Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Mar. 29 – Apr. 4, 2017 triad-city-beat.com
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March 29 – April 4, 2017
ary’s Gourmet Diner
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Sam Frazier, on the road Gentleman Sam Frazier cleared the gear from last night’s gig out of the hatchback and loaded up a stack of hot lunches — by Brian Clarey some brisket and gravy atop a plop of mashed potatoes, a bit of steamed veggies and a cube of cornbread, all donated by Golden Corral — into a hotbox that fit snugly into the corner. “There’s a name for that thing,” he said of the hotbox. “I can’t remember what it is, but that’s not it.” And then Frazier, who a lot of us think is the best guitarist in North Carolina, drove through the Fisher Park and Irving Park neighborhoods of Greensboro early on a Friday morning, delivering these simple little meals to people who really needed them, whether Donald Trump says they do or not. Some of them waited by the door. Others took a while to answer the knock. A lot of them used walkers or oxygen tubes. All of them were old — old enough that it makes no sense to call them anything but. Claude, for example, has more than 100 years under his belt. “After he hit 100, I stopped counting,”
Frazier said. Some of them wanted to talk, and Frazier always obliges. In truth, that’s a big part of why he volunteers to do this run for Mobile Meals. They talked about their children and grandchildren; they talked about their shingles; more than one mentioned they were ready, after long lives, to go. In Doris’ garden apartment, Frazier listened to an old Don Williams record, noting the wah-wah on the guitar solo and explaining to her what a dobro is. Up in Wade’s condo, Frazier smiled kindly at the old rascal’s continual references to Jesus, even though Frazier is an atheist. At the end of the run, with one extra meal in the hotbox, he wheeled the car back over to Jan’s apartment in Fisher Park. She’s been living there, he said, for decades, adding that she was really something back in her day. She’s one of the ones who waits by the door. “I’m headin’ on down the road, Sam,” she said, just a single, pale blue eye and a few wisps of gray hair visible as she peeked past the half-open door. Before he left her stoop, she stopped him. “Please know that what you do is important,” she told him. “I could not make it without it.”
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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
QUOTE OF THE WEEK I thought once upon a time that North Carolina was special, but Phil Berger has repeatedly proven me wrong. — Jordan Green in Citizen Green, page 10 1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey
ART ART DIRECTOR Jorge Maturino
PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach
SALES DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Dick Gray
brian@triad-city-beat.com allen@triad-city-beat.com
EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR Eric Ginsburg
jorge@triad-city-beat.com
dick@triad-city-beat.com
SALES EXECUTIVE Cheryl Green cheryl@triad-city-beat.com
eric@triad-city-beat.com
SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com
CONTRIBUTORS Carolyn de Berry Kat Bodrie Spencer KM Brown
Jelisa Castrodale Stallone Frazier Matt Jones
Courtesy cover photography of Quest, one of about 20 RiverRun films our team reviewed as part of this week’s festival guide.
EDITORIAL INTERN Joel Sronce intern@triad-city-beat.com
TCB IN A FLASH DAILY @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. ©2017 Beat Media Inc.
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March 29 – April 4, 2017
EVENTS
Thursday, March 30 @ 8pm
Open Mic Night
Friday, March 31 @ 8pm
D.C. Carter
Sunday, April 2 @ 12pm
DJ L in Japanese
Monday, April 3 @ 7pm
Mystery Movie Monday
CITY LIFE Mar. 29 – Apr. 4 by Joel Sronce
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Major! @ Revolution Mill (GSO), 6 p.m. The Greensboro Mural Project and Ignite NC host a screening of Major!, a documentary on the life of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a 75-year-old black transgender activist who has been fighting for the rights of trans women of color for more than 40 years. The event is free and open to the public, though organizers will accept donations to provide legal support for trans women of color in NC. More info at greensboromuralproject.com.
Participatory budgeting kickoff and open house @ the Central Library (GSO), 6:30 p.m. The city of Greensboro launches its second cycle of participatory budgeting, a democratic process that allows residents to help decide how to spend $500,000 of local tax dollars. The second cycle identifies projects to fund in the 2018-19 fiscal year. At the open house, residents can learn about participatory budgeting and other programs and projects in Greensboro. More info at greensboro-nc.gov/pb.
FRIDAY
602 S Elam Ave • Greensboro
(336) 698-3888 SPREADING JOY ONE PINT AT A TIME
The HillBenders @ High Point Theatre, 8 p.m. Come out to see a band from Springfield, Mo. play banjo, dobro, mandolin, bass and guitar in their full-length, bluegrass tribute to one of the Who’s classic rock albums. The HillBenders present Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry. More info at highpointtheatre.com.
SATURDAY Triad Tech Savvy @ UNCG, 7:45 a.m. The UNCG and the Greensboro branch of the American Association of University Women hosts a daylong program in the Sullivan science building for girls grades 6 to 9. The event provides workshops on topics such as robotics, animation, the chemistry of cosmetics and the science of music in order to teach young women how science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields can lead to interesting and fulfilling careers. All students and adults must register online. More info at greensboro-nc.aauw.net.
SUNDAY Monday Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz 7:30 Tuesday Live music with Piedmont Old Time Society Old Time music and Bluegrass 7:30 Wednesday Live music with J Timber and Joel Henry with special guests 7:30
Thursday The Average Height Band (Kano, King, Powers, and Walker) 8:30 Friday, Saturday, Sunday BEER
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joymongers.com | 336-763-5255 576 N. Eugene St. | Greensboro
Salem Creek Storywalk @ the Gateway Nature Preserve (W-S), 2 p.m. Kids from 3-15 follow a trail along the Salem Creek Greenway where storytellers and singers share tales of fact and fiction. Participants watch a floodplain demonstration and create their own imaginary water creatures using natural materials. More info at forsythcreekweek.squarespace. com.
ALL WEEKEND Macbeth @ Wake Forest University (W-S), Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Dare to enter the Scales Fine Arts Center for what the Department of Theatre and Dance deems Shakespeare’s ghost story of madness, greed and bloodshed — a dark, cautionary tale set in a contemporary war-torn world. Brook Davis directs. More info at events.wfu.edu.
by Jordan Green
On March 22, the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources announced that the Oak Crest Historic District — a residential neighborhood in north Winston-Salem recognized for its variety of architectural styles dating from the 1920s through the mid-1960s — would become the Triad’s most recent addition to the state’s historic places. Its inclusion calls for a review of a few of the Triad’s other structures on the Nation Register:
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Send a resume and cover letter to jordan@triad-city-beat.com by April 21. College grads, women, trans folks and people of color strongly encouraged to apply.
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4. The Old Mill of Guilford, along the east side of NC 68, Guilford County A waterwheel continues to power this three-story grist mill much as it did upon construction in 1822. Electricity was installed in the mill for lights and elements of the milling process, but the grinding stones are still water-powered. Built in the 1920s, there’s a small bungalow uphill from the mill, where the miller now lives.
Culture
3. St. Philips Moravian Church, east side of S. Church Street near Race Street (W-S) St. Philips Moravian Church — the oldest surviving African-American church building in North Carolina — stands on the east side of Church Street in the Old Salem Historic District. Unlike the houses surrounding it, the church sits about 50 feet back from the street to accommodate the site of a graveyard for non-Moravians, or “strangers.” The grave markers are no longer visible, but the graves themselves remain, dating back as early as 1775.
Cover Story
2. The Deep River Friends Meeting House and Cemetery, 5300 W. Wendover Ave. (HP) Included on this property are the Quaker meeting house, constructed in 1875, and the Friends cemetery, which dates back to the 1750s. North of the meeting house sit the “Uppin’ Blocks” — a stack of three large granite slabs created for mounting horses and carriages, that date back to 1830.
Opinion
1. The Ireland House, corner of Spring Street and Friendly Avenue (GSO) Perhaps you’ve waited for the light at the intersection where this house once stood. Charles H. Ireland built the house in 1904 in what used to be a fashionable residential section of Greensboro. Four corbeled brick chimneys featuring arched panels once protruded from a steep roof covered in slate. But a fire destroyed the house in 1996.
News
With that stipulation, it’s a tough sell for reporters and editors to produce probing and critical coverage of city government while at the same time taking care not to show favor when the two people responsible for their payroll are sitting on the dais in the council chamber. Taylor announced on Monday that The Chronicle will no longer make endorsements in political races that involve him or Montgomery. That’s a pretty significant chunk: half of the wards with African-American representation. It also gets tricky to maintain the perception of fairness when Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board comes into play. James Taylor’s wife, Deanna Taylor, holds one of the two seats in District 1, which covers the urban portion of the county. Is the newspaper going to withhold endorsement when Deanna Taylor is on the ballot, too? And what happens when members of city council or the school board who are on the other side of an issue from the Taylors and Montgomery need to be called out? Will The Chronicle have the credibility to do it? Governing can get testy and murky, and people take positions in good faith that may look dishonest or foolhardy to their adversaries. Reporters have to put aside any personal interests they might have in do their best to cover the news accurately and fairly in these circumstances. My journalism professor at Columbia University liked to cite Macbeth to the effect that Lady Macbeth must not only maintain clean hands, but appear to have clean hands. Good luck, guys!
by Joel Sronce
Up Front
One of the essential functions of the press is holding the government accountable. So what happens when two members of Winston-Salem City Council buy the newspaper that has provided a voice to the city’s African-American community and covered the issues that matter to them for more than four decades? Councilman James Taylor, who represents the Southeast Ward, will be the new publisher and handle day-to-day operations at The Chronicle. Councilman Derwin Montgomery, who represents the East Ward and whose day job is running the Bethesda Center homeless shelter, is a co-owner of the newspaper in partnership with Taylor. The two will apparently hold only partial ownership of the newspaper: City Manager Lee Garrity told Triad City Beat that the two council members have assured the city attorney that they intend to only own 10 percent each. He added that state law prohibits the city from doing business — in this case, buying ads — with any company that has more than 10 percent ownership by an elected official. “We’re committed to being fair, equitable and just and completely impartial when it comes to journalistic integrity,” Taylor told me. “I plan to allow editors and reporters to have complete autonomy when they cover city government.” I need to say that Taylor and Montgomery, whom I’ve been covering since 2012, are two of the most honorable and fair politicians I’ve ever encountered. And I’ve dealt with a lot of local elected officials, and more than half of them don’t come off looking good.
4 historic places in the Triad
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City council members buying a newspaper
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment
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NEWS
Muslim civil rights leader decries ‘normalization of hate’ by Jordan Green
The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations warns against a “normalization of hate” in a speech at Wake Forest University. Niwad Awad warned during a talk at Wake Forest University on March 23 that if left unchecked, false propaganda denigrating Muslims and other religious and racial minorities could lead to barbarity similar to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany, which resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews, not to mention homosexuals, people with disabilities, Slavs, Roma and communists during World War II. Awad is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national organization dedicated to promoting understanding about Islam, defending civil rights and building coalitions with diverse groups. “The past two years, ladies and gentleman, so many minorities have been attacked,” Awad said. “Latinos. Mexicans. Women have been denigrated. African Americans. People with disabilities. You name the minority, and they have been attacked in the past two years. It is very unfortunate that it became so convenient for people to spread fear and fearmongering for political reasons, and unfortunately it works. Sometimes selling fear is effective. Fear is abhorred, is rejected by people with common sense. For people who don’t know, it is a very selling product. In fact, it is a very profitable business to sell hate. “We have seen it unfortunately in the past 100 years,” Awad continued. “We’ve seen it in Germany — what hate and hatemongering start and what they lead to. The Holocaust in Europe did not start with acts of violence. The Holocaust started with false propaganda against Jews in Europe.” When one audience member asked Awad to comment on a recent incident in which a man talked about his desire to kill Muslims during a meeting of right-wing extremists in Kernersville, Awad assured them that the FBI is investigating the incident. “I think we should be aware of what’s
Dina Shehata, a member of Annoor Islamic Center in Clemmons, talks about what it’s like to be a Muslim woman after a speech by Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Niwad Awad.
being said and what’s being done,” Awad said. “It is important for us to be alert. Definitely I urge the Muslim community centers to be on high alert in terms of taking security very seriously in terms of surveillance and monitoring. Work with the local police. Work with the neighborhood associations, with the interfaith communities, because when one community is under threat, other communities can be under threat, too. “It is our business to be aware of our surroundings and make sure that we are not intimidated by fear, and we’re not scared,” he added. “This is our home country. We are not going anywhere.” Beyond protecting the community, Awad urged mosques to adopt an “open house” policy of proactively inviting guests and the media, and encouraging guests “to ask any question they have on their mind.” “Those people who are unaware and ignorant, and are willing to learn — open up to them and reach out to them,” Awad said. “And don’t just wait for them to knock on your door and come and visit. Invite, take the initiative because they may think that you don’t like them, that you hate them. They think that you are the aggressor. They
think that you are the enemy, that you pose a threat to them. I’m not asking you to put yourself in danger, but I’m asking you to take the initiative.” For the benefit of the non-Muslims in the audience, Awad provided a snapshot: “Muslims [in America] today are extremely diverse. We are in all 50 states. We are educated. We are 2 percent of the population, but also we are 2 percent of physicians.” Despite the relative insignificance of Muslims as a share of the American population, it’s clear that many non-Muslims feel increasingly threatened, leading to an upsurge in acts of hate. Awad said that according to an upcoming report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “We believe 2016 was the worst year on record for American Muslims when it comes to hate crimes, acts of vandalism, discrimination, attacks on our civil and human rights.” From 2008 to 2013, Awad said his organization has tallied $205 million in spending by what he called a “Core Network of Islamophobia” involving 33 full-time organizations dedicated “to stigmatize American Muslims.”
JORDAN GREEN
Hamdy Radwan, the imam at Annoor Islamic Center in Clemmons, asked Awad to comment on the pressure experienced by American Muslims to denounce terrorism. Awad responded that American Muslims are in a difficult position. It’s obvious, he said, that people who commit violent acts in the name of ISIS or other extremist groups are deviants and criminals, and are acting outside of the bounds of the faith. He argued there is a double standard in that Christians, who are the majority religion in the United States, are not asked denounce Christians who bomb abortion clinics in the name of Christianity. Many American Muslims are frustrated and angry that he agrees to go on conservative programs like “The O’Reilly Factor” and denounce terrorism, Awad said, but he believes he has an obligation to do so. Asked if he believes it’s worthwhile to open up a dialogue with President Trump, Awad said he isn’t interested in talking to the president as long as he promotes policies that target people because of their faith. He added that he can’t see himself talking to Trump as long as a cloud of suspicion remains over two of his top advisors, Steve Ban-
Up Front News Opinion
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, speaks at Wake Forest University.
choice. “When armed bikers protested in front of a mosque in Arizona they were outnumbered by other Americans who came in solidarity with the Muslim
JORDAN GREEN
community,” Awad said. “That’s the America I signed up for. And that’s the America I believe in. And that’s the America we should continue to work for.”
Cover Story
It doesn’t have to affect you in order to take action. “You have to take action, not when it’s easy or convenient, but when it’s right,” he continued. “When it’s right, that’s the time to step in. You have to speak truth to power. And that’s why I believe hateful individuals and groups, while they think they are powerful, they are weak. They are powerful because we are silent, and our silence is empowering to them.” Awad expressed confidence that Trump’s policies will ultimately be defeated. “We have seen that our media is independent,” he said. “We have seen that our judiciary is on the alert. Our system of checks and balances works very well. Does it mean that we need to be complacent and we need not to take action? Of course it doesn’t.” Awad, who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan and emigrated to the United States where he became a citizen, said his faith in America was tested by Trump’s election. But multiple “acts of kindness” after the election persuaded him that he made the right
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non and Sebastian Gorka, due to news reports alleging links to white supremacist groups. Bannon and Gorka joined the administration after leaving Brietbart News, an extreme right website that takes a hostile stance toward the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In an early February article about Rep. Keith Ellison, Breitbart called the council “jihad-linked” and accused it of fomenting “toxic Islamic ideology and aggressive Arab politics.” Awad said in an interview after his talk that he considers it a “badge of honor” to be demonized by Breitbart, adding, “If we weren’t I would worry that we were doing something wrong.” Awad quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King’s statement that oppressed people will remember not the words of their enemies, but the inaction of their friends. “When you read the news and you see hateful comments, it’s your obligation to stop it, to speak up because it will burn you,” he said. “You will send a very wrong message for your children, for your siblings. That’s why I believe when we see it we have to act against it.
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Up Front
by Jordan Green
Winston-Salem’s proposed “welcoming city” resolution brings out heated emotions on both sides even as city council puts it on hold to confer with state lawmakers. Councilman Dan Besse, the author of a resolution declaring Winston-Salem to be a “welcoming city,” agreed to pull the item on Monday night, following a request from a Republican member of the Forsyth County delegation to discuss the proposal at an upcoming legislative
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Debate over ‘welcoming city’ gets heated
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town hall on Wednesday. Besse downplayed the disruption to the planned vote, characterizing Rep. Donny Lambeth’s request to Mayor Allen Joines as “courteous” and “quite reasonable.” “I look forward to reassuring the state representatives in our delegation regarding the content of the resolution,” Besse said after the city council meeting on Monday. “Surely our legislators are not interested in suppressing free speech, and are purely interested in ensuring that we’re in the bounds of the law, and I can assure them that we are.” Even though the vote was delayed, supporters and opponents of the resolution came ready with impassioned arguments, with some forced into an overflow room when the council chamber filled. Joines gave them a little more than 30 minutes together to speak from the floor, warning that there would not be another public hearing before the rescheduled April 17 vote. The rhetoric became heated at times, with speakers raising their voices with emotion, while audience members loudly applauded in defiance of the council’s rules of decorum and occasionally spoke over each other. Public speakers split evenly in support and in opposition to the resolution, but among the opponents those who live in outlying towns like Advance, Lewisville and Walkertown outnumbered Winston-Salem residents 2 to 1. “I actually believe that voting Winston-Salem as a ‘welcoming city’ or a ‘sanctuary city’ is a coup against the citizens of our city and our state,” said Joann Landry of Advance. “I welcome
Supporters and opponents of a “welcoming city” resolution continue to debate after city council adjourned on Monday night.
any immigrant who comes here legally, as did my mother. But if you’re allowing illegals, which is, by definition, unlawful, which is already breaking a law by being here, and you are saying to these criminals, ‘Welcome to continue to break our laws, take our services and our money to benefit your life at the expense of ours and the number of homeless veterans that was just testified to beforehand,’ then you should be willing to benefit the citizens, not the undocumented, unknown and the illegal aliens at the expense of the taxpayers.” Landry went on to warn that under the orders of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Winston-Salem would lose federal grants if city council defies the federal government. The proposed “welcoming city” resolution does not include the word “sanctuary,” and was carefully written to avoid violating either
JORDAN GREEN
state law or President Trump’s executive order on public safety in the interior. A 2015 state law passed by the General Assembly and Trump’s executive order both seek to prevent local governments from ordering law enforcement to not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. “If Winston-Salem goes bankrupt, all of the outside communities are going to be taxed higher to pay for the lack of funds in order to get the things that are done for our structure of the city funded,” Landry added. Opponents also made arguments against the resolution based on unfounded claims about “epidemic” levels of crime by undocumented immigrants. Will Cox, a member of the Winston-Salem Sanctuary City Coalition, defended the “welcoming city” resolution, while arguing that it needs to go further. “If you look at [the resolution], it’s absurd even the idea that you need to go to our legislature,” he said. “If you can make that illegal, then if you smile at somebody, if you shake somebody’s hand, if you help somebody that needs help, you’ve committed a crime. And that’s not right. You all know that’s not right. Nobody needs political cover right now. Because we know what’s going on. “Immigrants are the least likely to commit crimes,” he added. “What did go up in 2016 is hate crimes.”
by Jordan Green
The bill also includes a brunch provision that would allow city councils and county commissions to vote on whether to allow alcohol sales by restaurants and other establishments that serve food as early as 10 a.m. on Sundays instead of the current noonday start time. “Maybe you’re a visitor to the state,” Hardister said. “Maybe you’re staying at a bed and breakfast, spa or country club, and you’d like to have a mimosa before noon. That should be your choice.” The provision helped attract the support of the powerful NC Restaurant & Lodging Association, which has publicly endorsed the legislation.
Opinion Cover Story
ler’s Spirit Co. in Winston-Salem and Greensboro Distilling Co. also setting up shop. Hardister, who is philosophically opposed to limiting the number of bottles that distilleries can sell from their premises, said five was an arbitrary number, but the other bill sponsors thought if they went much higher they might run into opposition. Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Democrat from Greensboro, has also signed on to the bill. Hardister said he is cautiously optimistic that the bill will gain traction. The constituency most threatened by the legislation is the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, which holds a monopoly on liquor sales. “They do have a lobbyist; they are trying to protect the system as it is now,” Hardister said. “We were at odds on the bill that passed two years ago. They’re also going to be opposing this bill. I spoke to their lobbyist last week. We spoke respectfully, but this is an issue where we disagree.”
News
The General Assembly cracked the door open in 2015 with a law that allows North Carolina distilleries to sell one bottle of liquor per customer per year on their premises. A new bill filed by Rep. Jon Hardister, the Guilford County Republican who serves as House whip, lifts the cap to five bottles per customer over a 12-month period, and allows distilleries to provide free tastings — a privilege already enjoyed by breweries and wineries in North Carolina. “Issues related to alcohol can be sensitive,” Hardister said in an interview. “That’s understandable. I would contend that you can separate the control/ safety aspect from the business side of it. As it relates to distilleries, I’m trying
to help them better run their businesses and sell their product. It’s going to support the economy and promote tourism.” Joe Tappe, the distiller at Broad Branch Distillery in Winston-Salem — said the move to relax regulations on the industry would have a significant economic impact. Like many of its competitors, the distillery, which opened in the Big Winston Warehouse on Trade Street in 2015, offers free tours. Visitors come from out of state and Tappe makes the case that the potential for increased sales allows distilleries to make additional capital investments, contribute more tax revenue to local government, and hire additional employees. There are more distilleries in North Carolina than Kentucky, Tappe said, although the larger distilleries in Kentucky still produce more volume than their North Carolina counterparts. Broad Branch is only one of three distilleries that have launched in the Triad in the past three years, with Sut-
Up Front
Distilleries around the state, including three in the Triad, would be able to sell up to five bottles of liquor from their premises under legislation file by Rep. John Hardister. The bill also gives local governments the option of relaxing liquor sales on Sunday mornings.
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Bill would ease restrictions on North Carolina distilleries
Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Up Front News Opinion Cover Story Culture Sportsball Crossword Shot in the Triad Triaditude Adjustment
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OPINION
EDITORIAL
Playing a dangerous game with healthcare Things could not have gone much worse for President Donald Trump in the GOP healthcare debacle last week. When the smoke finally cleared, we saw a president at odds with his party, a speaker of the House humbled — for the moment — by his inability to garner enough votes to pass his crappy bill and hordes of angry Trump voters who are starting to suspect that they’ve been duped. After eight years of obstruction and more than 60 votes to repeal the thing, it turns out that no one in the Republican Party even had an acceptable replacement plan drawn up. For a moment in the early days of this week, after more than a year of lies and, now, broken campaign promises, it looked as if reality might finally rear its head. Or not. Everyone from the Congressional Budget Office to the angry town-hall denizens knew that House Speaker Paul Ryan’s healthcare bill was as disastrous for poor Americans as it was beneficial for high earners. And had it passed, large swaths of Trump voters would have seen very real consequences in the form of higher premiums, higher deductibles and a lower standard of care — if, that is, they could afford health insurance in the first place. That probably would not have gone over well. So by failing to pass this bad bill, the GOP and their president dodged a bullet that likely would have struck home in the very next election. With few choices left, perhaps the party in power will allow the Affordable Care Act to do what it was intended to do by encouraging Republican governors and state general assemblies to greenlight the expansion of Medicaid to their citizens. As of this year, 18 states including North Carolina have yet to accept this key provision of the ACA. The smart move would be for Republicans to tune up the ACA so that it works for even more Americans, many of whom would be happy to give the credit to Trump regardless of the facts of the situation. At this point, the GOP’s last stand is to keep distracting the American people from the specter of the public option: taxpayer-funded healthcare that removes insurance companies — and their profits — from the equation.
CITIZEN GREEN
Return of the prodigal fan — go Cats! I filled out my first NCAA March Madness bracket this year. And until Sunday night, I was doing pretty good. I was betting on University of Kentucky for the championship. Going to middle school in rural by Jordan Green Owen County, Wildcat blue was the rage against the despised University of Louisville. I went to one game at Rupp Arena with my friend, Jesse, and his dad, and I grasped the mania — the electric thrill of the home crowd when a Kentucky player made a break down the lane and scored basket — but I confess that I didn’t really get it. Even though I was never basketball crazy, there was a brief moment in my adolescence when even I harbored the impossible dream. Despite my most ardent efforts to toss a ball into an oversized hoop nailed to the side of the barn on a court fashioned from a narrow, graveled lane long past sunset, I was never going to be a player. And by the time I entered high school, my one true creed was hating the crowd, and so I couldn’t love UK. I carried that ambivalence and lukewarm loyalty with me when I moved to North Carolina in 1997, and found a bar in Durham to watch the championship, where Kentucky went down that year to Arizona. Through the years, I’ve remained unmoved by the great Carolina-Duke rivalry that defines life for many of my fellow North Carolinians, and I’ve never especially warmed to State or Wake either. After 20 years, I’ve finally settled on a team, and the reasons why tell me that hate is a stronger emotion than love. Something has jarred loose in my brain or fundamentally shifted in my constitution lately. I’m out of sorts with the world right now, and my basic nature dictates that I cannot join the crowd and root for the home team. Sports fandom is at root about identity, and so for me that has almost everything to do with politics. I’ll explain. As a transplant, North Carolina always represented a beacon of enlightened progressivism in the solid South. That status is clearly no longer deserved, thanks to the numerous benighted laws passed by the retrograde GOP-controlled legislature since 2013. I thought once upon a time that North Carolina was special, but Phil Berger has repeatedly proven me wrong. Meanwhile, I’m beginning to feel that my home state needs me: Poor Kentuckians, they hated Obama so much that their Democratic governor had to change the name of the Affordable Care Act to Kynect to sell it to them. They wound up with one of the best exchanges in the country, but they voted a tea party Republican into the governor’s office who pledged to repeal Obamacare. But their new governor found it impossible to take away insurance from a third of the population who didn’t realize their benefits were the very thing they were supposed to hate. They’ve
been voting more and more conservative, and fell hard for Trump’s promise to bring back their coalmining jobs. They may be wrong, but I’m standing with them. On March 24, the Triad City Beat team made a special accommodation for the guests at our third anniversary party in Winston-Salem to screen the Carolina game. I didn’t pay much attention, but hoped out of spite that Butler, a fine team from Indiana, would upset Carolina. When Carolina dispatched Butler and Kentucky won its match against UCLA, I realized my flirtation with basketball fandom had suddenly gotten very real. This was the moment of truth: No. 2 seed Kentucky against No. 1 seed Carolina in the Elite Eight, and only one of them was getting through. Before I get too deep into tribal fervor, allow me to express my admiration for Coach Roy Williams, a fundamentally decent man — and that’s the highest praise I can imagine. He deserves recognition for speaking out against HB 2 in the context of rival Duke’s Round 2 loss to South Carolina in Greenville. “I think it’s wrong to deny them opportunities to play at home,” Coach Williams said. “We’ve had some. We’ve had some tremendous wins, for us, Duke, State, everybody having a home crowd with us. Duke paid the price this weekend because they had a very significant road crowd there. But the biggest thing is, guys, it’s just not right.” But on Sunday, my color was 100 percent Wildcat blue. During the second half when Kentucky started pulling ahead of Carolina, I ran in to the bedroom to announce the score to my wife, who also doesn’t care about basketball. Impulsively, I blurted to my 3-year-old daughter: “Come here. I want you to see this.” We watched Kentucky’s Malik Monk swish a three-pointer to tie the game with 7.8 seconds left and then the heartbreaking reversal when Luke Maye executed a stunning buzzer-beater to end Kentucky’s run. “Just because you don’t win every time,” I told my daughter, “it doesn’t mean you’re not right.”
Recycle this paper.
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RIVERRUN 2017 A curated film-festival guide by Jordan Green, Eric Ginsburg, Brian Clarey, Joel Sronce and Joanna Rutter
T
his is my favorite issue of the year.
There are only a few disparate moments each year where you can truly forget where you are, believing — if even briefly — that you could be in one of the nation’s bigger metropolises. The Triad is home to plenty of world-class talent, but it’s rare that something here draws in the broader world while simultaneously reflecting the enormity and worth of our own cultural sorcerers. RiverRun International Film Festival is one of our few chances to show off on a big stage, and bring the world in. Whether you’re rubbing elbows with stars at the opening party or witnessing impressive UNCSA grads on the screen, RiverRun raises the bar each year in a way that only a select few can. I selfishly love our annual RiverRun cover story because it’s a chance to watch my top picks of the fest beforehand. As a team, we’ve reviewed about 20 films this year, picking our favorites and interviewing Master of Cinema honoree Celia Weston. And with the online version of this guide, we offer you extended reviews of two ad-
ditional films — Good Funk by Greensboro native Adam Kritzer and a short documentary by Wake Forest University film students called “Caviar Dreams.” But as much as I’ve enjoyed watching dozens of RiverRun flicks at home over the years, having been to the festival in person I assure you that nothing compares to the big screen. The disappearance of Phuzz Phest — the Camel City’s annual indie music festival that generally overlapped with RiverRun — is a testament to the fragility of even the finest expressions of local culture. It’s a reminder that without strong community buy-in and support, other cherished institutions such as RiverRun could fade as well. So read our 2017 RiverRun guide, by all means. But if you don’t show up — if you don’t dig into your pocket and actually buy a ticket, instead of sweet-talking your way into a courtesy pass — it’s all for naught. Artists need patrons. This brief glimpse of glory begins Thursday, and could end (on April 9) before you get it together to show up. There’s more than enough to choose from, and this overview is proof. — Eric Ginsburg
Foreign Body screens on Friday at 10 a.m. at Aperture 1, on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Aperture 1 and on April 8 at 7 p.m. at Aperture 2.
The three primary characters in Foreign Body are all compromised in some way. Samia, the undocumented Tunisian immigrant who makes her way to a café in Lyon after plunging into the Mediterranean when her vessel capsizes, is smart and somewhat impulsive. Played affectingly by Sarra Hannachi, Samia’s shipwrecked vulnerability at the outset of the film tricks viewers into seeing her as immigrant trope — a kind of plucky innocent — but a more complex character soon emerges. Having escaped her
abusive, Islamic extremist brother, we learn that she has betrayed her family to earn her liberation. Maybe she had no choice, but it she seems strangely unburdened by the consequences. Imed, a friend of Samia’s brother and her first contact in Lyon (played by Salim Kechiouche), seems torn by the pieties of his former life in Tunisia and the more relaxed social standards of France. Kechiouche manages to project both compassion and menace in the role. The recently widowed Madame Bertau (played by Hiam Abbass) is at first guarded against Samia, whom she takes in as a helper and companion. As an Arab-French woman who married into wealth, she sees something of herself in Samia, and also seems driven by some restlessness to open up more of her life than
seems prudent. Soon enough, Imed’s obsession with Samia propels him into both women’s lives. The erotically charged triangle that develops between the three provocatively blurs personal boundaries. Director Raja Amari places the personal before the political, focusing on desire and intimacy. Her characters’ flaws make them all the more relatable, even if their disturbing traits seem sometimes to outweigh their virtues. The tensions between migration and nativism, Islam and secularism, and cultural ties and opportunity are omnipresent in Foreign Body, but they don’t define the characters so much as establish the terrain for their fraught encounters with one another. — Jordan Green
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Cover Story
The Island and the Whales screens at Aperture 2 on April 5 at 1:30 p.m., April 6 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 at 10:30 a.m. Everything about The Island and the Whales is compelling, but the cinematography of this documentary based in the Faroe Islands near Scotland and Iceland is truly stunning. Almost 50,000 Viking descendants live on these oft-overlooked islands, relying on hunting as a way of life and sustenance. Scenes of men catching birds with long nets that look like gigantic, flexible pool leaf skimmers as they crouch on the side of plunging cliffs adds to the film’s instantly mesmerizing effect. Directed by Mike Day, The Island and the Whales aptly illustrates a way of life under threat. Residents of the Faroe Islands historically relied on hunting vari-
ous sea birds and smallish, black pilot whales. But with rising negative affects from mercury in both food sources, the film shows how the Faroese are struggling to maintain their traditions and cultural identity in the face of mounting medical evidence it could be harming their children. Though not the focus of the film, a conflict pitting famous animal rights activists including the Sea Shepherd and Pam Anderson against Faroese whale hunters is illuminating and cringe worthy. The activists — at least in the film — show no concern for the wellbeing of fellow humans on the islands, and one local appropriately calls their quest “cultural imperialism.”
“They intrude on our food, and that’s no small thing,” a Faroese man says. The problems created by mercury poisoning so far from an industrialized nation serves as a barometer for the rest of the world. But what’s most captivating about The Island and the Whales is its intimate look at the bird and whale hunters themselves, and one nurse’s internal struggle when her husband’s test results return. — Eric Ginsburg
Forever Pure screens at UNCSA Babcock on April 2 at 8 p.m. and at Aperture 1 at 4 p.m. on April 4 and 8.
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I watched at least a half dozen RiverRun films this year, and despite stiff competition, Forever Pure is the most compelling. The documentary follows Israel’s most controversial soccer club, Beitar Jerusalem, which boasts a rabid rightwing fan base ruled by a gang called La Familia. Owned by a Russian billionaire who couldn’t care less about soccer but who saw the team as a propaganda tool and a path to political power, Beitar Jerusalem is a team embroiled in nationalist and Zionist fervor so extreme that it can be disturbing and fascinating to witness. After a failed campaign for mayor of Jerusalem, the team’s owner intentionally incensed fans by signing two Muslim Chechen players. “I have no idea if they’re any good,” the owner admits in the film. “I assumed that there would be a big reaction.” La Familia responded with a massive campaign against their own club, that included a hugely successful boycott, incessant heckling and threats and harassment of the team’s formerly beloved captain, who helped welcome the Mus-
lim players. Someone firebombed the club’s office, and fans proudly chanted about their racism. The action occurred several years ago, and could’ve been a warning about the parallel threats of the white supremacist right in the United States — at one point a La Familia leader talks about how they were depicted as the reactionary fringe of the fan base, but he accurately points out that they successfully kept tens of thousands of fans from attending Beitar Jerusalem’s matches. There’s no redemption in Forever Pure — the bad guys win this one. What’s worse, the fans’ vitriol predates this saga — “forever pure” is a reference to banners calling for a racially and religiously “pure” team prior to its first Muslim players. It might be hard to imagine how a bunch of Jewish soccer fans, just a couple generations removed from the Holocaust, could sound so much like their grandparents’ oppressors. But that level of apparent contradiction is exactly why we can’t look away. — Eric Ginsburg
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice screens on April 6 at 5 p.m. at Hanesbrands Theatre.
In 1936, 18 African-American athletes participated in the Summer Olympics in Berlin, the most notorious sporting event ever staged. Of those 16 men and two women, only Jesse Owens is remembered. The documentary Olympic Pride, American Prejudice tells the story of the Olympians’ lives during the Jim Crow era in the United States, their 10day sail to Berlin, and the friendships, celebrity and prejudice they experienced overseas. The film begins with backgrounds of the 18 athletes — often through interviews with their children — as well as the background of the rise of the Third Reich and Nazi Germany. Along with extensive video and photographs of the black athletes’ challenges within and beyond the
Olympics, the documentary turns to black historians and scholars for analysis. Throughout its narrative, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice doesn’t shy away from the oppression and appropriation of black athletes in the United States, nor the concealed genocide the Third Reich had begun to choreograph in Germany. Importantly, the film addresses how the United States treated these athletes upon their return; Mack Robinson, the older brother of Jackie Robinson, came back with a silver medal, yet he could only find a job sweeping the streets at night. Those streets were often cold enough that he had to wear his Olympic jacket to stay warm. —Joel Sronce
Northampton County in northeastern North Carolina has been majority black since the plantation system was established in the 1700s, but it wasn’t until 1969 that the first black person was appointed to the school board. Born into a sharecropping family, James H. Jones left Longview Farm to establish his own farmstead. He twice ran unsuccessfully for Northampton County School Board and then received appointment to it through a political horse trade with a progressive white state lawmaker who received the backing of the county’s black leadership and then pushed through legislation to expand the school board and provide for the appointment of two new members before the next election. A 1960 state Supreme Court ruling successfully overturning the literacy test that had been used to prevent black residents from registering to vote — an effort that Jones played a role in — and set the stage for eventual political representation. During Jones’ tenure, blacks would gain the majority on the school board, and Jones would become the first black chairman of a school board in North Carolina. Directed by Jones’ daughter, the documentary can feel like hagiography and the pacing sometimes suffers from an overreliance on “talking head” interviews, but overall it conveys an important story about a significant North Carolina leader in a fascinating locale. Jones’ rise is all the more remarkable for the fact that he pioneered black electoral power in a county where blacks remained subjugated as sharecroppers on cotton plantations at least through the 1950s. (Disclosure: My ancestors owned slaves in Northampton County.) — Jordan Green
Fits and Starts screens on Friday at 8 p.m. at UNCSA Babcock,
Dark Skull screen on Friday at 8:15
What’s it like to be married to someone in the same industry, especially when they’re more successful than you are? This question — and others familiar to creative types — is the film’s crucible. Wyatt Cenac (of “The Daily Show” fame) plays David, a socially awkward, struggling writer whose wife’s success dwarfs his own, but Fits and Starts avoids feeling like a retread. This endearing and entertaining situational comedy continues to devolve as the two writers head to a reading at a publisher’s Connecticut home. The soiree is filled with the most annoying kinds of white people, including one esoteric mook played by North Carolina’s own Onur Tukel. When a character played by Alex Karpovsky — best known as Ray from “Girls” — shows up, it’s all too fitting. The acting isn’t entirely believable, but that’s okay because Fits and Starts plays like more of a parody of the absurdity of notions of success or “high culture,” acting as a mirror rather than a literal representation. Some viewers will cringe at how familiar moments seem, like when David is told that racism is a little too heavy a theme for his book. Advice seems to hammer David like an unrelenting woodpecker. “There’s not enough room in a relationship for two artists,” an obnoxiously self-indulgent publisher tells David shortly before trying to seduce him. “One always suffers.” As the situation continues to devolve and frustration mounts for David, viewers will find themselves wondering if the aggressively flirtatious publicist is right. — Eric Ginsburg
Dark Skull, the first full-length feature by director Kiro Russo, might have single-handedly put Bolivian cinema on the map, earning the top prize for best picture from the Cartagena Film Festival in early March. The slow pacing and subtle narration might elude some American viewers, but the sublime visuals of the subterranean latticework of tunnels, chambers and shafts of the film’s focal point — a mine — will be utterly transfixing. With flickering lights in the inky darkness and giant drills sloshing through water and assaulting the rock, the setting is at first ominous and laden with danger, yet the mine eventually comes to feel like a protective cocoon. The mining village, which is rarely shown in anything but nocturnal gloom or pre-dawn grayness, is scarcely less claustrophobic, and the camaraderie of the men underground contrasts favorably with the isolation and poverty of their wives, sisters and mothers in this work of fiction. The mine and the village as its aboveground corollary provide a stage for a big story about death and grief, maturation and masculinity, resentment and reconciliation to play out. The story revolves around Elder, a young man who reacts to his father’s death in the mine by vaulting into a frenzy of drinking and thievery. It seems both inevitable and tragically cyclical that Elder winds up in the mine under the tutelage of his father’s friend, Francisco, as the only option available for setting him on a straight path. Elder’s gradually heightened awareness about a secret Francisco is keeping about his father’s death propels the plotline. The relationship between the two men is only part of the story’s appeal. The other miners dislike Elder’s absenteeism and disrespect, and resent the fact that Francisco seems to have pulled some strings to get him on at the mine. The collective is important in a setting where men depend on each other for survival, and the tensions between the two men reverberate into the group in fascinating ways. Ultimately, the constrained nature of their lives seems to suggest that they will cope with their conflicts and never completely resolve them. — Jordan Green
April 2 at 7 p.m. at UNCSA Gold and April 5 at 4 p.m. at Aperture 1. Director Laura Terruso will attend the first two screenings.
Brave New Jersey screens at Hanesbrands Theatre on April 5 at 8 p.m. and at Aperture 2 on April 7 at 1:30 p.m. Actor Harp Sandman of Raleigh will attend the first screening.
What if you took Orson Welles’ classic “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast about an alien invasion seriously? That’s the premise of Brave New Jersey, a film set in Lullaby, NJ in 1938, where initially hysterical townsfolk later ready themselves for battle. The film launches with a hunky-dory feel, with a hokey, small-town feel aided by the score and light comedic relief. That changes 15 minutes in as the fictional “War of the Worlds” broadcast airs, sending these bumpkins into a panic. Tony Hale (better known as Buster from “Arrested Development”), Heather Burns (of You’ve Got Mail and Miss Congeniality), Sam Jaeger (better known as Joel from “Parenthood”) and UNCSA alum Anna Camp (of The Help, “True Blood” and Pitch Perfect) anchor the film. It’s not long before they — and the other people of Lullaby — show their true colors. Jaeger’s character flees, intentionally leaving Burns’ character and their kids behind. Later, the smiley blond schoolteacher (played by Camp) convinces her neighbors that a young foreigner must be an alien infiltrator. The film is well paced, entertaining and beautifully shot. But its poignancy comes through in its more subtle social commentary. Talk about a lesson on fake news, blaming the outsider or an imaginary bogieman. — Eric Ginsburg
p.m. at UNCSA Gold, on Saturday at 8 p.m. at SECCA and on April 2 at 4 p.m. at Aperture 1.
triad-city-beat.com
Chairman Jones
screens at Hanesbrands Theatre on Friday at 11 a.m. and on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Director Anna Jones will be in attendance for both screenings.
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Cover Story
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First Lady of the Revolution screens at SECCA on April 4 at 5 p.m. and at Aperture 2 on April 6 at 1:30 p.m.. It’s easy to imagine that the 1930s South felt stifling, even to a white Presbyterian woman in Alabama. But only Henrietta Boggs would escape it and become the first lady of Costa Rica after falling in love with Jose Figueres, a wealthy landowner who would go on to spearhead a frequently ignored revolution in 1948. There are more than enough documentaries out there that focus on civil wars and revolts, especially across Latin America. But Costa Rica is often overlooked for the more recent upheavals in Cuba or Nicaragua, and the stories are rarely told from a perspective of someone like Boggs. Women took up arms in plenty of liberation struggles in Central America, but Boggs played a different role in Costa
Rica, influencing and supporting her husband through a period of exile, turmoil, revolt and later victory. She committed to the revolution but her relationship suffered, and this documentary chronicles her life before and after Figueres featured prominently in it. First Lady of the Revolution is exciting in that it offers a unique perspective on a conflict that’s often overlooked. The film doesn’t fill in all of the important details of Boggs’ life, and it begins a little slowly. But Boggs is a captivating presence on the camera, not just through archival photographs but also in much more recent interviews, back home in Alabama. — Eric Ginsburg
44 Pages
Prison Dogs screens on April 8 at 4 p.m. at
Swim Team screens on Sunday at 2 p.m. at
They don’t mention Santa Claus in Highlights for Children magazine, not in 70 years of placements in doctors’ and dentists’ offices and the millions of issues mailed to subscribers worldwide. These days, the children’s magazine has similar embargoes on words such as “witch,” that might offend the wiccan community, or reader-contributed illustrations of violence, or anything about child trafficking, or even some subjects, like guns, that they covered in years past. “What open-minded looked like in 1950 is different than it looks like now,” says Editor Judy Burke. The mag still won’t feature same-sex parents in its pages, though the editors feel that will inevitably change. But 44 Pages, the feature documentary about the magazine by UNCSA graduate Tony Shaff, is more than a list of things that Highlights won’t cover. Its history goes back to Garry and Caroline Myers, pioneers in their burgeoning field of child psychology, who created the first children’s publication with the end consumer in mind. The family still owns the publication. The film snapshots the magazine as it assembles its 70th anniversary issue, from the first focus-group meeting to the moment it rolls off the press, veering off to bits about the history and culture of the magazine for exposition, and addressing some of the challenges it faces as times, and the very nature of childhood, change. — Brian Clarey
Luis Diaz was more nervous than excited. “I’m looking for forgiveness,” says Diaz, an inmate serving 25 years to life for murder. “This puppy — this is gonna be my second chance… a second chance for me to do something right.” Several prisons in the US — including Fishkill State Correctional Facility in New York, where the documentary Prison Dogs takes place — host programs in which inmates are assigned puppies to raise and train as service dogs for veterans with PTSD. The inmates have two years to teach their dogs more than 100 commands that will assist the vets. After seeing the daily footage of the bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gloria Gilbert Stoga decided she wanted to do something. She created Puppies Behind Bars, a program to raise PTSD service dogs. “Dogs in particular can be a conduit for somebody to share emotion, talk to — to just heal,” Stoga says. Though Prison Dogs is far from a feel-good documentary, moments of the film can be overwhelmingly uplifting. Puppies grow into beautiful, obedient dogs; inmates have the opportunity for actual rehabilitation behind bars; dogs help veterans heal; and the hard-nosed instructor Stoga drives the inmates, occasionally slapping them on the arm in frustrated criticism. There’s only so much waterworks warning a review can provide: When an inmate says goodbye to his dog when delivering her to a veteran, you’re on your own. — Joel Sronce
The feature-length documentary Swim Team begins with an underwater shot of a young man swimming laps. “I’m not like other teenagers,” he narrates over his own submerged movement. “I’m autistic. When I’m swimming, I feel normal. It feels amazing.” Swim Team tells the story of the inaugural season of the Jersey Hammerheads, a team comprised of children and teens diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Each of the members on the team has a different sensory issue regarding touch and sound, unique challenges that demand patience from their instructors and families. The film follows the experiences of the swimmers and the people in their lives, out of the pool as often as in it. Individually and as a collective, they struggle to find the fundraising, education and services — speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy — that the kids need. When the swimmers practice or race in the pool, underwater shots often glide the viewer along at a matching pace. When on dry land, interviews with family members and interactions between families and their autistic children shape the documentary. Despite the difficulties they face, the Hammerheads won a total of 85 gold medals in their debut season, and six members went on to compete on YMCA, high school and elite swim teams. Beyond such accomplishments, swimming has helped those on the Hammerheads move toward a more independent future. — Joel Sronce
screens at Aperture 1 on April 7 at 10 a.m. and at UNCSA Gold on April 8at 1:30 p.m. Director Tony Shaff and producer Rebecca Green will attend both screenings.
Hanesbrands Theatre and on April 9 at 2:30 p.m. at Aperture 2.
Hanesbrands Theatre and on April 3 at 1:30 p.m. at Aperture 2.
at 8 p.m. at SECCA.
The documentary Truth Underground follows three poets — CJ Suitt, Jeremy Berggren and Kamaya Martin — as they express stories of struggle and the poetry they’ve created to confront it. The challenges the poets have faced throughout their lives are by no means identical, nor were the reasons and ways they turned to poetry. Raised in Chapel Hill, Suitt, an African American, felt a fear of what he understood as the white spaces in the world around him. Poetry has allowed him to challenge how his hometown labeled him and revere the identity he writes to develop and understand. Berggren’s struggle with PTSD and
the suicide of a fellow Marine, as well as Martin’s challenging memories of childhood abandonment, have led them both to poetry as a means to interpret and illustrate their lives. Truth Underground weaves the three stories together while including the poetry of each artist directly; viewers observe the poets recite, as well as hear the rhythms and realities the poems establish. The meaningful effects of poetry on so many of the individuals the film encounters — whether they be the poets or their mentors, collaborators and students — are unmistakable and beautifully captured by the films’ creators. —Joel Sronce
Quest
screens on April 5 at 2 p.m. on Hanesbrands Theatre, April 7 at 5 p.m. at SECCA and April 8 at 2 p.m. at UNCSA Babcock. Cutting against the stereotype of black urban America as a cesspit of squalor, Quest presents a gentle portrait of a family in North Philadelphia that, while buffeted by calamity, provides an anchor for their community. The home studio operated by Christopher “Quest” Rainey is a haven. And despite his daughter narrowly surviving a stray bullet, his worry for his own family doesn’t preclude broader social activism to stop the violence. Christine’a “Ma Quest” Rainey, despite working a demanding job at a women’s shelter and raising her two children, still finds time to dote over a wayward but promising emcee who books time in the studio. Bracketed between the sea-change presidential elections of 2008 and 2016, Quest makes the point, even if inadvertently, that life America’s most vulnerable communities is little changed by electoral outcomes, even while its protagonists do their part to promote political engagement. More importantly, the amount of time committed to following the Rainey family renders an exquisite and revealing portrait. — Jordan Green
Unrest screens on Friday at 2 p.m. at Hanesbrands
Les Sauteurs (Those Who Jump)
The opening sequence of Jennifer Brea’s autobiographical documentary starts with a disturbing sequence. The first scene shows her in a state of near paralysis dragging herself across the floor of her home. Soon her husband, the internet visionary Omar Wasow, is driving Brea to the hospital and then advising her to tell the doctors enough that they can help her, but not too much lest “they think you’re a kind of mental patient.” Unrest has a disarming kind of quality, framed almost as a whimsical, experimental project by a Harvard Ph.D. candidate baffled by the onset of a mysterious and debilitating condition that turns out to be to be myalgic encephalomyelitis, better known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The film opens a window to viewers on Brea’s initial uncertainty and sense of terror. The subjective approach sets up a gut-punch of righteous advocacy to argue for increased funding to research the disease, and for visibility and respect for millions of patients who are often mistaken as being simply lazy or suffering from hypochondria. Brea knits together a global community in a way that is beautiful and empowering. Her voice lifts a film that is both charged with urgency and slowed down to the speed of a disease that freezes lives in place while the world seems to pass by. “Sickness doesn’t terrify me, and death doesn’t terrify me,” Brea says. “What terrifies me is that you can disappear because someone’s telling the wrong story about you.” — Jordan Green
Mere miles from the cactus-speckled foothills of Mount Gourougou on the northern Moroccan coast lies Melilla, a tiny Spanish city embedded in Africa. For thousands of migrants hiding in the foothills of the mountain, fleeing unrest and poverty in their home countries, it’s a chance at asylum. All that stands between them and freedom are three fences. Les Sauteurs (Those Who Jump) is a purposefully unique take on documenting the Africa-to-Europe migrant experience. Directors Estephan Wagner and Moritz Siebert initially choose longtime ‘jumper’ Abou Bakar Sidibé as their sponsored photographer for an authentic point of view; through filming, Sidibé evolves into co-director. Wagner and Siebert’s fingerprints on the film are invisible. Shaky hand-camera footage juxtaposes moments of levity with Sidibé’s Malian camp buddies against panning Mediterranean sunset views full of tangible longing. As intended, the story inevitably brings other stories of migrant tenacity to mind, such as that of Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, who swam for three hours pushing a capsizing raft of Syrian refugees to safety in the Aegean Sea. Sidibé and his comrades’ quotidian perseverance is no less inspiring as they scramble over fences while police close in, each attempt as hopeful and terrifying as the last. Though worthwhile ideas about the meaning behind suffering and the importance of freedom are presented in Les Sauteurs, some questions remain. Women are noticeably absent in the camp, leaving the viewer to wonder what cultural norms prevent sub-Saharan African women from having their own chance at a new beginning as a fortunate few men manage to claim their freedom. — Joanna Rutter
Theatre, Saturday at 5 p.m. at SECCA and April 2 at 8 p.m. at Hanesbrands Theatre.
triad-city-beat.com
Truth Underground screens on April 7 at 4 p.m. at Aperture 1 and on April 8
screens at Aperture 2 on April 2 at 4:30 p.m., April 3 at 4:30 p.m. and April 4 at 7:30 p.m.
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March 29 – April 4, 2017
Little Wing screens at Aperture 2 on Friday at 1:30 p.m., Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and April 2 at 10:30 a.m.
Cover Story
screens at Aperture 2 on April 3 at 7:30 p.m., April 4 at 4:30 p.m. and April 5 at 7:30 p.m. Director Chris Brown attends all three screenings.
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Considering what she has to deal with — a mother struggling to find her way professionally and figure out her romantic life, a father whom she barely knows and the girls at her dressage club who subject her to endless petty cruelties — the 12-yearold Varpu’s rebellions come across as acts of agency. Played with subtly and emotional intelligence by Linnea Skog, Varpu’s rebellion of necessity seems to instigate the adults in her life to get their acts together. She’s far more competent and perceptive than her mother Siru (played by Paula Vesala), who comes across as endearingly clueless despite her best efforts as a single mother. And despite good intentions, her new boyfriend, Bo (played by Santtu Karvonen) also turns out to be pretty useless. Varpu’s seven-hour journey from Helsinki to the small city of Oulu in northern Finland to find her father unleashes a series
of crises, but also engenders some healing and in a roundabout way leads to the protagonist earning the respect of her fellow dressage riders. The scenes with her father Ilmari (played by Lauri Maijala) are some of the most riveting, with the girl falling for her father’s manic charm, while her mother’s sudden fear hints at the reasons why the relationship went awry in the first place. This film, written and directed by Selma Vilhunen, seems to nudge viewers towards forgiveness at the collective failings of its characters, while offering a reassuring message that the kids will be all right. — Jordan Green
The Other Kids
The Promise screens at UNCSA Gold on Sat-
The Other Kids, a film that blends fiction and documentary, in some ways recalls the ensemble-verité feel of Richard Linklater’s classic Dazed and Confused, albeit as a darker and less epic take on the high school experience. The film’s rural California setting, in the Gold Rush town of Sonora, captures some important cross-currents in the national zeitgeist — immigration versus nativism and cultural conservatism versus cosmopolitanism. The town is both a cocoon within a frightening, larger world and a stifling snarl of dead-ends. One of The Other Kids’ clever innovations is to have the teenage actors write their own lines for fictionalized versions of themselves, lending the film a rare authenticity. The characters say things that precocious teenagers would actually say and that adults would have a hard time making up, like, “Indubitably, like I’m not even kidding.” As graduation approaches, the outcasts seem to be the ones most emotionally equipped to navigate adult life while the better socialized kids enjoying the camaraderie of their senior year become progressively more fragile and paralyzed by self-doubt. One of the most academically advanced students craters into a deepening mental breakdown, while the courtship between a Latino boy and white girl seems likely to unravel when the boy’s immigration status becomes apparent. Some of the characters are more fully realized than others, but that’s a small quibble for a film that takes on an ambitious challenge and otherwise delivers impressive results. — Jordan Green
Propelled by an eerie rendition of “I Put A Spell On You,” the opening sequence of The Promise bumps down country Virginia roads. The bottom falls out as the music disappears, and gruesome images of murdered couple Nancy and Derek Haysom lying on their floor provide a jarring kickstart to the film. The 1985 double murder of a prominent couple shocked not just nearby residents, but became a media sensation as gawkers consumed footage of the trials of the couple’s daughter Elizabeth and her lover Jens Soering, who were caught after fleeing the country. The Promise is another engrossing story of how wrong the so-called justice system can go, the kind of documentary that would appeal to anyone who consumed Serial or “Making a Murderer.” It’s filled with all sorts of sordid details and captivating characters, and the more it progresses the more it appears that Elizabeth did indeed put a spell on the young Soering, who claims he tried to take a noble fall for his love despite no involvement in the crime. All kinds of questions linger in Soering’s case. Where is the physical evidence tying him to the deed? Did the prosecution bury exculpatory evidence? Did Elizabeth Haysom cover up someone else’s involvement, who’s still at large? The Promise has it all, from heartbreak and betrayal to LSD and references ranging from Macbeth to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. — Eric Ginsburg
urday at 7 p.m., and co-director Karin Steinberger will be in attendance. A screening Friday is already sold out.
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CULTURE Raw cookie dough trend arrives in the Triad
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by Eric Ginsburg ress releases generally go automatically into the trash folder in my work email. But a subject line that begins with “Edible cookie dough” coming from one of the owners of Tart Sweets is certain to grab my attention. I immediately forwarded it to my girlfriend Kacie, who might’ve been even more excited by the news than I was. Tart Sweets is almost criminally underrated, though plenty of people frequent the dessertery inside a stately former home just west of downtown Winston-Salem on Fifth Street. Blame it on the location or the business’ relative newness, or maybe my overenthusiasm for the Tart family’s products. A story I wrote more than a year ago about Tart Sweets’ in-house ice cream cookie sandwiches remains one of the most popular food stories I’ve ever written, so it isn’t like nobody knows about the place. But when you think about dessert in Winston-Salem, you probably think of Dewey’s first, a well-deserved accolade for the bakery. I think of Tart Sweets, and now I think of its raw cookie dough. Starting last month, Tart Sweets set up an edible cookie-dough bar in the front room of the house, operating the raw bar on Fridays and Saturdays with several core flavors and a variety of toppings and sprinkled cones. Kacie and I showed up as soon as we could, sampling several of the varieties and ERIC GINSBURG The cake batter raw cookie dough, topped here with chocolate chips, may be the best flavor at Tart Sweets’ agreeing with our server that the cake pop-up dessert bar. But the “doughwich” is even better. batter may be the best of the bunch. Yet the other menu options drew me restaurant, only operating for a few Fears about raw cookie dough have never stopped me from in. You can order cookie dough sandwiched between two of hours two days a week, but the Tarts eating it, but Tart Sweets uses heat-treated flour and pasteurTart Sweets soft, impeccable cookies, or a “doughwich” — two plan to expand availability based on ized eggs, making it more certifiably safe for consumption, thick, square slabs of cookie dough with ice cream in the middemand. according to the shop’s press release. If you follow any food dle, stored in a freezer behind the counter. Sold. If you have any sense or even the bloggers or bigger-name Instagrammers, you’re likely aware Kacie opted for a couple mildest sweet tooth, you’ll be knockthat this trend has hit some of the scoops of cake batter with added ing down the doors for a taste of that country’s bigger markets recently, chocolate chips atop a sprinkled chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream but the “dolci dough” — as the Visit the raw cookie dough bar at Tart cone, thoroughly enjoying it on sandwich. family is calling it — is the first of Sweets at 848 W. Fifth St. (W-S) on the venue’s private and serene its kind around here. back patio. But it took regular Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays Unlike other food trends that reminders that this wasn’t ice seem to hit the Triad long after from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find Tart Sweets Pick of the Week cream and won’t melt, with the they’ve popped elsewhere — think on Facebook or Instagram for more temperature throwing her off cupcakes, ramen, food trucks — Teen cooking class @ the Greensinfo, or see tartsweets.com. more. Delicious, yes, we agreed the raw-cookie-dough bar at Tart boro Children’s Museum, Friday, — but it might take some getting Sweets is actually right on time. 5:30 p.m. used to. Whether you’re more of a Plain Participants ages 12-15 learn how My doughwich, on the other hand, began melting slightly Jane — a flavor made up of vanilla bean and sugar — or a Monto prepare the dough for a festive after a little while in my hand, the dough and ice cream a perster — a peanut butter-based choice with M&Ms and more challah bread, as well as braid and fect marriage of texture, temperature and flavor. It’s a bigger — I’m confident you’ll find something you like among the half bake a mini loaf. Seasonal soup is helping, maybe worth sharing, and won’t transport as well as dozen flavors and toppings. also on the menu. More info and the straight-up dough choices. But it’s easily my first choice. For now, the dough is sort of like a pop-up within the registration at gcmuseum.com.
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March 29 – April 4, 2017 Up Front
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Kernersville Brewing Company
elcome to the state’s smallest brewery. At least, that’s what brewer Eric Lauten calls it. “This is all I have,” he said, opening a horizontal refrigerator like the kind by Kat Bodrie you might keep in your garage. Four skinny sixtel kegs are there, along with brewing ingredients like hops and yeast. The dwindling stock indicates the popularity of Kernersville Brewing Company, which has taps at four downtown Kernersville locations. The brewery is a room next to Angela’s Ale House, its home base, and is accessible through an outside door in the same building that houses Giada’s Trattoria. About 12 by 20 feet, it’s just big enough to fit a one-barrel brewing system and five two-barrel fermenters. Lauten saw an advantage in starting small. “If we screwed up, it’d be cheaper,” he said. Now a burgeoning business in downtown KernKAT BODRIE ersville, the brewery started in a kitchen. Lauten’s Angela’s Ale House, one of four Kernersville locations that serves Kernersville Brewing Co. uncle Dwight brewed beer for years at home, beer, offers a handful of the brewery’s taps to customers in a making enough messes to warrant turning an old diner-style setting. tractor shed into a brewhouse. Lauten focused on Grille, both about a mile away from the brewery. The making wine and eventually helped his uncle with Peppers Pale Ale, made with habañero peppers, is his beer. They brewed up to 45 times a year, sharing their “best-selling beer,” he said. “It’s fruity on the front end creations with friends and family. with heat on the back; not too spicy. I brew it nonDwight Deal wanted to upgrade, but a full-on brewstop.” ery seemed too much to Lauten, who also works as a Due to the high demand for his beer, Lauten has financial advisor. decided to scale up. While scouting locations in downIn the meantime, friend Angela Slaydon approached town Kernersville, he recently found a building similar Lauten, asking if he wanted to attach a brewery to the to Wise Man Brewing in Winston-Salem. But renovarestaurant she was starting. Lauten also got a tip from tions would push the price tag to above $1 million, an Big Dan’s Brew Shed, a supply store in Greensboro, expense Lauten simply can’t afford. Still, he’s deterthat 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. in Danville, Va., mined to stay in the area. was selling a one-barrel brewing system. The con“We’ve gotten a lot of support from the city,” he fluence of events pushed Lauten in the nanobrewery said, mentioning that Kernersdirection, and a year ago, Kernersville officials changed a midville Brewing poured its first beers 1800s law that breweries cannot at Angela’s Ale House. Find Kernersville Brewing be built within town limits. Customers now sit on dinCompany on Facebook. Visit Lauten envisions a bigger er-style stools along the bar facility having a taproom and a Angela’s Ale House at 210 and at silver tables in the dining German-style beer garden. Once room. A Swiss customer asked N. Main St. (Kernersville) or he has larger equipment and Lauten about the Kӧlsch-style angelasalehouse.com. the ability to ferment at lower ale. Lauten, who maintains close temperatures, he plans to brew connections to his family in Gerlagers, a double IPA and a brown many, uses German ingredients, ale. but said Kӧlsch cannot be legally called Kӧlsch when He’s heard rumors about another brewery coming to brewed outside of the Cologne region. That’s why so Kernersville. many breweries today call the beer “Kӧlsch-style,” “I hope Kernersville becomes a destination place he said. Lauten, a Kernersville native, calls his beer for craft beer,” he said, a trend that he and his uncle “Kӧlschville.” Dwight will have helped to begin. In addition to several other styles such as porter, stout, Irish red and blonde ale, Lauten also makes Kat loves red wine, Milan Kundera and the Shins. She house beers for J. Pepper’s Southern Grille and Smitty’s wears scarves at katbodrie.com.
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CULTURE A night of post-rock at On Pop of the World By Spencer KM Brown
3/30
Glass Cadilack, Zen Marino
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Greensboro band the Kneads lay down a punk-inspired set at On Pop of the World.
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pulsing in the background, frontman Michael Joncas performed with a slick, undulating style, mixing wailing guitar riffs with his punk-infused vocals. As the Kneads’ set finished, a bray of applause and cheers filled the room. There was no rush to the door to leave, no one ready to move on just then. When the music was over, the crowd lingered and band members mingled in the audience and shared beers like old friends. It was a party, a show in its finest form.
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Crescendo: WSSU piano showcase @ Dillard Auditorium (W-S), Thursday, 7 p.m. WSSU presents an array of pianists that exhibit the music department’s current and former talent. The concert includes solo and collaborative works in genres ranging from classical to jazz to gospel. Several WSSU alumni, current students and musical artists from the community perform. More info at wssu.edu.
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suddenly lifted off to another level. Mixing an ’80s vibe of the Cure and Duran Duran with a new-wave feel of indie and surf rock, lead singer Sean Parker crooned into the set with a cool presence, a style similar to David Byrne. The four-piece has been performing across North Carolina for the past 10 years in separate acts before Knurr and Spell. The crowd was drawn close to the small stage as the four-piece proved their veteran status with a heavy and melodically textured set of songs from their debut album Ought. Located in Greensboro’s Glenwood neighborhood, On Pop of the World Studios resides in a building that sits somewhat derelict and easy to miss, just a few doors down from Legitimate Business recording studio. A splatter of rust-red paint covers old graffiti on the front of the building. The windows are boarded up, with only one glowing along the darkened street with old records painted with On Pop’s acronym on them. Next door is an old gas station with broken down cars sitting in the parking lot. All of this adds to the underground aesthetic and uniqueness of On Pop, one that feels like stumbling upon a treasure buried among the mundane. Since opening the current location in 2012, On Pop owner and sound engineer Randy Seals has provided a recording studio and performance hub for local and touring bands, and his venue places its main focus on spotlighting local talent seeking to begin their careers. Closing the show were local Greensboro favorites the Kneads, who brought a punchy and badass close to the night. An eclectic group of musicians, the Kneads’ sound pays homage to post-rock bands such as Superchunk, with a touch of Pavement, yet giving the genre a new touch of their own. With killer guitar melodies and a skillful thunder of percussion
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t was like being at a house party, one where everyone is all smiles, happy just to be there. The $5 cover charge went to pay the bands for the night. The club had a comfortable feel to it, as if being in someone’s living room. Near the front entrance, shaded lamps lit the corners, illuminating a shelf of band merch and recent recordings from the studio end of this business. People milled around from room to room, occasionally on couches that line the walls beneath hanging artwork, as they waited for the show to begin. The stage was lit only by strings of white lights tacked on the walls and ceiling, giving a bright, luminous glow to the performers. There was nothing glorious about any of it, no expensive lighting system or fog machines, no wall of speakers or sound booth in the back of the hall. As house music droned, there was an air of camaraderie among the crowd as they gathered near the front. Punks stood by indie kids and old rockers cheered with their wives as the emcee for the night announced the lineup. There was nothing pretentious, no one keeping an eye out for posers, no one promoting a political agenda or selling something. Everyone had just come out to hear the music. Firing the show off on March 25 were Raleigh indie-rockers Secretary Pool, who opened with a lean and terse set of garage rock. With a unique blend of new wave and rock, the band blended smooth melodies reminiscent of Weezer and Car Seat Headrest, placing them in good company for the night’s bill, neatly curated for a harmonious mixture of bands. Chapel Hill indie rockers Knurr and Spell took the stage second as more fans piled into the small venue. As the group tuned up and slung guitars over their shoulders, the night
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SPORTSBALL Marcus Paige brings more to Greensboro than sports
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ouder than the pregame ovation for Marcus Paige — a 6-foot guard formerly of the University of North Carolina — came the cheer for Owen, an 8-year-old in a kids’ dance contest, whose juju on that beat earned him a by Joel Sronce victory over two other young competitors at halftime. As he jitterbugged on center court, Owen sported a Tar Heel jersey, the back of which displayed no name, just a familiar No. 5. Paige’s Salt Lake City Stars faced the Greensboro Swarm in an NBA Development League showdown on March 23. Though it’s been almost a year since Paige graduated from UNC, and longer still since he has taken a court in Greensboro, he remembers his Gate City contests fondly. “Playing in Greensboro was awesome,” Paige said before the game. “The ACC Tournament, that was my favorite; the crowd was unbelievable.” As tip off approached this time around, the announcer roared out the starting lineup; Paige walked onto the court in an unfamiliar navy-blue uniform. He now wore No. 4. None of his fans in the stands did. In the first half, Paige complemented an early
three-pointer with an outstretched layup — his kind ended and autographs began. Adults, too, lined up gidthat UNC fans know and love — and a steal. The stadidily, some a little bashful. And the previous day, Paige um’s emcee started a Tar Heels chant. The Stars led by had the chance to spend time with the Tar Heels during 16. their last practice in Chapel Hill. When thinking about Marcus Paige now, it’s hard “Some of my best friends,” he called them. not to consider how his life has changed, the relentless Some of Paige’s best friends from off the court in confrontation he faces from a world he has left behind. Chapel Hill came to the game in Greensboro. A couple of times, almost subconsciously, a hard Indeed, Paige’s off-court life — including his doureality of his departure from the UNC team seemed to ble-major in journalism & mass communication and show itself. history, as well as Academic All-American First Team “You know, I’d like to have a ring, honors — serves as a reminder that but I don’t get that opportunity,” his distinguished college basketball Paige said when discussing this year’s career may very well not be his greatRead the extended Tar Heel team’s run in the NCAA est achievement. version of this article Tournament. “So why not have some Before the game in Greensboro, of my best friends get that chance?” at triad-city-beat.com. Paige didn’t shy away from the Paige assured that the UNC players important political issues that have were having fun with the tournaput Greensboro and the entire state ment’s intense environment. But he paused to correct in national headlines. He confidently addressed the his description, from “Our open practices,” to “Their effects of HB 2. open practices — not me anymore.” He made the “It’d be nice to see the state of North Carolina get change with a smile, but it must be difficult. a chance to host these events again,” Paige began — a In Greensboro, the Swarm made a furious secfamiliar lament on HB 2 and the college tournaments ond-half comeback to take the lead. With time running removed from their familiar Greensboro home. down, the Stars rushed up the court, facing a 102-99 He continued: “More importantly, because of changdeficit with 14.3 seconds remaining. Paige got the ball es they’ll make, hopefully, to allow inclusion for everyon the left side. He leapt for a three-pointer, hanging, body, and to have everybody have a chance to feel safe leaning in for a foul, a and feel comfortable… There’s more important things prayer. It looked so alike than sports and a little bit of lost revenue.” his heroic shot at the It wasn’t a lengthy statement, or a brand new end of the 2016 nationresponse to the law. But his words step away from al championship game the world of sports and money in a way that many against Villanova, only others’ don’t. Despite the challenge of departing from this time from the other such great heights, Paige moves toward his future as a side of the court. person whose achievements and influence may be just He missed. The clock beginning. showed only 2.7 seconds His number has changed, but his name isn’t forgotleft. With 2.3 remaining, ten. One day he may play an important part in somePaige fell to the court thing even greater, something that extends beyond after fouling a Swarm sports and the bright lights of March. player. He paused there on the hardwood for a moment. Fans began to file out of the Fieldhouse, knowing the contest was as good as done. As do all former We need each other. student athletes, Paige Pick of the Week knows better than any Support FREE, INDEPENDENT supporter the challenges The Human Race @ the Greensboro Coliseum, of life after the attention PRESS by reading Triad City Beat. Saturday, 9 a.m. wanes, after the lights OR, support your business and the The Volunteer Center presents the 23rd annual dim from shining so Human Race and the chance to walk, run or roll bright. free press by advertising with us. for your favorite charity. Children, adults and But you should have well-trained, leashed pets are welcome. After the seen the kids avalanche event, stop by the Coliseum’s Special Event Center down from their seats for music, free food, superhero capes, a superhero to the edge of the court, contest and an awards ceremony. More info at when after the game the volunteergso.org. Q&A time with Paige had
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by Matt Jones Across 1 Super Mario ___ 5 30-ton computer introduced in 1946 10 Gets hazy, with “up” 14 Au ___ 15 ___ precedent 16 Film director Wertmuller 17 Obama education secretary Duncan 18 Exterminator’s targets 19 Reunion invitee 20 Harden, like adobe 23 Neutral area between N. and S. Korea 24 Brockovich played by Julia Roberts 25 Battleship initials 28 ___ Lambert (recent viral answer to the pub quiz question “Who played Skyler White?” where the cheating team misread Anna ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Gunn’s Wikipedia entry) 31 Hog, wild? 33 “No you didn’t!” 35 Guns N’ Roses frontman Rose 36 Hypnotized or anesthetized 38 Actress Taylor of “High Fidelity” 39 Highest-ranked tournament player 41 Facepalmworthy 44 ___-TASS (Russian press agency) 45 “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” author Mitch 47 Plumb of “The Brady Bunch” 48 Drops in on 51 Mr. Hoggett’s wife, in “Babe” 52 ___ es Salaam, Tanzania 53 Italian writer Umberto 54 “Top ___ mornin’ to you!” 56 “___ the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” 58 Historical medical book, or literally what’s Answers from previous publication. happening in this grid? 63 Johnson of TV’s “Laugh-In” 22 Sch. that’s home to the Wildcats in Durham 66 Watch brand that means “exquisite” or “success” 25 American competitor in Japanese 26 Trap liquid? 67 Norwegian royal name 27 Sean played by Melissa McCarthy 68 Spinnaker or jib 28 Local 69 ___ Rock Pete (Diesel Sweeties character) 29 Far from drab 70 Sushi ingredient 30 Texas city across the border from Ciudad Juarez 71 Coop denizens 32 “___ pinch of salt ...” 72 “Carnival of the Animals” composer Camille 34 Traffic sign warning Saint-___ 37 BBQ entree 73 Eponymous developer of a mineral scale 40 ___ Lanka 42 They fall in line Down 43 “... ___ man with seven wives” 1 Tattle 46 Area sheltered from the wind 2 ___ avis (uncommon find) 49 “High ___” (Maxwell Anderson play) 3 Pig noise 50 Period of inactivity 4 Fine equine 55 “The Lion King” meanie 5 Sports-channel-themed restaurant 57 Typhoon, e.g. 6 Nair rival, once 58 Toothpaste types 7 “My package has arrived!” 59 Analogous (to) 8 September flower 60 A little bit of everything 9 Lieutenant killed by Iago in “Othello” 61 Sound-barrier word 10 Taqueria dessert, maybe 62 “Z” actor Montand 11 Cruet contents 63 Pikachu’s friend 12 Wildebeest 64 Charlotte of “The Facts of Life” 13 “Stay With Me” Grammy-winner Smith 65 Sn, in chemistry 21 Infuse (with)
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II, or Steve Bannon’s showerhead. The only consistent thing is that they’re all unresponsive and uninterested, as if management companies look on LinkedIn for people endorsed for Being Awful. Last fall, for example, someone peed in the elevator inside the building. Another resident reached over the puddle and taped a note on the wall, one that called the pisser “a garbage person.” Rather than spend their time trying to identify the person who peed on the floor, they investigated who wrote the note — which is a lot like ignoring a gunshot wound so you can correct the paramedics’ grammar instead. (“It’s you’re about to bleed to death, not your, dummy.”) There have also been a number of late night break-ins, when cars have been robbed of anything that could be quickly grabbed or shoved in a jacket pocket. (Someone helped themselves to my own gym bag, all the change in my cup-holders and an outdated GPS that hopefully guided the thieves into the Great Pit of Carkoon.) The burglaries have increased in the past few weeks, and the property managers responded by hurriedly posting two signs in the garage reminding residents that they’re not responsible if we walk downstairs and find that our passenger seats have been stolen overnight. So they’re not great, is what I’m saying. But still, when I typed to them about my neighbor’s note and heard the reassuring whoosh of an outgoing email, I felt slightly better. Nothing happened of course. I didn’t get a response, an auto-reply or a reminder that they don’t care if Drew Barrymore thinks my car looks fat. But maybe feeling better was the point. I can’t imagine that whoever crammed a napkin into my door handle expected anything in return — or expected me to write 800-ish words about it — but maybe it brightened their day to scribble it all out. Thank you for the lesson, Terrible Neighbor. I hope your feeling of superiority lasted longer than that napkin was on my door handle. Just know that I’ll be thinking about you the next time I walk toward my car. It’ll be in one of the compact spaces, just where you like it.
AMBASSADOR EDITION Today, sunny, high 69. Tonight, clear, low 41. Tomorrow, clear, sun later, high as a kite.
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can see it when I’m still a dozen sluggish steps from my car, a wrinkled napkin jammed into the by Jelisa Castrodale handle of the driver’s side door. At first I assumed that I’d inadvertently littered, that a napkin had fluttered to the ground as I ran toward my apartment with a grease-soaked bag of cardiac arrest to-go. And of course everyone would know that it was mine: If the American Girl people wanted to make a collectible matte-vinyl version of me, its accessories would be a fast-food bag and an anxiety disorder. That had to be what it was. But no. When I pulled it out of the door handle, instead of seeing Wendy’s familiar constellation of freckles, it was an angry note in shaky capital letters, written in either blood or an unflattering red-brown shade of lipstick. Whoever left the note — and from the lip color, it was most likely Drew Barrymore circa-1997 — was mad because I’d parked in a compact space and my car did not fit this person’s definition of what qualified as a compact car. I respectfully disagree. My car is not compact, but it’s not not compact either. It’s just a normal car and, because of that, I get the same satisfaction from parking in a compact space as I do from pushing my legs into a pair of skinny jeans. Don’t you dare take this away from me, you Revlon Colorstay-ed stranger. I wadded the napkin into a ball and considered launching it toward the car parked beside me, a rugged looking SUV that has absolutely had a Styrofoam container full of nightcrawlers inside it at some point. Instead, I threw it into my floorboard — my compact floorboard — so it could annoy me for several hours. When I got home later that night, I did exactly what any well-adjusted adult would do: I told on them. Let me pause and say that this building has had an endless string of property managers, and they all seem to be some kind of ceremonial entities that don’t serve any real purpose, much like Queen Elizabeth
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ROCKIN’ FOR RESEARCH Music festival & benefit for diabetes research 100% of all proceeds go directly to diabetes research
SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017 | NOON – 10:00 PM
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ROCKIN’ FOR RESEARCH 2017 BENEFIT FOR DIABETES RESEARCH 100% of all proceeds go directly to diabetes research
Noon Old Man Noize 1:15pm Nathan Pope Band 2:30pm Darkwater Redemption 3:45pm Torn Corners 5:00pm be the moon 6:15pm Drew Foust 7:30pm Travelin’ Jones 8:45pm Juju Guru Great Music! Free Admission! Great Food! Donations Accepted Saturday, April 1 Camel City BBQ Factory 701 N. Liberty Street • Winston-Salem, NC 27101