Queen City Nerve - December 30, 2020

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3; DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 12, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM

NEWS: ICE DETAINEES NEGLECTED IN PANDEMIC PG. 6 FOOD: BOTIWALLA COMES TO OPTIMIST HALL PG. 16

PETROV BUILDS AROUND ITS ONCE RELUCTANT FRONTWOMAN

BY PAT MORAN

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(hopefully better)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS& OPINION 8

5 EDITOR’S NOTE BY RYAN PITKIN 6 IN THE HOLE BY LILY LEVIN

Bad conditions at ICE detention facility worsened by COVID-19 A RACIAL RECKONING AT CMS BY KAYLA BERENSON County leaders grapple over new equity action plan

ARTS&CULTURE

10 KILLER VIBES BY PAT MORAN Charlotte editor and musician works on new Netflix series

MUSIC

12 TAKING CENTER STAGE BY PAT MORAN Petrov builds around its once reluctant frontwoman 14 LIFEWAVE A dose of reality

16 ALL BETS ON BOTIWALLA BY LEA BEKELE Self-taught chef Meherwan Irani builds an empire

Out of this world dentistry finally in your neighborhood!

-Offering Whole Family Dentistry & Oral Surgery specialty care on an extended schedule

-Locally owned

LIFESTYLE

7am-7pm and select Saturdays

FOOD& DRINK

18 PUZZLES 20 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 21 HOROSCOPE 22 SAVAGE LOVE

NEWS: ICE DETAINEES NEGLECTED IN PANDEMIC PG. 6 FOOD: BOTIWALLA COMES TO OPTIMIST HALL PG. 16

THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, MADELYN BLAIR, KAYLA BERENSON, LILY LEVIN,

PETROV BUILDS AROUND ITS ONCE RELUCTANT FRONTWOMAN

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BY PAT MORAN

ANDY NEILSON, JOSH DENMARK, LEA BEKELE, GRANT BALDWIN, GARRETT HERZFELD, NIGHT WATCH CREW, KATIE GRANT AND DAN SAVAGE.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

PROUD PARTY POOPER

The pandemic isn’t fatigued, so stay vigilant

BY RYAN PITKIN

The time we’ve all been waiting for is here. The end of 2020, a year that will live in infamy.

I’ve already discussed my feelings about folks acting as if the calendar year makes any difference in the state of our society, but in case you missed it, my thoughts are summed up in this paragraph from that early-December column: “We can all act as if 2021 will be better than 2020, and there are signs that things might be turning a corner, but the truth is that the calendar doesn’t care.

If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past nine months, the past four years, the past 400 years, we’re doomed to repeat them in the short and long terms.

Another trip around the sun won’t change that.”

That being said, it’s becoming easier and more likely for folks to fall into “pandemic fatigue,” which to me has always been the most bullshit, privileged term used in place of selfish fuckery, but I digress.

As the new year arrives, there’s plenty of reasons to let yourself believe that the pandemic is behind us. The vaccine has begun making its rounds, Donald Trump is leaving office (or will be dragged out) come Jan. 20, and everyone is eager to wash their hands of this whole nasty year and get back to normal. Just hold the damn phone.

What we went through in 2020 was years in the making, and it will take years to undo. Now, when it comes to certain things like climate change, those are years we don’t really have, so we’re just riding the wave at this point. When it comes to the pandemic, however, a little bit more patience will go a long way.

Of course, as so many Charlotteans and Americans in general have shown during the last few months, patience was never a strong suit for us.

Since the fall, COVID-19 cases have been skyrocketing, and since the fall, we’ve seen more people and businesses throw caution to the wind by hosting and attending packed parties with no safety protocols.

We’ve seen dance floors crowded just as hospitals run out of room, and we’ve seen testpercentage rates climb as quickly as like on videos showing people congested in bars with no masks in sight. Viral videos have taken on a new meaning.

On Dec. 28, Queen City Nerve publisher Justin LaFrancois ran an online piece highlighting 13 such videos from the past three or four months. The idea was to show just how little some business owners care about the health of their customers and the community around them.

There are so many restaurant and bar owners who are struggling through this time while keeping safety protocols in place so as not to harm the people they serve or their families. These folks reach out to us all the time to share videos they’ve come across, wondering why their sacrifice goes unrewarded while selfish owners are able to flout executive orders with no consequences. Those are the folks I am concerned for.

We may have rubbed some people the wrong way by publishing that article, coming off as self-righteous snitches out to harm small businesses, but the fact is that each host of each party on that list is doing more to hurt the small-business community in this city than anyone who aims to hold them accountable for it.

Much of our own business model was built on hosting events (you didn’t think print newspapers are a huge moneymaker, did you?), and we’re just as ready (and desperate) as anyone to get back out there and have a good time with our readers.

But this idea that hosting parties and crowds when it’s not safe to do so is a celebration of constitutional rights is asinine. I’m all for throwing up a middle finger to the government — in fact, fuck them for not doing everything they can to get folks through the last nine months — but you’re not accomplishing what you think you are.

The biggest criticism I get when discussing this issue is that I’m blindly taking what the government feeds me, usually along with that old line: “Do your own research,” nothing but a buzz phrase for conspiracy theorists and other contrarians that means, “Find a guy on YouTube who disagrees with the things that thousands of experts agree on.”

All I do is my own research; it’s my job. I’m comfortable in the knowledge I’ve collected.

We’ll never have a healthy economy until we have a healthy populace. While packing the house on any given night might bring a few more dollars in, you’re only slowing down the process for everybody else.

Keep that in mind as we come upon New Year’s Eve if “pandemic fatigue” has you feeling like a party never hurt anyone. There are more than 550 people in Mecklenburg County who have died from COVID-19 this year — more than 6,600 in North Carolina and 338,000 in the United States — and they all caught the virus from someone.

If you’re celebrating New Year’s, do it safely. Let’s bring in 2021 the right way.

RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

detainees have not been receiving adequate food.

In 2020, the group has advocated for the release of immigrants from centers with COVID outbreaks.

“It’s definitely much more dangerous than it ever has been to be detained in these facilities,” Garces says.

A class-action lawsuit filed in August 2019 arguing that disabled detainees are discriminated against due to a lack of adequate mental and physical health care in ICE detention facilities has gained new urgency this year amid the pandemic.

Bad conditions at ICE The lawsuit names 160 facilities run by private prison companies like CoreCivic under contract with detention facility worsened ICE and Department of Homeland Security.

by COVID-19 A lack of medical care In April 2020, a judge from the Central District Marty Rosenbluth, an immigrant rights lawyer of California handed down a temporary injunction

BY LILY LEVIN who represents detainees at Stewart, says his clients “have been scared shitless of getting sick.” Although ordering that officials provide special care to When Roberto Blanco-Gonzalez experienced detainees aren’t supposed to be transported disabled detainees due to COVID-19. In December the first symptoms of COVID-19, he was fearful to between facilities for safety reasons during the 2020, federal immigration officials argued in court tell anyone. A detainee at Stewart Detention Center, pandemic, Rosenbluth says many of his clients that ICE should not be under the injunction because Blanco-Gonzalez did not want to be placed in continue to be transferred, and “for no apparent they responded to the pandemic in a timely manner.

On Dec. 9, Deputy Assistant Attorney General solitary confinement — the designated quarantine reason.”

Scott Stewart argued before a threelocation for detainees like himself. judge Ninth Circuit panel that the Blanco-Gonzalez’s story is, injunction put ICE “in a very rough unfortunately, common. Many place” due solely to anecdotal facilities like Stewart, an Immigration evidence, claiming that plaintiffs and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had “cherry-picked” their claims facility in Lumpkin, Georgia, where based on the bad experiences of a many immigrants from North Carolina few detainees. and the surrounding areas are taken Stewart said the individual to await word on their deportations, claims made in the lawsuit are not immediately place individuals with representative of ICE’s system-wide symptoms of COVID-19 in solitary policies. confinement. For that reason, many In response to Stewart’s claims, detainees don’t request medical plaintiffs’ attorney Brian Goldman attention. called the injunction “moderate” Since the closing of Stewart and pointed out that there is a long Detention Center on March 14 due history of ICE failing to comply to COVID-19, the center has been with its own policies. When pushed essentially locked down to visitors. further by U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel But according to reports coming out Bress, a Trump appointee, Goldman of the facility, conditions at Stewart pointed out that the lawsuit and in other ICE detention centers included claims from detainees at across the U.S. have worsened. eight different facilities in Georgia Three people in Stewart alone, including Stewart Detention PHOTO BY JOSH DENMARK Detention Center have died from A GUARD AT AN ICE DETENTION FACILITY IN NEW YORK. Facility. The court has not yet issued COVID-19, most recently on Sept. 21, a ruling on the lawsuit or injunction. when a Mexican man in his 70s who also suffered as needed; and working with local and state health “They were taken to the medical unit and given departments to conduct appropriate testing.” from underlying health conditions died. some painkillers. No tests were given to them However, Kate Evans, director of the Immigrant and no mask and no hand sanitizer,” Valencia says. Solitary confinement and use of Even before the pandemic, Stewart Detention Center and CoreCivic — the for-profit company Rights Clinic at Duke Law, which represents Some time later, the facility distributed masks but force that staffs the facility — received many complaints individual clients and conducts research for inconsistently.

Eventually, Blanco-Gonzalez did request and reports of abuse, including through detainees’ community partners, says social distancing is not Currently, 411 people, including guards, at medical attention, but staff declined to treat him. testimony collected by Project South. In 2016, possible when detainees are gathered in their pods. Stewart Detention Center are confirmed to have Valencia details how Blanco-Gonzalez then “refused Siembra NC, an organization that began as a tested positive. That figure is likely an undercount. former Charlotte resident Pedro Salmeron, then a to leave the medical unit, and because of that, he detainee at Stewart, told of wretched food, ice cold response to President Trump’s position on immigration, Like Blanco-Gonzalez, some detainees don’t was thrown to the floor. He hit his face on the showers and losing 20 pounds in his first month at supports families of those who have been detained in report their symptoms so as to stay out of solitary floor. They beat him and then threw him in solitary jails and immigration facilities. Siembra NC director confinement. the facility. He was later deported to El Salvador. confinement for several days.”

Medical care has long been lacking at Stewart, Andrew Garces confirms Salmeron’s 2016 reports to “[Detainees will] say, ‘That’s where people die,’” Blanco-Gonzalez later sent a letter to El Refugio as individuals with chronic diseases are given merely his mothers, stating that even during an outbreak, Valencia says. detailing his abuse, and a disciplinary report was

IN THE HOLE

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ibuprofen or painkillers. Typically, detainees are given a diagnosis at a nearby hospital, but once they return to Stewart, medical staff sometimes fails to follow up.

Amilcar Valencia, director of El Refugio, a ministry located a mile and a half away from Stewart Detention Center, says, “When doctors examine these folks at the regional hospitals, they say, ‘You need this [treatment], but I am not obligated to [give the treatment] until ICE signs an approval.’”

In response to our queries about its COVID-19 policies, Stewart Detention Center officials sent us their “coronavirus action plan,” which includes the following: “Having medical staff participate in the intake process to identify those who are deemed high-risk of being infected with or contracting COVID-19; isolating those who are deemed high-risk

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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

whether or not he will be allowed to return to his life as a lawful permanent resident, or [if he would] be ordered [to be] removed, based on a prior criminal conviction,” Evans says.

In a past ruling, the BIA had deemed this particular detainee “not removable.” And yet he was re-detained in Washington just as COVID-19 began to spread in the United States.

“He’s just sitting around there, waiting,” Evans says Garces tells of a man from Winston-Salem who uses a wheelchair — a paraplegic who immigrated from Zimbabwe. He participated in hunger strikes in May, and reported to his attorneys and family

things like that,” Valencia says. “[The guards] still forced him to go to work.” Days later, the man was found with no pulse and no breath. His death was deemed a suicide.

Like the detention centers, immigration court during COVID-19 looks much different. Rosenbluth remarks that, oftentimes, courts do not have the capacity to hold hearings by video. While he works in-person, there’s often some video aspect that holds up the process.

“The other day, I had a hearing that started an hour and a half late, because one of the other courtrooms needed to use the video feed,” he recalls.

The detainee will tap into the hearing by video; the

written by T. Lane, an officer in the facility.

Solitary confinement is used for both punishment and isolation. In order to legally place a person in solitary confinement, there’s a review process.

A “committee will determine whether the punishment amounts to the violation or for how many days you’ll be in solitary confinement,” Valencia says, “[but] we’ve found that sometimes [the review process] doesn’t happen.”

The cells are meant for two people, but there’s only one toilet, which affords no privacy. Recreation consists of an approximately 8-by-8-foot wired cage.

A report was published in May about a special unit — a SWAT team in the facility — that responds to peaceful protests with gas bombs, rubber bullets, beatings, and solitary confinement, reminiscent of the carceral violence against Black and brown protesters the country has seen outside of Stewart’s gates this year.

A “group of folks from Cuba; they just did a very simple thing,” Valencia says, referencing an account of a detained individual as well as a letter he received confirming it. They were each given 20 to 30 days of solitary confinement, according to reports. The offense? Placing a paper beside the bathroom door on which they wrote a message: Libertad. Freedom.

Officials at Stewart Detention Facility did CORECIVIC STAFFS STEWART DETENTION FACILITY IN GEORGIA AND OTHERS LIKE THIS ONE IN CALIFORNIA. not respond to Queen City Nerve’s request for comment on treatment of specific detainees before members that while he was in his wheelchair, the interpreter, the defendant’s attorney, and the ICE this paper’s publication. guards at Stewart pepper-sprayed and beat him. attorney will participate through telephone; and the Another person was transferred to Stewart judge will phone in while sitting in their chambers.

Stories from inside Stewart and while taking five different daily medications for “It’s just a very frustrating process, because the renal disease. “We got doctors to send all of that technology just really isn’t there,” Rosenbluth says. immigration court Furthermore, the immigration court in Charlotte Blanco-Gonzalez’s eye was lacerated from the information to Stewart, and they basically ignored it,” Garces says. has opened, Evans says, which poses major health beating. Still experiencing COVID symptoms, he was This ignorance of pre-existing conditions is risks for attorneys who must appear in-person. With provided minimal medical attention, and only for common in detention centers. While waiting, many the pandemic at peak numbers, possible witnesses his violent injury.

“He ended up being deported,” Valencia says, as incarcerated individuals have asked to be deported cannot testify on a detainee’s behalf, and separation because the conditions inside of ICE facilities are by video limits emotional appeal. The odds of was confirmed by The Intercept in late July. winning a case are potentially much lower.

Blanco-Gonzalez was in the last stage of his cruel, unjust, and unlivable.

There have also been reported instances of case, but often, detainees’ cases are drawn out.

One of Evans’ clients at Duke Law Clinic has been guards forcing detainees to work more than their Looking ahead detained in a center in Tacoma, Washington, for eight required hours in the kitchen.

When looking toward the future, advocates One man, diagnosed with schizophrenia, was eight months. share feelings of hope and despair.

“He’s simply waiting for a decision from an working as kitchen staff.

Garces posits that the outcome of the election “He was sick. He was not feeling well. Fever, and will play a role in future challenges to ICE and appellate Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) about

immigration policies. In the meantime, Siembra is trying to fill in the gaps. The organization launched an eviction defense hotline with the UNC School of Law, and they’ve given out over $200,000 in pandemic relief for those who are not eligible for stimulus or unemployment.

Valencia tells of a lonely job. The ministry is closed to families at the moment due to COVID, but the staff is considering opening during the day and offering meals in the coming months.

“We need to be creative and find ways to effectively support [the detainees’] release,” he says.

Rosenbluth expresses his frustration about the detention of individuals who never have and never will be flight risks or dangers to the community. “There have been no mass releases anywhere in the country, as far as I know,” he says. “I’m not very optimistic.”

Evans hopes the country will finally ask what advocates have been asking for months: Why are people being held in the face of these kinds of risks? Is immigration detention serving a purpose that we can justify in this moment?

“When certain jurisdictions are digging into this, they’re often answering that question by saying, ‘No,’” Evans says.

When Blanco-Gonzalez arrived back in his country of origin, he tested positive for coronavirus. After receiving much-needed medical attention, he was informed by his doctor that he might lose vision in his lacerated eye.

Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, who passed away in late September, was ordered to be released by a federal judge due to chronic health issues two months earlier, according to Buzzfeed News.

He became one of three detainees to die of COVID-19 while in custody at Stewart Detention Facility thus far.

Chavez-Alvarez was convicted in 1993 of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, Buzzfeed News reports. In July he’d been released from federal prison, and called his daughter, who was only 8 years old at the start of his sentence.

“Daughter, I’m leaving,” Chavez-Alvarez said excitedly. He was then transferred directly from prison to ICE custody. His daughter never heard his voice again.

For Garces, the problems will only continue until someone in the government holds ICE accountable for its action. “There seems to be less attention than ever and less accountability for the people holding the keys.”

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

NEWS & OPINION FEATURE

A RACIAL RECKONING AT CMS

County leaders at odds over new equity action plan

BY KAYLA BERENSON

Two years ago, when creating the CharlotteMecklenburg Schools (CMS) 2024 Strategic Plan, the CMS Board of Education announced it would prioritize “equity and culture.”Two years later, amidst a pandemic that amplified systemic disadvantages within the district, and a countrywide racial reckoning, those priorities have never been more important to board members and the community — or at least some of them.

As national and local data shows students falling behind — especially students of color — CMS is looking at recovery through a COVID lens, focusing on anti-racist approaches to reform systems that do not benefit all students.

Though the strategic plan was adopted in 2018, CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston has emphasized anti-racist initiatives and approaches throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

But some of these approaches require funding.

Where the state does not fund everything students need, the school board relies on Mecklenburg County to provide the backup to support students.

While the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) cannot tell the school board what to do with its funding, some commissioners have been hesitant to provide more funds to the district without seeing concrete results.

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CMS receives pushback from county commissioners

At a Dec. 10 joint meeting between the boards, CMS recognized its achievement gaps.

Though the district ranks high among large, urban school districts in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — an in-depth evaluation of student achievement and ability within a school system — no schools in the same category score above 50% nationally.

While graduation rates improved slightly between 2018 and 2019, CMS students of color are still falling behind white students. The school board

hopes to close college and career-readiness gaps among students of color by 50% by 2024.

In talks with Queen City Nerve, BoCC chair George Dunlap and other commissioners expressed frustration with CMS for the disappointing performance among Black and brown students.

Dunlap said many of his constituents are not satisfied with the current outcomes, and they do not see a reliable plan for improvement.

Dunlap recognized that more people are paying attention than before the pandemic, but he and constituents feel frustrated with a lack of transparency from CMS. As a former school board member himself, Dunlap recalled publishing student performance data for the public to see.

Now, he pointed out, that information isn’t so easy to find. He suggested it should be displayed publicly in a way that is understandable and trackable.

He also said the board’s expectations for student performance should be set higher. It doesn’t make sense for the county commission to provide more funds without changing outcomes, he claimed, adding that there are ways to address some of the issues at hand without additional funding. He used suspension rates as an example.

“It isn’t easy,” Dunlap said, “but there has been enough research done that you ought to be able to put a plan in place that should change the outcomes.”

While he did not want to downplay the significance of the school board’s anti-racism efforts, he said he needs more information on the concrete steps the board is taking before he can feel confident about providing funding.

“Show us your plan,” Dunlap said. “Show us how you plan to implement it. Tell us what it’s going to take for you to get the outcomes you’re looking for.

And show us the results. We want to know if your plan is working. And if your plan is not working, how long can you continue on this plan without making changes? We’re just trying to have the community get answers to those questions.”

CMS focuses on anti-racism within systems

Though they were not presented at the meeting, some anti-racist initiatives have already been implemented within the school system, according to CMS Board of Ed chair Elyse Dashew.

These efforts have included focusing on cultural competency training among school leaders with the superintendent, changing human resources and hiring practices to hire and support more educators

of color, rethinking previous practices and increasing professional development training to focus on restorative practices rather than suspension, Dashew told Queen City Nerve.

The school board has also identified inconsistencies in curricula throughout schools and has worked to ensure all students get a curriculum that is rigorous, multicultural and aligned with the standards of their grade level, she added.

Dashew said the board is taking an intentional approach to anti-racism, spearheaded by Winston.

“It’s not an event. There’s no magic silver bullet,” Dashew said. “But it’s a process that takes a lot of honest self-reflection and then the hard and intentional work of identifying where the barriers are in your system and removing those barriers.”

As CMS board members look toward a recovery plan from the effects of the pandemic, they are now also developing an Anti-Racism Equity Action Plan (AREAP), which includes goals around infrastructure and capacity-building, workforce equity, student experience, community engagement, system integration and governance and accountability.

The AREAP outlines specific strategies the board will take to reach these goals, like ensuring staff adopt new ways of working that address anti-racist policies, practices and processes.

Board members also hope to hire more school psychologists, counselors, teacher’s assistants and social workers to provide additional support to the schools that need it, as many were laid off during the 2008 recession and school budget cuts across the state in an effort to keep as many teachers as possible.

“For many years, we’ve had a situation where the caseloads for psychologists and social workers were through the roof,” Dashew said. “We have been building it into our budget to be able to build back those numbers and bring down the caseload so that folks can do their work more effectively.”

Working toward a common goal

County commissioner Susan RodriguezMcDowell told Queen City Nerve she understands the frustration among her colleagues, but she’s confident the school board has a plan of action to address the inequities.

At the same time, she wishes there was a way to measure short-term progress.

Rodriguez-McDowell said she sees where her fellow board members are coming from when they say they cannot see the numbers or a plan from CMS, but said it is incumbent upon commissioners to seek out the information in CMS board meetings,

which are broadcast online. She did, however, wish to hear more about the plans at the Dec. 10 meeting.

Though most of her constituents in south Charlotte do not face the same inequities as other areas of the city, Rodriguez-McDowell said she wants to use her vote to help all students as much as possible through the CMS budget, especially with anti-racism efforts.

“Dismantling racism is going to be very hard and take a long time, but it must be our goal. It is at the root,” Rodriguez-McDowell said. “Underfunding CMS is not going to help.”

According to the 2020 Local School Finance Study by the Public School Forum of North Carolina, Mecklenburg County ranks 78th in the state in funding per student. As Mecklenburg County is one of the wealthiest counties in the state, RodriguezMcDowell said this is something she and her colleagues should consider.

But it can’t just be the county’s responsibility, she emphasized, as public education has been underfunded at the state level for too long.

In the meantime, Rodriguez-McDowell hopes to work with the school board partners rather than treat them as adversaries, and hopes her colleagues will do the same.

Dashew said she hopes both boards can work within their expertises to achieve their goal to serve students throughout the county.

For now, the school board is working on its budget request leading up to the county commissioners budget retreat in January.

“It’s just a matter of demonstrating what the needs are and what is needed to provide the students with the sound and basic education that is the constitutional right of every student in North Carolina,” Dashew said of the budget request. “So, what does it take to make that happen, and how will those dollars be used most effectively?”

Dashew said both boards share a common goal to serve all students throughout the county, and she believes they can work to close achievement gaps and dismantle inequitable systems if they put aside their egos and work together.

“I know in my heart of hearts that every single one of us wants what is best for the children that we serve,” Dashew said. “We also have some huge challenges on our plates and we have an opportunity to work together with mutual respect to pull together and deliver for our kids. It’s never been more important.”

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.

 -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

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Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

-Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.

-Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

-Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Â? Â?

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ONLINE THERAPY OPTIONS

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OPEN PATH COLLECTIVE

A nonprofit that connects people with private practice therapists that choose to participate.

Digital therapy is available for a $59 membership tinyurl.com/opcollective

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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

An interactive website where users can enter their zip code to find a counseling professional near them online with phone and video options available. tinyurl.com/psychtodayonline €€

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ARTS FEATURE

to bring his talent for one discipline to bear on the The Hunt for a Serial Killer.

The four-part docuseries, which premieres on other. As a musician working on a soundtrack, he’s Jan. 13, tells the story of The Night Stalker from the able to grasp the editor’s needs regarding music. perspective of the two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s As an editor, he can communicate with composers Department detectives who hunted him down. It more easily.

Charlotte editor and This dual facility for music and cutting, and the also includes interviews from the handful of victims kind of connections people make when working in who survived his murderous onslaught. musician works on new The project was spearheaded by director Tiller the pressure cooker of film production, dovetailed Netflix series Russell, who told People Magazine the series draws into an unexpected opportunity for Moa, as the upon a tradition of hazy sun-dappled Southern band landed a song on the Night Stalker soundtrack.

BY PAT MORAN But that convergence of fortuitous timing, hard California noir that stretches from Raymond For some, he was an unfeeling monster, an Chandler’s detective novels of the 1930s to Quentin work and compositional skill was still months in the future when Walldorf first learned about the project. embodiment of evil. For others — those who Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood. miraculously survived his attacks — he became a symbol of their resilience in the face of fear. From June 1984 until August 1985, Richard Ramirez slipped into Los Angeles and San Francisco homes in the dead of night. He burgled most of the homes he invaded, then killed the people he found inside.

His victims ranged in age from 6 to 82. Many of them were sexually assaulted, others were shot, strangled with telephone cords, beaten with tire irons or hacked with machetes. He told some that he worshiped Satan, and sometimes drew pentagrams on the walls or on the bodies of those he murdered.

As the crime spree peaked, different news outlets started calling him a multitude of names, including The Valley Intruder and The Walk-in CHRIS WALLDORF (FAR RIGHT) WITH HIS BAND MOA AT NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRE. Killer, but the name that stuck was PHOTO BY ANDY NEILSON The Night Stalker.

KILLER VIBES

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Confronting a Stalker

Until December 2019, Chris Walldorf didn’t know much about one of America’s most notorious serial killers.

“I’m not necessarily a serial killer guy by any means,” Walldorf says. But in the past year he’s become all-too-familiar with Ramirez, a drifter and career criminal who carried out a one-man reign of terror, a remorseless sadist who was convicted of 13 counts or murder, five counts of attempted murder and 11 counts of sexual assault.

In March, Walldorf, a 45-year-old filmmaker from Charlotte, returned home from a six-month stint in Los Angeles, then completed another four months of work remotely as lead editor of the upcoming Netflix documentary series Night Stalker:

“Weirdly, the definitive telling of this iconic Los Angeles story has never been told,” Russell said.

Though Walldorf had not focused on serial killers prior to coming onboard with Russell, the film editor’s interests often stray into deep, dark waters.

Walldorf is also a professional musician. He’s played drums, synthesizers and samplers alongside keyboardist Lindsey Ryan in a series of moody, lush and eerie Charlotte bands, including Sea of Cortez, Sam the Lion and their current outfit Moa. With the premier of Night Stalker slated for mid-January, Moa released their debut album on Dec. 3 with a virtual Queen City Streams concert filmed at Neighborhood Theatre. The timing is no accident.

With one foot in the music world and the other foot in the editing world, Walldorf has been able

Poetic reenactment

While attending Northwest School of the Arts in west Charlotte, Walldorf befriended fellow student Adam Stone. The Charlotte-based Stone has since gone on to become an in-demand cinematographer (Mud, Loving, Wild Wild Country). A few years back, Stone was developing a project with Tiller Russell.

They needed an editor to cut together a sizzle reel to raise money for their show, and Stone recommended Walldorf. Although the project never got off the ground, Russell loved Walldorf’s work, and he never forgot the editor. “[Russell] called me August 15, [2019],”Walldorf remembers. “He said ‘I’ve got a Netflix documentary series. Can you be out in L.A. in two weeks and start

on it?’” Although he’s wasn’t thrilled to say goodbye to his wife and children for several months, Walldorf jumped at the chance. He was making good money in North Carolina editing commercials, but he was also burning out on the commercial grind and itching for a creative challenge. Night Stalker represented his biggest job to date.

“It was perfect timing in a lot of ways,” Walldorf says. “[I made a] conscious decision to expand my horizons and get out of the commercial world a little bit. I was ready to do something else with my life.”

Often when an editor joins a production, most if not all of the footage has been shot. This was not quite the case with Night Stalker.

Some footage was in the can, Walldorf says, and another editor had started post-production over a year ago. But Russell was shooting two other projects concurrently. So, while Russell turned his attention to his other projects, Night Stalker was put on hold for almost a year.

“I was coming in as they were picking it up again,” Walldorf offers.

Not much had been done with the footage. Walldorf starting laying out some of the interviews that had been shot, cutting the “talking heads” together to begin charting the story’s flow.

Then series cinematographer Nicola Marsh (20 Feet From Stardom) went back out to shoot new scenes.

“She shot stylistic reenactments,” Walldorf says. “[The camera crew] tried to make them as poetic as possible, less on-the-nose, [with] more of an abstract feeling.”

The plan was to place the series’ audience in the moment as the story unfolded.

The summer of 1985 in Los Angeles was scorching, but in an era before air conditioners were commonplace, homeowners locked their windows at night and tried to sleep in the stultifying heat.

Porch lights were kept on to ward off the dark. Cars moving slowly through neighborhoods were eyed with suspicion, and everywhere people felt the tangible electricity of fear.

It was very important to the crew that the reenactments would not be the stilted and cheesy variety seen on most true-crime dramas. There was an on-set mantra, Waldorf remembers, against anything that was too on-the-nose.

“We wanted to convey a sense of dread, so

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ARTS FEATURE

the Blairs’ position, when people would give him strange non-musical descriptions for what they wanted on a soundtrack. “They [would say], ‘I want it to sound like it was made in a melting ice cap,’ or, ‘This one has a galloping forcefield.’ I had no idea what they were talking about.”

In contrast, Walldorf knew music, and he was even familiar with the audio software the Blairs were using.

“I knew very specifically what was happening, and I could give very specific notes,” he says. “It was efficient.”

Prior to the Blair brothers coming onboard, Walldorf had cut the episodes together over a temp soundtrack, a selection of music from various sources that sets the mood and the tempo of the cut. Walldorf remembers that he used a lot from film scores by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and modern composer Phillip Glass. In terms of period pop, he chose a selection of

you’re not just listening to the cops say, ‘We found this and we found that,’” Walldorf offers.

Walldorf points out that the main interviewees are homicide detectives who have seen it all.

They can appear detached from the horror of the situation. It was a different story for Walldorf.

As he cut together real-life crime-scene photos for the project’s visuals, he learned he was anything but numb to the terror and tragedy of the Night Stalker. He was doing his job, helping to dramatize the story the filmmakers’ story, but he was also looking at remains that had once been somebody’s mother, husband or child.

Throughout 1985, the unidentified killer seemed to strike at random in communities scattered all over L.A. County, and in August took a short trip to San Francisco where he murdered a couple in their 60s. As the death count mounted past a dozen, there still seemed to be little pattern to the slayings. In the early hours of the morning, he often targeted houses close to freeways, slipping through windows or forcing open patio doors, but one victim was shot behind the wheel her car in broad daylight when Ramirez decided to steal her vehicle.

During Walldorf’s editing stint he began to experience periods when he would imagine Ramirez lurking in the corners of his L.A. apartment, even though he knew that The Night Stalker has been dead for seven years.

“I imagined what it would be like to make eye contact with him in this strange ‘NIGHT STALKER’ PREMIERES JAN. 13 Lynchian dream way,” Walldorf says.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX “Since he was dead, it seemed to make it even scarier.” post punk and new wave from the 1980s.

Eventually Walldorf’s unbidden creepy reveries One song originated in an earlier era, the went away. “I think the more I learned about him, mid-1960s London beat scene. British folk pop the less powerful he became in my mind.” artist Vashti Bunyan’s delicate airy vocal and wistful performance of her song “I’d like to Walk Under the Skin Around in Your Mind” was a perfect fit for a crucial During post-production on movies, editors are credit sequence in the Netflix series. It provided often in touch with the film’s composers, trading misdirection at the beginning of the series finale, a notes on sound cues and timing. Walldorf hit it off sojourn of sweetness and light before the episode with the composers on The Night Stalker, brothers delved into Ramirez’s depredations as the police Brooke and Will Blair (Green Room, Edge of Winter) noose tightened around him. because he spoke their language.

Russell decided to keep the song in the final cut.

“Being a musician, I could give them direct and There was just one problem – Bunyan refused to specific feedback,” Walldorf says. He recalls being in license her song for Night Stalker.

“Vashti Bunyan said, ‘I’m not going to let you use the song, the song that I wrote about my first love, in a movie about a serial killer,’” Walldorf remembers.

The production offered her more money, and still she refused.

Walldorf started looking for a replacement, a gossamer magical tune that could dovetail into a nightmare, and kept coming up empty-handed. He realized the only way he could replace the song was to create something new.

“I said, ‘Hey guys, let me take a crack at this. I’ll attempt it for free, and if you like it, you can pay us.’”

He immediately called Ryan, his bandmate and cocreator in Moa.

A musical partnership

Ryan, for one, welcomed the assignment to quickly come up with a brand new song for Night Stalker. She says working on the tune felt good, like being in a band again.

Speaking on the phone from her home in a 110-year-old boarding house she’s restoring with her husband on her flower farm and design studio called Edgemont Garden, Ryan recalls that three years ago, she left her 20-year career as a piano teacher because her head was filled only with the music she was teaching.

“It felt so good. I started writing songs again and having my own music in my head,” Ryan says. “Now I grow flowers for weddings. I spend all day planting and I play in the dirt.”

Nestled in the North Carolina mountains outside of a ghost town called Edgemont, Ryan’s home sounds like a bucolic paradise, far removed from L. A. in the mid-’80s, but Ryan was immediately on the same page as Walldorf and guitarist Driscoll, who also collaborated on the composition.

The Night Stalker’s season finale begins with a cold opening, Walldorf explains. Moa’s song starts off at the top, then it fades away as the audience hears a fairly innocuous story about the L.A public library over pretty footage of the city in the 1980s.

The scene grows darker as the librarian being interviewed describes her encounter with Ramirez.

That’s when the song fades up again, and it has this whole different meaning.

The title Night Stalker comes up and Ryan sweetly sings, “I’ll find a way under your skin.”

Walldorf came home to Charlotte in March during a break in the series’ post-production, only

to be told to work from home to complete his job as COVID-19 swept the country. He’s relieved by his producers’ decision. Remote editing is sweeping the industry, Walldorf notes.

He’s already started post-production work on another Netflix series, and he’s doing the gig from his home studio, without the enforced exile from his family.

When The Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez learned that he was sentenced to die in California’s gas chamber, he told reporters, “Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland.” But Ramirez was denied the notoriety of an execution.

He languished, long forgotten by most, on Death Row, until he died in 2013 from complications secondary to B-cell lymphoma.

When asked what he hoped viewers would take away from Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, Russell replied, “The resilience of people. No matter what people went through, they refuse to be defined by the Night Stalker.”

It may be possible, that even from the terror imposed from the darkest recesses of a diseased mind, some good can come.

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MUSIC FEATURE

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TAKING CENTER STAGE

surprising given Petrov’s electrifying stage presence.

As dual guitars corkscrew over galloping drums and percolating bass, McKusick flails and whirls as if consumed by the music.

Fans and newcomers can witness Petrov’s propulsive power on Jan. 6 when the band performs a live-streamed set at Neighborhood Theatre.

Herzfeld, who had manned the kit for Charlotte bands including Rnie, Alright and Cabron, answered, impressed by the music samples Little had sent.

Herzfeld was already acquainted with Backlund and Little; having seen them play at Borrowed Arts shows in Boone and Charlotte.

Bassist Matt McConomy, who had previously played with Queen City band Cuzco, also answered the ad. The idea initially was to split vocals between the four members of the newly-formed band, but another plan gained traction.

“At a certain point we realized that singing was not our forte,” Little says with a chuckle.

Luckily, McKusick overcame her qualms that she would be interrupting her brother’s friends while they were trying to get their act together.

In her care, these private preoccupations cut to the heart, thereby catapulting to the universal.

The debut

When the band recorded their debut EP, Sleep Year, in early 2019, McKusick turned to her private journals for inspiration.

Petrov builds around its “I [went] into my old journals to see if I said once reluctant frontwoman Petrov is born anything that was not too cringey to put into a song,” The band, which burst upon the Charlotte music she says. It was an act of emotional archaeology, as

BY PAT MORAN scene in late-2018, takes its name from Stanislav McKusick accessed the thoughts and feelings she Yevgrafovich Petrov, a Russian army officer who experienced when she wrote those past entries on It’s not surprising that indie-rock powerhouse the page.

Petrov pairs careening post-punk guitars and averted worldwide nuclear annihilation in 1983 when he chose to disbelieve a faulty early warning The result was tracks like the single “Divine soaring pop melodies with a passion and message that U.S.-launched missiles were headed Wine,” a dreamy yet insistent rock tune propelled by professionalism on par with established national McKusick’s hard-charging vocals. (Queen City Nerve acts. Nor is it astonishing that the Charlotte five- his way. premiered the song in February.) piece’s intricate yet muscular tunes have The arrival of “Divine Wine” presaged garnered multiple accolades, including the March 2019 release of Sleep Year Queen City Nerve’s Best in the Nest 2020 by local label Self Aware Records, award for best pop punk band. spearheaded by Herzfeld’s former Alright Even Riot Grrrl-inspired frontwoman bandmates and married couple Sarah and lyricist Mary Grace McKusick’s Blumenthal and Josh Robbins. uncanny ability to unlock multiple Ironically, in contrast to the soulemotions with haunting imagery and and-journal searching origins of songs scalpel-sharp phrasing is not entirely like “By All Means,” where a search for astounding. meaning and connection is countered by Instead, the revelation that McKusick, the heroine’s bed growing “colder every who fearlessly tackles challenging second we blur the line,” McKusick reveals topics like manipulation, sexual assault, that “Divine Wine” conveys a very different personal growth and more, once felt too kind of message. self-conscious to join the band, is kind of “[With] ‘Divine Wine’ I wrote a bunch a shock. of random sentences and put them It turns out, McKusick didn’t want to together,” she says. “That song literally take advantage of personal relationships. means nothing, and a lot of people have McKusick already knew Petrov different opinions on what it means.” drummer Garrett Herzfeld, a longtime Still, McKusick feels gratified friend of her older brother, she that listeners have forged different remembers.

PETROV (FROM LEFT): MATT MCCONOMY, SYD LITTLE, MARY GRACE MCCUSICK, GARRETT HERZFELD, MICHAEL BACKLUND. interpretations of the song, regardless of The band had been searching for PHOTO BY MADELYN BLAIR the songwriter’s intent. “There can be a distinctive vocalist, who could bring multiple interpretations to any song.” individuality, gravitas and vulnerability to “Eventually, I decided to message [Herzfeld] and Like its namesake, Petrov also began with a Petrov’s songwriting process is both specialized Petrov’s multifaceted sound. ask him [to audition], and here we are now.” and organic, McKusick says, with each member Several singers had tried out by the time message, albeit a more prosaic one — a Craigslist Petrov started solidifying its sound remarkably ad looking for musicians. Syd Little and Michael gathering their own influences and working on their McKusick saw the band’s Facebook post. fast — creating a roiling, chiming, often labyrinthine Backlund, who had perfected their seesawing givespecific parts of each song.

“I was apprehensive because I didn’t want to be weave of sunny pop and serpentine post-punk, the “We each bring what we know to the table,” like the lame little sister that wants to be a part of and-take on guitars in Boone-based band Borrowed rock genre descended from the late 1970s-earlyArts, wanted to continue making music after their Little says. everything.”

1980s template forged by Factory Records and Joy “Usually, Syd or Mike comes up with a guitar riff It was daunting to audition because McKusick group splintered.

Division.

Little placed the ad, soliciting a drummer for and we just build on it,” McConomy offers. “When we had never been in a band before, although she had Instead of the sepulchral vocals favored by two projects, an indie-rock outfit inspired by Bloc feel we’re at a good point, we’ll send it to Mary Grace experience performing before a live audience.

Joy Division’s tragic and suicidal singer Ian Curtis, Party, and a heavy metal outfit patterned after to throw some lyrics and vocals in. Then we’ll all get “Growing up I was in the church choir and in McKusick brings a sparkling sense of melody to the Mastodon.

The indie-rock project became Petrov, together and mold it into a full song.” school plays, but this is my first time [onstage] while the heavy-metal proposal remains a side table, coupled with deeply personal musings on McKusick usually devises melodies before lyrics. outside of school or church.” insecurity, identity and defiance. project currently on the back burner.

“I’ll be alone and I’ll randomly think of a vocal McKusick’s initial reticence seems particularly

MUSIC FEATURE melody that’s not tied to anything,” she says.

She then pulls out her phone, and sings into her voice memo app, where she has stored a random collection of melodies recorded in crowded bars, at her job or just before bed.

When McKusick is ready to compose new songs, she checks out the melodies in her phone. Often, she couples those melodic fragments with random lyrics and phrases she’s jotted down. Eventually these building blocks emerge as a song.

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The follow-up

the song might be about.”

“Keepers” marks an achievement for McKusick, a woman operating in a rock music scene that, even today, can lapse into a boys’ club.

McKusick wryly recalls an early Petrov show where a bartender counting out the band’s drink tickets simply skipped over her, assuming she could not possibly be a member of a rock ‘n’ roll band.

Equally powerful, but in manner more understated and under-the-skin than “Keepers,” is the song that closes Flower Bed, “New Routine.” The song was written the day after McKusick suffered an emotional breakdown. The lyrics were honed as she worked through her emotions alone.

“New Routine” represents a stylistic change for

As the band prepared to record the Flower Bed EP, their follow-up to Sleep Year, McKusick dispensed with one building block: her past journal entries. “[For] Sleep Year I untapped older emotions,” she offers. “But Flower Bed, that was all definitely what was going on currently — things or situations that were stuck in my head.”

Every night before going to sleep, McKusick wrote these thoughts down as a kind of clearinghouse. “It’s as if I used Flower Bed as a way to release the emotions out of my head.”

Those released emotions found a home in the songs collected on the new EP, released by Self-Aware in October. The ethereal anthem “Pink Moon” recalls a night in April when McKusick sat in her backyard staring at the full moon, reflecting upon her life.

The Flower Bed song that packs the most emotional punch is “Keepers,” a #Metoo clarion call that has resonated beyond the band’s growing circle of fans. McKusick remembers she shared the tune with a few of her friends before its release, PETROV WITH PLANTS. and they expressed appreciation that a tune about sexual abuse and the culture of sheltering male the band. While the song builds up a rocking head of privilege was coming out. steam, it is for most of it, a ballad, which opens with “‘Keepers’ isn’t about the abusers,” McKusick these evocative lyrics: “Somehow my bones drifted offers. “It’s about the people who continue to be apart/And it’s no one’s fault that I lost myself.” friends with those abusers. A lot of people will claim “I remember I had the first one or two lines that they’re pro-women and anti-rape culture, written down in my notes,” McKusick offers. “I yet when one of their good friends in an abuser, looked at the line and thought, ‘I don’t remember they sweep that under the rug and continue being writing that. I must have been being drunk and sad, friends with them.” but it makes for a cool lyric.”

One close friend confided that McKusick was Little had come up with a guitar riff for the yelling words in the song that she had been yelling tune, McKusick remembers, and he stared playing it in her head for so long. McKusick hopes people find slowly because he was trying to remember it. the same catharsis that “Keepers” provides her.

“Then I said, ‘Wait, I like the way that sounds slowed “I wrote this song [because] I know that I’m on down rather than the original tempo,” she says. a platform,” she says. “I want to use it to speak out “I enjoy playing pretty stuff just as much as I like about whatever is bothering me and other people. upbeat punky stuff,” Little says. “It was a fun way to Maybe it will be a wakeup call to some people that explore that side of songwriting.”

The tune, he continues, is also simpler than what Petrov usually does. “‘New Routine’ is just a fourchord progression, and it’s more about dynamics than cool chord changes.”

Slowing the song down also changed McKusick’s vocal approach. She acknowledges it was a challenge singing the melody in a lower register, and softening her voice.

“When you slow down a song, you have a lot more focus on the lyric. It’s kind of intimidating.”

McKusick, who normally listens to upbeat, uptempo punk songs, had to find inspiration and get in the zone to write a tune with a ballad’s tempo. “I tried to be as soft and ethereal as I can, instead of screaming my head off.”

Herzfeld adds that McWilliams, acted as a producer on the EP, although he’s not credited as such. “He was involved in creating harmonies and doing synths and other things beyond just facilitating the recording,” he says.

Backlund notes that Flower Bed is a also a leap forward in quality from Sleep Year because the songs are more mature.

“It’s more of a snapshot of who we are now; how we’ve grown in the last year or two,” Backlund says.

“It’s a culmination of us going through different experiences. We’ve all evolved [and] it shows.”

The band’s current evolution includes coping with the coronavirus pandemic. While Petrov is excited to play a virtual show at the Neighborhood Theatre, one where they rock out onstage without benefit of an audience, they still look forward to the day they can play live.

McConomy says he thrives on the live feeling that’s absent in a streaming show.

“For me the weirdest thing is prioritizing the stream sound over the in-house sound,” McConomy says. “You really don’t know what it’s going to end up sounding like. [You’re] trusting that the sound guy is on point.”

Herzfeld says the socially-distanced streaming gig that came closest to simulating real life was a drive-in show at the now-shuttered Abari Game Bar, where musicians on the roof received “applause” via honking car horns.

McKusick says she misses the audience interactions that come with a live show “I gain a lot of my energy and stage presence from seeing how the audience is reacting,” she says. “[As] I dance and flail all over the stage, it’s a lot more motivating with a crowd in front of me.”

PHOTO BY GARRETT HERZFELD With all the challenges and adjustments 2020 Flower Bed was recorded by Kenny McWilliams has brought the band, Petrov is enthusiastically at Archer Avenue studios in Columbia, South looking forward to 2021. Little hopes the band can Carolina. The band cites the facility and particularly inspire others to make music and art McWilliams’ contribution as a big factor in the “I want to be taking art forward,” he says. “Like new EP’s sonic sheen. While Sleep Year, recorded the stuff that inspired me to make music, I want to at Charlotte’s Old House Studio and engineered by push that on to other people.”

Daniel Hodges a year before, percolates with rock “Our message is ‘just make music.’” Herzfeld energy, the songs sound fairly lo-fi in comparison to offers. “There are a lot of people who are intimidated Archer Avenue. [to do it], like Mary Grace was, and yet here she is.”

Petrov decided to go with McWilliams because As for McKusick, she hopes Petrov’s listeners will he had worked on recent great-sounding albums take away personal meaning from the band’s lyrics.

by Charlotte bands Pullover and Modern Moxie, She says she wrote “Keepers,” a song that might not Herzfeld says. have been written by a band that has a male vocalist, “Mike and Syd and Matt, more so than me, are to help people know that their emotions are valid. really into sound quality and production,” he says.

“It [might] make them understand that they’re “The level of production right off the bat is one of not the only ones thinking and feeling a certain way.” the main reasons why [Flower Bed] sounds so good.”

PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM

ONGOING

CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM

ANOTHER ROUND POSTER VIA CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL SCREENING ROOM

What: Charlotte Film Society presents a pair of intelligent dramas about altered states of consciousness.

Minor Premise illustrates the promise of indie sci-fi, conveying more mind-bending ideas in 10 minutes that mainstream science fiction does in an entire movie. In his basement laboratory, brilliant young scientist Ethan is trying to isolate sections of the brain that impact emotions or behavior. When the experiment succeeds, Ethan’s problems are just beginning. He discovers that different parts of his consciousness have split off into fragments, each of which takes over his body six minutes at a time. Danish drama Another Round documents an entirely different kind of experiment. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a teacher who can no longer find a reason to get up in the morning. With three colleagues, he devises a social experiment where all four men strive to maintain a low-level alcohol buzz throughout work hours to relieve stress and tension. At first, the experiment brings benefits to all participants, but bigger problems than hangovers ensue.

More: $5-$12; ongoing; online; charlottefilmsociety.com

ANTONIO VIVALDI (BAROQUE CELEBRATION)

ONGOING

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What: Ring in the New Year, and bid goodbye and good riddance to 2020 with style and panache. In addition to the de rigueur champagne toast and ball drop — though this particular ball will be dropped at 11 p.m. — live music and burlesque and variety performances are highlighted. Daniel Ferreira, Jackson Cini and Malcolm McKinley comprise musical guests the DJaM Collective (pronounced “jam”). Burlesque performances at the MASKerade party feature Ruby Skyscraper, Miswomack and Miss Meccakhan.

More: $30, Dec. 31, 7 p.m.; Petty Thieves Brewery, 413 Dalton Ave Suite B; pettythievesbrewing.com

What: New Year’s Eve celebrations are a longstanding tradition with The Avett Brothers. This year is no exception, and the band marks their 17th annual NYE performance with a virtual edition of their holiday tradition. From the hoot-and-holler bluegrass and folk that began their musical odyssey to the big guitar rock that catapulted them to stardom, The Avett Brothers have embraced a wide variety of genres and subsumed them into their elastic brand of Americana.

More: $40-$50; Dec. 31, 8 p.m.; online; neighborhoodtheatre.com

way, with two celebratory 5K trail races. Set your resolutions, turn on your headlamps, and kick off 2021 with a true celebration of the active, outdoor lifestyle. Runners will have the chance to close out 2020 with an evening race and open 2021 with a morning race. Racers may enter the course to run at any time during the designated window. Due to COVID-19 the 5K race will have limited aid stations and supplies. Racers are encouraged to bring enough hydration and fuel for pre-race, during race and post-race.

More: $35-$60; Dec. 31; U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy; usnwc.org

What: Join resident conductor Christopher James Lees and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for a virtual celebration of Baroque music, fit for the New Year. This program includes works by Antonio Vivaldi, regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, as his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos for the violin and a variety of other musical instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than 40 operas.

More: $25; Jan. 1, 7:30 p.m.; online; blumenthalarts. org

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A SOCIALLY DISTANT MASQUERADE THE AVETT BROTHERS NYE VIRTUAL NEW YEAR’S EVE TRAIL RACE BAROQUE CELEBRATION: What: Ring in the New Year the Whitewater OLD WORLD, NEW YEAR NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL CELEBRATION

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What: The Jazz N Soul Music family starts 2021 off right with the GrooveMasters, purveying smooth jazz, funk and soul live. The band is led by Charles Page on drums, and anchored by Connie Sawyer on sax, Quinton Robertson on keys, and James Gregory on bass — veteran musicians with over 20 years of professional musical experience. Page launched GrooveMasters in Charlotte in 2007. The band has performed with Doug E. Fresh, Reggie Calloway, Twinkie Clark, Earnest Pugh and Fred Hammond.

In 2011, GM recorded their sophomore project, a gospel jazz collection called Praise Worthy.

More: $5-$7 suggested donation; Jan. 2, 7 p.m.; online; newyeargroove.eventbrite.com

What: Join Levine Museum of the New South virtually for a family celebration of Three Kings Day — Día De Reyes. This holiday represents the day the Three Wise Men (Los Tres Reyes Magos) gave gifts to Jesus Christ, and closes the Christmas festivities. It’s also the day the people of Mexico traditionally exchange gifts. Levine invites guests to their Facebook or YouTube page for a day filled with Pastorela, singing, storytelling and a special appearance by The Three Kings. There will also be Rosca de Reyes, or King’s Cake. (“Rosca” means wreath and “reyes” means kings.)

More: Free; Jan. 3, 12 p.m.; online; museumofthenewsouth.org

What: Originally from Buffalo, New York, John Shaughnessy has for 23 years called Charlotte home, and has worked as a full-time bassist, bandleader, composer, music producer and educator. Shaughnessy has released four albums with a varying roster of players. He is currently the leader of funk combo Straight Fire. Though often, he just follows his bass instincts and makes shit up — which is to say he’s a top-flight free jazz improvisor, too. Shaughnessy and his quartet will probably stick to original and classic jazz, but you never can tell.

More: $18; Jan. 7, 7 p.m.; Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.; middlecjazz.com

What: Open Air is a monthly series of virtual studio visits and intimate conversations with Black contemporary artists across the United States.

The Gantt Center’s January Open Air conversation features Asser Saint-Val, a Haitian multidisciplinary artist featured in Inter/Sectionality, the Gantt Center’s current Diaspora art exhibition. Dr. Alix Pierre, an art and culture analyst, and director of Spelman College’s Cultural Orientation, will join the conversation.

More: Free; Jan.12, 7 p.m.; online; ganttcenter.org

THE GROOVEMASTERS

THREE KINGS DAY – DIA DE REYES

JOHN SHAUGHNESSY QUARTET

GHOST TOURS

OPEN AIR WITH ASSER SAINT-VAL & ALIX PIERRE

THE GROOVEMASTERS

ALL MONTH

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ALL MONTH01_02-01_30

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GHOST TOURS

What: Welcome to BOO-menthal. If you think Blumenthal’s theaters have been sitting empty the past few months, think again. The complex has quite a few resident ghosts, and now they’re ready to share these stories with the public. Hear tales about the haunts in the house and backstage at Belk Theater, learn what puts the “boo” in Booth Playhouse, and meet the spirits of Spirit Square. During breaks, tour guides will regale ghost hunters with the history of the venues along with other Uptown scary stories. Tickets includes a private backstage tour of Belk Theater, Booth Playhouse, and Spirit Square including the historic McGlohon Theater, for groups of up to 10 people. Tours last approximately 60 minutes and include climbing stairs and standing for extended periods. Everyone will be required to wear a mask for the duration of the tour and will be subjected to a temperature check upon arrival.

Tours begin at Stage Door Theater.

More: $300; Jan. 2 - 30, times vary; Stage Door Theater, 155 N College St.; blumenthalarts.org

JOHN SHAUGHNESSY

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ASSER SAINT-VAL

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FOOD & DRINK FEATURE

ALL BETS ON BOTIWALLA

Self-taught chef Meherwan Irani builds an empire

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BY LEA BEKELE

kitchen for the first time, he realized the extent of Irani shared that he learned everything he the learning curve involved with going from cooking knows about working in a professional kitchen from at home to being a professional chef and running a the young chefs he hired, with the understanding commercial kitchen. that, “I’ll teach you guys everything you need to

ever had, but at the same time, one of the best teams that we ever assembled because they came together in the face of what one would consider an unprecedented crisis and adversity.”

As 2020 comes to a close, Charlotte is getting its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and with that comes the hope that a return to some sort of normalcy is around the corner.

As a community, the foodservice industry in Charlotte is playing the waiting game — stuck between anticipating another shutdown as cases reach all-time highs or slowly returning to normal as vaccinations are administered.

It’s hard to tell which way the pendulum will swing when everything can change at the drop of a hat — or the launch of a live-streamed press conference.

Meherwan’s goal for the future of his companies and the restaurant industry as a whole is to survive, PHOTO BY NIGHT WATCH CREW recover and rebuild.

For Meherwan Irani, owner of Botiwalla and Optimist Hall’s newest tenant, the journey from curious home chef to five-time James Beard Award nominee and owner of multiple nationallyacclaimed restaurants began in 2009 with the decision to quit his day job in sales and open a restaurant in Asheville.

While it would appear that Irani has done more than well as a restaurateur — after all, his three ventures, Chai Pani, Nani’s Rotisserie Chicken and now Botiwalla, have each been met with recognition, acclaim and hype — he says his mother back in India is still not impressed.

Even the most accomplished chefs still have MEHERWAN IRANI OUTSIDE OF THE OPTIMIST HALL LOCATION OF BOTIWALLA. their critics.

Irani first came to the United States from India He knew everything there was to know about know about Indian food and you guys teach me in his twenties to earn an MBA, after which he spent the business aspect of running the restaurant, but what you’ve learned from professional kitchens and the next 10 years in a management career in San had a world of knowledge to gain when it came to together, we’ll figure this out.”

Francisco working for Lexus and Mercedes Benz. In being a chef.

Fast forward to this year, Irani has over a 2005, he moved with his family across the country From his dishwashers to the cashiers to his business decade of experience as a chef and multiple James to Asheville, where he transitioned his career partner and wife, Molly, he credits his success to the Beard nominations under his belt. He went from a from management to the real estate development people he works with each day at his restaurants across passionate home cook to a household name in the business. In 2009, he once again embarked on a Asheville, Atlanta, and now Charlotte. restaurant community. new and entirely unfamiliar However, no matter how adventure. This time, it was long a restaurateurs’ stint in the opening a restaurant: Chai service industry is, nothing can Pani. truly prepare a person for what Every step of the way, Irani 2020 had to offer. approached the daunting task Opening a restaurant in the of becoming a professional middle of a pandemic comes chef as an entrepreneur with no shortage of challenges. would a business. With his As a self-proclaimed eternal experience primarily in sales, optimist, Irani committed he stuck with what he knew. to following through with He did research and created a what he and his team started business model like he would working toward in March. any other project, using every Between social distancing tool he had as a businessin the restaurant and training minded person to forecast sessions over Zoom, Irani what was to come. says, “It was really the most Chai Pani’s opening day complicated, most difficult, finally came and when Irani CUSTOMERS ARE ALREADY TAKING TO THE NEW LOCATION. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN most challenging opening we’ve stepped into that Asheville

Botiwalla comes to Optimist Hall

Storytelling is at the core of everything Irani has created over the last decade-plus as a restaurant owner. With Botiwalla, instead of going with the regional North Indian cuisine that most traditional Indian restaurants in America serve, Irani chose to showcase Indian street food, making way for grilled meats, flatbreads, fresh herbs, and wraps.

“It was non-regional. It was very democratic. It didn’t belong to any one part of India or group of India,” Irani says of the concept.

With Chai Pani, Irani captured an aspect of street food in India often referred to as chaat, a savory, multi-textured cuisine consisting of dishes like bhel puri, sev potato dahi puri, and vada pav. Chai Pani represents just one facet of the culture of street food in India.

Similar to Chai Pani, the decor, the menu and the intoxicating perfume of sizzling meat and fresh naan you’ll find at Botiwalla are all an homage to Irani’s hometown of Ahmednagar, India. The atmosphere and concept behind the new concept are inspired by Irani’s own grandfather and his opening of Sarosh Canteen, his town’s only Irani café.

Unrelated to the family name, Irani cafés were spaces created during colonialism to serve tea and Western-style snacks to British officers in the late

FOOD & DRINK FEATURE 19th and early 20th century.

After the British left India, Irani cafés adapted their menus to suit regional tastes, serving a unique style of cuisine related to Parsi culture. The cafés continued to thrive long after the colonial occupation, eventually adding simple household provisions similar to a corner store. Many of them turned into kebab houses where the culture of Indian street food grew overnight. During that era in India, nights were a sight to behold once the grills came out, the fires were lit, and the streets were full of late-night revelers and commuters waiting to get fed.

A new home in Charlotte

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At Optimist Hall, Botiwalla’s menu offers grilled chicken, lamb, paneer, and steak wrapped in hot naan with fresh herbs, chaat, masala smashed potatoes, and the popular Desi Salad from Botiwalla’s Atlanta flagship.

Every new restaurant opening brings Charlotte closer to becoming a food destination, and Irani’s presence in the Queen City can only bring more A SELECTION OF BOTIWALLA OPTIONS.

PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN

opportunity for growth in that regard. Charlotte is on the cusp of joining the ranks of larger cities like New York, D.C., and Atlanta and it all boils down to creatives having space, opportunity and motivation to become a part of the city’s vibrant culture.

Restaurateurs, chefs, and entrepreneurs are looking at markets like Charlotte and recognizing as blank slates of opportunity. Optimist Hall itself is a testament to the city’s ability to repurpose and breathe life into old and unused spaces if the right support is given.

What was once a gingham mill at the turn of the century is now home to a 147,000-squarefoot redevelopment project full of retail, restaurants, and creative office space.

On Dec. 17, Botiwalla opened its doors alongside

Archer Paper, Ava Pizzeria, Bao & Broth, Billy Sunday, Boxcar Betty’s, Dumpling Lady, El Thrifty Social Club, Felix Empanadas, Fonta Flora Brewery, Harriet’s Hamburgers, Honeysuckle Gelato, Papi Queso, Pet Wants, Spindle Bar, Suárez Bakery & Barra, Undercurrent Coffee, Velvet Taco, Village Juice, and Zukku Sushi.

To this day, there’s still a debate among Irani’s closest friends and family over whether his decision to quit his day job in 2009 and open a restaurant was a midlife crisis or, ultimately, a stroke of genius. A home cook deciding to risk it all and leave stability behind to follow their dreams; it could have ended as a cautionary tale.

Yet Merhewan Irani’s success is living, breathing proof that anyone who is willing to take the necessary leap of faith has the rare opportunity to create something bigger than themselves. With a little ingenuity and a lot of support from his staff and wife, the self-taught chef is now opening his fifth restaurant, with five James Beard Award nominations for ‘Best Chef in the Southeast’ under his belt, he’s finally confident this might be working out — despite what his mom thinks.

LBEKELE@QCNERVE.COM

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LIFESTYLE PUZZLES

LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU

BY LINDA THISTLE

PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRIVIA TEST

BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ

1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of the Canadian province British Columbia?

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which university or college has sports teams with the nickname “Golden Gophers”?

3. MEASUREMENTS: How many cups equal 1 quart?

4. TELEVISION: What was the name of the mansion in the TV series “Dark Shadows”?

5. ANATOMY: What are the tissues that hold bones together?

6. SCIENCE: What is the study of plants called?

7. MOVIES: What are the main food groups, according to Buddy in the movie “Elf”?

8. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the scientific adjective used to describe fish?

9. CURRENCY: What is the basic currency of Haiti?

10. INVENTIONS: Who is credited with the invention of vaccines?

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Halo sporter 6 Nest nuggets 10 Had no being 15 “Vamoose!”

19 “I wanna try!”

20 Cameo, e.g.

21 Lend -- (pay attention) 22 Poi source 23 Participants in a guided discussion 25 Longtime kids’ nature magazine 27 Spanish for “bear” 28 McDonnell Douglas jet 30 Refuge 31 Thelma’s cohort, in film 34 Use an entryway 35 Velvet or Hallow ender 36 -- hop (jitterbug) 37 14- to 18-year-old in a British youth association 40 Source copy: Abbr.

42 “BTW” part 43 You, in Berlin 44 Road given a no.

46 Pop-rock singer Simpson 50 Kind of sheet metal 54 Border illumination on some smartphones 57 Mini-whirlpools 58 What bran provides, to Brits 60 Grads.-to-be 61 Basso Pinza 62 Outfits anew 64 “No” voter 65 “-- culpa!”

66 Slender nails 67 Large cosmological aggregate

71 Imams’ God 75 U.S. tax org.

76 Berlin article 77 Ejected lava 82 Waste time 83 Party game 84 “-- not lost” 86 1980s TV’s Remington 87 1966 Wilson Pickett hit 90 The “I” of 75-Across 92 Show up for 93 Farm female 94 Abbr. for those with only one given name 95 Mil. unit 96 Tooth anchor 98 First extended stay on the International Space Station 104 Spiny plants 107 With 103-Down, didn’t know at all 109 Radio knob 110 Loin steaks 111 Put in order 113 Writer Franz 114 “Y” athlete 115 Annual Arizona football game 117 New York City fashion-industry agency whose name is apt for this puzzle 122 Shoe fillers 123 Conical tent 124 Comics’ Kett 25 “Peachy!”

126 Sommer of Hollywood 127 Lauder of fragrances 128 Asian nation 129 Garish

DOWN 1 TV title alien 2 Natal lead-in 3 Yukon maker 4 Avian-based skin care product 5 To a smaller degree 6 Botch it up 7 “Sheesh!”

8 Biochemical sugar 9 Erma Bombeck’s “The Grass Is Always Greener Over the -- Tank” 10 Alert 11 Actress Ortiz 12 Pick up on 13 1998 Winter Olympics city 14 Nonkosher 15 More direct 16 -- terrier 17 Curved 18 Sweet white wine 24 Word after film or play 26 Frank topper 29 Musician Brian 31 Vowel, e.g.

32 Bull leather 33 Capsizes 35 Ending for major 38 Conn. hours 39 Compulsion 41 Inferior mags 45 Someone -- problem 47 Tony winner Minnelli 48 Writer Blyton 49 Huge heads 51 More, in music 52 “Psycho” co-star Janet 53 Dog in “The Thin Man” 54 Bidding site 55 Common battery type

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PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS

AUTO SUGGESTION

©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.

56 Infuriated 59 “What You Need” rock band 63 Injured-arm supporter 65 Actor Paul 66 Yahoo 68 Left the bed 69 Kin of a tulip 70 Once, once 71 Mater lead-in 72 Yahoo 73 Rearmost 74 It lingers in the mouth 78 -- annum 79 Bodily band 80 Benes on “Seinfeld” 81 Investigates 83 Annul 84 Author Haley 85 A lot like 88 Rub oil on 89 Wowed 91 Future louse 94 Bismarck is its cap.

97 Realm of Oedipus 99 PalmPilot, e.g., in brief 100 -- Tower (Paris sight) 101 Agenda part 102 Like an oval or rectangle 103 See 107-Across 104 -- latte 105 Disney’s “Little Mermaid” 106 Streamlet 108 Become a parent to 112 Fence “door” 113 Swiss painter Paul 116 Really small 118 Berlin article 119 Water, to Somme folks 120 “Inc.” cousin 121 -- latte

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

THE SEEKER A NEW START

The winter solstice brings a new season and a new year

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BY KATIE GRANT

For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the December Solstice earmarks the longest night and shortest day of the year, also known as the first day of winter. Meanwhile, our friends in the Southern Hemisphere experience the opposite. An easy astronomical explanation: The December Solstice marks the day when the North Pole is tilted furthest from the sun.

This year, the December Solstice occurred on Monday, December 21, 2020. From here on, the days get longer, and the nights shorter — a seasonal shift that’s nearly palpable as we inch our way toward spring.

Not surprisingly, cultures and religions across the globe celebrate a holiday on or around the solstice — whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or pagan festivals — to help ring in the return of longer days.

For example, the United Kingdom’s most famous solstice celebration takes place at Stonehenge. On the winter solstice, visitors traditionally enter the stone circle for a sunrise ceremony run by local pagan and druid groups. I should note the reason I’m calling out this ceremony specifically is because after a recent DNA test I’ve discovered I’m 40% English, Welsh and northwestern European.

While I’d love to travel to England and experience this ancient cultural event in-person one day, I don’t have too much FOMO knowing the in-person celebrations have been canceled this year. A virtual, guided winter solstice yoga flow and meditation from home was key to celebrating the changing of seasons this year.

After RSVPing to a Facebook Live event, I received a Zoom link and joined a small group of women, all located across the Charlotte area. Our guide framed the online class as a blend of pranayama (breathwork), yoga and meditation, all of which incorporate the practice of Ayurveda.

According to WebMD, Ayurveda “is one of the world’s oldest holistic … healing systems. It was developed more than 3,000 years ago in India. It’s based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease...In the United States, it’s considered a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).”

With the guidance of our teacher, we initiated our winter solstice flow with a few gentle rounds of Sama Vritti Pranayama, or equal ratio breath. This is a slow and intentional breathwork practice, leaving the practitioner

feeling calm and balanced.

During our practice we learned this type of breathing mimics the fluid movement of the seasons, allowing us to slow down and appreciate the pause as we transition from one breath to the next, just as we flow from one season to the next. Sama Vritti is soothing because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, therefore reducing stress and anxiety — an accessible remedy for anyone experiencing pandemic fatigue underscored by holiday stress.

Moving into the physical portion of our practice, we took a moment to quietly set an intention for ourselves — something we would like to cultivate during the rest of our (virtual) time together, but also something that can be applied to the coming winter season (much like a new year’s resolution).

I view intentions as a compass guiding us toward our highest potential — something I like to remind yoga practitioners of when I teach a class. It’s easy to get lost amongst the drama of everyday life, so taking a quick glance at our “compass” to realign with our path of intention is comforting.

Rounding out our winter solstice practice was a

guided meditation — a relaxing mindfulness practice to inspire a sense of rest and renewal while providing space to divorce ourselves from negative habits, thought patterns and emotions that may not serve our best, future self. Note: This is a great place to pull out our “compass” and revisit our intention.

Lastly, we were given the option for reflective journaling. I’ll be honest with you — this is a concept that sounds cheesy, even as a writer. However, several studies have shown journaling can help improve mental, physical and emotional health. I’ve also read that journaling can help with time management and efficiency — a few things I can certainly use more of in the new year.

Well, what do you know?

I’ve just identified “daily reflective journaling” as a strong candidate for a new year’s resolution — a realization I would not have come to had it not been for sitting down to write this article.

If reflective journaling is a practice you’re committing to as a clean-slate practice, I’ve shared five journaling prompts fit for a new year, a new moon or new season; each is a powerful time to write, reflect and release.

What was my biggest personal achievement?

What was my most challenging lesson?

How can I integrate this lesson into my life?

What habits are no longer serving me?

What am I ready to let go of?

Happy writing, you just might come across a helpful resolution.

INFO@QCNERVE.COM

Connect with free virtual arts, science, and history experiences for all ages.

CULTURE

BLOCKS

Find upcoming events at ArtsAndScience.org/CultureBlocks

By Lucie Winborne • On Earth you need heat to fuse metal, but in space, due to the lack of atmosphere, two pieces of the same kind of metal will fuse together with just a little pressure in a process called cold welding.

• The average person will grow 590 miles of hair in their lifetime. Nose hairs alone contribute 6.5 feet of that.

• Digging a hole to China is possible if you start in Argentina.

• While adult giraffes usually sleep standing up, their offspring get more comfortable by hunkering down on the ground and taking advantage of their extra-flexible necks, twisting around to plop their heads on their own posteriors.

• The U.S. government gave Indiana University $1 million to study memes.

• Caffeine, which is found in tea leaves, guarana berries, kola nuts and, of course, coffee beans, acts as a natural pesticide. It overloads the nervous systems of insects that try to eat the plants containing it, paralyzing and even killing them before they can do too much damage.

• Liquids can boil and freeze at the same time.

• Can’t get your kids to eat their carrots and broccoli? Perhaps they suffer from lachanophobia, otherwise known as the fear of vegetables.

• Hurricanes release the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs.

• Harry Truman was the first president to celebrate Hanukkah in the White House. In 1951, he accepted a menorah from David Ben Gurion, the prime minister of Israel.

• Charles Dickens believed that sleeping facing north would improve his writing.

• Finland was the first nation to experiment with autonomous vehicles in urban conditions. The country’s laws don’t oblige drivers to be inside the vehicle. *** Thought for the Day: “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” — George Washington Carver © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

LIFESTYLE

HOROSCOPE DECEMBER 30 - JANUARY 5

JANUARY 6 - JANUARY 12

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Handle a potentially LIBRA

(September 23 to October 22) The ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A hectic period begins LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Travel and awkward situation by warming up your confidence revelation of a secret could cause some changes in to wind down. Take time to draw some deep breaths career are strong in your aspect. Perhaps your job reserves and letting it radiate freely. Also, expect an how to deal with a workplace matter. It very likely and relax before getting into your next project. A will take you to someplace exotic. Or you might old friend to contact you. also validates a position you have long held. long-absent family member makes contact. be setting up meetings with potential clients or employers. Whatever it is, good luck.

TAURUS

(April 20 to May 20) You’re eager to move forward with a new challenge that suddenly SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) It’s not too early SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) An dropped in your lap. But you’d be wise to take this Partnerships — personal or professional — which for the practical Bovine to begin planning possible attempt to get too personal could upset the very changes for 2021. A recent contact can offer some private Scorpio. Make it clear that there’s a line no one step at a time to allow new developments to began before the new year take on new importance.

They also reveal some previously hidden risks. So be come through. interesting insights. one crosses without your permission. warned.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You’re almost ready

to make a commitment. A lingering doubt or two, SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) however, should be resolved before you move ahead. Your associates are firmly on your side, and that unusual favor should be carefully checked out. Also The savvy Sagittarian might be able to keep a family An associate could provide important answers. persistent problem that has caused you to delay check the motives behind it. Your generosity should disagreement from spilling over by getting everyone some activities should soon be resolved to your be respected, not exploited. involved to talk things out.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Caution is still the satisfaction.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A request for an SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21)

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Party time beckons,

but for some Moon Children, so do some workplace challenges. Deal with the second first, then you’ll be free to enjoy the fun time.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) A warm response to an earlier request might be a positive indicator of what’s ahead. Meanwhile, Cupid could pay a surprise visit to single Leos looking for love.

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VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) How you respond to a proposed change in a project could affect your situation. Be prepared to show how well you would be able to deal with it.

watchword as you move closer toward a decision about a new situation. If you act too fast, you might CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Be miss some vital warning signs. Go slowly and stay Favorable changes continue to dominate, and you careful not to push people too hard to meet your alert. should be responding positively as they emerge. ideas of what the holiday weekend’s preparations Someone wants to become more involved in what should be. Best to make it a cooperative, not a LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your new goal looks you’re doing. coerced, effort. promising, and your golden touch does much to enhance its prospects for success. In your private life, AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A friend Cupid does his best to make your new relationship wants to share a secret that could answer some questions you’ve wondered about for a long time.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) An special.

Meanwhile, travel aspects continue to be strong. unexpected request could make you rethink a position you’ve had for a long time. Meanwhile, plan VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) That a family get-together for the weekend. impatient side of yours is looking to goad you into PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Stay on your moving before you’re ready to take that big step. new course despite so-called well-meaning efforts PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Someone might Stay calm and cool. Let things fall into place before to discourage you. Rely on your deep sense of selfawareness to guide you to do what’s right for you. find that it was a fluke to try to use your sympathetic you act. nature to get you to accept a situation you’re not comfortable with. Good for you.

BORN THIS WEEK: You like challenges that are both mental and physical, and you enjoy always beating your personal best.

BORN THIS WEEK:

You have the capacity to meet challenges that others might find overwhelming, and turn them into successful ventures.

2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.

LIFESTYLE COLUMN

PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS

SAVAGE LOVE LESBIAN DRAMA Ladies’ night

BY DAN SAVAGE

One of my very close friends, a lesbian, has been married for a couple of years now. It’s been nothing but drama since the day they met. My friend had a terrible home life growing up and doesn’t understand stability. She also has zero self-confidence. My friend and her wife are constantly calling the cops on each other, getting restraining orders, and then always breaking them and getting back together. I told her that if she likes this drama, that’s one thing. It’s another if my friend got dragged into it and doesn’t want to live this way! But she cannot seem to quit their relationship. My friend tells me, “Lesbian relationships are drama,” and says I don’t get it because I’m “so damn straight.” Two questions: Are all lesbian relationships drama? And can you explain the whole “price of admission” thing again? It might help to open my friend’s eyes to how unacceptable this shit is. She says she wants out but she also wants to be loved and doesn’t think it would be any better with someone else.

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DON’T REALLY ACCEPT MELODRAMATIC ACTIONS

If that lesbian friend of yours isn’t willing to listen to you because you’re straight, DRAMA, she’s not going to listen to my gay ass. So I shared your email with three lesbian friends of mine — think of them as a three-member circuit court of lesbian appeals — in the hopes that your lesbian would listen to their asses.

“Are lesbian relationships drama?” asked Tracey “Peaches” Cataldo, the executive director of the HUMP! Film Festival. “No. Maybe lesbian relationships are high-intensity. The shared experience of being gay, being women, communicating too much about everything — I mean, the U-Haul jokes resonate for a reason. However big feelings and big commitments don’t mean big drama.

In my own experience lesbian drama involves disagreeing about how many coats of paint are needed on a bathroom wall or one person wanting to fuck when the other wants to watch The Crown. It’s not normal for lesbian relationship ‘drama’ to require 911 calls and it’s definitely not okay for said drama to look like a cycle of violence or result in trauma. Don’t confuse drama for passion.”

“I’m not sure lesbian relationships are any more

drama than any other relationships,” said Katie Herzog, freelance dog-ball journalist (really) and cohost of the Blocked and Reported podcast, “but considering the surprisingly high rates of intimate-partner violence in lesbian relationships, they might actually be. Still, just because some lesbian relationships are drama doesn’t mean that all lesbian relationships are drama. Personally, I was involved in my fair share of soap operas as a young dyke, including once dating a woman who said she was possessed by a demon. (She was, the demon was coke.) But as an adult, the biggest drama in my relationship is The Undoing on Sunday nights on HBO. Either way, DRAMA’s friend’s relationship sounds unhealthy, and that’s not a lesbian thing.”

“Drama is saying your ex looked cute the last time you saw them on your current’s birthday,” said Cameron Esposito, the comedian and host of the podcast Queery.

“Lesbian drama is saying that while watching The L Word: Generation Q. Seems more like DRAMA’s pal may be in a cycle of abuse — using the clues of police, restraining orders, and a feeling that one cannot do better. From my own experience, abuse isn’t something a friend can stop and DRAMA’s best option here may be to suggest a support group — perhaps offer to attend with her — and then lovingly detach from fixing this. Not because DRAMA doesn’t care but because we cannot control the lives of the ones we love.”

Thank you for your service, lesbians, I’ll take it from here.

Okay, DRAMA, I’ll explain the “price of admission” concept: You see, there are always gonna be things about someone that get on your nerves and/or certain needs a romantic partner cannot meet — sexual or emotional — but if they’re worth it, if that person has other qualities or strengths that compensate for their inability to, say, fill the dishwasher correctly or their disinterest in butt stuff, then clearing up after dinner or going without anal is the price of admission you have to pay to be with that person. And those are reasonable prices to pay. But putting up with abuse — physical or emotional — isn’t a price that anyone should pay to be in a relationship.

And the price of admission doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships, DRAMA. So if putting up with this drama isn’t a price you’re willing to pay to be friends with this woman, you can refuse to pay it — meaning, you have every right to end this friendship if drama is all you’re getting out of it.

Ending the friendship might actually help your lesbian friend. People who confuse drama for passion often get off on having an audience, DRAMA, and always being available for a friend like that — always making yourself available for their drama — can have the opposite of its

TRIVIA ANSWERS: 4. Collinwood 8. Piscine 1. Victoria 5. Ligaments 9. Gourde 2. University of Minnesota 6. Botany 10. Edward Jenner 3. Four 7. Candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup intended effect. So by dropping everything and rushing time with her or her son since we started dating your friend’s side every time the shit hits the fan could be and she’s sad because she has no help, no friends, creating a perverse incentive for your friend to stay in this no blah blah blah. I need to cut the cord! I want shitty relationship. In cases like this, DRAMA, detaching a family and kids of my own and I’m planning to — like Cameron suggested — isn’t just the right thing to propose in the next few months. I love my sister, I do for yourself but the right thing to do for your friend as do, and for years I’ve been there to help pick up the well. Because once she sees there’s no audience she might pieces from her shitty choices, but now is my time to prioritize myself and my happiness. How do I decide to end the show.

Follow Katie Herzog on Twitter @KittyPurrzog and read make her see that without making her feel like I’m her dog ball journalism at moosenuggets.substack.com. abandoning her and her son?

Follow Cameron Esposito on Twitter @CameronEsposito. WORRIED AND PERPLEXED You can’t follow Tracey “Peaches” Cataldo on Twitter — because she isn’t on Twitter — but you can make and submit Even if there was some way to ask your sister to move a film for HUMP! (Info on submitting a film to HUMP! can be out that didn’t make her feel like you were abandoning found at humpfilmfest.com/submit.) her and her son, WAP, she would still do everything in her power to make you feel like you were abandoning them.

I’m a 35-year-old gay cis woman in New Jer- She knows that if she can make you feel bad enough, and sey. I’ve been in a wonderful relationship with if she can sow enough discord between you and your girlan amazing woman since April. In typical lesbian friend, she won’t have to get her own place or stand on fashion, she moved in over the summer and we’ve her own two feet. So brace yourself for a lot of drama, been inseparable ever since. My problem is that WAP, and be unambiguous and firm: Set a reasonable my sister and her 9-year-old son have been living date for her to find her own place, offer whatever finanin my home for the last four years. She has a ton of cial help you reasonably can, and make sure your nephew drama with her ex — her son’s father — and just has your number. It sounds like he’s going to need somethis past week my girlfriend had her first interac- place safe to run away to in a year or two — or in a month tion with the Department of Children and Family or two — and here’s hoping your girlfriend has it in her Services because of their drama. I’m used to it at heart to be there for him the way you have. this point but it freaked my girlfriend out. When Cameron Esposito is hosting an online party on Dec. 31 I purchased my home, I invited my sister to move in to help her get on her feet. It also meant I could at 9 p.m. — Cameron Esposito’s New Year’s Steve—with try for a closer relationship to my nephew. She was special sets, guests, and an early ball drop! It’s free but dogoing to finish her nursing degree so she could nations are welcome. For more info and tickets to Cameron’s support herself and her son. Four years later, she’s show, head over to dynastytypewriter.com. still an LPN and still living in my home with her bad attitude and so much drama. Last night, she had mail@savagelove.net; Follow Dan on Twitter a huge argument with my girlfriend while I was @FakeDanSavage; savagelovecast.com at work — I’m an ICU nurse and I work overnight — and she told my GF that I don’t spend enough

THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.

 -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

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Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.

-Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs.

-Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.

-Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Â? Â?

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ONLINE THERAPY OPTIONS

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OPEN PATH COLLECTIVE

A nonprofit that connects people with private practice therapists that choose to participate.

Digital therapy is available for a $59 membership tinyurl.com/opcollective Pg. 23 DEC 30 - JAN 12, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM

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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

An interactive website where users can enter their zip code to find a counseling professional near them online with phone and video options available. tinyurl.com/psychtodayonline €€

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(hopefully better)