Boston Compass #130

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UNDERGROUND FLEX: CASSH CARTEL AND B. BLAZO

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BUY ME, BOSTON VOLUME 2

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Book release events at DAP Thu 12/3 (evening) Sat 12/5 (afternoon/early eve) 3 sessions each day

When it comes to music, gimmicks will always wither away, but pain music will never go out of style. It’s raw, it’s the truth and it’s a story that you can never take away from a person.

Dorchester Art Project will host two days of events (six These are the kind of stories that mainstream outlets won’t sessions total, each about 1 hour and 20 mins) to celebrate cover because it’s not a radio hit or related to industry the release of Brian Coleman’s new book, Buy Me, Boston politics, and that’s where the Underground Flex comes Volume 2: More Local Ads & Flyers, 1960s – 1980s. The in. This month, I’m highlighting Boston artists Cassh events will be co-hosted by DigBoston and their editor Cartel and B. Blazo. Having come together earlier this Chris Faraone. All proceeds will go back to DAP and year with singles like, “WE COOLIN PT. 2,” “Mad At” books will be on sale directly from the author. Both and guest appearances on Low Key’s “Go Harder” volumes in Coleman’s series are visual explorations Last month we lost a real one. Jeff and Savvo Baby’s “Double Back,” these two indiof the Boston of yesteryear, highlighting all manner Breeze, the host of Pipeline! on WMBR viduals are slowly mastering the music game with of businesses, from bars and restaurants to hair passed away on November 8, 2020. As a their consistency and more importantly, lyricism. salons, mobile DJs and clowns. Yes, clowns. In Boston Compass supporter from day one, Jeff Though most listeners have been introduced to 2019 Coleman started his “Video Loft” event holds a special place in our hearts here at Brain these two as a duo, both rappers have solo efseries at local movie theatres around town, Arts Org. Much like our monthly journalistic effort, forts of their own. Since 2018, Cassh Cartel has which added an extra visual element to the Buy Pipeline! is a relentless labor of love brought to you by released three singles: “Been Thru” featuring Me, Boston mix, with local videos from the a small handful of dedicated people (shout out engineer Swish, “Hyped Up” and “Trap’n All Day.” B. same era. The DAP events in early December Mike Reed) whose collective contribution to the scene deBlazo catalogue is also rather extensive, rewill (sadly) be limited capacity, about 12-14 fies the logic of profit. Jeff was a rare breed, indeed: for over leasing multiple records this year, including: people max for each of three daily sessions, 20 years his incredible voice carried THE local music show on “For Real,” “I Swear,” “Tell Me” and his deand will be a mix of video throwdown, book WMBR into our ears and our hearts. Every week he uncovered but summer project, It Is What It Is. As we slideshow and interactive discussion with and shined light on the latest and best local New England music transition into 2021, it’ll be exciting to see attendees about long-gone venues, he could find and even had live, in-studio performances up until the what Cassh Cartel and B. Blazo will bring newspapers and other casualties of COVID outbreak. Even during these difficult times when radio stations to the table. But until then, make sure to gentrification.For more information on and venues alike are shuttered, leaving musicians and fans with nowhere tap in to their latest release, “Mad At.” the books and Coleman’s video loft, to express their true selves, Jeff made it happen - check out the last 6 check out www.BuyMeBoston.com months of virtual performances at pipelinewmbr.bandcamp.com.The man was —Tahisha Charles

and Coleman’s YouTube page: as committed as he was tall (moreso than most). Jeff was hilarious, had an en@miixtapechiick

h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / u s e r / cyclopedic knowledge of music and went out of his way to stay in the loop around GoodRoadBC/videos.

Boston, even if he often had to hit me up to fill a cancelation on 48 hours’ notice. Jeff And for tickets to the events, visit and I were really close personally, and he always supported me in our shared mission www.DorchesterArtProject.com. to bolster the scene but he especially loved and appreciated the Compass. So if you appreciate this analog pipeline to local art and music, then go turn your radio on LAYOUT DESIGN: —Brian Coleman Phoebe Delmonte: p.1,4,& 5 and set a reminder to tune in to Pipeline! every Tuesday at 8pm for the show that Jeff Hannah Blauner: p.2 & 3 Breeze made A Thing.

Adrian Alvarez: p.6 & 8

REST IN PEACE JEFF BREEZE

—Sam Potrykus

THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG

Julia Baroni: p.7

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED

BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE

NOTES FROM

THE CREW

What’s up Compass readers! I’m so happy to introduce myself to you here: My name is Julia and I’m the new Director of People & Culture at Brain Arts. This past February, I was looking for more hands-on opportunities to engage with underrepresented artists in Boston, which led me to fill out the volunteer interest form on the BAO website (do the same if you haven’t yet--we have lots of exciting ways to get involved). Countless amazing meetings and a pandemic later, I’m honored to sit on the leadership team of an organization that truly puts artists and community first. Our commitment to empowering and advocating for underrepresented artists in Boston is deeply personal to me. Growing up in the area as the daughter of mixed-race, Latinx performing artists, finding opportunities for artists of color in the city is what helped sustain our family. Artists of color have carried me all my life, and it’s a privilege to give back to them in my role at the org. As the Director of People & Culture, I provide core operational support to the staff, volunteers, and artists who make up the beautiful and resilient community of BAO. With spaces and opportunities for artists disappearing all over the city these past 8 months, it feels radical to be working at a place that’s expanded on all fronts this year--even the Compass got more room (what’s up, 8 pages!).

This year we doubled our square footage with our new storefront and more than doubled our paid staff positions. I’m just getting started at the organization, and I can’t wait to build more incredible things with this team in the year ahead. Feel free to drop me a line at admin@ brain-arts.org. I would love to hear from you!

In solidarity,

------------------------ JULIA SCHACHNIK

Director of People and Culture at BOA

PLACES YOU

CAN HANG

FLAMES RESTAURANT Their streamlined service option left them well-equipped for the shutdowns of table service, and the ongoing restrictions related to Covid-19. Day in and day out, they offer a product reminiscent of a homecooked and curbside Jamaican food.

I grew up eating Jamaican cooking, so I have high standards--Flames meets them all. This restaurant does not offer a sanitized “ethnic” menu one might encounter at a Chipotle or the Chinese restaurants--it’s accommodating to me, and other Caribbean frequenters. The last time I had curry goat as good as what I got from Flames, I was in Jamaica. The last time I had oxtail stew as good as Flames? My sister cooked it. It is precisely the food I grew up eating and enjoying. And if you try, you’ll enjoy it too.

My roommate asks me, “How’s the food”?

I say, “It’s flames, bro”.

------- RORY LAMBERT-WRIGHT

@HIMALAYANINK

POONAM BALI

KFC, Taco Bell, and Arby’s are globally renowned food service establishments. They have fed billions, and together they have a net worth larger than several countries. But within Boston, there’s something outdoing them all in quality, authenticity, and even number of locations. Yes, maybe burger joint Wahlburger’s fits this description too, but if you’d like to eat at a restaurant whose proprietor hasn’t been charged for beating a Vietnamese man into unconsciousness while screaming slurs (This really happened, google it), might I recommend some Jamaican cuisine from Flames?

Owner Linval Chambers established Flames Restaurant Incorporated in 2001. The first location was opened in Mattapan, in the heart of Boston’s Caribbean immigrant community.

Since then, Chambers has opened two more locations in Boston (Mission Hill and Dorchester), another in Brockton, and another in Atlanta. Each one I have visited has a cafeteria style setup for to-go orders.

I’ve long targeted corporatocracy and the creeping privatization of American society as a point of concern. But in the last seven months, my fears have accelerated five thousand fold. We are witnessing an erosion of public resources at a rate I could never have fathomed.

The shutting down of our publicly funded institutions—schools, libraries, parks, museums, transportation, even water fountains—has not been without good reason. We are living through a global pandemic that spreads through human interaction. Closing these resources to the public is a demonstrable effort by the state to use what it has control over to limit that interaction. This in theory makes a great deal of sense, but how things have played out in practice reveals some enormous blind spots.

The problem is not that our public institutions are being extremely cautious. It’s that whether they’re open or closed we need the services they offer, and we are still getting them—or at least some segments of society that can afford them are. For all the public schools that shut their doors to in-person learning, private schools, which remain open, offer a tantalizing alternative to an already economically privileged demographic. For all the buses and trains running on reduced schedules due to low ridership, car dealerships remain on standby, with the keys to your next carbon guzzler, and large tech companies like Uber and Lyft lick their lips at the opportunity to capture a market which is unprecedentedly available to them. For all the libraries not offering public wifi, access to in-person educational resources and a quiet workspace for community members of all ages, private, for profit bookstores and coworking spaces fill an important void for those with means, while others remain siloed in their residences.

Conservatives have for years lobbied on the idea that these services we fight so hard to provide public options for—particularly education and transportation—should not be funded by municipal, state, and federal budgets. Their argument is that the private sector can offer these services more cheaply, not on the public dime, and with greater resiliency. We on the left have long had to fight this ideology. But when we shut down public resources during a time of crisis, without a plan for when they will reopen, while allowing private institutions to continue operating as ‘essential,’ we create a vacuum in which the conservative argument has never held more sway.

We are experiencing a historic retreat into and embrace of the private sector with a societal shift that we may never be able to reverse. The state of Massachusetts, for example, has already announced severe budget cuts to transportation are imminent.

It’s already hinted that what’s lost today may never return.

This crisis has demonstrated the extent to which the modern left has lost touch with the demographics it claims to care about. This crisis has demonstrated that while public services are funded by “the people,” they are not staffed by them—not really. What does it say to someone who works at a grocery store—a private sector employee who’s considered essential, yet paid a minimum hourly wage with zero benefits—when the teachers - whose salaries and benefits they pay for to ensure their kids have a safe place to be while they’re at work - are not willing to teach in-person? It says that their lives are more disposable than the lives of those with far more support than them.

This disconnect on the progressive left is why Trump won in 2016, and it’s why in 2020, though he didn’t win the election, he did win with all demographics of Americans that don’t read the New York Times (and other publications which turn real, pressing social and economic issues into bourgeois middle class dinner party talking points).

These are the same people who will endlessly debate, over comically expensive bottles of wine, the virtues of public schooling, but during a pandemic, are the first to put their kids in elitist “pods,” rather than fight for a more equitable and horizontal response.

These are also the people that, once lockdowns get severe, escape the existential ennui of quarantine by abandoning ship, buying a $80,000 van remodeled inside to look like a wooden cabin, and taking a cross country road trip—something they can do because they’re “digital nomads.” A friend of mine said to me recently: “I really do think the professional class is on one long vacation.”

Her highly educated neighbors in Cambridge have been homeschooling their kids and regularly escape to their expensive vacation home off the coast of Maine.

We need to come to some agreements, and soon, on what progress actually looks like, because a genuinely progressive response to this crisis would not look like what we’re experiencing. Either we pay people to stay home and we shut everything down, or we don’t, and we adjust our public institutions accordingly, so that the social and economic brunt of this pandemic is not borne by the poorest of society, who right now are being punished for keeping the rest of us afloat.

------------------------------ KARINE VANN

ADVICE FOR

LOVERS

Q: Is it realistic to love someone 100% all the time or is it more likely we have seasons of love?

A: Love can be there even when it isn’t felt front and center. I don’t think love should necessarily be a constant feeling. There is a course it takes. Falling in love and being in love are different feelings. To get semiscientific on you- over time our brains become less receptive to the chemicals released during infatuation. It has been talked about that infatuation can last up to three years and then there can be a decline in what we FEEL. That doesn’t mean you aren’t loving

the other 100% of the time it just means your brain isn’t responding to it’s natural stimulants the way it used to. After infatuation you have presumably developed attachment. You are bonded and that is beautiful but may not FEEL as exhilarating as it used to. This is why there are all of those cheesy resources of how to get the “spark” back in your love life. When attachment forms your chemical response to love is a different kind of high. It is calming and comforting vs. at first with infatuation as excitement.

---------- XOXO HEART-SOAKED

A good friend of mine once told me that resistance needs to be practiced, especially the breaking the rules part. The little act of putting up a sticker, for example, exercises your rebellion muscles. We need widespread social revolution to avert climate catastrophe, but in this way, small moments like stickering can be just as important as giant marches.

It’s hard to imagine bigger resistance when you’re afraid to “deface public property.” And I am, honestly.

WHAT WE CARRY I was raised by a parent born into segregation. Who marched on Washington alongside Dr. King. Raised by someone who had actual experience of what we were able to accomplish, desegregation, the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action.

I understand the continued fight against systemic racism, and how far we’ve come, with that I carried the respect, appreciation, and strength Black people have exhibited in a history of intense, unjust adversity. I also carried with me the anger, fear, and pain of the treatment and how it is still present.

I was raised to believe the truth that I am human first. With that, I refuse to be separated as someone’s idea of anything less.

I recall being raised this way both a blessing and curse. When I was younger, I didn’t notice the stares, the racial comments, or on family vacations and outings, where sometimes we would be the only black family. When I was told I couldn’t be friends with the other girls because they weren’t “used to black people”. That’s when I grew up and noticed the injustices I was still exposed to. I read up on racism. When Philando Castile was murdered, I watched the videos of police brutality against Black people, I looked upon the photo of the open casket of Emmett Till.

I broke myself down with the oppression we have faced and carried with me intense anger and pain. It was suffocating and I felt limited.

It felt like an ineffective way to honor what we have accomplished and contributed towards solutions.

My mother carries the experience of our history. Understanding that she is human

first, although that truth did not exclude her from having to fight because she was discriminated against, she leads with the truth that she can go anywhere and be anything she wants, balancing defending herself through recognizing racism and exposing it in order to be treated with the respect she deserves. With her lessons, I relearned how to empower myself in the face of racism, call it out, and demand respect. Racism is not normal. It is corrupt, dangerous, and illegal; expose the criminal act.

As I continue to learn our history and see how far we’ve come. I look with admiration at the Black women leaders in my community starting their own businesses and creating resources for the success of black people.

I experience the representation, advocacy, alliance, and Black people winning! I see how this anger and pain can be translated into power, success, uplifting communities, support and love. When that anger, that pain wells up, the answers translate into endeavors and ideas, and making time to open up to my support circle to seek guidance and release.

The result of learning our feelings, anger, and traumas, we understand our rights, our rightful place at the head of every table.

Supporting in unveiling the acknowledgement of the past, present and their effects, and redirecting the powerful energy of anger and pain to the powerful energy of ideas, courage, fight, that translates into the lasting change that is supposed to be.

Hey all, How are you doing?

Are you having difficulty going outdoors or talking to people? Frequently flooded by despair and acid reflux? Do you want so much more than your dehydrated mind can provide right now?

I’m not selling vitamins, I’m projecting.

My name’s Cory and I’m an artist and activist working with Extinction Rebellion Boston (“XR”). We’re a climate change resistance movement focused on environmental justice, curbing ecological destruction, and building a global rebellion to force government action on these issues.

Climate change news is... really not getting better. On top of everything else going on right now, that’s mind-breaking. Some days I can’t do anything, including sleep. It’s very hard to do resistance work when my own needs are unmet like this. “Motivation is for well people” is kind of a bullshit idea, but there’s some truth in it too...

My personal wellness feels strongly linked to global problems. At the risk of sounding like Arwen from Lord of the Rings, the worse the world at large is doing, the worse I feel.

“My fate is tied to the international fossil fuel --------------------------- JOYE WILLIAMS power ring...” etc. Being aware of systemic, enviro-social destruction is part of the overwhelm, but so is my level of participation.

If I’m not taking part in social resistance, I feel alone and terrified. Yet, starting to do something - organizing with neighbors, protesting outside, making flyers - feels Yule (Winter Solstice) on December 21st impossible when I don’t have energy to marks the return of the sun and the start of a start from. new year cycle. It is a time for new beginnings and inner reflection. The romantic Knight of Cups card shows up here bringing a message of beauty, emotional connection, and depth.

It’s time to get to know yourself on a deeper level. How can you create intimacy in your Season’s greetings, my trashy babies. life?

We’re going to have fun this holiday season, I pulled the IX of Pentacles for the full moon against all the odds. Is it gonna be weird? on December 29th. How can you let yourself Hell yea. I made weed butter. Also, there’s enjoy a little luxury this Cold Moon? By luxury, a pandemic. You probably heard about that.

I don’t mean blowing a bunch of money Real talk: maybe this turbulent moment on a pair of shoes you can’t afford. I mean, affords us an opportunity to create new holiday taking time to eat a meal and savor every traditions that align with the environment. bite, or taking the day off and putting on your The holidays are an incredibly wasteful time favorite outfit, just to dress up for yourself. of year, especially when it comes to food.

This moment of luxury is well earned after Project Drawdown ranks “reducing food months of pulling the VIII of Pentacles — we waste” as the third most effective solution are continuing on our evolution to rethinking for limiting climate change. Buying locallyour relationship to money and work. produced food, cutting back on single-use For Guidance, I pulled the X of Cups, a packaging, and reducing food waste are card of radiant joy and endless love. Let this three gifts you can give this holiday season. month be a time for harmony and connection Give to whom? Every single living thing. Yay. in your life. Try to let peace guide you, instead of fear or anxiety. How can you share love GUIDE TO A LOW-WASTE and warmth to all those in your life? This is HOLIDAY FEAST also a card of divine connection, so whether you have a spiritual/religious practice or not, STEP ONE. Connect with your food source. let December be a time to reconnect to the Use locally-produced food for your holiday divinity that lives within you. feast.

TAROT FORECAST The Tarot Forecast is a look at the month ahead in a tarot spread. This forecast is dominated by Cups (our emotions) and by Court Cards. Court Cards represent people in our lives, and aspects of our personalities, so this December, you may find yourself having to play many roles and juggle different aspects of yourself.

The Queen of Swords is the card for the month of December, and brings to us the message of boundaries. When the Queen wields her swords, she forces others to keep a healthy distance. This message is loud and clear for us as COVID cases rise. Now is the time to establish boundaries with the people in your life. Some of these boundaries may be physical (no you cannot come visit me this holiday season), while others may be mental (I need a break from this relationship).

Communication is key here! Be clear, use facts, and don’t let your emotions get in the way. The Queen of Swords isn’t afraid of giving people the cold shoulder to get her message across.

The new moon on December 14th brings the Page of Cups. This Page invites us to experience new feelings and to step into our creative flow. This card is a great balance to the sharpness of the Queen of Swords, and brings out our emotional side. But sometimes the Page of Cups has a hard time standing up for themselves. How do you protect yourself when others put you down?

This is a link to some XR sticker designs.

Feel free to print them out and use them. I’m going to.

Stickering, wheatpasting, tagging, and even chalk art take back public space visually.

They communicate solidarity, information, and will in eye-catching ways that people notice. After all these months trapped inside my house like it’s Shelob’s fucking lair while the world burns, I’m MAD. And I have a right to be! And you do too! One way to validate that anger is to make public art that doesn’t ask permission to be there.

“It’s a dangerous business, going out your front door...” The 1% that rules us all should start worrying.

In love and rage,

---------------------------------------------- CORY

xrmass.org

TRASH IS TRAGIC

--------------- NAOMI WESTWATER

Litterless has compiled a zero waste grocery shopping guide for Massachusetts. Call ahead to see if BYOC policies have changed due to Covid. https://www.litterless.com/bulk-foodguide/massachusetts Pemberton Farms Cambridge is keepin’ on with the bulk bins. Bless their hearts!

Unfortunately, outside containers are not currently permitted. Shoppers can fill up compostable/recyclable paper bags provided by the store.

STEP THREE. Avoid making food waste.

Buy the right amount of food.

Americans throw away 35% of our food.

Sucks! To lower your environmental impact (and save dollars), simply buy what you need, and nothing more. Try a food calculator, such as SaveTheFood.com, to estimate your needs for a holiday meal.

Be creative with the leftovers. Can’t gobble leftovers within a week? They’ll stay good in the freezer for months. Instead of tossing vegetable scraps and bones in the garbage, Shop at a Winter Farmers Market use them to make stock (you can freeze that, Covid has thrown a rock-hard wrench into too). the CBD-oiled gears of our winter markets, resulting in some closures. For a complete STEP FOUR. Reflect. list of open winter markets in Massachusetts, visit https://bit.ly/2J0MmNg. The following It can be stressful to witness our alreadyBoston-area markets are open: Boston bloated consumer culture kick into overdrive Public Market, Charles River Farmers Market, during the holiday season. This year, I’m Somerville Winter Farmers Market. looking forward to celebrating My Way (by F. Sinatra). Good food, little garbage, great Join a CSA company (most of it remote), and weed Split the bounty (and cost) with roommates. butter. See you in 2021, friends!

Options include: Stillman Farms, Siena Farms, Brookwood Community Farm, New Entry ------------------- MELANIE BERNIER Food Hub, Red Fire Farm, Boston Public Market...

STEP TWO. Connect with your food.

Buy unpackaged, unprocessed food wherever possible. Cooking from scratch has many benefits, such as: get your hands dirty, learn about food, and express your humanity. You quite often will save money, too.

Use recipes that call for few (or zero) packaged ingredients.

Zero Waste Chef is an incredible resource for low-waste recipes that are delicious, simple, healthy, and low-budget. zerowastechef.com Shop the bulk bins - or what’s left of them.

BYO-container bulk bins were endangered in Boston before Covid. The virus has made it even harder to find unpackaged, by-thepound pantry staples. Harder. . . but not impossible!

MORE AT G! RTS.OR BRAIN-A

HAPPENINGS ADVOCACY New England Justice for Our Neighbors “NEJFON is recognized as an effective justice-oriented resource for providing hospitable, compassionate and high-quality, legal services for immigrants”.

Consider volunteering for NEJFON. Learn more at www.newenglandjfon.org/ advocacy The Boston Women’s Fund is accepting movement building grant recommendations through December 10, 2020! They are “a progressive foundation that supports communitybased organizations and grassroots initiatives run by women and girls in order to create a society based on racial, economic and social justice” https://www. bostonwomensfund.org/

Follow @unofficialcommittee “An open community for activists, designers, and artists who create solutions for positive social change.” www. unofficialcommittee.com

Virtual First Fridays Open Mic: All ages and talents welcome! December 4th at 7pm. Sign up here! https:// bit.ly/FF-OpenMic-Signup

MUSIC & AUDIO

VIDEO & FILM

Boston Lyric Opera present BLO Street Stage!

“BLO Street Stage is a mobile performance space bringing beautiful live music to your neighborhood. Join us in-person for an outdoor performance near you!”

For more information, check out blo.org

Nov 12-Dec 15 - Boston Turkish Film Festival. Fully online due to COVID-19.

“Boston Turkish Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition provides a rare opportunity for filmmakers to have a platform in the USA for their films to reach an international audience as well as film critics. The first of its kind organized in North America and celebrating its 15th year, the competition has transformed to a great tradition where Bostonians are able to explore works of the emerging filmmakers first hand.”

More info at www.bostonturkishfestival.org

Check out ONCE Somerville’s Virtual Venue on Youtube!

Upcoming live streamed performances, past shows and video content, and more!

Support independent venues! oncesomerville.com/ virtual-venue/

Boiler House Jazz Series @ Charles River Museum DECEMBER 11 - 7:30PM Power to the People “Our featuring Lucy Little (American mission is to empower black community by acknowledging violinist, composer, & the importance of supporting improviser), Afarin Nazarijou Black owned businesses & (award winning qanun player returning power back to the from Iran). people.” Meets at DAP every More info and Youtube Sunday at 4pm, follow and stream at support @__pttp. www.charlesrivermuseum.org Youth Villages provides Follow them help for children and young @charlesrivermuseum people across the United States. The Massachusetts BAGLY (Boston Area Gay and team is having the next Lesbian Youth) Virtual Open installment of their LEAD Series on Thursday, Mic! 12/9 7-9pm on Zoom December 10th! Visit https:// zoom.us/j/927719211 www.youthvillages.org/ and @bagly_inc find a full list of events under the GET INVOLVED tab :) Lunch is Ova! on Spark FM Follow Voices of Liberation with DJ WhySham: Every for regular information and Tuesday/Thursday from 1-3pm on and advocacy for housing www.sparkfmonline.com equity in greater Boston.

They host meetings, summits, Feel it Speak it: Boston’s only and actions to engage the public in this important monthly open mic movement cause! dedicated to voices & experiences of the LGBTQ+ Mission Hill Health communities of color every Movement Thursday. Open mic sign up: The MHHM addresses the broad issues which affect tinyurl.com/fisivirtual its neighborhood and to @feelit_speakit improve the quality of health in Mission Hill. Find programs, resources, events 6th Annual LFOD Cypher Series up on Youtube! and more at their website: www.mhhm.org Featuring Brandie Blaze, Time & Lepp, Jon Hope, Follow Survivor Theatre TonyWhiteDDM, Bakari JB, Project for online events and Everett Gibbons, Darius opportunities that support Heywood, YN Prop, Ryan women, queer, and POC voices. More info on IG Easter, Tim Nihan, Daniel @survivortheatreproject Laurent, ANSON RAP$, Chatham The SUN, Bugout, Center for Teen Empowerment encouraging Kay Wattz, Mark Merren, and Miles Stone. Check it on LFOD’s and advocating for youth involvement in social change Youtube channel!! and political movements specifically for low income The OOZE stream, Tuesday and POC in greater Boston www.teenempowerment.org 12/1, 9pm EST! New England’s only party dedicated and Freedom Fighters Coalition catering to all the rad is a community organization underground genres of responsible for many of the electronic music and internet recent protests and counter subculture. Check out protests. Follow them to @kerrydabrunette on IG for info find out about actions in Greater Boston and volunteer and updates. opportunities. @ffcof2020 on Instagram.

Did you know that Modern Party Art hosts Open Mic Black Minds Matter: “One Night every Wednesday 6:30Heart, one Mind, One Soul, One Sound. Through mental 9:30pm EST? From beginners freedom we will achieve to people who do this for freedom for all.” Important a living...the stage is yours! community events found at Reserve your seat by buying @blackmindsmatter2020 tickets in advance. 20 person limit during Covid. Follow @modernpartyart for more!

ShowPlace ICON is host to a redefined movie experience with cutting-edge digital and theatre technology. Check out their website for events. www.ShowPlaceICON.com @showplaceiconboston Oscilloscope Tuesday Takeover x OVV: Jingle Bell Rocks! Tue, Dec 1, 2020, 8:00 PM EST. “JINGLE BELL ROCKS! is a cinematic sleigh-ride into the strange and sublime universe of alternative Christmas music.

It’s also a mix-tape of twelve of the weirdest, wildest, most poignant Christmas songs you’ve never heard”. @oncesomerville on IG InterGeneration Artist In Residence 2020 Showcase: Join the Eliot School for a preview of a documentaryin-progress about the past and present state of Boston’s relationship with its indigenous people, artists and struggle for racial justice.

Search event on Eventbrite.com Go Pixel Yourself: 12 themed rooms and 9 million pixels that create multidimensional, immersive experiences. With innovative camera and motion-activated technology, capture the mind-bending moments through photos and videos that automatically email to you! Located in Cambridge. https://www.gopixelyourself. com/

VISUAL & ART To Each Era Its Art. To Art, It’s Freedom. Art installation by Jose Dávila and guest-curated by Pedro Alonso. Now open in Central Wharf Park!

“To Each Era gives Boston a platform for public-making in a time of physical distancing.

We may have installed the materials, but it’s your interactions, perceptions, and questions that make it art. Now through spring

2021: help us build a place to rediscover spontaneity, regain our footing, and safely reinvent our shared outdoor spaces.”

Find @now_and_there on IG for more information about this installation and other art :) Thu 12/3 @6:30pm The Artist’s Voice: Rania Matar “Ruth Erickson, Mannion Family Curator, chats virtually with Rania Matar about the artist’s current Across Windows series of portraits taken in and around Boston during COVID-19. Hear more about Matar’s process for making art during an ongoing pandemic, an example of which is included in i’m yours: Encounters with Art in Our Times.”

Check out this and more at www.icaboston.org/calendar Cambridge Public Library presents: Re-emerge: Evolving Sculpture with Chanel Thervil Mon 12/14 @ 6:30 p.m.

“They will speak about their 2016 work “EMERGENCE: What does hope look like?” and lead us through a sculpture workshop where we create a “Hope Chest” based on our own ideas of hope and those we glean from our community, family and friends. Chanel Thervil is a Haitian American artist and educator obsessed with all things art, community, and history. While Miami born and Brooklyn raised, she’s currently Boston based” https://www.cambridgema. gov/cpl/calendarofevents Inaugural exhibition @ Praise Shadows Art Gallery: Leaving the City

by Providence based artist Jarrett Key. December 9 January 13.

“A continuation of their Leaving the City series, this unique body of work depicts members of Key’s chosen family in relationship to the natural splendor of landscapes that define the figure, lushly painted on wet cement” @praise.shadows.art on Instagram!

New Fuller Craft Museum exhibition: ‘Makers and Mentors: The Art and Life of Snow Farm’ opens 11/28 “The invitational exhibit features veteran, mid-career and young artists, but also highlights the historical development of the school, which has become an important player in studio craft.” @fullercraft on Instagram!

LITERARY ART & NEWS MEDIA Comics Workshop: Translating Nonfiction into (Genre) Fiction Free online comics workshop with Andi Santagata.

Sponsored by MICE, Priya’s Shakti, Baturu Festival.

(Workshop is in English) Check out more from MICE on twitter @MassMICE Fuck Your Dreams Zine Volume 2: How We Ride: Now accepting submissions thru Dec 7 “We are looking for your art and writing about roller skating, rollerblading, skating, biking, and any other sport, recreation, or form of transportation involving wheels.” Email submissions to fckyourdreamszine@gmail. com and include your full name, artist statement or bio, a description of the work you’re submitting, and your work.

Comics in Color - Volume 30!

Comics In Color is a safe space where you can come and get your nerd on about illustrated stories by and about people of color. Happening Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 3:30 PM EST – 5 PM EST! Connect with them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ComicsInColor Check out the Papercut Zine Library virtual library! They are “a free, volunteer-run browsing library with a collection of 16,000+ zines & independent media”. https://www. papercutzinelibrary.com/ Boston ABG: Asian Book Group. Join the Boston Asian Book Group! We meet monthly in Kendall Square. Like our page to be notified about our next meeting! https://www.facebook.com/ bostonabg/

PERFORMANCE ART

HOME Poetry Series December Edition: Nothing Will Ever Be the Same HOME consists of a featured reader and brief open mic every first Friday, followed by a writing workshop the following Saturday morning. The series is curated by Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and hosted by Anthony Febo. The poetry reading and open mic will be on December 4, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. The workshop will be on December 5, 2020 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The theme for December is “Nothing Will Ever Be the Same”, and the facilitator is Xandria Phillips.

Learn more and register at boston.gov/poetry.

Midway or the Highway Open Mic! On Zoom! Find us on Facebook for the address.

All are welcome when Angela Sawyer & Dave Robinson host some of the city’s most talented comedians, musicians, and weirdos too! If you’re feeling brave, put your name in the bucket and get a moment onstage under the lights.

Make being tired on Monday morning worth it.

Check out The Comedy Studio! Comedians from Boston and beyond. All events can be streamed on their website, as well as a weekly

podcast Tuesdays at 8 PM. www.thecomedystudio.com/ The Black Comedy Explosion: Wednesday nights at Slades Bar and Grill starting at 7pm. Come on down and join us as we bring you some of today’s funniest comedians from BET Comic View, HBO DEF Comedy Jam, Comedy Central, Martin Lawrence 1st Amendment, with both national and local acts. www.sladesbarandgrill.com @slades.boston Announcing TC Squared Theatre Company’s next Art Salon! This reading will feature “Concrete Dreams”,

by Krysten Carol, directed by Maurice Palmer and Michelle Ambila. Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 3:30 PM EST – 5:30 PM EST. Summary: “When a school is at risk of closing, four AfricanAmerican men are forced to choose between fighting for what they believe is right, or compromising their values to save the school.” https://www.facebook.com/ tcsquaredtheatre/ for more event information!

Artisanal Comedy: Weekly version of the popular monthly comedy showcase, bringing you unique, smart, hilarious comedians from across the country. 9pm EST, every 1st, 3rd & 4th Wednesday. More info @bethanyvandelft Artists’ Theater of Boston is seeking actors for a virtual reading of new play She Eats Apples by Stephanie Brownell, directed by Jasmine Brooks. Audition date 12/15. Search on FB for more info.

COMMUNITY Nov 27-Dec 30 - Wrong Brain Holiday Bizarre!!

Alternative craft fair with dozens of local makers featured on consignment!

Art, apparel, jewelry, ceramics, stuffies, candles, candy & more.

All unconventional, emerging & under-represented artists.

Hours: Weds-Sun 12-7pm @ Wrong Brain Headquarters (66 Third Street, B1, Dover NH) Masks required! No vendors will be present, just one shopkeeper. Capacity: 6 people or 2 parties.

Stairs only-entrance, virtual shopping with curbside pickup available!

Call 834-9454.

Boston GLASS operates Drop-In Community Centers for LGBTQ+ youth of color between the ages of 13–25!

GLASS provides a continuum of services to LGBTQ+ youth of color and their allies in the Greater Boston and Greater Framingham areas. As a leader in LGBTQ+ youth services, we also provide education and consultation to other providers and community organizations.

Want to get involved volunteering for local nonprofits but aren’t sure how? Check out One Brick at www.onebrick. org/ to get involved!

“One Brick is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is a community of volunteers that support other local nonprofits by creating a friendly and social atmosphere around volunteering. They build community through volunteering!”

BAGLY Weekly’s Meetings Including POC affinity groups, Trans/Non-Binary groups, and groups around preventing stigma around STI’s and HIV, and more!

Visit www.bagly.org/calendar for more information

Building Black Wealth Monthly Series by Roxbury Community College & Our Village Initiative.

Bringing tangible steps people of color can take to increase their net worth and build generational wealth. Google event name to find eventbrite link!!

Boston Democratic Socialists of America: Chill With Comrades virtual meetup! No agenda, just show up to talk IDEAS. Find event on FB. Email mentalhealth@bostondsa.org with any questions.

Support Activation Residency’s 2020 project “Respite as Resistance for QTBIPOC” www.activationresidency. com/2020 @activationresidency on Instagram Women Explore Lecture and Discussion Forum: Women Explore provides lecture series within a feminist learning community for women, to connect with the sacred dimensions of their experience and to support and encourage each other in the world community. www.womenexplore.org Community Fridges! There’s a bunch of these popping up all around the city! Free food for all! Run by volunteers! Check Out @bostoncommunityfridge @dotcommunityfridge @allstoncommunityfridge @matcommunityfridge @cambridgecommunityfridge 826 Boston is a nonprofit youth writing and publishing organization dedicated to empowering traditionally underserved students ages 6-18 to find their voices, tell their stories, and gain communication skills to succeed in school and in life. Fall 2020 programming will be all digital. www.826boston.org

2020 is a wrap with theatre companies reinventing the wheel with new, virtual plays and programming to keep us engaged. Companies near and far have joined forces to create project Play at Home, where each company has commissioned a short play as a way to create paid work for theatre artists while offering a source of inspiration and distraction to their audiences during this pandemic. See what they all came up with at playathome.org. Check out our listings and don’t miss your second chance to see some incredible, local one-woman shows available to view via Zoom and On Demand.

Tips? Email TheatrescapeBoston@gmail.com — CEEK 12/3 PlayOn@CSC: The Actor’s Craft with Amy Ryan and Jason Butler Harner Commonwealth Shakespeare Company presents this rare opportunity to get some insight into acting Shakespeare from the unspeakably versatile Amy Ryan and CSC alum Jason Butler Harner.

The two dissect playing Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. Free but $10 suggested donation WHERE: Register at CommShakes.org.

Thru 12/10 Dragon Mama This celebrated one-woman show

by Sara Porkalob is back and available to view On Demand for a short time. Part of Porkalob’s Dragon Cycle, a series of plays depicting generational stories within her own family. This powerhouse performance and personal project depicting familial love and trauma is absolutely worth catching while you can. $30 or pay-what-you-can.

WHERE: AmericanRepertoryTheater.org/ shows-events/dragon-mama-2020/

12/3-12/5 State vs Natasha Banina There’s a reason this virtual play by Arlekin Players Theater has been playing via Zoom since the Spring.

It’s smart, engaging and a truly innovative take on theatre-going during a pandemic.

WHERE: ArlekinPlayers.com

Ongoing Garden State A short play written by Sam Hamashima and commissioned by the Lyric Stage as part of the Play at Home project. A charming story of a bee journeying home after being captured in a glass jar and the importance of listening to new

Boston LGBTQIA+ Artists Association is revamping with a new director and a new website! They just put out a survey asking what LGBTQIA+ artists in Boston would like to see happen with this new organization.

Find it at www.blaa.us Cultural Survival Bazaar Virtual Festival Series: Happening Virtually! New England’s premier global Indigenous arts festival! Shop online anytime by visiting https://bazaar.culturalsurvival. org/ between November 16 - December 4.

Black Joy Market - 12/5, 12/12, 12/19 1pm-5pm: “This Holiday, in Nubian Square, we are taking a moment to bask in the beauty of what it means to be Black — both the pain and the celebration”. @blackmarketnubian

SUBSCRIBE for the best events BOSTON has to offer

perspectives.

WHERE: Playathome.org/plays/ hamashima-garden-state Thru 12/13 Showstopper Virtual Play Series New Rep Theatre is premiering two new plays by some local, female playwrights of color this holiday season. First is Alexis Scheer’s A Very Herrera Holiday, a dark comedy about a lifestyle blogger sharing more than planned while going live. The other is [keyp-ing]

by Dawn M. Simmons, where a freelance commercial producer unravels during an Instagram live as the anonymity of internet commenting allows white supremacy to wreak havoc. $20 for both plays.

WHERE: NewRep.org/productions/ showstopper-virtual-plays/

Flowering Houseplants Won’t Cure Your Seasonal Depression But You’ll Buy Them Anyway The pandemic rages on, the days get darker, and seasonal affective disorder is in full damn swing. You know what you need. It’s warm and lush. Dewy and fresh.

Filled to the brim with leafy friends…aaaaah a (masked) trip to your local greenhouse. Legit the most curative experience for winter blues IMO. The flowering plants practically SCREAM at you. Their pops of color to remind you that the bleak darkness is actually about to be waning. (No really the days get longer after 12/21 I promise!) Let’s fill your plant shelfies with some happy colorful flowering houseplant shall we?

Want more plant tips?

Follow me on @plantmagicshop and find my zines at plantmagic.shop Best vibes and green leaves, stay healthy y’all

CHERYL RAFUSE

Goldfish Plant

Christmas Cactus

Um HELLO little orange blooms that look like real-life goldfish bbs?! My anxiety: GONE. My sadness? VANQUISHED. You literally can’t think sad thoughts when you look at these things. Plus they’re super easy to take care of. Give ‘em bright light and water regularly and you’ll have planty orange fish blooms for most of the year.

Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, this cactus will bloom around Christmastime and almost assuredly bring you tidings of comfort and joy.

Nondenominational cactus more like! Likes indirect light, moist soil, and being wished happy holidays.

Nematanthus nervosus

Schlumbergera bridgesii

Painter’s Palette

Lipstick Plant

Anthurium andraeanum

Aeschynanthus radicans Remember lipstick? Me neither…I haven’t worn makeup since March. But these beauties are dressing to impress, full face of plant makeup and ALL. They come in a couple different colors and have shiny leaves with a bunch of cutie lipstickshaped flowers coming out the ends of their trailing stems.

Probably the easiest to care for in this bouquet of flowering houseplant goodness, anthuriums are a little phallic and we love it. Their blooms come in a whole rainbow of colors so the possibilities are almost endless! They tend to bloom more when they have a little less root space so don’t repot them too often!! The flowering plant for the laziest of us tbh.

t our Ar See Y ?!

Here sen adri d your an@ w brai ork to n-ar ts.o rg

by TS Hart

@squidfartz

Untitled Work by Laura Meilman

@l_meilman

@jamjarastronaut ke The Boston s ma u 0% p l He Compass is 10 ing! n h ru t ree s nt i lu vo th

Amplify new vo ices!

>>

Email to learn how

kevin@brain-arts.org

tear this poster out and put it on a wall! -

------------------------------------------------------------------

By Kimberly Barzola @kmizola

STATING THE STATE OF THE STATE OF THE ART ARTS

^

N

An

interview with

LizA zAyAs, A.k.A. LunA

deL

FLor

“I’m a poetic storyteller, observer, mirror and reflector. Poetry found me at a young age (3rd grade), and it allowed me to take...the day’s lessons or occurrences and giv[e] them myth, rhythm and metaphor. I began writing songs in the 8th grade and performing after high school. I write because I love language and the power of words. The pen is mightier...”

3

“I was nominated for and received an arts grant earlier this year, and collaborated with a Boston museum....The Muse with both of these realities is the carefree imagination knowing costs are covered. It becomes a moment of possibility knowing [my] vision is supported and invited.”

'

“As a Daughter of Poetry and Dance, no societal authority or rules have ever mattered to me. I consider myself a Free Woman therefore a liberated voice. Growing up, the world told me that as a poor Puerto Rican girl, there were limits to my future.

Poetry and Dance allowed me to show them. The advantages I have I fight for every day and the disadvantages I have I do not acknowledge for they do not exist to me. A woman can. An inner city kid can. A mother can...”

Z

“Remember, you were chosen. The Muse chose You. Your art is your gift and your signature. Success is by your definition and your inner critic does not get to convince you you are not seen or your work does not matter. It should matter to you first.

Fame and Fortune are smoke and mirrors. Loving your process and finished work is your recognition. The joy is in your heart and the joy you inspire in others is the treasure....Ego is not your friend. Love your Muses, honor your channeling, cherish your gifts and sincerely support other artists.”

O

neiL horsky • horskyProjects.com

Dragon by Rayna Lo

Viscous Verses.

@rayna.lo

A Man Enters a Room and Leaves A man says open the fucking door. A man enters a room and leaves. A second man enters, staggers, spilling a whiskey, and opens the door for another. He enters too, stays a while and puts a cigarette out on the couch. a drunk slip. They leave, swinging open the door, which well-oiled, stays ajar in quiet and minute motion.

The door stays that way. And no one enters again that night. And you are the door, you know it! You swear you aren’t though. That the door isn’t. You swear the door can shut and close at will. That you have people over all the time. That you love the people you have over. They are the door! They swing in and out, dancing!

We dance with the door all night. We don’t want to pay much mind to the door.

These figures were first observed by Dr. Thomas Young, who obtained them by allowing a ray of sunlight to strike a wire on the pianoforte.

Some of the curves given under such circumstances are shown in the figure below.

We shall see that the quality of tone depends on the form of the sonorous wave. It is manifest, then, that even when the tension, length, and material of a vibrating string remain the same, the tones elicited from it may vary in quality, just as its vibratory motions may vary. This is strikingly illustrated by the tones obtained from a violin by a beginner and by a virtuoso. Although the string emitting a given note may remain unchanged as to tension, length, and material, the sound produced is in the one case peculiarly rasping and scratching in character, while in the other case it is remarkable for great purity, steadiness, and volume. The bowing, and the motions of the string consequent on the bowing, are the sole causes of the great difference in the quality of the tones in question.

A woman shuts all the doors in her house. She locks each one and never forgets. She remembers them dancing and hides. She forgets the mens’ faces that had touched them.

She eats what is left in the fridge and waits.

She unlocks the door for that.

She parts the door.

And takes a bite for that.

—Jenna Richard Jenna Richard (she/her) is a queer poet, fashion designer and plant-based chef from Peabody, Massachusetts Viscous Verses is edited by Raquel Balboni & Ben Mazer

www.artandlettersmagazine.squarespace.com

Passage from Sound and music

By John Augustine Zahm, 1892

JAMES STAUB

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