcohol. (I’m sure you’ve already considered it. Reconsider it.) No one is looking for perfection in a partner and no one can offer erfection — but if dating you is likely to make someone’s life harder, SHORT, they aren’t going to want to date you. So get yourself into good working order and then start looking for a partner. And since you know you have better luck when you meet people face-toface, don’t spend all your time on dating a n tead find thing yo like to do and go do them. Maybe you can pick a presidential candidate you like — one who supports coverage for mental-health care? — and volunteer on their campaign. On the Lovecast: A drug that cures heartbrea Seriously. isten at savagelovecast.com. Questions? mail@ savagelove.net. Follow @fakedansavage on Twitter. Impeach the mofo already: ITMFA.org.
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CULTURE
Horoscopes By Cal Garrison
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 Teetering on the edge, you don’t know if you’re coming or going. The need for patience, not just with others but with the situation itself, competes with the idea that you can’t wait to get on with the show. Your role in this situation has changed too many times for you to be sure which part you need to play in order to get things rolling. Holding steady when the god of uncertainty is drunk as a skunk and ringing up all of your primary issues is where it’s at right now. If it’s hard to be cool with this, get real enough to see that it can only be healed changed fi ed from the inside out.
LEO: July 21 – August 20 The intensity of things is always an issue. You go so deeply into every a ect of yo r e erience yo don t leave yourself enough room to lighten up. I see all kinds of wheels and deals making it seem as if wheeling and dealing ma e a difference o no better than to get too wrapped up in erficialitie o re rro nded by eo le ho are la e to that t ff he need to walk the line between the inner and o ter a ect of yo r e erience will see you learning a lot about what happens when you let what looks good on paper eclipse any sense of what’s real and true.
SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 21 – Dec. 20 You keep going back and forth, b ffeted by the him and conf ion of others. As you try to get things to meet in the middle, signals keep getting crossed, and everyone’s got something to say about it. Knowing enough not to let what other people think about you press your buttons takes ob ecti ity ith go i ying thing could easily get out of hand before you know it. Keep yourself centered. Loose talk is of no consequence. Don’t waste your energy trying to set people straight. In the midst of mountains of etty non en e yo d do ell to find better things to do.
TAURUS: April 21 – May 20 Now that you’ve been uplifted by the winds of change, you’re ready to hare the e citement and in ect a little joy and hope into all of your connections. Pouring new life into your everyday activities is bound to attract a whole raft of interesting people onto the scene. Money issues are less important than you make them. Stay tuned to the channel that broadcasts abundance because Jupiter’s ready to trine yo r n n i ee he ll roll in ith possibilities that will come through old associates and old friends or anything that revolves around the desire to travel, study, or teach.
VIRGO: August 21 – Sept. 20 You’re going into this with your finger cro ed ho ing that thing t rn out for the best. There’s nothing to worry about if you’ve done your homework. You guys are good at handling pretty much anything. Enlisting the help of others may be your best bet for some of what lies on the road ahead. There’s a need to be totally clear and truthful with yourself — and others — about your intentions. Trying to hide them will not serve your cause. In situations where it becomes obvious that yo ha e to e lain yo r elf coming clean will earn you more points than ma ing e c e
CAPRICORN: Dec. 21 – Jan. 20 ecting too m ch i yo r downfall. You were so sure this would solve everything. It looks like you poured all of your hopes into someone — or something — that didn’t pan out. There are so many ways that you could be freaking out over some form of disappointment. This isn’t where you belong, my friend. Outer appearances are always illusory. Whatever evolves out of your current situation has to be enlightened with heavy doses of faith. Dredging it up is the key. It will take an e tra h to clear thi h m ry to lighten up and remember how not to let anything get you down.
GEMINI: May 21 – June 20 obody e ect yo to ma e it all OK, so don’t drive yourself nuts trying to fi thi t ne er been yo r ob to do anything b t tell it li e it i he ac that you get for being totally honest comes from those who don’t want to hear it. In your current situation, whether people see it or not, the truth has healed more things than any of the lies that were told to cover it up. Time will do a lot to prove you’re right. In the meantime, reserve your strength for things that involve your own work and your own life. Keep reminding yourself that everything is in God’s hands.
LIBRA: Sept. 21 – Oct. 20 Things are intense. Holding your own at times like this takes more than the usual amount of strength. It’ll be a while before you get to take a breather. As one thing after another demands everything you’ve got, the deeper part of you is ready for it. In some cases, this is just about too much mundane B.S. going on all at once. The rule of thumb is “take one thing at a time.” For others, major life milestones are hitting you like a ton of bricks. Remember that all of it has a purpose — and treat yourself gently. Draw your strength from within and keep your faith alive.
AQUARIUS: Jan. 21 – Feb. 20 Your choices need to get settled, but your mind is confused by whatever you think it’s going to take to get happy. When our “pictures” make it hard to ee hat real it time to ta e off o r blinders and look at what’s right in our face. This doesn’t have to be hard. With a few adjustments, I have a feeling you’ll be surprised at the way things fall into place. What’s interesting about you is you’ve already hit the nail on the head. What’s there for you now holds the key to your future. Rearrange a few things and get real enough to turn what you have into what you want.
CANCER: June 21 – July 20 o e got thi all fig red o t t might not feel that way, but the truth is you’re more on top of it than anyone else in the room. Trying to get others to pull themselves together will require a huge amount of patience. More than likely, you’re going to have to watch them f mble aro nd and fig re it o t for themselves. Taking care of you in this situation is the main thing. Your strength is needed, and so is your light. Others could wind up surprising you in the end. If you need to work on anything, it has to do with trusting that your faith in them has not been misplaced.
SCORPIO: Oct. 21 – Nov. 20 Holding steady is where it’s at. o e finally fig red o t that a long as your head’s above water, you’re OK. The perfection trips that have guided you up until now may be giving way to the idea that changing the world — or making a dent in it — doesn’t require yo to acrifice yo r elf et rning to a place that allows you to just be yourself would be wonderful. Whatever that means for you, think about giving yourself at least two hours a day to go there. You’re processing a huge amount of t ff hi i one of tho e time when you have to give yourself time to release it.
PISCES: Feb. 21 – March 20 You’ve got tons of new plans spilling onto an already full plate, and only you can handle it. So what else is new? This juggling act could see you splitting your interests between one person, place, or thing, and another. At the moment, too much is subject to change, and a lot of what you’re looking at is laced with inconsistencies and element of deceit that co ld ea ily bolli thing iting off more than e can chew invites us to get real and keep it simple. For now, there’s no room for anything that i n t filled ith the firm belief that you’re 100% clear and able to deal with all of this.
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