Memphis Flyer 2/29/2024

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OUR 1827TH ISSUE

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you” when someone sneezes, a le over from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying. And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other. We want to be handed our cup of co ee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass. We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and re. Only these brief moments of exchange. What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these eeting temples we make together when we say, “Here, have my seat,” “Go ahead — you rst,” “I like your hat.”

— Danusha Laméris, “Small Kindnesses”

“We have so little of each other, now,” Laméris writes in the book Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection She’s right. Even those moments she conjures with her words are few and far between. Four years a er the collective isolation felt worldwide during the lockdowns of the Covid era, isolation persists. Apathy grows.

Many business o ces have closed, leaving 9-to-5ers working from home, bidding a bitter farewell to the camaraderie of o ce culture. Many “connections” are made via email or chat channels or social media, through the rectangular black mirrors we gaze into day in and day out, a screen rather than eye to eye; handshakes and hugs traded for thumbs-up and heart emojis. Much is lost in the digital world. And in the “real world,” much has changed. We shop online to avoid human interaction and long lines; grocery stores and retail outlets are understa ed, contributing to those longer lines; commuters angrily pass us only to rush to red lights, perhaps ipping the bird as they do; the patrons at the table next to us are impatient and rude to the server. Staying home is less stressful. So much for connectedness.

Friends and family (at least in my world) rarely have time to spend together; everyone’s too busy with kids, jobs, errands, chores. Such is adult life, it seems — chained to schedules, too tired when the day is done to connect with much more than our beds. Gone are the tribes in a time where we exchange most of our waking hours to pay the bills, to fund our creature comforts. at communal re is out.

I do still seek the eeting temples — chances to o er a smile to a stranger, give thank-yous to those who show small kindnesses. Although the world seems to have lost its so ness, it can still be found through the rough patches if you’re open to it. My eeting temples of late have mostly been in nature, admiring the new blossoms on my walks — signs that spring is coming; saying hello to my favorite neighborhood dog Lucy through her chain link fence; gazing at a full moon and the stars splashed across the dark canvas of sky; chasing a glorious ery pink sunset.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY - 4

POLITICS - 8

AT LARGE - 10

COVER STORY

“LIGHTS, KITCHEN, ACTION!”

BY MICHAEL DONAHUE - 12

WE RECOMMEND - 16

MUSIC - 17

AFTER DARK - 18

CALENDAR - 19

NY TIMES CROSSWORD - 20

ARTS - 23

BOOKS - 24

METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION - 25

NEWS OF THE WEIRD - 26

ASTROLOGY - 27

FILM - 28

NOW PLAYING - 29

Association

National Newspaper

CLASSIFIEDS - 30

LAST WORD - 31

In my continued quest for more sacred moments, if we cross paths, I’ll call back to tribe and re, to remind you we don’t inherently want to cause harm to one another. I’ll help you pick up your spilled lemons, pull my legs in to let you by, allow you to pass in tra c without a middle nger. Bless you (heart emoji). Don’t die.

Shara Clark

shara@memphis yer.com

As required by Tennessee Code Annotated Section

67-5-903, the Shelby County Assessor will be mailing Tangible Personal Property Schedules to all active businesses within Shelby County by Friday, January 12, 2024. The filing deadline is March 1, 2024. Please call the Shelby County Assessor’s office at 901-222-7002, if you need assistance.

PHOTO: SHARA CLARK A eeting temple

6, 2024

THE fly-by

{By Kailynn Johnson

Memphis on the internet.

SASSY STOLEN

For years, a Bigfoot statue welcomed Cooper-Young folks from stairs close to a sidewalk. Sassy wore seasonal costumes, like the University of Memphis jersey above.

Someone stole Sassy last Monday, Jennifer Jordan posted on Nextdoor. “Please keep an eye out!” she wrote.

HEART ACHE, WINDOW BREAK

“If anybody lives on Autumn or near High Point and you just heard a hysterical female screaming for over an hour,

I am very sorry, and everybody is okay, and to anybody reading just remember they’re an ex for a reason! And they won’t change!” Alex Singh posted on Nextdoor last weekend. “Anybody x windows?”

BACK TO THE PYRAMID

“I visited [the Pyramid] in my 1981 DeLorean when it was being built,” Clark Bennett wrote on Facebook. “I didn’t know until I went ‘Back to the Future’ it was destined to be a Bass Pro Shop.”

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

Driving While BIPOC

New report nds racial discrimination in tra c enforcement.

New data show that not only does tra c enforcement in Memphis seem to be ine ective in promoting a safer city, but Black residents receive four times as many tra c tickets as white residents.

Decarcerate Memphis, an organization devoted to solving systemic policing problems, published “ e People’s Report 2024: Driving While BIPOC” last Monday, which includes data collected from 2017 to August 2023. e group says their ndings conclude that tra c stops increased by a quarter following the death of Tyre Nichols.

KENNY ELIASON | UNSPLASH

“ is year’s report shows racial disparities continue — 81 percent of citations are issued to people of color in Memphis, who also receive 90 percent of tickets with two or more citations per ticket,” the group says. “Furthermore, the report nds no relationship between tra c stops and reported crimes, while citations for non-moving violations are associated with an increase in tra c fatalities.”

In the a ermath of the death of Tyre Nichols, Memphis City Council passed a number of driving ordinances such as the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols, which prohibits o cers from pulling drivers over for minor violations such as broken tail lights. However, Decarcerate Memphis’ report says that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) issued more citations.

Eighty-one percent of citations are issued to people of color in Memphis.

“Despite the ine ectiveness of non-moving violations on crime or road safety, MPD has signi cantly emphasized non-moving citations since 2020,” the report says. “A er all tra c enforcement cratered in March 2020, MPD o cers brought non-moving violations roaring back to pre-pandemic levels within months. Moving violations, meanwhile, are still in lockdown.”

A majority of MPD’s tra c citations (60-64 percent) since 2020 were the result of non-moving violations, the report says. e organization says this is a “weak strategy” and adds that court records proved that tra c enforcement does not help resolve serious crimes.

A er pulling a random sample of 1,432 court cases in 2023,

the group found that 150 of the cases were pretextual tra c stops with “minor infractions.” e data also concluded that 91 of these cases (61 percent) didn’t result in felony charges.

Discrimination was another key nding in the report, as Black people make up about 64 percent of Memphis’ population and were found to receive a majority of tra c tickets (74 percent). is further proved the assertion that non-moving tra c violations are not only ine ective in public safety measures but disproportionately a ect people of color.

“Black residents make up 81 percent of defendants in criminal court — among pretextual tra c stop defendants, 91 percent are Black,” the report reads. “Counterintuitively, white defendants are more likely than Black defendants to be convicted of petty charges. is likely re ects a relative absence of summoning white Memphians to court for charges that aren’t worth pursuing.”

Decarcerate Memphis added that their data suggests racial disparities can be “partially explained” by the types of tra c enforcement such as the Organized Crime Unit and the now disbanded SCORPION unit. ey say these o cers “spend less time on safety-related citations than conventional units.”

To illustrate this, the group compared citations from the “top ticketers of uniform patrol and specialized unit.” e ndings showed that 87 percent of the specialized unit o cers’ citations were for non-moving violations, while the uniform patrol o cers reported 22 percent. While specialized unit o cers’ main goal is to “take guns and drugs o the streets,” the organization says they rarely achieve their goal by pulling over and searching “suspicious” cars. Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for a fuller version of this story and more local news.

PHOTO:

Decarcerate Memphis says tra c enforcement does not help resolve serious crimes.

a passion for music, we are

all 6th-12th graders! Looking for a FUN and music-filled summer experience? Join the Stax Music Academy this June!

UNCORK SOME FUN

{By Toby Sells

Teaching Guns

Law would mandate gun safety courses for students as early as pre-K.

Every Tennessee student would have to get gun safety training at school under new Republican legislation, but some Democrats think the law accepts gun violence at school as a “new normal.”

e Tennessee Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act already mandates school safety planning strategies. It covers re emergencies, severe weather events, prohibits weapons, and more. e law also mandates school districts to have procedures in place to respond to the report of a rearm on campus.

A new bill would add gun safety curriculum to the SAVE Act and parents could not opt their child out of the training.

school as just an extension of safety training already happening at schools within the SAVE Act. He said members of gun clubs across the state, including the Alpha Gun Team of Memphis, stand behind the bill, too.

“We see this proposed legislation as a critical step in averting rearm-related accidents while fostering greater awareness and responsibility among gun owners,” Todd said in a hearing last Tuesday.

Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), a retired school teacher, said schools have long drilled students to react to acts of nature, like res and tornadoes. Guns have been around for a long time, too, she said.

The Science of Wine

With the new law, three state agencies — the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee Department of Education, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — would determine the most appropriate age to begin gun training for kids in school. But classes could start as early as pre-K and continue all the way through high school. Local school districts would then decide how to implement gun safety instruction into their students’ schedules.

“But we haven’t had our classes shot up,” she said. “ is isn’t something we should just accept as the new normal. We can stop this. And this [bill] isn’t going to do it.”

e bill would teach students about the safe storage of guns, school safety relating to guns, how to avoid injury if the student nds a gun, to never touch a found gun, and to immediately notify an adult of the location of a found gun. is instruction should be “viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.” e training should also not include the use or presence of live ammunition, live re, or live guns. School districts would decide who teaches the gun safety courses. ose courses “are certainly not about how to handle a rearm or proper techniques or anything like that,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County). “ is is literally going to be more on the lines of ‘if you see a gun, [tell] an adult.’”

Johnson said mandating students to take the gun safety course could trigger some students who had a history of gun violence in their family and would leave them at school alone without a parent to ensure they are okay.

Todd said students cannot now opt out of re safety training, even if they’ve been in a re or lost their home in a re. Students still need to learn re safety, he said.

“I thought we believed in parents’ choice.”

Todd said he sees gun training at

“I just think it’s part of life that we need to learn those skills,” Todd said.

Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) argued for an opt-out from the program, saying some parents may not want their children “talking [about], touching, or introduced to guns at all,” especially for some who want to opt out for “religious reasons.”

“We should be able to have someone to opt out of this if they don’t choose this as appropriate for their child,” Dixie said. “I thought we believed in parents’ choice.”

PHOTO: TOM DEF | UNSPLASH Some argued it accepts gun violence as a “new normal.”

HOSTED BY

PRESENTED BY

POLITICS By Jackson Baker

‘One Memphis’ Redux

Talk about déjà vu!

When Memphis Mayor Paul Young — still, some 50-odd days into his new administration, working on organizational matters — brought forth his latest innovation, involving the slogan “One Memphis” to denote a series of community meetings to come, echoes were generated in the minds and memories of numerous Memphians.

A er all, it was only 15 years ago that A C Wharton used the identical phrase “One Memphis” as a campaign slogan in the 2009 special election that rst landed Wharton in the mayor’s o ce to succeed the retiring Willie Herenton.

“ ere is absolutely nothing we cannot overcome if we work toward that goal as One Memphis,” Wharton would intone in his speeches, reinforcing the idea in an ad campaign that would sign o with the initials “A C” (familiar to his audiences then and later as the preferred shorthand for his uniquely accessible persona), followed by the words “One Memphis.”

di culty in getting o the mark, might have fared even better, reception-wise, had he been able to make the announcement of the new o ce in January, when his cabinet was rst being assembled, and better still if he could have had the appointment in hand of some credibly credentialed appointee. at might well have obviated the awkwardness and still unresolved discord which arose from his reappointment of C.J. Davis as police chief (as of now an interim position). Her continuation in o ce as a clear subordinate would have raised fewer hackles, if any at all, with the city council and with the general public.

Better late than never, even if the sequence seems a bit backwards.

It was Wharton’s way of distinguishing himself from the more volatile and divisive 16-year tenure of his predecessor.

No doubt Paul Young means something similarly comforting, coupling the two-word slogan with the phrase “Empowering Voices/Building Bridges” in a published logo announcing his forthcoming “One Memphis Tour,” which was to have its inaugural session at Whitehaven High School this week.

Another new venture by Young was embodied in his recent announcement of his intent to appoint someone to a newly created office, that of public safety director, which would have hierarchical dibs over that of police chief.

Overall, the idea was greeted with a positive public reaction, particularly in those circles where there is a desire to locate the duties of law enforcement within a larger, more holistic context of social reform.

at would seem to be Young’s purpose, though this is one of those cases where the devil (the angel, rather?) will be in the details.

Young, who has experienced some

• Gale Jones Carson, a longtime presence in the community as spokesperson for MLGW, was named last week as interim CEO of the local chapter of Urban League.

Carson’s successor as MLGW’S vice president of corporate communications, Ursula Madden Lund, meanwhile is having to wait for a reluctant city council to approve her $200,000 salary. e matter is up for discussion again next week.

• A proposed measure to provide lifetime healthcare bene ts to veterans of at least two city council terms took an abrupt nosedive last week, being rejected on third reading virtually unanimously by the new city council a er the previous council had approved it without a dissenting vote.

PHOTO: JACKSON BAKER e original “One Memphis” logo on a vintage souvenir umbrella from an A C Wharton mayoral campaign.

Mayor Young continues with his building blocks.

But up to 80 percent of cardiac events can be prevented. It’s no longer just about wearing red. It’s no longer just about sharing facts. It’s time for all women to stand together and be demanding when it comes to women’s heart health. Because together, we can inspire all women to be heart healthy.

Bruce VanWyngarden

A Bang-up Job

Last Friday, a civil court jury in New York City found Wayne LaPierre, the now-former head of the National Ri e Association (NRA), liable for mishandling $5.4 million of the organization’s money.

Apparently unable to squeak by on his meager $2.2 million annual salary, LaPierre rolled up charges of more than $270,000 for clothes from a Zegna boutique in Beverly Hills, billed tens of thousands of dollars for private charter ights for himself and relatives, and took numerous extravagant NRA-paid vacations. In addition, LaPierre o en billed the NRA for a stylist who charged $10,000 a session for hair and makeup for his wife, Susan LaPierre. Fancy!

e trial, prosecuted by New York Attorney General Letitia James, uncovered other duciary misdeeds, including that of LaPierre’s personal assistant, Millie Hallow, who he retained even a er she was caught funneling $40,000 in NRA money to pay for her son’s wedding.

In leading the “nonpro t” organization that is arguably responsible for more civilian gun deaths than any in American history, Wayne LaPierre got rich and lived large. He famously said, “ e only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” It now appears that you can also stop a bad guy with a gun with a lawsuit. Or at least, make him resign.

blood-stained benefactor by opposing such scary bills as the Protect America’s Schools Act and the Keep Americans Safe Act — which proposed to limit the size of gun magazines. It’s the position of Marsha, Mitch, and their NRA buddies that we can’t be forcing mass shooters to reload too o en because it infringes their Second Amendment rights.

Still, as I mentioned above, there is some hope that we may be witnessing the end of an era. According to the Open Secrets organization, the NRA recently reported its largest-ever yearto-year decline in federal lobbying spending — from $4.9 million in 2021 to $2.6 million in 2022. ere was also a decline in NRA spending in federal elections from $54.5 million in 2016 to $29.1 million in 2020.

GAGE SKIDMORE | CREATIVE COMMONS | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Wayne LaPierre

e truth is the NRA has been in something of a decline. Membership has dropped by nearly a third — from 6 million members to around 4 million members — in little more than ve years. And an internal audit cited by e New York Times found that the organization’s revenue is down 44 percent over the past eight years.

Despite these numbers, the NRA still has signi cant investments that pay consistent dividends year a er year.

ese include, among many others, senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Tennessee’s own Marsha Blackburn, who the NRA has funded to the tune of more than $1.3 million. (No word on whether Marsha was ever in line for one of those sweet $10,000 hairstylin’s.)

ese political stalwarts assist their

Even given those encouraging trends, however, there’s no denying that LaPierre and the NRA managed to thoroughly transform the American political landscape over the past 25 years. Few Republicans have the courage to support gun reform — because they fear the NRA. And thanks to the NRA, the Second Amendment has been twisted to mean that any kind of permit or gun training or limitation as to where guns can be carried is a violation of holy writ. “Democrats will take your guns” is an ever-recurring election year mantra for the GOP. More than half of the 50 states have essentially no gun regulations for permitting or carrying. oughts and prayers are allowed — for now — but don’t get too carried away with those thoughts.

ere is a 2013 video obtained by e New Yorker of LaPierre shooting an elephant in Africa. It’s on YouTube, but I do not recommend that you watch it, unless you consider such hunting a “sport.” LaPierre is guided to an ambush position where he can shoot the great animal from close range. It falls to the ground, lying still, groaning in agony. LaPierre takes three more shots into the moaning beast from 20 feet away but is unable to hit the kill spot pointed out by the guide, who is nally forced to make the kill.

ere is a metaphor there for Republicans. ere is a lesson there for all of us. Who can name the great beast?

PHOTO:

e NRA under Wayne LaPierre transformed U.S. politics.

April 12 - 14

LIGHTS, KITCHEN, ACTION�

Mosa’s Eddie Pao: movie director turned restaurateur.

Michael Donahue

Once he was capturing movie magic in Taiwan; now Eddie Pao serves up a new kind of magic in the kitchen.

Eddie Pao no longer directs motion pictures like he did in Taiwan. Instead, Pao, the owner of Mosa Asian Bistro, directs his kitchen sta .

Pao — aka “Mr. Eddie” — has been synonymous with Asian cuisine in Memphis for almost half a century.

is includes his famous hot and sour soup as well as his wonton and pad thai dishes.

Pao, 79, who still comes to work every day at his restaurant at 850 South White Station Road in Eastgate Shopping Center, has manned ve other restaurant locations since he opened his rst Memphis spot in the late ’70s.

In addition to serving lunch and dinner, Mosa caters events almost daily. e restaurant prepares meals for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and for sports teams, including the University of Memphis Tigers.

If he’s not in the o ce, Pao is helping out in the kitchen making sure his fresh menu items are properly prepared.

“I have known Mr. Eddie since I was a kid,” says Jonathan Mah, owner of SideStreet Burgers in Olive Branch, Mississippi. “He has the best hot and sour soup in the city.”

e soup is “the perfect blend of sweet and spicy and sour.”

Mah, who had “the spicy dumplings and Eddie’s favorite noodles” on his last visit to Mosa, says, “I love the spice in the dumplings.”

Edd�e’s Way

Born in Hunan province in China, Pao and his family moved to Taiwan when he was 5 years old.

Pao was a rebel growing up; he wanted to do things his way. “When I was little, to tell you the truth, I didn’t follow a er my mother and father too much because they were very old-tradition people,” he says.

His parents showed him their way of doing things. ey “wanted to go this way,” Pao says, but he thought, “Maybe I can go this way faster.”

Pao’s father worked as an accountant for the government, which was under Chiang Kai-shek, but Pao’s family wasn’t wealthy.

ey had “very little money,” Pao says. eir extended family of 40 people lived in one house. Some of them had to sleep on the oor, he recalls.

Pao didn’t like to study. “I go to school, but I don’t follow the teacher too

much. Just like I don’t follow my daddy and momma too much.”

He played basketball, and he loved comic books, including ones about Tang Sanzang, a 16th-century Buddhist monk.

Pao’s grandfather remarried a er his wife died. Shing Tai Tai, which means “new grandma,” was the cook in the family. “She liked to cook soup for us. Tofu with yellow sprouts.”

ough he serves them in dishes at Mosa, Pao stays away from sprouts. “I don’t eat that any more. Ten years I eat that every day. I miss her cooking, but I don’t eat that.”

“He’ll take out the sprouts,” adds Pao’s daughter, Michelle Pao Levine, who along with her brother, Alex Pao, helps run Mosa.

Another great cook in Eddie’s life was his mother-in-law. She made dishes Pao later would serve in his restaurants: Szechuan chicken, Kung Pao chicken, and General Tso’s chicken.

Eddie didn’t do any of the cooking back then: “I watched and I helped clean up.”

But, he says, “She showed me how to make recipes. How to cook.”

Which came in handy later. “My sauce is di erent from every other restaurant ’cause my sauce is homemade and the recipe came from her.”

L�ghts, Camera, Act�on�

F ollowing high school, Eddie enrolled in the motion picture

continued on page 14

PHOTOS: (ABOVE) COURTESY EDDIE PAO; (LEFT AND RIGHT) MICHAEL DONAHUE

continued from page 13

department at an art college because he wanted to learn to make movies. “I always had an imagination from reading comic books.”

A er he graduated, Eddie got a job at a privately owned motion picture studio in Taiwan.

He followed the director around at rst. “One month and a half later, the director said, ‘Hmmm. How come you know that much?’”

e director was so impressed he said, “You can be my assistant director on my next movie.”

In one movie Eddie worked on as assistant director, the main director, who was from Hong Kong, only spoke Cantonese. But the actor in the movie only spoke Mandarin. So, Eddie became the translator. “ e actor and the director cannot understand each other. I’m very lucky. My grandmother is Cantonese, so I can speak it. And I speak Mandarin well; that’s my own language. A lot of things depended on me to nish the movie.”

Eddie eventually moved up to become a director. He believes what he learned directing movies helped him later on in the restaurant business: how to prepare for what you want to make. And then a er you make it, check to make sure you did it right, he says.

When he was 29, Eddie directed a kung fu movie about a 19th-century judge named Pao Ching Tien, or “Pao Kung,” which was his nickname.

Eddie, who isn’t a kung fu artist, says someone else on the set taught the actors how to “hit and kick.”

He also directed a movie with Charlie Chin, who was a heartthrob at the time. “He was a very handsome man.”

e lm with Chin, a “very, very famous star” in Taiwan, was the last lm Pao directed. He says Chin, who was “very nice” to him, told him he’d never cried before when he made a movie, but he couldn’t stop crying on the movie Eddie was directing. Eddie believes the plot rekindled memories from Chin’s own life.

Eddie also got in front of the camera. In one movie, he played the part of a student learning from a kung fu master, but he didn’t have to do any kung fu moves in the lm.

From Mov�es to Memph�s

I

n 1977, Eddie, his wife, and daughter, moved to Memphis, where his sister lived. He wanted to pursue the movie business in the United States, but he had a “language problem,” Eddie says. “I have to give it up. I have to make a living.”

It didn’t take him long to gure out what to do. “At that time I thought about my mother-in-law. I learned a lot from her.”

He thought, “Okay, I’ll open a restaurant.’’ Eddie began with “a very small

restaurant” and “very little money” when he was 33 years old.

His rst restaurant, which he bought from some friends who were anxious to sell it, was on Summer Avenue near Holmes Street.

He kept the previous restaurant’s name, which was “Formosa,” he says. “I didn’t need to change the name. I don’t need to spend more money.”

Eddie wouldn’t open the restaurant until he was satis ed with the food he was making. “I was testing until I was happy. And then I opened.”

would be happy to help him.

e new location on Summer Avenue near Highland Street had 24 tables and a bigger kitchen. People were waiting outside the rst day when he opened the doors for business, Eddie says. All the tables lled up, and more people were “waiting for a table” a half hour later.

Over the years, Eddie opened other Formosa locations. One, which he later sold, is still on Quince Road. In 1995, he opened a Formosa in Germantown, but he later closed it because there wasn’t enough parking.

“Prior to him opening, most of the other restaurants were serving Cantonese-style food,” Pao Levine says. “ at food tends to not be spicy.”

“He brought spicy Chinese food to Memphis,” Alex says.

Eddie’s restaurant was an instant hit. “Many customers waited for almost an hour and a half, two hours. It was a small, nine-table restaurant.”

He stayed at that location for two years. In addition to enjoying the food, his customers taught him how to speak better English.

One customer, who worked for a bank, told Eddie he should open a bigger restaurant. Later, he told Eddie, “Hey, I found some place not too far from here. It’s bigger. Go get it.”

e man also told Eddie his bank

Mak�ng Mosa

In 2004, Eddie opened his rst Mosa Asian Bistro on Poplar Avenue at Kirby Parkway. Pao Levine, who began working at Mosa a er she graduated from college, says Mosa “kept the greatest hits from Formosa” and added the “best hits” of other styles of Asian cuisine. ey served “Japanese, ai, Vietnamese, and Korean” as well as Mandarin food.

Mosa was “more relaxed, more casual, and also a family atmosphere,” Alex says. “Formosa was a little more formal.” e rst Mosa didn’t start o with a bang. “Kirby was a tough location,” Pao

Levine says. People were saying, “What is this Asian fusion? Pan Asian?”

But, she adds, “Within two months, we were a full house.”

Chinese restaurants were changing. e “tradition of an old-style sit-down full-service” Asian restaurant was dying out, Alex says.

Eddie never had a bu et at any of his restaurants. “He was always about fresh, made to order,” says Pao Levine. “Always. And still is.”

In 2008, Eddie opened his current Mosa location. It was in a better building with better parking and better visibility.

ey still featured some items that Eddie sold at his rst restaurant location, like hot and sour soup, spring rolls, sesame chicken, fried rice, and Szechuan chicken.

ey also added new items, including a range of pad thai dishes, the “most well-known noodle dish in ailand,” Pao Levine says. in rice noodles stir fried and sautéed in a soy peanut sauce.

Eddie learned a basic pad thai recipe, but he made his own version, which was spicier with bolder avors.

Mosa also began serving pho. eir head chef, A-Ton, is from Vietnam.

Asian beef sliders made with mini challah buns from nearby Ricki’s Cookie Corner & Bakery is their newest item.

When they rst opened the new Mosa location, Eddie’s wife Charleen made desserts, including blueberry tortes, cheesecake, and cupcakes. ey even put in a commercial bakery for her.

“Most Asian mothers do not bake American-style desserts,” Pao Levine says. “Asian desserts tend to not be as sweet.”

Charleen “just taught herself” to bake, Pao Levine says. eir mother, who is “Dad times 10,” is “such a perfectionist. No one can pipe the cream the way she wants it.”

Mosa stopped selling desserts a er Charleen stopped baking for the restaurant years ago. She says she’s too busy with the grandchildren.

In October 2013, Mosa was featured on the Cooking Channel’s Cheap Eats Eddie made his ai Rainbow Panang Curry with Chicken.

ey closed the restaurant during the shoot. “My dad, you could tell he was in his element because he loved being on camera,” Pao Levine says.

e director was a bit stando sh, but that didn’t stop Eddie. “In between takes he would just walk up to the director’s chair and say, ‘Excuse me. Can I take a quick peek at what you’ve done?’ He was really curious about what kind of angle she took a shot. He was wondering what she was trying to capture.

“Half an hour later, they were best friends. She found out talking to Eddie that he was a lm director. Between every take she’d ask him, ‘What do you think about this?’ ‘What do you think about that?’ He has such a great eye.”

PHOTO: MICHAEL DONAHUE e Pao family

THE KENT

6-9 PM + VIP 5-6PM

50+ TYPES OF WHISKEY, SCOTCH, AND BOURBON

MUSIC BY DJ ZETTA

CIGARS

LOCAL EATS

VIP HOUR

TASTINGS BY CROWN ROYAL

BULLEIT BOURBON

JOHNNIE WALKER

GEORGE DICKEL

CALUMET FARMS BOURBON

CORSAIR DISTILLING

DIRTY MONKEY WHISKEY

DOUGH BALL WHISKEY

JOSEPH MAGNUS BOURBON

LEIPERS FORK DISTILLING

LOG STILL DISTILLING

OLD DOMINICK DISTILLING

CLYDE MAYS BOURBON

PENELOPE BOURBON

THE BALVENIE

TRAVELLER WHISKEY

+ MANY MORE

BENEFITING:

march

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Sound On

By Abigail Morici

On Friday, March 1st, Quark eatre will stage Adam Rapp’s Tony-nominated e Sound Inside, directed by Tony Isbell. e play, starring Kim Justis and Taylor Roberts, revolves around two characters, an isolated creative writing professor and her enigmatic student. “ e play is about how the two of them get entwined in each other’s lives,” says Isbell. “ ey develop a relationship, not a romantic relationship, and — this is the part I can’t give away — Bella [the professor] makes a request of the young man, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to do it or not. And at the same time the young man is telling her the story of the novel he’s writing, and the audience is not sure whether what he’s telling is just a novel he’s writing, or if this actually happened to him. And there is some mystery about it and a little bit of suspense about it.”

Isbell continues, “It’s the kind of play that I love. It has some real emotion in it, but it also has some comedy. In fact, it has one of the funniest monologues I’ve ever heard in a play. Some of it is amusing. Some of it is, like I said, mysterious, and it’s something that people will be trying to gure out exactly if what you’re seeing is true or not. You could say that both of these characters are unreliable narrators.” is will be the regional premiere of e Sound Inside. “We look for plays that are newer, that haven’t been done in Memphis, that are unique in some way or another,” Isbell says of Quark. “We tend to like small casts and shows that don’t require a lot in the way of set or special costumes because that’s just our aesthetic, a kind of minimalist aesthetic.” is season, the theater company has already put on the American premiere of e Wasp to a sold-out run, and they’ll also be putting on another regional premiere with Constellations by Nick Payne in May. As of right now, Isbell says, opening night of e Sound Inside only has eight tickets le .

Tickets for the 90-minute-long show with no intermission can be purchased at quarktheatre.com. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through March 17th. A pay-what-you-can performance will be on Monday, March 11th, at 8 p.m.

THE SOUND INSIDE, THEATRESOUTH, FIRST CONGO CHURCH, 1000 S. COOPER, PERFORMANCES MARCH 1-MARCH 17, $20.

Memphis Whiskey Warmer Festival

e Kent, 61 Keel, Friday, March 1, 6-9 p.m., $44-$99

Whiskey lovers, bundle up for an evening of live music, good food, and exceptional spirits at Memphis Whiskey Warmer.

is elevated event is designed for whiskey a cionados and newcomers alike, with distillers pouring samples of premier whiskey, bourbon, and scotch while providing education for those looking to learn more. Enjoy live entertainment, local food trucks, a photo booth, a cigar lounge, and more.

Purchase VIP tickets for early access to the event, plus access to premium, rare, and experimental whiskey o erings, and complimentary light bites. is event is strictly 21+ and bene ts Volunteer Memphis, so every sip counts.

Pete Davidson Wellness Check Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison, Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., $60-$105

Pete Davidson of SNL and celebrity boyfriend fame is bringing his Wellness Check tour to Memphis’ Minglewood Hall. is event will be a phone-free experience. Purchase tickets in advance at minglewoodhallmemphis.com.

Tennessee Equality Project Gumbo Contest

Memphis Sports & Events Center, 995 Early Maxwell, Sunday, March 3, 4:30-7 p.m., $30 TEP’s annual celebration brings together teams from near and far to compete for the best gumbo in Memphis. Your support of this event helps LGBTQ advocacy efforts in Tennessee. Live music by the Lucky 7 Brass Band.

Science Cafe

Abe Goodman Golf Clubhouse, 2080 Poplar, Tuesday, March 5, 5:30 p.m., $5/recommended donation

Wind down from the workday by learning something new over drinks. Join Overton Park Conservancy at the Golf Clubhouse for a happy hour with guest speakers who will share unique perspectives from their corners of the scienti c world.

This month’s topic is the Hydrogeology of the Memphis Sand Aquifer with Sarah Houston and Scott Schoefernacker of Protect Our Aquifer, as they speak on balancing aging infrastructure, explosive growth, and sustainability. Be ready to learn, ask questions, and celebrate the Memphis Sand Aquifer in honor of World Water Day in 2024. Register at overtonpark.org/ event.

PHOTO: COURTESY TONY ISBELL

Kim Justis and Taylor Roberts star in e Sound Inside.

MUSIC By Alex Greene

‘Yeah, you’re a folk musician!’

Maxann’s

This year’s Folk Alliance International (FAI) conference and awards show, which just happened in Kansas City last week, was especially meaningful for Rachel Maxann. It was on this, her third visit to the annual gathering of global folkies, that she was first featured as an artist in the conference’s Official Showcase. And that’s causing her to look back in wonder at the musical journey she’s been on since moving to Memphis.

“I think living in Memphis really helped me embrace the folksiness of my music in a way that I hadn’t before,” she reflects now. “Because, as a Black female, I’ve always written songs like this, but I hadn’t really thought of myself as a folk musician. I would just call it ‘indie singer songwriter’ because I hadn’t seen that representation before. Of course, I admired the greats like Tracy Chapman, who’s finally getting her flowers once again.” Indeed, Chapman just garnered a Lifetime Achievement Award at the FAI last week. Yet not long ago, learning of the many other uncategorizable artists beyond Chapman was an epiphany of sorts for Maxann.

“It wasn’t until I moved to Memphis that I heard people like Valerie June, or Amythyst Kiah, or Allison Russell, and all these other amazing like Black female folk artists,” she says. “I really started embracing that. And then of course, the community of Memphis and Music Export Memphis [MEM] were full of people that were like, ‘Yeah, you’re a folk musician!’ And I’m like, ‘You know, I am.’ It was Elizabeth [Cawein of MEM] who reached out to me about signing up for the FAI. Here we are a few years later.”

She’s been busy in that time, having followed up her 2019 debut, Fickle Hellcat, with last year’s Black Fae, and the sonic evolution between the two has been

“I just take whatever I’m feeling and transform it into a cathartic experience via music.”

PHOTO:

JAMIE HARMON | AMURICA Rachel Maxann

striking. Whereas her debut captured the sound of her band running through a set of her eclectic originals, Black Fae aims for more ambitious production and offers more surprises. It first reveals Maxann’s embrace of her inner folk artist, opening with only her voice and acoustic guitar on “Wait for Me.” But it ranges far and

wide from there, often with her wellhoned band, but sometimes beyond that. The sweeping synths of “Goddess,” for example, could be one of those ’90s tracks by Brian Eno and John Cale, if they’d had Annie Lennox singing. For Maxann, reaching in these ways is the point, and that’s especially true of her latest single,

See and try the latest in contact lens styles for comfort and optimal vision

“The Tides,” slated to drop on March 4th.

“When I release the song, it will be a version with just me and my guitar, singing solo, but there’s also the band version. I’m going to be doing both the versions at Folk Alliance as well. And then there’s also a version with my trio [featuring Tamar Love on cello and Alice Hasen on violin]. There are so many versions of the song! I will also be releasing the trio version as a lyric video. So you know, whatever version of ‘The Tides’ you like the best, it’ll be out there. Choose your own adventure!” she laughs, then adds, “Those are my favorite types of books.”

In the meantime, not overly concerned with genre tags, Maxann will continue to go where her deepest feelings take her, always expressed through her powerful voice, steeped in soul but with the plainspokenness of folk. Some call it the latter, but don’t expect any political anthems: Maxann embraces more of the personal side of folk than the music’s more activist tradition.

“I just take whatever I’m feeling and transform it into a cathartic experience via music,” she explains. “I did an interview a while ago, and one of the questions was, ‘Do you feel the need to write about being Black, or being queer, or being a woman in folk?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, not necessarily. I feel that just by writing the songs that I do, singing my experience, that in itself is singing about being Black, female, queer, or whatever. I feel like I’d be forcing it if I tried to sit down and write a protest song. If it inspires me one day, if it comes to me like that, I totally will. I’m not against it. It just hasn’t ever really hit me like that.’”

Rachel Maxann will appear at Hernando’s Hide-a-way on Friday, March 8th, as part of a songwriters-in-the-round show, and on March 28th, opening for Dale Hollow.

Rachel

journey to Folk Alliance International.

February 29-March 6, 2024

AFTER DARK: Live Music Schedule February 29 - March 6

Madaline Collins

Saturday, March 2, 2 p.m.

GHOST RIVER BREWING

Mick Kolassa

Blind Mississippi Morris

ursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

Bluff City Born

Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Brad Birkedahl Band

Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

Buddy Albert Nemenz

ursday, Feb. 29, 1-5 p.m.

SILKY O’SULLIVAN’S

Celebrity Cypher

Southern Soul and Blues Southern soul and blues to come together in an open mic hosted by recording artist Marqee of Soul. Friday, March

1, 7 p.m.

K3 STUDIO CAFE

Charvey Mac, Walt Phelan Band

Saturday, March 2, 1-6:30 p.m.

GRIND CITY BREWERY

Computermane

Friday, March 1, 10 p.m.

TIN ROOF

David Ingle One Man Piano Show

Sunday, March 3, 6 p.m.

SILKY O’SULLIVAN’S

Divercity

Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

DJ Alpha Whiskey

ursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL

DJ Marcjayy

Tuesday, March 5, 10 p.m.

TIN ROOF

DJ Ooouuuweeee

Saturday, March 2, 10 p.m.

TIN ROOF

DJ Stringbean

ursday, Feb. 29, 10 p.m.;

Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Dueling Pianos

ursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

SILKY O’SULLIVAN’S

Earl “The Pearl” Banks

Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

Eli Adams

Friday, March 1, 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Eric Hughes

ursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Flic’s Pic’s Band

Saturday, March 2, 4 p.m.;

Sunday, March 3, 3 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

FreeWorld

Sunday, March 3, 8 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Grind City Music

Festival x South Main

Sounds

Enjoy beer samples from Grind City Brewing, and catch an exclusive performance from Raneem Imam! Friday, March 1, 6-8 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

Saturday, March 2, 6 p.m.

SOUTH MAIN SOUNDS

Moniquea

Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

CENTRAL STATION HOTEL

Reagan Strange

Friday, March 1, 3 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 3 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Rodell McCord

Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, March 6, 8 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Soul St. Mojo

Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

The B.B. King’s Blues Club All-Star Band

Friday, March 1, 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

The Blues Trio

Saturday, March 2, noon; Sunday, March 3, noon.

B.B. KING’S BLUES CLUB

The Krackerjacks

Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

THE PEABODY HOTEL

The Railriders

Friday, March 1, 10 p.m.

BLIND BEAR SPEAKEASY

The Rockin 88’s

Monday, March 4, 7 p.m.

BLUES CITY CAFE

The Shed: Monthly Youth Open Mic Night

An open mic event for local talent. Friday, March 1, 7 p.m.

STAX MUSIC ACADEMY

Vince Johnson

Monday, March 4, 7 p.m.;

Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.

RUM BOOGIE CAFE

Wesley Walker

Friday, March 1, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 10:30 p.m.

TIN ROOF

Friday, March 1, 6:30 p.m.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL LIBRARY

Area 51

Friday, March 1, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Austin Lucas, Death Cums, W1ndow, Suroor $8, $10. Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Bill Nace

$13.35. Sunday, March 3, 11 a.m.

GONER RECORDS

Black Joe Lewis with Shane Guerrette $15. ursday, Feb. 29, 8 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Boogie Nights!: A ’70s

Disco Funk Dance Party row on your best polyester suit, dance dress, big hair, bell-bottoms or any ’70s digs and get lost in time to some of the best ’70s disco tracks, club hits, dance soul, and funk beats ever made. 18+. $10. Saturday, March 2, 10 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Brezay Album Listening Event

Free. Friday, March 1, 6 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Bruce and Lindsey Kee Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Andrew’s False Consciousness, The Writer/The Signal, Joseph Jenkins

$5. ursday, Feb. 29, 6 p.m.

HAVEN HAUS

John Williams & the A440 Band ursday, Feb. 29, 8 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Natchez & Bob Nelson

$10. Friday, March 1, 8 p.m.

NEIL’S MUSIC ROOM

Stray Cats’ Lee Rocker

$45. Friday, March 1, 7 p.m.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST.

MARY’S SCHOOL

5 Fridays of Jazz: Memphis Black Arts Alliance ft. Joyce Cobb

5 Fridays of Jazz will be a showcase of smooth sounds, satisfying sips, and more. Free.

Chroma Fest

Macy Pearson, Dozer Sweezly, Anna Rose Baker, A er Hours, and Zoe Dominguez. All proceeds go towards Crosstown High School’s mural design class. $10. Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m.

HI TONE

Devil Train ursday, Feb. 29, 9:30 p.m.

B-SIDE

Dicqbeats, Cel Shade, Whit3corset, Stained00 $10. Sunday, March 3, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

General Labor, Etta

Havoc

Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Gutta Nation

Nolan Void at 10 p.m., Don Twan at 11 p.m., SOULJUNK at midnight, Kurvbal at 1 a.m. 18+. $10. Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Ibex Clone, Axis Sova, DJs Damp Velour & Natalie

$12. Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Joe Restivo 4

Sunday, March 3, 11 a.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Knoll, Ritual Fog, Pressed

$12. Tuesday, March 5, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

Landslide: A Tribute to the Music of Fleetwood Mac

Saturday, March 2, 5 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Lucky 7 Brass Band, DJ Qemist

Saturday, March 2, 10 p.m.

BAR DKDC

Massey Lane, Above Jupiter, After Hours, My Skin Is Wax $10. Saturday, March 2, 6 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

Michael Shults Quartet featuring Bennett Wood $15/advance, $20/at the door, $10/students. Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Mustache the Band ’90s country party. $19.20.

Friday, March 1, 10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Ozark Riviera with The Eastwoods, and Fearless Dave & TT

$10. Friday, March 1, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Recent Future, Crockett

Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

LAMPLIGHTER LOUNGE

Risky Whispers, The Heavy Pour, Screamer

$10. Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

Roxi Love

Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Scott Sudbury

Sunday, March 3, 3 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Wyly & The Coyotes ursday, Feb. 29, 7-10 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

WYXR Pull-Up

A dynamic collaboration with neighboring organizations, including the Memphis Listening Lab and Dragon y Collective, featuring live music, DJs, and more. ursday, Feb. 29, 6 p.m.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Grace Pettis, Robby Hecht $15. Friday, March 1, 8 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY

Greg Stokes

ursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY

Jeff Rogers Band

Stephen M. Lee In The Moment Album Release Show

$15/advance, $20/at the door.

Friday, March 1, 7:30 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

Steve Hopper

Monday, March 4, 6 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Tab Benoit with JD Simo

Wednesday, March 6, 8 p.m.

RAILGARTEN

The Hi-Jivers, Heartbreak Hill Trio

$10. ursday, Feb. 29, 8 p.m.

HI TONE

The KLiTZ Sisters

What do Alex Chilton and Jim Dickinson have in common? e founding members of the most controversial band to ever come out of Memphis are returning to the B-Side. ursday, Feb. 29, 7-9 p.m.

B-SIDE

The Stolen Faces

21+. $10. Friday, March 1, 10 p.m.

B-SIDE

Thru It All with Macrophonics & More

$10. Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.

GROWLERS

Vinyl Group Therapy in the SoundRoom

Free. Group album listening session on Saturday a ernoons. Albums are selected from the MLL collection that are important, culturally signi cant, or sonically groundbreaking. Saturday, March 2, 1-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Vinyl Happy Hour with Shangri-La Records DJs

Friday, March 1, 3 p.m.

MEMPHIS LISTENING LAB

Walrus

Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

We Rappin

Promise TMG, Arbully, Brandon Blvd., Empee, and Dante Lee. 18+. $10. ursday, Feb. 29, 7:13 p.m.

GROWLERS

Will Tucker Band

Sunday, March 3, 7 p.m.

LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM

Saturday, March 2, 4-8 p.m.

HORSESHOE CASINO TUNICA

Rumours ATL

Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute return to Graceland Soundstage. $25. Friday, March 1, 8 p.m.

GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE

Steven Curtis Chapman

Steven Curtis Chapman, the most awarded artist in Christian music history, is bringing his “Still Tour” to Graceland Live. $39.50. Sunday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.

GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE

Truck Patch Revival

Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

HORSESHOE CASINO TUNICA

Awadagin Pratt: Piano Prowess

e renowned pianist who has played from the Kennedy Center to Lincoln Center and for presidents Clinton and Obama joins Iris Collective for an unforgettable evening. $45-$70. Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.

GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Classy Vibes ft. The Soul 7 Band & Lady E-Flat

Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.

BOMBAY BALLROOM

Eye to Eye Band

Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

T.J. MULLIGAN’S CORDOVA

Lake Vocal Studios: Black History Recital Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m.

QBHOME PAINT & SIP STUDIO

Memphis Blues Society Weekly Jam

ursday, Feb. 29, 7:30 p.m.

ROCKHOUSE LIVE

Memphis Mojo

Friday, March 1, 9 p.m.

ROCKHOUSE LIVE COLLIERVILLE

Memphis Mojo

Saturday, March 2, 6 p.m.

DELTA BLUES WINERY

Singer Songwriter

Sundays Enjoy some of the areas best local musicians every Sunday. Sunday, March 3, 4-6 p.m.

MEDDLESOME BREWING COMPANY

PHOTO: JEAN FRANK Tab Benoit

CALENDAR of EVENTS: Feb. 29 - March 6

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“A Passionate Vision”

Enjoy colorful photographs of Collierville captured by local artist Adarryll Jackson Sr. rough March 2.

MORTON MUSEUM OF COLLIERVILLE

HISTORY

“Branching Out”

Discover intricate connections between students, teachers, and casting communities, which branch out much like a family tree. rough Sept. 8.

METAL MUSEUM

“Breaking the Rules: Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown”

Seventy- ve paintings, watercolors, and drawings spanning the entirety of the artists’ careers. rough March 31.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“China Blues: The World of Blue and White Ceramics” e collection includes a range of objects from the Ming and Qing dynasties in a wide array of materials. rough May 31.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Cosmic Dust”

Exhibition of work by Greely Myatt. rough March 16.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“Everyday People: Snapshots of The Black Experience”

A photography exhibition showcasing Memphis artist Eric Echols’ photo collection of 20th-century African Americans. rough July 14.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

“Ghetto Girls Deserve Good Things”

Zaire Love’s ode to the originators of carefree expressive style and culture that in uences contemporary culture. rough March 1.

BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY

“Iliumpta”

Birdcap’s retelling of Homer’s Iliad set in the Southernmost bayous of Mississippi. rough April 28.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“It’s a Memphis Thang”

Featuring new works by Anna Kelly and Calvin Farrar. rough March 7.

BUCKMAN ARTS CENTER AT ST.

MARY’S SCHOOL

“Learning Through the Language of Art”

Exhibition presented by Literacy Mid-South and Arkwings, featuring work by Mattie Ward, Ashely Davis, and April Foxx. rough March 27.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

“Lest We Forget … Images of the Black Civil Rights Movement “

Showcasing 35 powerful portraits and images by Robert Templeton, captures key gures and moments from the Black

Civil Rights Movement. rough May 6.

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

“Mirrors”

Dylan Spaysky’s simple holographic manipulations of re ection, transparency, and light. rough March 9.

TOPS GALLERY: MADISON AVENUE PARK

“Radical Jewelry

Makeover: The Artist Project”

Making innovative jewelry from recycled sources. rough April 14.

METAL MUSEUM

“Remy Miller and Joe Morzuch: Marking Time” e joint exhibition places two distinct bodies of work into counterpoint. rough April 14.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“School of Ool: Whose Views Ooze Muse”

An exhibition of new work by multimedia artist Coe Lapossy. rough March 22.

CLOUGH-HANSON GALLERY

“Shelby Canopy: Our Shared Connection”

Discover Shelby County’s green spaces and importance of trees through an immersive public art experience featuring two temporary artworks. rough April 19.

8040 WOLF RIVER BLVD.

“The Concert Photography of Jack Robinson”

e Stax Museum presents 15 of Robinson’s nest images from an iconic concert. rough March 15.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL

MUSIC

“The Earthworm and the Hawk”

Melissa Dunn’s “ e Earthworm and the Hawk” is the overlap between two states of being. rough April 28.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

“three left, one right”

Exhibition of work by James Inscho. rough March 9.

TOPS GALLERY

“Velvet Sternum”

Joel Parsons and Clare Torina’s drawings, enamels, paintings, and installation. rough March 2.

SHEET CAKE

“What Were You Meant For?”

Kevin Brooks delves deep into the world of lm to uncover the seldom seen layers of Black male identity. rough April 28.

CROSSTOWN ARTS AT THE CONCOURSE

ART HAPPENINGS

Craft Supply Swap Winter

A second-hand cra supply extravaganza. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, March 3, noon-3 p.m.

FIVE IN ONE SOCIAL CLUB

March Madness - First Fridays on Broad Visit the participating shops of Broad Ave. to play games and win prizes and discounts!

Friday, March 1, 5-8 p.m.

BROAD AVENUE ARTS DISTRICT

Memphis/Germantown Art League Annual Spring Juried Exhibition Reception

e Memphis/Germantown Art League (MGAL) is a nonpro t organization of visual artists and associates supporting the work of its member artists.

Sunday, March 3, 2-4 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Opening Reception“Faces & Facades” rough her portraits, Debbie Likley Pacheco delves into the lives and narratives of the people she encounters, capturing eeting moments and emotions with remarkable depth and sensitivity. Friday, March 1, 5-7 p.m.

ANF ARCHITECTS

Painting On the River Series: Women’s History Month

Each week, MPL platform will share in-depth pro les, interviews, and highlights of

the featured artist, allowing the audience to engage deeply with their artistry and personal journeys. Saturday, March 2, noon.

COSSITT LIBRARY

Paint in the Park: Overton Park

An a ernoon of fun and creativity. Instructor Jennifer Peete will guide you through painting. Snacks will be provided. Free. Saturday, March 2, 4-6 p.m.

OVERTON PARK

Read to Relate - 37 Incidents Between Victoria and her Brain by Libby Heily

Join Jasmine Settles to dig into this play. Scripts can be checked out through the eatre Memphis box o ce. Anyone with an anxiety-adjacent mental illness with relate big time. Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

THEATRE MEMPHIS

Spring Fever Market

A market of vintage goods, home plants, arts and cra s, and oddities from artisans alike.

Saturday, March 2, 2-7 p.m.

GHOST RIVER BREWING

Beginner’s Photography Class

Unlock the full potential of your camera and elevate your photography skills. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

CROSSTOWN CONCOURSE

Fantastical Fairy Houses

Create your very own fairy house for your garden with the help of Becky Zee. $57$66. Sunday, March 3, 1 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Flower Academy: Seed Starting 101

Learn the basics of starting seeds indoors. $35. Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m.; Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

MIDTOWN BRAMBLE AND BLOOM

Pet First Aid and Disaster Response

Learn how to handle emergencies and provide crucial care for your furry friends. $98.78.

Sunday, March 3, 1:30 p.m.

BLUES CITY KAYAKS

Pet Portraits with Erica Qualy

Learn basic acrylic painting and drawing techniques. $45.

Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 p.m.

ARROW CREATIVE

PHOTO: COURTESY KATE BROCKAMN

On display in the Metal Museum’s “Branching Out” is Kate Brockamn’s Temple, 2015.

BOOK EVENTS

Emyo: Light + Life

Novel welcomes Emyo to celebrate the release of her new book, Light + Life: Finding Beauty in Every Day. Tuesday, March 5, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

Maurice Carlos Ruffin In Conversation with Jamey

Hatley: The American Daughters

Novel welcomes Maurice Carlos Ru n in conversation with Jamey Hatley to celebrate the release of his new book, e American Daughters. Friday, March 1, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

CLASS / WORKSHOP

Art and Artificial Intelligence, with Professor Karl Erickson Professor Karl Erickson will present an overview of various opportunities, challenges, techniques, and tools for making visual art with arti cial intelligence. $35. Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

RHODES COLLEGE

Pots and Proseccos with Sarah Stobbe is hand-building class will be focused on creating pots and is sure to be a fun- lled event. $45. Wednesday, March 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

ARROW CREATIVE

Pruning Essentials with Robin Howell

Learn the essentials of pruning. $17-$29. Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.-noon.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Soil Testing with Booker

T. Lee

Join Memphis legend Booker T. Leigh to learn all about your soil health and how to test it.

Friday, March 1, 2 p.m.

BENJAMIN L. HOOKS CENTRAL

LIBRARY

Staghorn Fern Mounting Workshop

Turn this classic houseplant into a beautiful piece of living wall art for your home. Beginner-friendly and lots of fun. $60.58. Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m.

URBAN EARTH GARDENS, NURSERY & MARKET

Sunday Argentine Tango

Mini-Lesson & Practica

Mariallan and James will be conducting a short tango class directed at beginning dancers (5:30-6:15 p.m.), followed by a guided practica (6:15-7:30 p.m.). $15/lesson and practica, $10/practica. Sunday, March 3, 5:30 p.m.

THEATREWORKS

The Witch’s Path: Wicca 101 in Memphis

A workshop series created to

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help share knowledge on a variety of topics that witches and those in the spiritual community are interested in. Free. Saturday, March 2, 3 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

Vegetable Seed Starting Workshop

Learn about maintaining your garden, what conditions it takes to grow, and end the class with starting a seed tray to take home. Saturday, March 2, 1-3 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Yes& Improv Workshop

Bluff City Liars hosts this free, no-commitment workshop on the first and third Monday of each month. Monday, March 4, 6-7 p.m.

THEATREWORKS

COMEDY

Dominique

Dominique created laughs on stages across the world, including NBC’s Last Comic Standing, HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show, O.W.N.’s Herlarious, and more. $20-$40. Thursday, Feb. 29, 8 p.m.; Friday, March 1, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m.; Sunday, March 3, 8 p.m.

CHUCKLES COMEDY HOUSE

Pete Davidson: Wellness Check Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.

MINGLEWOOD HALL

Queens of Comedy Jam: A Celebration of the Legacy of Gangsta Boo

A night of music and laughter with The Queens of Memphis Entertainment. Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

HI TONE

The Second City Comedian Rhapsody

A brand-new revue featuring the best sketch comedy and songs from their history, their newest classics, and, of course, their trademark improvisation. $30. Saturday, March 2, 7:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER

We Them Ones Comedy Tour

Experience electrifying performances from the comedy realm’s best with Mike Epps, DeRay Davis, DC Young Fly, Chico Bean, Lil Duval, Mojo Brookzz, and Money Bag Mafia. $64.50. Friday, March 1, 8 p.m.

LANDERS CENTER

COMMUNITY

19th Annual Tree Planting

The New York Times

Volunteers of all ages are needed to plant over 1,000 native trees. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.-noon.

WOLF RIVER CONSERVANCY

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Chuck Hutton Toyota’s Spring Break School Supply Drive for Westwood High School

Help fill the shelves at Westwood High School with essential classroom supplies this spring. Through March 15.

CHUCK HUTTON TOYOTA

Friends for All Grand Opening

Visit the nonprofit’s brand-new headquarters where you can get a tour of the cutting-edge building and learn about its several programs that address the social determinants of health.

Friday, March 1, 10 a.m.

FRIENDS FOR ALL MEMPHIS

Red Boa Bash

Benefiting the American Red Cross. Enjoy a night of entertainment with a live and silent auction, cocktail reception, live entertainment, and dancing. Saturday, March 2, 6 p.m.

GUEST HOUSE AT GRACELAND

SPAYtacular Gala

This year’s event will feature a silent auction, live music by Gene Micofsky, open bar, amazing food catered by A Moveable Feast, caricaturist, and more. Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.

LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER

The Mystic Live at the Green Room

The Mystic is hosted by a rotating panel including Rabbi Micah Greenstein, Dr. Scott Morris, Rev. Joshua Narcisse, Dr. Rev. Lillian Lammers, and Kirk Whalum. Tuesday, March

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5, 6-7 p.m.

THE GREEN ROOM AT CROSSTOWN ARTS

T.O. Fuller Weed Wrangle

Help restore the area to its native natural beauty. Saturday, March 2, noon-3 p.m.

T.O. FULLER STATE PARK

Volunteer Day at Lichterman Nature Center

Volunteer at the nature center working on a variety of projects to help conserve and maintain this unique property. Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.-noon

LICHTERMAN NATURE CENTER

Weed Wrangle

Help remove invasive and exotic plants. Friday, March 1, 9 a.m.-noon

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Women of Achievement

Celebrate women who stand up and speak out — honoring nine incredible women in Memphis. $30. Sunday, March 3, 3-5:30 p.m.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

FAMILY

Change Maker’s Day

Join MoSH for a day of inspiration and celebration on Change Makers Day, dedicated to honoring the spirit of positive change in the community. Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Disney Princess - The Concert

For generations, the music of Disney’s princesses has been the soundtrack to our lives. Now, these beloved songs come alive on stage with a host of Broadway and television stars. $29.50-$79.50. Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.

THE ORPHEUM

Instrument Petting Zoo

The Memphis Jazz Workshop’s instrument petting zoo lets students both young and old get close and personal with many musical instruments. Saturday, March 2, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & HISTORY

Memphis Parent Camp Expo 2024

A day of learning about camps and summer activities for all ages. Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

FEDEX CENTER AT SHELBY FARMS

Project Pop-up! (all ages)

Each month, participants explore a new part of the Dixon with an inspiring project for all ages. Supplies are provided. Free. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.-noon.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Super Saturday - Women’s History Month

Learn more about the women artists represented in Memphis’ art collection and their history. Celebrate female artists like Georgia O’Keefe in Memphis’ art collection by creating a beautiful landscape. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

Tom Lee Poetry Contest: High School Workshop

Craft the perfect work for the Tom Lee Poetry Contest at a free workshop led by published poet Jeanine Jones. Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m.

BEALE STREET LANDING

WKNO PBS Kids Rock

Children can hunt for “901” rocks hidden around the garden with prizes rewarded and paint their own rock to take home. Plus enjoy music from Perfecting Gifts at 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

FILM

Awadagin Pratt: Black in America

Online

The film Awadagin Pratt: Black in America reveals his climb to fame and is a candid conversation about what it is like to be a person of color in the United States. Pratt will play for the viewing. Free, $35. Sunday, March 3, 3 p.m.

HARRIS CONCERT HALL, UNIVERSITY OF

Black History Month

- Foxy Brown 50th

Anniversary Screening

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1974 blaxploitation action classic Foxy Brown, starring legendary actress Pam Grier in one her most famous roles.

Thursday, Feb. 29, 7:30 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 20th Anniversary Screening

A special 20th anniversary screening of the criticallyacclaimed, genre-twisting sci-fi comic love story. 18+.

Sunday, March 3, 6 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

How to Have Sex

Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday — drinking, clubbing, and hooking up — in what should be the best summer of their lives. $12. Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

MALCO STUDIO ON THE SQUARE

Labyrinth

Sixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.

Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

MALCO LOCATIONS

Oscar Nominee

Screening: Poor Things

The witty, surreal, bizarre comic fantasy Poor Things 18+.

Sunday, March 3, 8 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Our Story: Morris and Mollye Fogelman International Jewish Film Festival

Lee Biran and Eliana Tidhar make the perfect duo in this charming musical rom-com. $7. Thursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

MEMPHIS JEWISH COMMUNITY

CENTER

Simpsons Brunch

Legendary episodes back to back while you enjoy a full breakfast menu, plus specialty dishes and custom drinks! Sunday, March 3, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

The Crosstown Arts Film Series presents Day For Night

A film director tries to get his movie made while observing the real-life dra-

mas in his actors’ lives. $5.

Thursday, Feb. 29, 7 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Who Can See Forever

Feature-length profile of singer-songwriter Sam Beam and his band, Iron & Wine.

Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

MALCO CORDOVA

FOOD AND DRINK

Grind City’s Fermented Reality Limited-Release Party (Free to Attend)

Eight limited beers will be released at noon and available Saturday only (while supplies last). Once the beer is gone, it’s gone forever. Saturday, March 2, noon-10 p.m.

GRIND CITY BREWERY

“Legs and Toasts”

Celebrity Illusion

Brunch

Join Keleigh Klarke for Dru’s Celebrity Illusion Brunch. $25/advance ticket (allinclusive brunch), $30/day of (all-inclusive brunch), $15/ bottomless mimosas. Sunday, March 3, noon

DRU’S PLACE

Memphis Whiskey Warmer Festival

Whiskey lovers, bundle up for an evening of live music, good food, and exceptional spirits. $44/general admission, $99/VIP. Friday, March 1, 6-9 p.m.

THE KENT

Tennessee Equality

Project Gumbo Contest

Taste and vote on your favorite gumbo from chefs across our community. Your support helps advance equality in Tennessee. $35/general admission, $60/general admission + open bar, $400/ reserved table (six seats), $30/ team registration. Sunday, March 3, 4:30-7 p.m.

MEMPHIS SPORTS & EVENTS CENTER

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Brad Baker Honorary Race for Sight 5K

Benefiting the Hamilton Eye Institute Lions Club, a notfor-profit organization with a mission to provide eye care for those less fortunate in the Mid-South region

PHOTO: OVERTON PARK CONSERVANCY

Join Overton Park Conservancy for a casual stroll on Wednesday.

and abroad. Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS

First Saturday PaddleMarch

Participants on this trip will be paddling a wide portion of the river. $25. Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

WOLF RIVER CONSERVANCY

Harwood Dash for DisABILITIES 5K

Be a part of the 2023 5K race series to help benefit the Harwood Center and other local nonprofits in the Memphis area. Saturday, March 2, 9 a.m.

SHELBY FARMS

Informed & Empowered: Taking Control of Your Reproductive Health

A panel discussion regarding all things women’s reproductive health with a home-birth midwife, hospital-based OBGYN, fertility awareness educator, and more. Wednesday, March 6, 6 p.m.

GUIDING STAR MEMPHIS

Pints & Pelvises

Join MOJO Pelvic Health to participate in a private, exclusive Q&A with Amy Moses, pelvic PT and MOJO co-founder, along with one complimentary pint of beer. $7.88. Monday, March 4, 6 p.m.

WISEACRE BREWING COMPANY HQ - LITTLE BETTIE

Slow Your Roll: Saturday Morning Meditation

A serene start to your Saturday with some morning mindfulness, led by the experienced mindfulness educator Greg Graber. Free. Saturday, March 2, 8-8:30 a.m.

CHICKASAW GARDENS PARK

Taijiquan with Milan Vigil Led by Milan Vigil, this Chinese martial art promotes relaxation, improves balance, and provides no-impact

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aerobic benefits. Ages 16 and older. Free. Saturday, March 2, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Wednesday Winter Walks

Join OPC for a casual stroll around the Old Forest. No agenda, just a chance to meet new people and get a walk in.

Wednesday, March 6, 4 p.m.

OVERTON PARK

Yoga

Strengthen your yoga practice and enjoy the health benefits of light exercise with yoga instructor Laura Gray McCann. Free.

Thursday, Feb. 29, 6-6:45 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

LECTURE

Distinguished Speaker

Series: Awadagin Pratt Pratt will present “Equity in the Arts.” Friday, March 1, 11:30 a.m.

RUDI E. SCHEIDT SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Empire and Food:

Famine, France, and the Middle East

A panel event that will examine famine in France’s colonies in the Middle East and beyond during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Thursday, Feb. 29, 5:30 p.m.

RHODES COLLEGE

Science Cafe

Wind down from the workday by learning something new over drinks. This month’s topic is the Hydrogeology of the Memphis Sands Aquifer.

CALENDAR: FEBRUARY 29 - MARCH 6

Tuesday, March 5, 5:30 p.m.

ABE GOODMAN GOLF CLUBHOUSE

PERFORMING ARTS

“A Taste of Theatre”

Dinner Theatre

Experience

An immersive dinner theatre experience like no other. $35/play only, $75/general admission, $100/VIP. Friday, March 1, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 3, 2 p.m.

AL CHYMIA SHRINE CENTER

Dru’s Bar “Starlight

Cabaret: The Queendom”

Get ready to be dazzled by fabulous performances of phenomenal entertainers.

Saturday, March 2, 9 p.m.

DRU’S PLACE

SPECIAL EVENTS

March Celestial Sound

Bath

A meditative sound experience using crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes, and multiple instruments. $20.

Monday, March 4, 6:30 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

Spillit Slam: First Spillit is live storytelling told in front of an audience. This is a Slam event. Storytellers have seven minutes to tell a tale of an all true personal narrative (well, mostly true). $10. Friday, March 1, 7-10 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

SPORTS

901 Wrestling LIVE

901 Wrestling title match: “The Star of the Show” Andy Mack vs. 901 Wrestling Champion

“Live Wire” Bobby Ford. $11, $58. Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.

BLACK LODGE

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Friday, March 1, 7 p.m., Saturday, March 2, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

THEATER

Amelie

The McCoy brings this joyful production to its feet with

plenty of allure, beauty, and charm. Free. Friday, March 1, 7:30-10 p.m.; Saturday, March 2, 7:30-10 p.m.

MCCOY THEATRE AT RHODES COLLEGE

Black Girl Therapy

Six Black girls, strangers to each other, go to a group therapy session. They may be strangers going in, but they’ll never be the same coming out. $30-$55. Saturday, March 2, 6 p.m.

THE HALLORAN CENTRE

Little Women

Jo March gives us her greatest story: that of the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women.

PHOTO: EVENTS HATCHED

Bundle up for an evening of live music, good food, and exceptional spirits at the Memphis Whiskey Warmer.

$10-$26. Friday, March 1, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATRE

Succession

Succession explores the world of Black theater through the actions of Steve Harrison, a promising young actor, who tramples over his mentor, Marcus Chandler, and all other per-

ceived obstacles. Through March 24.

HATTILOO THEATRE

The Sound Inside

When Bella Baird, an isolated creative writing professor at Yale, begins to mentor a brilliant but enigmatic student named Christopher, the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. Friday, March 1-March 17.

THEATRESOUTH

The Squirrels

Scurius, the patriarch of a family of gray squirrels, has collected enough nuts to last 10 winters. When a group of starving fox squirrels begs him to share his food, animosity erupts into a war. Through March 3.

THEATREWORKS @ THE SQUARE

TOURS

Haunted Pub Crawl

Visit three local bars for ghost stories, dark history, and tales of the paranormal. Friday, March 1, 7:30-10 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

The Original Memphis Brew Bus

The Memphis Brew Bus is a Saturday afternoon trip into the amazing Memphis craft brewing scene. Visit three local breweries for tours, talks with the brewers, and of course beer. $59. Saturday, March 2, 2-5:30 p.m.

THE BROOM CLOSET

ARTS By Abigail Morici

Down in Iliumpta

Homer’s Iliad begins with a promise of anger, of Achilles’ wrath that would bring about the ruin of Troy. “Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades,” goes the epic. “Many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures.”

It’s a story driven by men’s pride, cloaked as heroism, yet leading only to bloodshed and tragedy. Or, as artist Michael “Birdcap” Roy puts it, “All these men were doing all these sort of idiotic things under the guise to be heroic.”

But Birdcap doesn’t say this to belittle these characters, but instead to remark on their humanity that might go unnoticed under the prestige of classical literature. “I just found something very like comforting or familiar in these men,” he says. “It reminded me of just growing up in the deep South and what it means to be a man in Mississippi and how sometimes cleverness and wit are almost looked down upon. Like, your ability to be stoic

nihilistic void, and in their attempts to be heroic, they, like the ancients before them, choose death over happiness, a closed ear before sound advice, and doom before an apology.”

is is Birdcap’s rst solo show in Memphis. While he is known for his large-scale murals seen throughout the city and around the world, Birdcap says, “ is is my rst chance to have like a big sort of homecoming show.”

It’s also been an opportunity for the painter to experiment with di erent media like mosaic, sculpture, and silk screen. “I think you have to keep you have to keep the learning process in your routine or you get bored.”

Last year, he attended a mural festival in Pompeii, where he was fascinated by the ancient city’s mosaics. “I was blown away by just how anti-ephemeral the work is, how long it lasts.” Plus, it doesn’t hurt that mosaics have a built-in aesthetic of antiquity to go along with the GrecoRoman mythology at the core of the show. Yet, in true Birdcap style, his mosaics are “ridiculously cartoony” — as are the other pieces in the show.

within pain is more exceptional than your ability to avoid pain. So you stay during a hurricane or you work a hard job. … ose characters reminded me of my family and me.”

Birdcap’s current show at Crosstown Arts plays with this idea. Titled “Iliumpta,” the exhibition is a retelling of Homer’s poem, set in the southernmost bayous of Mississippi in the ctitious county of Iliumpta. “It’s based on the word Ilium, which is the Latinized version of Troy, and umpta is sort of like a false noise to make it sound like a Mississippi county,” Birdcap says. “I thought it was a good way to have an introspective show that talked about myself but using this sort of universal reference.”

He writes in his artist statement, “ e men in these works shout from a

by hurt this want

“I like cartoons because when I was young, I would try to make dramatic work about my feelings or politics or whatever, but I would visualize it in this dramatic way,” he says. “And I think it had the opposite e ect where people didn’t really want to pay attention to it. But I think cartoons are very safe and we all have this child-like relationship with it, and so it allows you to put these complicated or harder messages in but still be listened to. Like, it’s not baroque. It really is subtle.”

His piece, Too Much to Bear: e Suicide of Ajax, he points

(center) Too Much to Bear: e Suicide of Ajax, mixed media;

(below) Fame Over Everything: Bust of Achilles, mixed media

out, deals with male fragility quite darkly, yet because it is presented with saturated colors and is an in atable, reminiscent of holiday decorations or childhood birthday parties, it takes on a sort of so ness. But Birdcap says, “My character is Ajax, who basically got drunk with rage and really embarrassed himself, and the next day, unable to deal with this shame, he committed suicide. And so that piece could be a fairly heavy piece. Suicide, it’s not fun.”

On a similar note, Birdcap later adds, “I’ve been pretty transparent about my own mental health over the last few years, and this work is an extension of that. e paintings are about the South and the Southern man, but in no way am I trying to divide myself from the Southern man. I am imperatively a Southern man. So all the faults displayed in the paintings, I see in myself.”

But he says, “I think there’s magic here, and I think there’s like room for mythology and folktales in a way that maybe other regions don’t have. I think we have a unique relationship to the power of myth, and so it’s not a big jump for me to think these make sense together. … I’m 36 now; I’m old enough to know I can’t be from anywhere else. I think there was a time when I was young, where I was like, if I try, I can be from somewhere else. And it’s like, no, your memories are there and they’re a part of you, they’re a part of your myth.”

Birdcap’s “Iliumpta” is on display at Crosstown Arts through April 28th.

Michael “Birdcap” Roy presents a retelling of the Iliad with painting, mosaic, and sculpture at Crosstown Arts.

PHOTOS: ABIGAIL MORICI

(above) Michael “Birdcap” Roy, Dove Hunt: e First Shot, acrylic on panel;

Michael “Birdcap” Roy, Father’s Legacy (Relic), stone on panel

BOOKS By Abigail Morici

To Read, or Not to Read?

Idon’t know about you, but my TBR (“to be read,” for those not keeping up with the lingo) list keeps on growing and growing and growing, and yet I’m out here acting like I just don’t know what to read. Because I don’t. There are just too many choices. So, like any good journalist, I took advantage of my power, wielded my press badge (which doesn’t exist), and went to the source (Memphis’ booksellers) to ask the age-old question, “What should I read?”, and have someone else make the choice for me. It’s important work, I know. And I don’t do it just for me. I do it for the people. For you.

Jasmine Settles, owner of Cafe Noir, whose brick and mortar is slated to open at the end of this month, has two suggestions for me — I mean, us — The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham and Tenderheaded by Olatunde Osinaike. Of Tenderheaded, she says, “That was actually selected as a winner of the [2022] National Poetry Series. The book focuses on masculinity, Black male identity. And I love how the work is so gentle, but it has also kind of like a music rhythm to it. Just like how his work kind of expands with language and he will take a word and kind of build around it. And he is a coder, like a computer coder. I truly, really admire his work and his style.”

“I think The Mayor of Maxwell Street is a really good one as well,” Settles adds. “[The author] is from Memphis. I think her work is brilliant.” Within The Mayor of Maxwell Street, the daughter of the “wealthiest Negro in America,” Nelly Sawyer, finds herself the premier debutante of Black society after the sudden death of her only brother, and immediately, she is whisked off to a number of social en-

gagements as part of her coming-out, much to her chagrin. She has her secrets, though — for the past year, she’s written as an undercover investigative journalist, reporting “the achievements and tribulations of everyday

Black people living in the shadow of Jim Crow.” Nelly’s latest assignment: to identify the head of an underground crime syndicate, the so-called Mayor of Maxwell Street. Soon, she enlists the help of the mysterious low-level

speakeasy manager, Jay Shorey.

Settles isn’t the only one recommending Cunningham’s debut novel; so is Jeremee DeMoir of DeMoir Books & Things. For younger readers, though, he recommends Jason Reynolds’ Stuntboy (Children’s) and Keith F. Miller Jr.’s Pritty (YA). And for a more classic read, DeMoir has been reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.

“He’s just a classic author, with a really amazing touch,” the online bookstore owner says. “He breathes fresh life into a romantic mystery. Giovanni’s Room is a classic queer novel that follows two characters in Paris as they’re going through discovering their identity within the queer community in Paris in the 1950s. So it’s a book definitely ahead of its time, but super refreshing and super current despite being written in the 20th century.”

Lastly, Corey Mesler of Burke’s Book Store gives his two cents on what’s in this month: “Claire Keegan’s outsize bandwagon is worth jumping on. I don’t mind being the hundredthousandth reader to marvel at her spare, shimmering prose, and recommend her to all and sundry. Her latest, So Late in the Day, a collection of three short stories (two appeared in previous books) is more evidence that she is one of our best writers, despite her limited output. Quality over quantity. My favorite is her novel, Small Things Like These (the title might be a statement of purpose). You can read it in one sitting, but you will savor its reverberations long after setting it down.”

All books mentioned can be purchased at the respective bookstore locations. Support indie and support local. For upcoming book events, including book clubs and author signings, visit the Flyer’s event calendar.

Your favorite local booksellers share their recommendations on what to read this month.

Whole Moon Magic

Harness the energy of all moon phases to reach your goal.

Each phase of the moon has its own vibrations and types of spell work that it supports. But that does not mean that you can’t do manifestation work when the moon is waning. If you have an urgent need, no one is going to want to wait for the appropriate day during the appropriate moon phase to do a spell.

If you have a big goal in mind, you can use all the phases of the moon to work your magic for an entire month with one objective in mind. I call this whole moon magic.

e waxing moon phase, which is from the point of the new moon until the moon is full, is a good time to do manifestation work. As the moon appears to grow bigger in the sky each night, your magic and intention is growing along with it. e waning moon phase, when the moon is past full until the time of the new moon, is a good time to do banishing work. e full moon is the perfect time to do any workings, as the full moon lends its po-

their life?

You do not have to wait until the new moon phase to begin; you can start whenever you are ready. For this explanation, we’re going to start at the beginning. During the time of the new moon, you begin de ning your goal and making sure you have all the items you’ll need to get started. If we’re working on prosperity, this is when you really gure out what you need. Is it a certain amount of money or an opportunity or a lifestyle you’re trying to create? Once the moon moves out of the new moon phase into the waxing moon phase, you begin to work on manifesting that need. Burn your candles, say your a rmations, wear your lucky socks. Do this as o en as you want to for the waxing moon phase. Each phase is around two weeks long.

e full moon adds extra umph to your magic. When the moon is full, you might want to do one last, big manifestation spell for prosperity. Finish burning your money candle, spend some extra time chanting your a rmations, or spend some time in meditation to see if the universe has any guidance for you on your way to prosperity.

Use

tency to your magic. en there is the new moon. e new moon is when the moon either cannot be seen in the sky or can just be barely glimpsed as a crescent. e new moon phase comes a er the waning moon and before the waxing moon. e new moon phase is a time to plan and prepare for your spell work, planting those metaphorical seeds. e new moon is also a time to do shadow work and take stock of ourselves.

You can work with each moon phase individually, but you can also use all of them to really tackle a situation from all sides. To do this, you want to really de ne what your goal is. It is always good to be speci c in your spiritual workings. Let’s use prosperity for this example. Besides, who doesn’t need a little prosperity in

From the new moon to the full moon, we’ve been focusing on attracting and manifesting our desires. As the moon moves into the waning phase, we shi from attracting what we want to banishing what we do not want. Keeping our goal of prosperity in mind, when the moon is waning you can focus on banishing debt or getting rid of bad habits that cost you money. is is the time to remove things in your life that are blocking you from your goals.

Working a whole moon cycle allows you to address your needs from all sides. It is also a longer process, which means you are spending more energy on it. Giving all this energy to one goal is one of the best ways to manifest something. It makes sure the universe hears you and lets the universe know you are serious about your intentions. e new moon is coming: Are you ready to work some whole moon magic with me?

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of e Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.

PHOTO: ALEXANDRA BARBU | DREAMSTIME.COM

NO PAYWALL

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

By the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication

News You Can Use

We’ve all seen the restaurant notices about automatic gratuities added for parties of more than six or eight people. A 10-person group in South Bend, Indiana, thought they would beat the system at the Wild Crab restaurant by splitting into two groups of five, WSBT-TV reported. A manager said the group was informed that they’d be subject to the 18 percent gratuity, even though they were seated in different sections of the restaurant. As the party left the restaurant, someone threw crayons at the manager and pepper-sprayed them. Firefighters responded to help the victim of the pepper spray, and a police report was filed. [WSBT, 1/2/2024]

Oops Someone missed the “Please secure all loose clothing” safety message. On Jan. 5, on the DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Movie World in Oxenford, Australia, the Mirror reported that a scarf became entangled around the wheel of one of the trains, which caused it to stop at the top of a hill. Dozens of riders were stranded, and each was given a harness and told to walk down the stairs to the load station. “All the guests on-board are safe with the ride vehicle stopped in a designated zone,” Warner Bros. Movie World said in a statement. [Mirror, 1/5/2024]

Unconventional Weaponry

The Laconia (New Hampshire) Daily Sun reported on Jan. 5 that police were called to the Market Basket supermarket in Tilton the day before after a “fruity fracas” broke out in the produce section. Social media posts indicated that a watermelon had been used in an assault, and Sgt. Andrew Salmon of the Tilton Police Department confirmed that his department is investigating. Salmon said one person went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries “from being struck by a produce item.” A worker who answered the phone at the Market Basket said, “We have been instructed not to say anything.” [Laconia Daily Sun, 1/5/2024]

Awesome!

• King, a rescue dog at the Lost Our Home Pet Rescue in Tempe, Arizona, enjoyed a brief reign among his shelter

buddies, Fox10-TV reported on Jan. 11. Sometime around midnight, King managed to break out of his kennel at the shelter and busted out several other dogs. He also found a stash of food and enjoyed a little feast. In the meantime, alarms were triggered; Jodi Polanski, the shelter’s founder, looked at video from the scene and saw the mess. “The police actually came because he set the alarm off,” Polanski said. The unnamed responding officer cleaned up after King’s free-for-all and got the dog settled back in bed. “I was just like, wow, amazing man that he did that,” Polanski said. The rescue’s website indicates that King is no longer looking for a home. [Fox10, 1/8/2024]

• Rodney Holbrook, a 75-year-old retired postman from Wales, had been noticing for a couple of months that small messes in his shed were being mysteriously tidied overnight, the BBC reported. So he set up a camera and caught a little mouse picking up pegs, corks, nuts, bolts, and bird food. Holbrook aptly named the rodent Welsh Tidy Mouse. “Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the mouse will tidy up throughout the night,” Holbrook said. “I don’t bother to tidy up now, I leave things out of the box and they put it back in its place by morning. I’ve added different things to the desk to see if they can lift it,” he said. [BBC, 1/7/2024]

Goals

LuLu Lotus of Mississauga, Ontario, has earned a Guinness World Record for an impressive, if dubious, skill: She blew a 44.1-decibel whistle through her nose. United Press International reported on Jan. 9 that Lotus visited Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. to have her whistle measured in a special room. She said her 5-year-old son has recently discovered he, too, has a nosewhistling ability: “It would be a dream come true if he beat my record one day,” Lotus said. [UPI, 1/9/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD

©

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In my astrological estimation, the coming weeks will be an ideal time for you to declare amnesty, negotiate truces, and shed longsimmering resentments. Other recommended activities: Find ways to joke about embarrassing memories, break a bad habit just because it’s fun to do so, and throw away outdated stuff you no longer need. Just do the best you can as you carry out these challenging assignments; you don’t have to be perfect. For inspiration, read these wise words from poet David Whyte: “When you forgive others, they may not notice, but you will heal. Forgiveness is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Many of you Tauruses have a robust capacity for doing diligent, effective work. Many of you also have a robust capacity for pursuing sensual delights and cultivating healing beauty. When your mental health is functioning at peak levels, these two drives to enjoy life are complementary; they don’t get in each other’s way. If you ever fall out of your healthy rhythm, these two drives may conflict. My wish for you in the coming months is that they will be in synergistic harmony, humming along with grace. That’s also my prediction: I foresee you will do just that.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Many people choose wealthy entertainers and celebrity athletes for their heroes. It doesn’t bother me if they do. Why should it? But the superstars who provoke my adoration are more likely to be artists and activists. Author Rebecca Solnit is one. Potawatomi biologist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer. The four musicians in the Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha. Poet Rita Dove and novelist Haruki Murakami. My capacity to be inspired by these maestros seems inexhaustible. What about you, Gemini? Who are the heroes who move you and shake you in all the best ways? Now is a time to be extra proactive in learning from your heroes — and rounding up new heroes to be influenced by.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your homework assignment is to work on coordinating two issues that are key to your life’s purpose. The first of these issues is your fervent longing to make your distinctive mark on this crazy, chaotic world. The second issue is your need to cultivate sweet privacy and protective self-care. These themes may sometimes seem to be opposed. But with even just a little ingenious effort, you can get them to weave together beautifully. Now is a good time to cultivate this healing magic.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): If you don’t recognize the face in the mirror right now, that’s a good thing. If you feel unfamiliar feelings rising up in you or find yourself

Rob Brezsny

entertaining unusual longings, those are also good things. The voice of reason may say you should be worried about such phenomena. But as the voice of mischievous sagacity, I urge you to be curious and receptive. You are being invited to explore fertile possibilities that have previously been unavailable or off-limits. Fate is offering you the chance to discover more about your future potentials. At least for now, power can come from being unpredictable and investigating taboos.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I invite you to study the fine art of sacred intimacy in the coming weeks. Life’s rhythms will redound in your favor as you enjoy playing tenderly and freely with the special people you care for. To aid you in your efforts, here are three questions to ponder: 1. What aspects of togetherness might flourish if you approach them with less solemnity and more fun? 2. Could you give more of yourself to your relationships in ways that are purely enjoyable, not done mostly out of duty?

3. Would you be willing to explore the possibility that the two of you could educate and ripen each other’s dark sides?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Creativity teacher Roger von Oech tells how bandleader Count Basie asked a club owner to fix his piano. It was always out of tune. A few weeks later, the owner called Basie to say everything was good. But when Basie arrived to play, the piano still had sour notes. “I thought you said you fixed it!” Basie complained. The owner said, “I did. I painted it.” The moral of the story for the rest of us, concludes von Oech, is that we’ve got to solve the right problems. I want you Libras to do that in the coming weeks. Make sure you identify what really needs changing, not some distracting minor glitch.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most of us have received an inadequate or downright poor education about love and intimate togetherness. Given how much misinformation and trivializing propaganda we have absorbed, it’s amazing any of us have figured out how to create healthy, vigorous relationships. That’s the bad news, Scorpio. The good news is that you are cruising through a sustained phase of your astrological cycle when you’re far more likely than usual to acquire vibrant teachings about this essential part of your life. I urge you to draw up a plan for how to take maximum advantage of the cosmic opportunity. For inspiration, here’s poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test, and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.” (Translation by Stephen Mitchell.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March

20): In old Hawaii, the people loved their deities but also demanded productive results. If a god stopped providing worshipers with what they wanted, they might dismiss him and adopt a replacement. I love that! And I invite you to experiment with a similar approach in the coming weeks. Are your divine helpers doing a good job? Are they supplying you with steady streams of inspiration, love, and fulfillment? If not, fire them and scout around for substitutes. If they are performing well, pour out your soul in gratitude.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The myths and legends of many cultures postulate the existence of spirits who are mischievous but not malevolent. They play harmless pranks. Their main purpose may be to remind us that another world, a less material realm, overlaps with ours. And sometimes, the intention of these ethereal tricksters seems to be downright benevolent. They nudge us out of our staid rhythms, mystifying us with freaky phenomena that suggest reality is not as solid and predictable as we might imagine. I suspect you may soon have encounters with some of these characters: friendly poltergeists, fairies, ghosts, sprites, or elves. My sense is that they will bring you odd but genuine blessings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some studies suggest that less than half of us have best friends. Men are even less likely to have beloved buddies than the other genders do. If you are one of these people, the coming weeks and months will be an excellent time to remedy the deficiency. Your ability to attract and bond with interesting allies will be higher than usual. If you do have best friends, I suggest you intensify your appreciation for and devotion to them. You need and deserve companions who respect you deeply, know you intimately, and listen well. But you’ve got to remember that relationships like these require deep thought, hard work, and honest expressions of feelings!

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Among all the zodiac signs, you Aquarians are among the best at enjoying a bird’s-eye perspective on the world. Soaring high above the mad chatter and clatter is your birthright and specialty. I love that about you, which is why I hardly ever shout up in your direction, “Get your ass back down to earth!” However, I now suspect you are overdue to spend some quality time here on the ground level. At least temporarily, I advise you to trade the bird’s-eye view for a worm’s-eye view. Don’t fret. It’s only for a short time. You’ll be aloft again soon.

FILM By Chris McCoy

Work-Life Balance

While I was watching e Zone of Interest, my mind kept going back to “ e Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” Ursula Le Guin’s Hugo Award-winning 1974 short story describes a utopian city where all of the civic functions seem to run pretty smoothly, and all of the citizens are cared for and happy. But this town has a secret. Once citizens are old enough, they are shown a prison cell where a child in chains is slowly being starved to death. e citizen is told Omelas’ happiness and prosperity depends on this child’s su ering.

Most people just shrug and move on with their otherwise ful lling lives.

ere’s just one kid in the box, and so many who are doing great. It’s a fair trade-o , they think. But every now and then, someone who nds out about the child chained in the prison cell wanders into the wilderness and never comes back. Why anyone would do this is a mystery to those who stay behind.

In Jonathan Glazer’s new lm, exactly one person walks away from a beautiful villa built next to a death camp. Because the moment comes so unexpectedly and is done so perfectly, I won’t spoil it in this review, except to say that the one who walks away is not Rudolph Höss (Christian Friedel), the owner of the home who, not coincidentally, is also the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

It’s 1943, and Rudolph is riding high. e Nazi project of conquering all of Europe to the Urals, exterminating the Jews and subjugating the Slavs so that the Aryans can have lebensraum (“living space”) to build beautiful farms where

they raise beautiful, white families, is working. Rudolph and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) refer to themselves as “settlers.” As be tting an SS o cer of his rank, the couple has a huge house with a sprawling garden and even a swimming pool with a slide. On one side, their property backs up to an idyllic country stream. e other side shares a wall with the Auschwitz death camp, whose foreboding stone buildings are just visible behind the razor wire. is is convenient for the commandant, who likes to work from home.

Rudolph Höss, not coincidentally, also starved random children to death. He did it as a method of collective punishment every time a prisoner escaped Auschwitz.

e real genius of e Zone of Interest is that Glazer never shows any of Rudolph’s work on screen, save for one moment when a line of prisoners is led into his elds by guards on horseback. But the signs of the atrocities happening just over the wall are inescapable. When the wind is right, ash from the crematoria oats over laundry drying on the clothesline. Hedwig gets periodic deliveries of ne clothes and household goods con scated from prisoners as they were led to the gas chamber.

e family, which includes ve children, carries on with an eerie normality, but the one thing they can’t

lter out of their perfect little world is the noise. e Zone of Interest is up for ve Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, where it faces sti competition. e one award it deserves to win outright is Best Sound. Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn’s soundscapes faithfully recreate what it was like to live next to a murder factory. When Hedwig’s mother (Imogen Kogge) visits, their tour of the gardens is punctuated by screams and gun re. One of the lm’s most chilling moments comes when the couple’s toddler son overhears his father order the guards to drown a prisoner in the river where the family plays.

Glazer’s last lm was the excellent 2014 sci- creeper Under the Skin, which starred Scarlett Johansson as an alien predator who develops empathy for her Earthling prey. Rudolph and Hedwig don’t act like monsters. Mostly, they just stick to their routine as busy executive and doting

housewife, throwing kids’ birthday parties, tending the garden (or at least supervising the enslaved gardeners), and navigating o ce politics. Ninety percent of the time, Glazer stays in their perspective — this is a lm about how monsters view themselves, a er all. But even surrounded by all the creature comforts, the family can’t keep reality at bay forever.

e question Glazer’s remarkable lm raises in the viewer is, “What atrocities do our comfortable lives allow us to ignore?”

e Zone of Interest

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Director Jonathan Glazer’s Best Picture nominee e Zone of Interest is a queasy masterpiece.

PHOTO: COURTESY A24

A prisoner of Auschwitz walks through Commandant Rudolph Höss’ garden in e Zone of Interest

Our critic picks the best films in theaters.

Dune: Part Two

The second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s timeless sci-fi epic is the one where the good stuff happens. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) rides the sand worm and becomes Muad’Dib, the psychic messiah destined to lead the natives of Arrakis on a war of galactic conquest, with the assistance of Chani (Zendaya), his Fremen consort. Meanwhile, Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) and his daughter Irulan (Florence Pugh) try to contain the growing rebellion with the help of Rabban “The Beast” Harkonnen (Dave Bautista).

Bob Marley: One Love

The biopic of reggae legend Bob Marley

(Kingsley Ben-Adir) begins the story with an assassination attempt on the singer to prevent him from performing at the 1976 Smile Jamaica Concert. He goes into exile in London to produce his most famous work Exodus as his relationship with his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) deteriorates.

Drive-Away Dolls

Ethan Coen and longtime Coen Bros. editor Tricia Cooke team up for a lesbian road trip comedy/crime caper. Jamie (Margaret Qualley) wants to go on a road trip to shake off a bad breakup with Sukie (Beanie Feldstein). She convinces her uptight friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) to drive to Tallahassee, Florida, unaware that their rental car has a briefcase in the trunk containing … well, you’ll find out.

Twist on American Gothic

Horses, cousins, and learning how to live.

While my grandparents owned several pitchforks, they were lightyears from the frowning pair depicted in Grant Wood’s painting American Gothic. Rather, my grandparents beamed while running their horse farm because they enjoyed the work. I’m certain that the artist’s gloomy couple would have considered their outsized interest in racehorses frivolous and impractical. Grandpa never bred a big winner but persisted because he admired racehorses’ power and found pleasure in the statistical challenges of improving breeding lines. At the farm, there was a pulse of manic energy, and jockeys and grooms lived outside the 9-to-5 world.

Yes, my grandparents were an unorthodox pair, and they swept us into their lifestyles. Provided few warnings about the e ect of gravity, my cousins and I rode horses believing that none of us would ever take a terrible fall. “If worst comes to worst — and I don’t think it will — relax and oat down like a butter y,” my grandmother advised. A pleasant euphemism for a fall but much easier to actualize when one has a good pair of wings. Convinced of our spectacular bloodlines, she even cleared a spot in the driver’s seat for anyone willing to step up, rst placing her bet on Dax and directing him to drive us to the local barbecue joint. Driving wasn’t so di erent from steering bumper cars at the county fair, she reasoned, con dent that the 8-year-old was up to the task. “I’m hungry, and it’s time to get some ribs!” she cried, brandishing a 10-spot bill. “Now climb in,” she ordered, settling my sister Andrea and cousin Mary Liz in the backseat.

e game was on, and a er a short tutorial, she dropped the keys to the Volkswagen in Dax’s pudgy ngers. When the car at last skidded into the parking lot, I stared in awe at the South’s youngest chau eur. At 10, I had a few years over Dax, but recent setbacks had convinced me that I was not legend material, and the evidence was solid. When I fell from a horse, the crash hurt like hell. Plus, my piggy bank was in grave trouble because I picked the wrong horses on every $5 bet that the adults placed for me at Oaklawn Track.

During this season of bruises and squandered allowance, a beloved dog went missing, uniting the bold and the wannabes in a mission. A er nding Pepper, we dangled sun-toasted legs over the porch and philosophized about nding a treasure we feared lost, pausing in our profundities to blow bubbles cra ed of Bazooka gum. Real, signi cant loss came the next year when my uncle accepted a job in Baltimore, and my aunt packed up, leaving behind Dax and Mary Elizabeth’s kid-size riding boots. I sulked in the back stall, dreading the separation to come.

Later, my sister and I grew close to another pair of cousins (on my mother’s side of the family) residing three hours south on the Arkansas slice of Texarkana.

ere, Kevin and Matt showed o their new Boy Scout merit badges in camping and woodworking, and the reigning expletive was “Hell’s bells!” expressing my aunt’s failure to bake the perfect side dish for the holidays.

Taking notes, I compared patterns of conformity and unconventionality and the many options for ways to live, and at home, I had only to look at my mother and father to see radically di erent positions.

My cousins eventually went o into the world, and my sister and I le home as well. Predictably, a physician and a corporate vice-president emerged from the conventional side of my family. A brave entrepreneur — that’s Dax — took risks that paid o , and Mary Liz has been a powerful force. Defying the strictures of her husband’s paraplegic condition, she asked doctors to help them have children. Mary Liz’s passion for life and will to bring children into existence would receive hearty approval from both of our grandparents. In truth, they weren’t promoting horses to us, but rather the value of picking up the damn barbecue and enjoying the feast.

Why Memphis? It’s a perfect place to plant my hybrid self where I can hang out with colorful folks while pursuing goals that will never yield the high of winning a race but that do keep the bills paid. No legend myself, I’m exposed to shining stars in this city — artists, musicians, quirky characters. Crossing the Hernando de Soto Bridge, a view of Arkansas opens to the west and the Downtown skyline stands in the east. Here, it’s possible to stay close both geographically and emotionally to childhood experiences. As the Peabody’s sta serves high tea, musicians in clubs are preparing for revelry. Since there is something for all of my cousins to savor here, I hope to entice them to visit for a long weekend soon. Stephanie Painter is a local freelance writer. She has written for Memphis Magazine, Germantown Magazine, Memphis Parent, Chapter 16, Number: Inc., and Episcopal Café. She is the author of the children’s picture book Liz Tames A Dragon

PHOTO: COURTESY STEPHANIE PAINTER Cousin Dax on horseback