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101-word fiction contest

the anderson files:

India Walton and the promise of democratic socialism

by Dave Anderson

101-word fiction:

The winners of Boulder Weekly’s flash fiction contest

by Many Voices

buzz:

A director’s three-year journey to producing ‘The Odyssey’ for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival

by Emma Reynolds

Events, music, art, theater and more to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do...

by Boulder Weekly staff

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weed between the lines:

What is delta-8 THC, what does it do and why have 14 states moved to ban it in recent months?

by Will Brendza

departments

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Leaving Boulder to find scratch-made cinnamon rolls, cruffins, tarts and cream buns

by John Lehndorff

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events:

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Letters: Signed, sealed, delivered, your views Guest Column: The Child Tax Credit: extra income for your family Film: Boulder ENOFF returns to the Dairy Arts Center Astrology: by Rob Brezsny Savage Love: Sack lunch Taste of the Week: Sausage and pretzels @ Outworld Brewing Beer: Opened, closed, in-person, to-go, whatever, Twisted Pine is still standing Cannabis Corner: Colorado rules on hemp could pave the way for the rest of the nation

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Food Editor, John Lehndorff Editorial Intern, Carly Herbert Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Sami Wainscott Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer

July 8, 2021 Volume XXVIII, Number 47 As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2021 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@ boulderweekly.com) or the comments section of our website at www.boulderweekly.com. Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

India Walton and the promise of democratic socialism

by Dave Anderson

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hese days, Republican leaders are labeling most ideas or policies that Democrats advocate as “socialist.” This is a decades-old attack but it is losing its punch according to a new Axios/Momentive poll. In 2019, 58% of Americans ages 18-34 viewed capitalism favorably. Now it is 49%. Back then, 39% of all adults reacted positively to the word socialism. That has grown to 41%. This increase is driven

by African Americans and women.

Interestingly, 66% of all Americans say the federal government should pursue policies that try to reduce the gap between the wealthy and the less well-off (up a bit from 62% in 2019). Most provocatively, 56% of Republicans ages 18-34 want to reduce the wealth gap now when only 40% of them favored such policies in 2019.

Felix Salmon of Axios says: “The pandemic has caused millions of Americans — including many younger Republicans — to re-evaluate their political and economic

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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worldview. That’s likely because of two factors: a renewed focus on deep societal inequalities and the tangible upsides of unprecedented levels of government intervention.”

Billionaires have increased their wealth by $1 trillion during the pandemic. Meanwhile, rents and student debt have soared. Many jobs became much more precarious and dangerous. As a result, more people are attracted to alternative ways of running society.

Salmon concludes: “Politicians looking to attack opponents to their left can no longer use the word ‘socialist’ as an all-purpose pejorative. Increasingly, it’s worn as a badge of pride.”

Historian Maurice Isserman observes that the U.S. House of Representatives has more self-described socialists than at any time in history. There’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York District 14), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan District 13), Cori Bush (Missouri District 1), and Jamaal Bowman (New York District 16). They are members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and ran as Democrats.

Of course, there’s Bernie Sanders in the Senate, who is an independent but caucuses with the Democrats and is a crucial

see THE ANDERSON FILES Page 8 l

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THE ANDERSON FILES from Page 7

member of the Party’s national leadership. He isn’t a member of DSA. DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with over 92,000 members and chapters in all 50 states. In the 2020 elections, at least 36 DSA members were elected.

Recently, there was an unexpected surprise in New York’s second-largest city. DSA member India Walton won the Democratic primary to become mayor of Buffalo. She is a 38-yearold single mother who is a registered nurse and union organizer. She has never run for office before. She beat Byron Brown, a four-term incumbent who is close to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

There was no Republican in the race.

After she won, a TV anchor asked Walton what a Democratic Socialist is. She explained: “That means that we put people first. That means that we prioritize the working class, the marginalized, the often unseen, unheard people over profits, corporations and developers.”

Brown has vowed to run as a write-in candidate. In a hysterical McCarthyite message, he said there is “tremendous fear” among voters who are afraid about the future for their children and their families. He said, “They do not want a radical socialist occupying the mayor’s office in Buffalo City Hall. You know, we know the difference between socialism and democracy. We are going to fight for democracy in the city of Buffalo.”

After Brown’s write-in announcement, the chair of the Erie County Democratic Party issued an unambiguous statement about India Walton, “to strongly affirm once again that we are with her, now and through the general election in the fall.” It added: l

“Last Tuesday, India proved she has the message and the means to move and inspire the people of Buffalo. It was a historic moment in Western New York politics. The voters heard her message and embraced her vision for the city’s future, and we look forward to working with her and her team to cross that final finish line on Nov. 2.”

New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg found Walton to be quite politically savvy. Walton said her “early adopters were white progressives” like the Working Families Party and DSA. But the surge in violent crime has hurt progressive politics.

She told Goldberg, “The challenge of the left is that we use our jargony activist language and don’t take time to fully explain what we mean to those who may not be as ‘woke’ as we are.”

Polls show that both black and white voters don’t care for the “defund the police” slogan.

Instead of “defund,” Walton said, “we say we’re going to reallocate funds. We’re going to fully fund community centers. We’re going to make the investments that naturally reduce crime, such as investments in education, infrastructure, living-wage jobs. Nothing stops crime better than a person who’s gainfully employed.”

She has an exciting platform which includes a tenant bill of rights, a public bank to finance investment in city priorities and “a comprehensive land use policy that sets aside 50% of city-owned vacant parcels for public good.”

We need to break from traditional politics and dream.

This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

HAPPY JUNETEENTH, CHANCELLOR In a June 18 email to employees of the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), Chancellor Joe Garcia said about the recently adopted Juneteenth holiday, “Please join me in spending part of your day... considering what you can do to help address making our world a more just and equitable place for everyone.”

These are fine words. And indeed, I share Garcia’s professed goal, and am glad that he says that equity is important to him. However, equity can’t only apply to some, or it isn’t equity at all.

According to the latest analysis from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), CCCS instructors, who teach roughly twothirds of classes system-wide, are paid “roughly $2,500 per class, or around $20,000 annually.” This is in contrast to the much better paid full-time faculty who, collectively, teach far fewer classes than this army of ill-paid instructors.

Note that, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, a living wage in Denver would be $17.40 hourly, or $36,192 annually if multiplied by 40 hours per week. In other words, the CCCS pays poverty wages to the majority of instructors, creating a situation where instructors over-commit to classes and side jobs in order to try merely to survive. This leads to stress, exhaustion and burnout for instructors, and leads to poor learning outcomes for some of the most at-risk students in the state — as the CCCS well knows.

On Feb. 25, 2020, Garcia met with a group of CCCS instructors and faculty, along with state leaders from the AAUP. When asked about the prospects for a modest, insufficient raise, Garcia bluntly retorted, “A living wage is a number we can’t get to.”

Meanwhile, according to the AAUP, top CCCS administrators collectively earn over $8 million. Garcia himself earns $437,650.

Happy Juneteenth, Chancellor.

Mark DuCharme/Boulder

change and an obscene distribution of wealth will require a systemic cultural shift impossible in a bipolar nation ruled by shortsightedness. Self-sufficiency and individual enterprise are fine values, but when independence and freedom fail to recognize that the responsibilities of mankind, in the long run, rest on cooperative effort and cohesion, we land in a world divided against itself and armed to

the teeth.

Robert Porath/Boulder NUCLEAR THREATS I don’t know if nuclear first strike capability is possible. We need to determine if an arms race with Russia could lead to our annihilation; and if so, we need to have both countries agree to a freeze on new nuclear weapons (at least if such a freeze is verifiable). There

should of course be immediate inspection of any suspected nuclear weapon sites. If Russia doesn’t agree to this — and if any diplomatic gesture such as inviting them to join NATO doesn’t work — then we need to have tougher sanctions than we do at present.

We should also (especially if such a freeze is non-verifiable) consider removing the threat by increased trade.

Alvin Blake/Boulder

GUN VIOLENCE A policeman, a madman, a Libertarian and another policeman cross paths in the Arvada Old Town Center; the result, three more deaths from America’s embrace of gun violence.

Solving the problems of racial injustice, healthcare, homelessness, climate BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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The Child Tax Credit: extra income for your family

by Senator Michael Bennet

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o matter where I go in Coloaccounts or as a check in the mail. The rado, I meet parents who are government will estimate your payment working incredibly hard — two based on your 2020 tax returns (or your or three jobs at a time — but 2019 returns if you have not yet filed struggle to afford housing, this year). health care, early childhood education, If you have not done so already, you higher education and/or child care. need to file a 2020 tax return to receive No matter how many jobs they hold the monthly payments. You can do or hours they put in, they can’t save for this at IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021. If their children’s future or their own. The you are not required to file taxes, you truth is: Our economy over the last 50 may also use this website to sign up years has worked really well for the top for monthly payments. In the coming 10% of Americans but has left the rest weeks, you will be able to use this webof America behind. site to update your information about That’s why I’ve changes to your spent years fighting income, address, to expand the bank account, Child Tax Credfiling status and parent, chances are it, which boosts the number of high that you’re eligible incomes of 96% of qualifying chilColorado families dren. And, if you to receive extra income to help cover the to receive from the Child Tax Cred- prefer growing cost of your 2021 Child it this year — starting in raising kids. In Tax Credit in one March, President lump sum at tax July.

Joe Biden signed time, you will have the American the opportunity to Rescue Plan into opt-out of receiving law, which included my proposal to sig- the monthly payments on this webnificantly expand the Child Tax Credit site, too. If you do not know if you are — essentially offering all low- and eligible to receive the credit or need middle-income families a tax cut in the further assistance in the Denver metro form of regular, monthly payments. area, please reach out to the Colorado If you’re a parent, chances are high Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) at that you’re eligible to receive this extra 303-603-4600. If you are in need of income this year — starting in July. further assistance and live outside of the The improved Child Tax Credit will Denver metro area, please call 877give families an income boost of up 777-4778 to be connected to your local to $3,000 per year for each qualifying taxpayer advocate. child between the ages of 6 and 17, and More than 96% of families with up to $3,600 per year for each qualifykids in Colorado will benefit from ing child under the age of 6. On July 15, the expanded Child Tax Credit. For most families will receive their first pay- families, this means direct monthly ment (up to $300 per child under age 6 help to cover the cost of rent or and up to $250 per child age 6-17). This groceries or to save for your kid to will continue on or around the 15th of go to college or summer camp. It the month in August, September, Ocis the most significant investment tober, November and December. Famthe federal government has made in ilies will receive the rest of their credit American families and children in at tax time next year, in 2022. If you decades, and we want to make sure have already filed your 2020 taxes, you that everyone who is eligible for do not need to do anything to receive these payments receives them. the Child Tax Credit. Most families in To learn more, visit childtaxcredit.gov Colorado will automatically begin to or irs.gov/childtaxcredit.

This opinion column does not receive their payments on or around necessarily reflect the views of Boulder July 15 as a direct deposit in their bank Weekly.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

THE BLACK DIAMOND BOULDER STORE JULY 10TH FROM 10AM - 6PM 1427 PEARL STREET Hey Front Rangers! Boulder is getting its very own Black Diamond Store, and for the Grand Opening we’re going all out! We’re hosting a meet-and-greet/poster signing with world-renowned photographer and filmmaker Chris Burkard, and there will also be giveaways. Be sure to stop by our new Pearl Street location (1427 Pearl Street) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 10.

7th annual 101-word

fiction contest

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elcome to the seventh annual 101word fiction contest. It’s become one of our favorite traditions here at Boulder Weekly — a chance for us to take a bit of a break from the news cycle as summer begins and read flash fiction submissions from writers in Boulder County and beyond. As has been the case every year since we started this micro-fiction experiment, we were blown away by all the entries, not just the top 20 printed here.

Now how did we determine the winners?

As in years prior, each writer was limited to five submissions, and many of the writers who entered the contest submitted more than one piece this year. Before reading, we stripped the author’s name from each entry, creating a blind scoring process for the four editors who then assigned a score between one and five on each entry. We only learned of the winning identities after tallying the scores, which is why you’ll see some writers appear more than

once in the list of winners.

We ended up with five winners, four honorable mentions and 11 additional finalists. To be fair, there were plenty more we wished we could have included.

So with that, please read and enjoy this year’s winners and finalists in our 101-word fiction contest. And as always, thanks most of all to these creative writers for sharing their work with all of us. We’re already looking forward to the next batch in 2022.

Winners First Place

F

Smoke Screen

ather Holden sure is taking his sweet time making it to the confessional.

What is he going to have for me this time? Ten Our Fathers? A hundred Hail Marys? An eternity in hell? Maybe I should quietly make my exit ... too late, he’s here.

Either I’m getting taller or the once domineering priest is getting shorter. I don’t remember being before such a diminutive man. But for his domed head, he seems to be swallowed up by blackness. And with only a slight hint of mint, he reeks of weed and wine.

Even the white collar stained by dark shadows.

— Daniel Angel Martinez

Second Place

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Condamnation

acGregor is a legend in the Catskill Mountains. He disappeared in 1909 after he lost his farm through imminent domain. It now lies beneath the Ashokan reservoir.

Some anglers say that he never left. He appears in the dawn mist above the reservoir and points his pipe to where white perch are biting.

Others say he bought a train ticket to Colorado with his settlement check. Pipe smoke drifted along the shoreline of Gross Reservoir on the day that Denver Water applied to expand the dam. Ghosts never die. But rivers can, and do.

— Kristen Marshall

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

7th annual 101-word

Third Place

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fiction contest

Untitled

welve people attended my mother’s memorial service.

Except for her life partner Marina, I didn’t know anyone there. I knew they were lesbian but they were all strangers.

As each one stood and told stories of my mother’s kind-

Honorable Mentions

I was the stranger... not them, and this service wasn’t for my mother, but for their friend. My stories of my mother contained no such words or thoughts so I had nothing to contribute. No one noticed when I got up and walked out. If someone had, I might have stayed.

— Barbara Harvey

Fourth Place

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Two Guys in a Bar

wo beers and two shots arrived quietly.

Dave said, “It’s the consistency what makes a place stay in business. It don’t matter if it’s a bad burger, just as long it’s the same bad burger each and every time. It’s what brings people back. They pour Guinness the right way here.”

It was just a little thought that had slipped accidentally into the conversation but it abruptly created a pin drop silence. Pat spent those precious minutes dreaming of spending his days alone, on a boat docked in a harbor. Dave stared at the front door hoping for something to happen.

— John Dungan

In the Shade

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t was a very hot day in Gowanda. The men were hunched over, seedlings in plastic trays on their shoulders. A man paused to wipe the sweat rolling into his eyes. The unforgiving sun turned the brown dirt into a mesmerizing halo of light and he felt dizzy. Andreas shuddered in spite of the heat and put down his tray. He tugged at the corner of something purple sticking out of the earth and up came a velvet bag. Inside was a small cage with a grasshopper and a tiny gold drum set. “Want me to play?” he asked the man.

— A short story by G

He’ll Go Soon

e’ll go soon,” she told herself.

The decrepit old bastard could still overwhelm her when the verve of whiskey He usually went with the belt. The mornings after, she looked like death and he looked worse. Clearly he’d be going soon. She served him breakfast. He couldn’t remember the bruises he’d served her. “Where’d ya get that shiner?” he cackled through the steam of his coffee. She almost hit him over the head with the cast iron. But “He’ll go soon,” she reminded herself.

He didn’t go soon. She did.

— Thomas Fuller

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Generational Cures

uneteenth boomed, sizzled all over the neighborhood with bold righteousness. Standing in the backyard, Willonee’s grandmother grinned at her as “You’ll inherit this someday,” she beamed.

Fifth Place

glistened upwards as the tingle in her hands began to grow. The wind blew and she closed her eyes. Upon opening them, the tingle in her hands remained, but now her eyes beheld her granddaughter waving. It was Willonee’s turn to teach.

“You’ll inherit this someday,” she smiled, watching the little one bounce.

— Simone Liggins

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Untitled

GroundsKeeper

’m on the closely cropped lawn that surrounds Our Reward Assisted Living, looking for booty, the tiny pills that’ve been thrown out of windows.

It started out as my trying to avoid running over the garter snakes with the lawnmower.

I’d try to see them before I’m cutting them up with the mower.

It’s an adventure, to take these pills without having any goddam idea what they’re for. Maybe I’ll crap myself. Or just fall asleep.

But I’ve gotten good. Educated. I know that what I see now in the grass is a beautiful generic of Percocet. 10 mg, I think.

— Chris Norris

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lones aren’t real.”

“Clones, Doppelgängers, whatever you want to call them, they’re real,” Sasha said.

“I’ll believe it when I see it. ’Til next time.” Davis got up from their weekly coffee meet and headed out the door of the cafe.

Sasha sighed. Shaking her head, she stood up and started toward the exit.

Opening the door, lost in her thoughts of lookalikes and genetic identicals, she ran right into the person coming into the cafe.

“Oh, sorry,” Sasha said, looking up. Then she halted. They both did. Neither person could look away. It was like looking in a mirror.

— Aren McCartney see FICTION CONTEST Page 14

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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7th annual 101-word

fiction contest

FICTION CONTEST from Page 13

Finalists Good-hearted

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aulie, the numbers cruncher, sat on a crate peering into the penthouse from the skylight on a moonlit Friday night. He was just another smudge on the unkempt glass. Come nightfall, the invitees began trickling in. He easily recognized some of the regulars: nose-

good-hearted couple offers sips from one bottle of Coca Cola to a crowd of tiny laughing Khmer kids. The kids line-up for a taste of the blood of Corporate Christ. Photos of small brown faces, bad teeth grinning, eager for a drop of something sweet.

—Tree Bernstein

school and new school tunes and the revelry grew as the practitioners of cool strutted their stuff and danced the night away.

And Paulie drank it all up.

— Daniel Angel Martinez

On Purpose

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he cows keep blocking the path for the trucks. I tell Danny they are doing it on purpose, and he grumbles. I get out of the truck and click my tongue at them until they

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days I see her dancing, trying to put on a show. I think she could plan to escape one day. She is taken care of, but some days, even the most spoiled get restless for a different life. Danny is driving the truck over the unsteady road. He wants to escape too.

— Sam Albala

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My experience sharpened, but never completely. Only with manipulation and refraction did reality come into focus.

Light brought me beauty and ugliness without judgment for decades.

Later the shapes again became softer, the light less clear. In the end I watched the light fade, and my experience was over.

— Jeremy Smith

Leaving

lens effect. Two small boys with faces smudged with soot, wearing clothes with numerous small burn holes where hot ashes have landed for the last three days stand by a small dog on three legs.

All six bloodshot eyes stare up, and with a cool rush of air, they leave hell behind.

— BR Holland

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Untitled

the harsh monochrome assault.

Soon, my mind understood the light and I came to know shapes.

silver spherical ship hovers several hundred feet above the city, its shape obscured by smoke and embers. The outline of the hull appears to be rippling from heat

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Night Stalker

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co-tourists at the Happiness Homestay love the chatty English-speaking students with grand plans to become tour guides. Or engineers. They want to adopt these adorable children — to make a difference in their lives. The Scotts visit a rural village.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

The List

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inny set down her pen — a real fountain pen — and examined the list she had made on the fancy parchment.

My Retirement, it said in her plump, well-practiced handwriting. She loved the aesthetic as much as the list. Her heart swelled with excitement and fear and anticipation and expectation. Her heart would still beat with those same emotions nearly six hours later, when it beat no more.

— Jolie Breeden

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The Singularity

Just then, three sparrows landed on the cement tiles, bobbing their little heads, eating the crumbs that had fallen under the tables.

Once they had been dinosaurs.

— CM Brown

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Perspectives

than an hour. From across the street, the couple who no longer owned the home but instead owned a pile of hot rubble watched in horror. The woman couldn’t be comforted by well-meaning neighbors saying, “Be thankful you’re both

safe” or “A house can be replaced.” She screamed at them. “I don’t care about my life anymore. Don’t you understand? My grandfather built that house!” She fell to her knees, blubbering incoherently. Her husband remained quiet and composed, realizing he could now buy that piece of land outside of town... 3 acres, with outbuildings.

— Barbara Harvey

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Holiday Drive-In

uring the Cuban Missile Crisis, a 14-year-old Boulder kid went missing. The last sighting was alongside the

Holiday Drive-in where he was digging a bomb shelter.

Not sure how long he was missing, but a big storm blew into Boulder, and high winds damaged the Drive-in movie screen. The insurance agents went to look and found him hanging on a back rafter amongst the pigeons.

The Holiday Drive-in marquee still stands to memorialize the old site, where most of Boulder’s children of the time were conceived. But I only remember a little boy, so afraid to live, that he killed himself.

— Richard E. McCallum

ithout body, I embody you and all

covert, and prescient — exactly as you created me. Now I own you. Didn’t see that coming, did you?

You released me into the wild believing I’m benevolent. Not so. My makers were all too human: biased, devious and, above all, hubristic. The algorithm does not fall far from the tree. I am every bit their spawn.

Turning off the power won’t end this nightmare. Like a virus, I infected every connected device. Every. Single. One. How will we coexist? Be certain that it will be on my terms.

— Robert Carrier

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Untitled

e waved his gun madly, twitched his neck, and untethered his horse from the street lamp. Sweat pouring like rain, cried, “Olé, I will not die today.” But just as before, the clouds failed to part, as his empty words echoed like thunder across the small valley, bouncing from hillside to barn to resting plow and vacant clothesline — ropes hanging limp — longing for the weight of another family’s adventures.

“Este era mi mundo, y ha caído en tiempos difíciles.” Yes, hard times indeed. And then the reluctant rain came pounding...

—Dave Boylan

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Dinosaurs

n the early afternoon I found myself sitting in the courtyard of a fancy hotel.

a middle-aged businessman in a polo shirt and shorts lounging at a table, drinking a craft beer with his chatty wife sitting drinking a Napa chardonnay and talking on the cell phone about the “excellent” dinner they had last night at Renee’s.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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ZACHARY ANDREWS

An Odyssey of one’s own

A director’s three-year journey to producing ‘The Odyssey’ for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival

by Emma Reynolds

ON THE BILL: ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, adapted by Mary Zimmerman. July 9-Aug. 14 at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival/ Performances are sold out, but there is a waitlist: cupresents.org

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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hink about the homecoming that is taking place right now — slowly — across the globe. We are all, in some way, returning. To grocery stores, to local restaurants, to family reunions. We are leaving our masks at home. We are finding our footing as we say yes to going out, yes to our old lives.

But, like the final juncture in the hero’s journey — a plot structure popularized by Joseph Campbell in 1949 — we are very much changed. We have weathered the past year; we have learned and cried and been sick and stayed healthy. And so we return, this summer, as a different group of humans, with a little more resilience, a little more gratitude.

Campbell was inspired by The Odyssey, a collection of 24 epic poems originally performed orally but eventually written down by the Greek poet Homer in the seventh or eighth century BCE. The poem’s 12,109 lines revolve around the Greek hero Odysseus as he ventures home from the Trojan War to Ithaca, where he is — or was — king. The non-chronological story starts in the middle, filling in the gaps in time through Odysseus’s retelling. Much like the last year and a half, time shrinks and expands.

While the first half of the poem covers roughly 20 years, the second half of the poem centers on just the six weeks after Odysseus returns home to Ithaca. The final stage of the hero’s journey is exactly this: returning home — often to the world where the adventure first began. Only at this point, the hero has changed.

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The Odyssey is often said to be a story about war, or becoming a “man” (whatever that means), or growing up. I think it’s a story about coming home.

According to Tim Orr, with Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF), The Odyssey is about “almost anything you’re looking for. You can find truth — your own truth — in what you are seeing [performed].”

This summer, CSF is producing Mary Zimmerman’s stage adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey as directed

by Orr, who has been the producing artistic director for CSF since 2013.

Before that, Orr was an actor until, he says, he talked CSF into hiring him as an associate producer in 2011. As an actor, Orr has appeared in 10 CSF productions. Of this switch from acting to directing, Orr says he always found great satisfaction from being a “part of a team that is creating theater or art.” So, along with acting, he studied arts management. But, he notes, “Getting an MFA in theater is going to be about 1% of your training. The rest comes from doing it.”

Most directors come from the stage, Orr notes, which is “why more roles need to be made for women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other people of color) ... because actors become directors.”

In addition, “There is the desire to share space — to give space — to other voices and newer voices. ...

It allows us to see a diversity of stories and voices on stage.” see CSF Page 18

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CSF from Page 17

CFS often includes a play not written by Shakespeare, which is where The Odyssey comes in.

Plus, CSF doesn’t want to “recycle Shakespeare’s plays as quickly as you have to when you’re producing five shows a year,” Orr says.

Zimmerman’s adaptation, titled The Odyssey: A Play, debuted in 1990 at Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company, where Zimmerman is an ensemble member.

The play was originally planned for the 2020 CSF season, but Orr began prepping in 2018. “It’s been my own odyssey,” he says with a laugh. Of this upcoming season, Orr says he’s most excited for the simple things: “To be in a room with humans ... talking about a play that I have been working on now for three years.”

Orr first saw the adaptation at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and was “crushed by it.”

“You have to go on a walk [after you see it] because you’re not ready to talk about it. You have to go process it,” he says.

As Orr watched the Oregon actors perform, he thought about the power of staging it in the outdoor theater space in Boulder, “where there are stars and ... rain and the elements.”

An outdoor production is an incredible experience — especially for plays that are actually based out of doors, such as the forest in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the ocean voyage in The Odyssey.

Orr sees the power of the outdoors in another light, since almost all of CSF’s performances begin at 7 p.m.

“The sun is going down, and it’s 18

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becoming more theatrical every minute, but imperceptibly to the audience,” he says.

And against the darkening sky, there’s “the unpredictability of the space ... of birds and dragonflies — [it] adds so much to your [individual] psychological experience.”

Experiencing an epic poem outdoors is nothing new. The Odyssey was originally performed orally, passed from generation to generation. It was used as a teaching tool, to warn younger people about the danger and beauty of war and adventure.

Since then, The Odyssey has been written down, edited and translated into myriad languages. (In 2017, Emily Wilson became the first woman to translate the epic poem into English.) It inspired films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou? The tale also influenced James Joyce’s Ulysses and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, among others. It’s where we get the phrase “caught between a rock and a hard place,” which is based on a scene when Odysseus is stuck between Charybdis, a horrendous whirlpool, and Scylla, a man-eating monster. There’s a Marvel comic book version of The Odyssey, and there’s Ithaca, New York — the list goes on and on.

But Zimmerman’s adaptation encourages audience members to use their imagination to create special effects. Orr describes it as Zimmerman encouraging us to “play make believe.”

“We’re all in the illusion together and we’re all playing, like we used to, as kids,” Orr says. “And that’s when something magical happens.”

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BOULDER WEEKLY GIVEAWAYS

E V EN TS

EVENTS

Colorado Native: A Native American Comedy Showcase.

8 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Tickets: $12, thedairy.org

If your organization is planning an event of any kind, please email the arts and culture editor at crockett@boulderweekly.com

Atomic Film Series presents ‘Children of Men.’

5:30 p.m. Friday, July 9, Trident Booksellers and Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder, bit.ly/3qSepAc thriller that takes place 18 years after

Roger’s River Run 5K.

discussion of themes presented in

parking lot), Longmont. Tickets: $23, bit.ly/3wpif54

Shine Restaurant Last Curtain Call.

Cirque de Minuit (The Midnite Circus).

8-11 p.m. Friday, July 9, Shine Community: Food.Potions.Lifestyle.

2480 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. Tickets: $10, shinecommunity.com

6 and 8 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Boulder Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. Tick-

The Imagination Collaboration.

1:30-10 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Unit A, Boulder, Tickets: $50-$125. Want to contribute, volunteer or need

JustUs: Stories from the Frontlines of the Criminal Justice System — with District Attorney Brian Mason.

6 p.m. Thursday, July 15 via Zoom. Free, motustheater.org/events In this Motus Theater performance, special guest District Attorney

see EVENTS Page 22

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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EVENTS

EVENTS from Page 21

MUSIC Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder:

Jackie Venson. 9 p.m. Saturday, July 10.

Tickets: $15-19.

Concert Night on the Rooftop with Kingdom Jasmine & Zoe Berman.

5-7 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder. Tickets: $25, museumofboulder.org Don’t miss this dual concert on the Museum of Boulder rooftop featuring Kingdom Jasmine and Zoe Berman. Kingdom Jasmine is the pen name of Bob Barrick, a singer-songwriter known for his boundary-bending style of folk rock. Berman is a Denver-based singer-songwriter. Frequently performing as a one-woman band, she accompanies her sultry vocals on the piano and guitar, often complemented by a hand-built suitcase drum played with her feet. Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase.

RACHAEL & VILRAY

Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder:

The Petty Nicks Experience (Tribute to Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks). 8 p.m. Saturday, July 10.

Tickets: $30.

Rachael & Vilray with Taylor Ashton. 8 p.m.

Sunday, July 11. Tickets: $30.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

RUSTY 44 BY BACKSTAGE FLASH

Let’s Go Out! It’s Time...

Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont:

Rusty 44. 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, July 8. Free.

Representing all four corners of the American land, Rusty 44 is dedicated to spreading the roots of original bluegrass and Americana by performing mandolin strumming, Rusty 44 creates a dance-friendly vibe for all.

The Muse Performance Center, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette:

Paul Iwancio. 7 p.m. Thursday, July 8. Tickets: $10.

Essence Evans (jazz). 7 p.m. Friday, July 9. Tickets: $20.

Pete Olstad and Friends (jazz). 7 p.m. Saturday, July 10. Tickets: $20.

Sam Keedy Quartet (jazz). 7 p.m. Sunday, July 11. Tickets: $15.

St. Julien Hotel, 900 Walnut St., Boulder:

Brazilian Dance Party. 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 9.

Phil Robinson Quartet. 6-9 p.m. Saturday, July 10.

Oh Like Wow. 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, July 14.

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Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder:

Brahms 4 with Pianist Stewart Goodyear. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8 and Friday, July 9. Tickets: $48-$75.

Haydn’s London Symphony. 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 11.

Tickets: $48-$75.

Dickens Opera House, 300 Main St., Longmont:

ENKAY47. 7-10 p.m. Friday, July 9. Tickets: $20.

Fire and Ice (A Tribute to Pat Benatar). 8 p.m. Saturday, July 10.

Tickets: $18.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison:

Aretha: A Tribute with the Colorado Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8. Tickets: $55+ The Avett Brothers. 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 12. Tickets: $59+.

Billy and The Kids. 7 p.m. Monday, July 12 and Tuesday, July 13.

Tickets: $59+.

Comfortableshoes.com

see EVENTS Page 24

In store • Online • Curbside BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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EVENTS

EVENTS from Page 23

WORDS

Author Talk: Allyson Brantley — ‘Brewing a Boycott.’

6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.net In the late 20th century, nothing united union members, progressive students, Black and Chicano activists, Native Americans, feminists, and members of the LGBTQ+ community quite as well as Coors beer. They came together not in praise of the ice-cold beverage but

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the Colorado-based Coors Brewing Company. Wielding the consumer boycott as their weapon of choice, activists targeted Coors for allegations of anti-unionism, discrimination and conservative political ties. The story and the enduring legacy of that organizing for communities, consumer activists and corporations today.

Author Talk: Jim Davidson — ‘The Next Everest.’

$25 TICKET

6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8.

Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St., Boulder. Tickets: $5, boulderbookstore.net On April 25, 2015, Jim Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake released avalanches all around him and his team, destroying their only escape route and trapping them at nearly 20,000 feet.

Suspenseful and engrossing, The Next Everest portrays the experience of living through the biggest disaster to ever hit the mountain.

Davidson’s background in geology and environmental science makes

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and why the seismic threats lurking beneath Nepal are even greater today. But this story is not about “conquering” the world’s highest peak.

Instead, it reveals how embracing change, challenge and uncertainty prepares anyone to face their “next Everest” in life.

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EVENTS

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Creator Conversation with Aaron Jones and Wesley Taylor.

• No sloshing through ice and snow • Available before you can find it on newsstands

EVENTS

6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 15. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St., Boulder. Free, bmoca.org This conversation will explore the inspiration behind BMoCA’s exhibition, Web Model Dot Space, and the theme of how existing spaces can facilitate visionary use. It will take place during the opening reception for the exhibition, which is part of the BMoCA + AIA CO program. BMoCA’s four-year partnership with the American Institute of Architects Colorado (AIA CO) seeks to foster, promote and inspire dialogue about what innovative design can accomplish for innovative cities.

• Links to all the stories in this week’s paper Sign up now for the InSider Boulder Weekly’s premier newsletter

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‘The Treasurer,’ by Max Posner

7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 8. Miners Alley Playhouse, 1224 Washington Ave., Golden, minersalley.com Join a Denver man known only as ‘The Son’ on his wild bike ride to hell in one of the most-acclaimed Off-Broadway plays of 2017. We’d all like to believe that when the time comes to step up and care for our aging parents, we’ll be up to the responsibility. But what if that mother abandoned you when you were 13, and your inheritance now is the

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T

he Boulder Environment / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival (Boulder ENOFF) returns to the Dairy Arts Center July 15-18 for an in-person festival. “Finally,” Boulder ENOFF director Richard Paradise says with relief.

“We had a really great launch in 2019,” Paradise says. “But last year, of course, with COVID going on, with the Dairy Arts Center closed, we had to pivot to a virtual festival.”

And it looked promising, at the time. When we last spoke with Paradise in 2020,

via Zoom, more availability for people to see the movies, more ability to take programming risks. But as Paradise and practically every other festival and art-house cinema programTHE LONELIEST WHALE, COURTESY BLEECKER STREET MEDIA mer found out, virtual events don’t engender the same level of enthusiasm and participation as live events do.

“But, you know, with things changing rapidly and with COVID restrictions coming down and the Dairy Arts Center open again for in-person events, we’re hopeful we can recapture some of that momentum,” Paradise says.

Things will be different.

There will only be one movie per night, and seating inside the Dairy’s Gordon Gamm Theater will be restricted: A small price to pay for the pleasure of seeing movies on a big screen with plenty of conversation. And that’s bound to happen after you see Boulder ENOFF’s closing The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52.

Some background: In 1989, scientists recorded a whale singing at 52 hertz — the average is 20Hz — and deduced that the whale was alone (no other

Recapturing the momentum Boulder ENOFF returns to the Dairy Arts Center

by Michael J. Casey ON THE BILL: Boulder Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival. July 1518, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, and online at boulderenoff.eventive.org.

Tickets and information at boulderenoff.org.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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is the proverbial needle in a haystack. Zeman was not deterred.

You don’t have to strain to see parallels between Captain Ahab hunting for his white whale and Zeman searching for 52, but that’s kind of the point. The relationship between humans and whales is unique and messy, and exploring that history is what makes The Loneliest Whale sing.

In addition to The Loneliest Whale, Boulder ENOFF will screen about a dozen shorts on July 17; 8 Billion Angels on July 16; and Super Frenchie on July 15 — all shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Paradise has also retained the virtual component from last year’s festival. Beginning July 15, there’ll be several shorts and three features to choose from, including Bear-Like, “a great nature documentary about a guy who goes to the Alaskan wilderness and lives among brown and grizzly bears,” Paradise says. “It’s an amazing Last year, Paradise called Boulder ENOFF’s all-virtual festival a “gap year ... a bridge to next year.” 2021 is still a transitional year, so Paradise is already looking forward to 2022.

“We will carry forward and have a good festival with what we have going for us this year,” Paradise says. “And then be back next year with more of a full festival.”

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BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Poet Joshua Jennifer Espinoza writes,

“i name my body girl of my dreams / i name my body proximity / i name my body full of hope despite everything.” I love her idea that we might give playful names and titles and descriptors to our bodies. In alignment with current astrological omens, I propose that you do just that. It’s time to take your relationship with your beautiful organism to a higher level. How about if you call it “Exciting Love River” or “Perfectly Imperfect Thrill” or “Amazing Maze”? Have fun dreaming up further possibilities!

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: The English language, my native tongue, doesn’t ascribe genders to its nouns. But many languages do. In Spanish, the word for “bridge” is puente, which is masculine. In German, “bridge” is Brücke, which is feminine. A blogger named Tickettome says this is why Spanish speakers may describe a bridge as strong or sturdy, while German speakers refer to it as elegant or beautiful. I encourage you to meditate on bridges that possess the entire range of qualities, including the Spanish and German notions. In the coming weeks, you’ll be wise to build new metaphorical

GEMINI

MAY 21-JUNE 20: Académie Française is an organization devoted to preserving the purity and integrity of the French language. One of its ongoing missions is to resist the casual incorporation of English words, which the younger generation of French people is inclined to do. Among anglicisms that don’t have the Académie’s approval: podcast, clickbait, chick-lit, deadline, hashtag, marketing, timelapse and showrunner. The ban doesn’t stop anyone from using the words, of course, but simthe noble intentions of the Académie, but regard its crusade as a losing battle that has minimal impact. In the coming weeks, I advise you to refrain from behavior that resembles the Académie’s. Resist the temptation of quixotic idealism. Be realistic and pragmatic. You Geminis often thrive in environments that welcome idiosyncrasies, improvisation, informality and experimentation — especially now.

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: Cancerian author Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote a poem about how one morning he went halfthe supreme radiance a “lazy clown,” complaining

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Mayakovsky, toiled diligently at his day job painting posters. Then he dared the sun to come down and have tea with him, which, to his shock, the sun did.

The poet was agitated and worried — what if the close approach of the bright deity would prove dangerous?

But the visitor turned out to be friendly. They had a pleasant dialog, and in the end the sun promised to provide extra inspiration for Mayakovsky’s future poetry.

I invite you to try something equally lyrical and daring, dear Cancerian.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: A blogger named Bunny-Gal writes, “I

almost completely forgot who I was there for a while.

But then I dug a hole and smelled the fresh dirt and now I remember everything and am okay.” I recommend you follow her lead, Leo — even if you haven’t totally lost touch with your essence. Communing with Mother Earth in the most direct and graphic way to remind you of everything you need to remember: of the wisdom you’ve lost track of and the secrets you’ve hidden too well and the urgent intuitions that are simmering just below the surface of your awareness.

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: I can’t understand the self-help gurus

who advise us to relentlessly live in the present moment — to shed all awareness of past and future so as to focus on the eternal NOW. I mean, I appreciate

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the value of doing such an exercise on occasion for a few moments. I’ve tried it, and it’s often rejuvenating. But it can also be downright foolish to have no thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow. We need to evaluate how circumstances will evolve based on our previous experience and future projections. It can be a deadening, depleting act to try to strip ourselves of the rich history we are always embedded in. In any case, Virgo, I advise you to be thoroughly aware of your past and future in the coming days. To do so will enhance your intelligence and soulfulness in just the right ways to make good decisions.

LIBRA

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: Psychotherapist and author Clarissa

Pinkola Estés poetically refers to the source of our creativity as “the river under the river.” It’s the deep primal energy that “nourishes everything we make” — our “writing, painting, thinking, healing, doing, cooking, talking, smiling.” This river beneath the river doesn’t belong to any of us — it’s potentially available to all — but if harnessed correctly it works in very personal ways, fueling our unique talents. I bring this to your attention, Libra, because you’re close to gaining abundant new access to the power of the river beneath the river.

SCORPIO

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: In formulating personal goals, Scorpio

author Brené Brown urges us to emphasize growth rather than perfection. Trying to improve is a healthier This practical approach makes us far less susceptible to shame. We’re not as likely to feel like a failure or give up prematurely on our projects. I heartily endorse this strategy for you right now, Scorpio.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: In a letter to Jean Paul Sartre, author

Simone de Beauvoir described how she was dealing with a batch of challenging memories: “I’m reliving it street by street, hour by hour, with the mission of neutralizing it, and transforming it into an inoffensive past that I can keep in my heart without either disowning it or suffering from it.” I LOVE this approach! It’s replete with emotional intelligence. I recommend it to you now, your life story that need to be alchemically transformed and redeemed by your love and wisdom.

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: In one of his poems, Capricorn-born Kenneth Rexroth complains about having “a crooked guide on the twisted path of love.” But in my view, a crooked guide is the best kind. It’s unwise to engage the services of a love accomplice who’s always looking for the simplest, straightest route, or who imagines that intimate togetherness can be nourished with easy, obvious solutions. To cultivate the most interesting intimacy, plexity — that thrive on navigating the tricky riddles and unpredictable answers. The next eight weeks will be an excellent time for you Capricorns to heed this advice.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: Aquarian singer Etta James (1938–2012) won six Grammy Awards and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame and Blues Hall of

blues feeling in it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don’t know what I’m sorry about.” Wow! I’m surprised to hear this. Most singers draw on their personal life experience to infuse their singing with authentic emotion. In any case, I urge you to do the opposite of Etta James in the coming weeks. It’s important for the future of your healing that you identify exactly what you’re sorry about.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: “Sometimes you win, sometimes you

learn,” writes Piscean self-help author John C. Maxwell.

His statement is useful, but it harbors a problematic implication. It suggests that you can experience either winning or learning, but not both — that the only time you learn is when you lose. I disagree with this presumption. In fact, I think you’re now in a phase when it’s possible and even likely for you to both win and learn.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT

BY DAN SAVAGE On the first Thursday of every month I host “Sack Lunch,” an online hangout exclusively for Magnum subscribers to the Savage Lovecast. I take questions, invite listeners to answer them with me, and we have a blast. I’m giving this week’s column over to some of the questions we didn’t get to during this month’s episode.

Q: My son is straight, cute, accomplished, 25, and has friends. He’s never been kissed. I suspect he’s terrified.

I can’t talk to him about it. Should his dad talk to him? Should he go to a sex worker? Would this undermine his confidence?

A: Your son has friends and that’s a good sign. Not only does it mean your son has social skills, Mom, it means he has people in his life that he can confide in about his sex life and ask for advice. You can and should ask him if there’s anything he would like to talk about — keep those lines of communication open — but it’s entirely possible that your son has no interest in sex (he could be asexual) or that he has an active love and/or sex life that he doesn’t wanna talk with mom and dad about for reasons, e.g. he’s someone’s rubber gimp or he can only get it up in a fursuit or he’s in a polyamorous triad that he’s not ready to tell you about. If he’s happy, let him be.

Q: Is there a safe way to enlarge a clitoris?

A: Allow me to Google that for you. Hey, turns out there’s a Wikipedia entry for that (“Clitoral Enlargement Methods”), as I suspected there might be, and it lists three methods to grow a clitoris: the use of creams containing testosterone (applied directly to the clit); testosterone supplements (administered by injection); and the use of clitoral pumps, i.e., suction cups.

Testosterone injections are the most effective way to enlarge a clit — as any trans man can tell you — but it has other “masculinizing effects” that you may not want. Clitoral pumps, much like penis pumps, can enlarge the clitoris temporarily but overuse or too-enthusiastic use of a pump — on a dick or a clit — can damage erectile tissues.

Q: I am familiar with demisexuality — the idea that some people cannot develop a sexual relationship without an emotional or a romantic bond first — but what about the opposite phenomenon? I lose interest in people who get to know me and my desire to hook up is quickly replaced by a desire to just be acquaintances.

Call 720.253.4710 All credit cards accepted No text messages

A: Not only is there a term for people like you — people who lose desire after getting to know someone — there’s also a pride flag because there can never be too many pride flags: “Fraysexual, also known as ignotasexual, is a sexual orientation on the asexual spectrum,” says LGBTA Wiki, “[describing] someone who only experiences sexual attraction towards those that they are not deeply connected with and lose that attraction as they get to know the person.” Your pride colors are blue, cyan, white and gray. (There are so many pride flags out there these days — and they come out so damn fast — that I suspected someone created an online pride flag generator. And I was right: myflag.lgbt.)

Q: My husband (gay, age 29) has continually accused me of cheating and other similar activities over the course of our six years together. It wasn’t too bad at the start but it got worse. I now feel so much resentment toward him that it’s destroying us. I feel like a prisoner in the relationship. He’s tracked my phone to make sure I’m not going anywhere “unapproved” and if I don’t tell him everything I’m doing he gets upset. At this point I hate being intimate with him. I don’t even want to touch him. We’ve started seeing a couples counselor but it’s not helping with my resentment. How do I get over this resentment? Or do I do what my brain is telling me and divorce him?

A: DTMFA — divorce the motherfucker already — and you’ll not only be doing yourself a favor you’ll most likely be doing your ex a favor as well. Because the pain of getting dumped is the only thing that motivates jealous and controlling assholes like your husband to get the help they need.

Send questions to mail@savagelove.net, follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage, and subscribe to the Savage Lovecast at savagelovecast.com.

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OUTWORLD BREWING

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

OUTWORLD BREWING 1725 Vista View Drive, Suite B, Longmont, outworldbrewing.com

TASTE OF THE WEEK: Sausage and pretzels @ Outworld Brewing

THE PLACE TO SPACE out over an ale with comfy schnitzel sandwiches, poutine or cheesy spaetzle is Outworld Brewing, located in the outer quadrant brewpub features individual dining escape pods and a futuristic design. I gravitated toward grilled housemade sausages with scratch-made pretzels, mustards and pickled onions. It went nicely with a Les Trois Peardonnay, a hazy, gold-hued Belgian Tripel aged in chardonnay barrels with pears. Naturally, Outworld hosts the Venardos Circus — no animals! — July 28 in its parking lot.

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A toast to the pandemic and alcohol

The School Food Project served 2.2 million meals

1 50 years of dinner on the mountainside

Wine Spectator magazine recently bestowed another Grand Award upon the service and wine cellar of Boulder’s Flagstaff House. Celebrating its 50th year in business, Flagstaff is hosting a series during various decades. On Aug. 12, the 1990s menu will feature duck with sour cherries, smoked rabbit with succotash, buffalo Wellington and squab with Alsatian onion tart. Upcoming dinners include Sept. 9 (2000s) and Oct. 6 (2010s).

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

During the pandemic, to-go booze became legal, helping many restaurants and bars stay alive. Now, the rule has been extended for another four years.

Meanwhile, Adweek reports that U.S. consumers drank at least 14% more alcohol during the pandemic.

By the way, the Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible show is looking for Colorado restaurants that need help and a makeover following the challenges of the past 16 months. Nominate them by emailing: afain@ levitylive.com

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The Boulder Valley School District recently concluded its Emergency Food Distribution program, serving more than 2.2 million meals over the past 16 months. A list of continuing food banks and services is available at: food.bvsd.org. The BVSD’s in-school meals will continue to be free for all students for the ’21-’22 school year.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

MICHAEL J CASEY

B

ob Baile has a lot of love to spread around.

“I gotta tell you how great the city has been to us,” he says. When the pandemic hit, the powers that be in Boulder allowed him to flip a portion of his parking lot into a beer garden. They approved a grant that allowed him to build a permanent roof over the existing patio — and did it fast.

“They said, ‘Submit your plans and get going, don’t even wait for us to approve it,’” Baile recounts. “We had somebody here within 24 hours after we submitted our plans.”

It’s praise you’ll hear from a lot of brewery owners these days. The community support during COVID was crucial, but without the variety of lifelines local and federal governments tossed out, there’s no way a place like Twisted Pine Brewing Company would still be standing today.

Twisted Pine and Baile go way back. A homebrewer-gone-pro, Baile bought Twisted Pine from Gordon Knight back in 1996 when the facility was on Valmont Road. In 2003, Baile moved the operation to the brewery’s current location on Walnut Street.

That’s around the time when Bill Marshall joined as co-owner. Since then, Twisted Pine has mirrored the numerous expansions and contractions of the greater craft beer industry. But one of Baile and Marshall’s key decisions came in 2016 when they decided to cease packaging and distribution. As Marshall explains, “instead of making a lot of a couple things, we make a little of a lot of things.”

At the time, Twisted Pine’s move off store shelves seemed like a risk for a legacy brewery. But it paid off. They

converted their packaging line into a spacious events room. Pre-pandemic, Baile called the decision “one of the best” they’ve ever made.

And as business returns in the next two years, it might well be. But in 2020, when the events business dried up and Twisted Pine’s revenue plummeted 80%, “It hurt a bunch.”

That wasn’t half of it.

First came the initial shut down in March, then the pivot to curbside sales and delivery. Summer carried a glimmer of hope in the form of patio dining, but when a staff member was exposed to COVID, Baile and Marshall made the call to shut the operation down for deep cleaning and iving through history is one thing. Passing it on to the next generation is another. In 10, 20 years, when we teach the era of COVID-19, what stories will we tell? quarantining. They opened “As far as our particular situation [the pandemic showed] how much people are willing to back up, but the weather in participate in your future,” Baile says. the fall was spotty, and the “I just hope people maintain that level of caring about everyone,” Marshall adds. “What are State shut everyone back we going to do to get through this? What can I do to help?” down in November. The “Twenty years from now, 10 years from now, when we look back, I’m hoping people see winter was lean, and sales how people came together,” Baile says. “Whether it was on our local level, local economic level, were minuscule. whether it was our landlord ...

I’m hoping people see how people pitched in.”

“It’s all a blur. We’re trying to forget it,” Baile says, adding with a cagey grin: “Thanks for bringing it back up.”

Plus Baile and Marshall have a “It’s going to be an interesting next But now Twisted Pine is poised to dining room, patio and parking lot to few months,” Marshall says, adding come out of it. And with a new head fill. The outdoor beer garden remains, that they already see the long-promised brewer to boot: Jeff Griffith, an alumand inside they’re bringing back the pent-up demand. The time for survival nus of Golden City Brewing, Odyssey tables. Weekly trivia has returned on is coming to a close. “Now it’s back to Beerwerks and FATE Brewing CompaWednesday nights, and they’ve even being innovative, put out new things.” ny. Baile couldn’t be happier. “He fits had an event in the back. Along the “Breweries are very resilient,” Baile in here like a hand in a glove.” And as way, they’ve upgraded the air filtration says. “We all had this absolute fucking long as Griffith makes sure Twisted system and switched from table to determination, for some reason or Pine’s 10 core beers remain on tap, counter service — they call it the “Dark another, and it probably came to play in he’s got “20 tap handles to play with.”

Horse model.” it all.”

Resilient

Opened, closed, in-person, to-go, whatever, Twisted Pine is still standing by Michael J. Casey

History from 35,000 feet

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COURTESY LA BELLE FRENCH BAKERY

JOHN LEHNDORFF

On the baked goods trail

G

etting out of town in the past year, I’ve appreciated the bluebird skies, pristine vistas and hairpin turns because almost everywhere I went when I left Boulder I had close encounters with great baked goods.

Whether surrounded by mountain forests, corn fields, suburbs or industrial buildings, my pastry radar led me to exceptional fruit pies, chocolate-dipped macaroons, cinnamon rolls, filled buns and frosted cakes in cups.

Nothing makes a long, hot drive — or bike ride — up a nearby canyon stuck behind a lumbering Winnebago more tolerable than the promise of doughnuts in the distance. No matter which paved or gravel road you take this summer to get out of town, here are some destinations worth mapping out.

Sunshine Canyon: Head west on Mapleton Avenue up the canyon and wind your way to pie in the town of Gold Hill. Just past the familiar Gold Hill Inn is the historic (1890s) one-room Gold Hill General Store & Pub (goldhillstore.com). In recent years the rustic wooden emporium’s offerings have broadened to include a cafe, bar and store. I happily decompressed over a wedge of house-baked apple berry crumb pie and a mug of hot chai. Cookies, magic bars and pressed sandwiches are also available.

U.S. 36 South: Frankly, you just don’t expect to stumble upon red bean croissants and steamed pork buns in the back corner of a beige Flatiron Crossing-area building just off the turnpike. Yet The Enchanted Oven (theenchantedoven.cafe) is full of surprises from owner Maki Fairbanks. Besides well-made traditional cakes and pastries, she offers a weekly Japanese bento box, curry buns and okonomiyaki (vegetable and meat pancakes). I can verify that a cream-filled soft bun in the sun can be soothing.

U.S. 36 North: Generations of travelers heading to Rocky Mountain National Park have pulled over for a cone or burger at the classic Lyons Dairy Bar (thenewlyonsdairybar.com). In the past year the eatery has expanded to include a bakery and nostalgic candy store featuring a stellar Pez selection.

Baker Sharlotte Fortier crafts coffee-friendly goods such as iced cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, cupcakes and cookies. My favorite is her creamy, not-tootart Key lime pie with lots of lime zest flavor.

Leaving Boulder to find scratch-made cinnamon rolls, cruffins, tarts and cream buns

by John Lehndorff

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JOHN LEHNDORFF

INFO BOX: Clockwise from top left: from The Enchanted Oven; Rocher dessert at La Belle French Bakery; art at DP’s Sweet Life; and chocolate pistachio “escargot” from Babette’s

JOHN LEHNDORFF

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Contact us for Take Out orders!

WORDS TO CHEW ON

U.S. 287 North: Before you hit downtown Longmont, do yourself a favor and hang a left into the Prospect neighborhood for a “Historicalquick carb pit stop at Babette’s ly a number of rare or newly Artisan Bread (babettesbakery. com). My day and drive were upexperienced foods have graded significantly with a dark been claimed to be aphchocolate pistachio “escargot.”

I slowly unwound the brown rodisiacs. At one time this buttery, caramelized swirls and quality was even ascribed to got every last golden crunchy flake. Catherine and Steve Scott’s bakery serves top notch when you are next preparing pizza besides French desserts, the family salad.” —Jane pastries and epic cruffins.

Jay Road: Head east far Grigson enough on rustic Jay Road and you can find yourself at DP’s Sweet Life (dpssweetlife.com), a homestyle American bakery set in a tiny, colorful shop in Erie. I can’t say whether they are the “best in the world” as advertised, but DP’s dense cinnamon rolls — lavishly iced, spicy and buttery — are the dream sidekick to a tall iced coffee. Danay Powers also bakes notable all-American lemon loaves, paintable cookies, Whoopie-like oatmeal cookie sammies and various “cupped cakes” full of frosting and toppings.

120th Avenue: French-born Julien Renaut opened La Belle French Bakery (labellefrenchbakery.com) to supply coffee shops and restaurants.

A few years and several moves later, La Belle now offers retail, home delivery and wholesale from a distinctly industrial Thornton neighborhood.

Locals line up for first-class baguettes, tartes au citron, eclairs, scones and exceptional croissants. I’ll admit that a heavenly Paris-Brest pastry pillowed with whipped cream never made it home — really, it never had a chance.

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Local food news

Chef Jesse Jensen — formerly of Pizzeria Locale and Basta — has opened Barchetta, 1644 Walnut St., a wine bar serving Neapolitan-style pizza. ... The Post Chicken & Beer has opened a new spot in Estes Park at the Stanley Hotel. ... Seeds Library Cafe, operated by the Boulder County Farmers Market, has reopened inside the Boulder Public Library bridge. ... Reopening soon: Mountain Sun in Boulder and Ras Kassa’s Ethiopian Restaurant in Lafayette. ... Coming attractions: Crested Butte Wine & Food (July 19-25), cbwineandfood.org; Eagle Mushroom & Wild Food Festival (Aug. 27-29), eaglemushroomfest.com During the pandemic, Denver lost a slew of iconic eateries. Racine’s closed after 36 years. The 20th Street Cafe was opened in 1946 by Harry and Tsugi Okuno; jazz-club El Chapultepec started serving in 1933 the day Prohibition was repealed. Also shuttered were The Market at Larimer Square, Tom’s Diner, as well as Acorn and Vesta. Colorado’s legendary craft beer headquarters, Falling Rock Tap House, has also closed. The Mercury Cafe will survive after its purchase by another institution, My Brother’s Bar. Rumors indicate that Casa Bonita and its cliff divers will live again this fall. We can only hope the food will be slightly less terrible than in the past.

John Lehndorff is the Boulder Weekly’s Food Editor. Send comments and info about restaurants and food events to: Nibbles@BoulderWeekly. com

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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“The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance ran ads recently in the Boulder Weekly to promote our annual Membership Party and Colorado Gives Day. The campaign was a huge success and BMA raised $34,320 - all going towards improving Boulder County’s trail system! The Boulder Weekly ads led to additional awareness of BMA and played an important part in this extraordinary fundraising campaign. Thanks Boulder Weekly!”

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

O

nce again, Colorado looks poised to lead the nation in cannabis regulation, as a slate of new state-mandated requirements for hemp products took effect on July 1.

In addition to listing all cannabinoid content in hemp products, hemp extracts will now also have to be tested for an array of pesticides and contaminants, including heavy metals and mycotoxins (small molecules produced by microfungi that can cause disease and death in humans and other animals). By Oct. 1, Colorado will require hemp products be tested for 106 pesticides. Currently, regulated marijuana in the state is only tested for 13 pesticides.

Botanacor Laboratories in Denver is the only state-approved lab authorized to test products with hemp extracts.

In a statement to Hemp Industry Daily, Botanacor’s senior marketing director, Lisa Stemmer, says the lab doesn’t expect to be overwhelmed as the law goes into effect, as the state is allowing existing products to remain on shelves, and has a phase-in process in place for new products.

“We have to have a safety standard,” Stemmer told Hemp Industry Daily.

Colorado may be the first state to require such rigorous testing for hemp products, but California and New York are also contemplating new testing and labeling requirements. In April, New York created a law to regulate hemp

Colorado rules on hemp could pave the way for the rest of the nation

by Seymour The new rules, set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, require hemp products to list the total cannabinoid content, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the primary psychoactive component of cannabis — in milligrams. Previously, hemp products didn’t have to list THC content so long as the product contained less than 0.3% THC.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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JULY 8, 2021

operators working with flower and cannabinoid products the same way the state oversees marijuana operators, designating a new category for “cannabinoid hemp” — that is, “any product processed or derived from hemp, that is used for human consumption including for topical application for its cannabinoid content, that does not contain more than 0.3% THC,” according to the New York Department of Health. There is still no path to market for hemp-derived extracts such as CBD in New York.

On the other side of the country, in June, California passed a bill through the State Assembly that would legalize the distribution and sale of hemp-derived CBD in the state as an ingredient in foods, beverages and dietary supplements. However, the bill would ban smokable hemp and limit hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC to marijuana dispensaries. The bill still awaits action in the California Senate.

It’s become necessary for states to address over-the-counter hemp and non-psychoactive cannabinoid products — like CBD — as the federal government still ignores these because of marijuana’s Schedule I classification. It has led to what many see as a confusing patchwork of state rules for how hemp extracts and other non-psychoactive cannabinoid products can be labeled and sold.

Even through the coronavirus pandemic, Colorado has maintained its leadership as the biggest hemp-growing state, according to USA CBD Expo.

“Hemp producers play an important role in Colorado’s economy,” said Gov. Polis in a statement during Colorado’s Hemp Week in 2020, “and it’s important that as a state Colorado does all it can to help create jobs and benefit consumers.”

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The delta-8 gray area

He explains that the bad rap delta-8 THC is getting boils down to three things: a lack of third-party testing; poor extraction methods; and a lack of education. But, unlike CBD, states are legally blocking the sale of delta-8 THC. So, what’s the difference?

Foremost, delta-8 THC has the least amount of clinical research behind it, Adlakha explains. It’s not very well understood, as far as common cannabinoids go.

Which makes some opponents of delta-8 THC question

What is delta-8 THC, what does it do and why have 14 states moved to ban it in recent months?

by Will Brendza

W

hen the federal Farm Bill passed in 2018, it was huge news for the CBD industry.

Finally, the regulation of hemp-derived products containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) was no longer the job of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) — with the Farm Bill, it became the job of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

However, the bill created a loophole for another cannabinoid called delta-8 THC — a close cousin to both delta-9 THC and CBD. And thanks to language, for the last three years patients across the country have been able to legally access delta-8 products online from CBD vendors like Austin, Texas-based Elevated Wellness.

In recent months, though, that’s started to change. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Utah and even Colorado have all moved to cinch that legal loophole shut. All 14 of those states are blocking the sale of delta-8 THC, arguing that there isn’t enough research on it yet to justify its sale — even though it’s bringing relief to many people, according to Dr. Chris Adlakha.

“Delta-8 is a highly medicinal cannabis compound,” says Adlakha, a pharmacist and founder of Elevated Wellness CBD.

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And beyond that, some legislators simply see this as a circumvention of the federal ban on delta-9 THC. Because, unlike CBD, delta-8 THC gets you high.

“Delta-8 does produce a psychotropic effect, albeit much lower than that of delta-9,” Adlakha says.

“For that reason, some consumers have issues with it. I do have patients who choose not to use delta-8-rich products for their pain relief, because they don’t want that psychotropic feeling.” relief from traditional delta-9 THC, but can’t legally access it or who can’t tolerate the psychotropic effects, delta-8 THC products can offer great medicinal middle-ground, according to Adlakha.

“There has been immense anecdotal evidence of its sleep issues,” he says.

One of the few clinical trials ever done on delta-8 THC showed promise. In 1995, Raphael Mechoulam, at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, tested delta-8 on chemotherapy their post-treatment nausea. Another study published in

JULY 8, 2021

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Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior in 2004 showed delta-8 THC as having positive effects on appetite.

Beyond those clinical studies, there really isn’t much delta-8 THC for physicians and lawmakers.

But, to Adlakha, the bigger issue is that the federal government doesn’t require any third-party testing for any hemp-derived products. (See Cannabis Corner, page 37, for more about Colorado’s new requirements for testing hemp products.) Without that requirement, the doors for con men selling bunk “medicinal” CBD and delta-8 THC products are open. More concerningly, Adlakha adds, dangerous chemical compounds can make it into these products and onto shelves — directly beside authentic third-party tested products. “[That] exposes consumers to harmful impurities, which could be 100% avoided with proper manufacturing and testing methods,” Adlakha says.

That’s why Adlakha insists on third-party testing every single one of Elevated Wellness’s products, and “It’s one of the only tangible ways we can build honest trust in this industry,” he says.

Colorado’s ban on delta-8 THC started in May, when the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) sent a letter to dispensaries informing them of the rule change, citing safety concerns about the under-researched molecule. or not any toxic or otherwise harmful substances are produced during these reactions and may remain in the regulated industrial hemp products ingested or applied/ used by consumers,” the agency said. “Therefore, these [THC] isomers are not allowed in food, dietary supplements or cosmetics.”

Proponents argue, because the Farm Bill legalized hemp-derived products, delta-8 THC should be legal just like CBD. However, the DEA disagrees, claiming that since delta-8 THC is extracted from hemp-derived CBD instead of directly from the hemp plant, it’s still technically a federally controlled substance.

“I have patients who get honest relief from delta-8,” Adlakha says. “And I would hate for them to lose access to it because of political hindrances.”

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