Memphis Flyer 10.6.2022

Editor

BAKER, BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

Editors TOBY SELLS

Editor

JOHNSON

Reporter

MCCOY

GREENE

SAMUEL X. CICCI, MICHAEL DONAHUE, JON W. SPARKS

MORICI

GARD, COCO JUNE, RICHARD MURFF, FRANK MURTAUGH

STIEGEMEYER,

BROWN

FENISE

NEILL

CARRIE BEASLEY

MYERS

Art Director

WILLIAMS

Designer

JERRY D. SWIFT

Director Emeritus

DEWITT, CHIP GOOGE, HAILEY THOMAS

Account Executives

MUSOLF

Executive

CHET HASTINGS

Facilitator

GRISSOM ELLISON, KAREN MILAM, DON MYNATT, TAMMY NASH, RANDY ROTZ, LEWIS TAYLOR, WILLIAM WIDEMAN Distribution

THE MEMPHIS FLYER

published weekly by

Media, Inc.,

Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101

(901) 521-9000

(901) 521-0129

CONTEMPORARY MEDIA,

I began this letter fresh from our Best of Memphis party last week, with a belly full of beer and still buzzing. My spelling was nonexistent, details were fuzzy, but the gleam of the night’s glowing magic was bright. It still is.

I began my Flyer journey about 10 years ago. Unbelievable. But it started at a Best of Memphis party. Four years in e Commercial Appeal newsroom had worn me to a nub. Some Flyer folks were leaving at the time. So, with no job posted anywhere, I sent my resume over the transom to then-editor Bruce VanWyngarden.

We met and I le the Flyer o ce with two tickets to the Best of Memphis party that evening. I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was a hot-ticket party, invitation only, and everyone wanted to be invited. Drinks and food lavished forth from some exotic (usually forgotten) Memphis location, so I’d heard.

My then-girlfriend (now my wife) and I exchanged uncertain glances as we pulled into the then-closed, now-demolished Imperial Lanes bowling alley on Summer for the party that evening. Inside, burlesque dancers writhed lustily on a stage down the dusty lanes, a punk band blasted power chords in the corner, trays of amazing food covered the ball returns, hundreds of people — some in suits, some in scanty strips of shiny black leather — mingled joyfully with matching plastic cups of yellow beer. It was magic.

My only real mission that evening was to nd and thank Bruce for the invitation and meet then-publisher Ken Neill. But I got lost in the party and the crowd. I struck up a conversation with a charming and witty Shelby County Commissioner named Steve Mulroy. He gave me a beer.

I wandered wide-eyed through the party wondering how in the hell they pulled it o and just who were these people that could imagine such a delightfully sinful celebration. If that was how the Flyer partied, I wanted in. If this was the paper’s public face — unabashedly, unapologetically edgy and fun-loving — I wanted to be a part of it.

I never did nd Bruce or Ken. Instead, we found the “secret bar” on the smokers’ patio outside. ere, we made friends, joked about Memphis, and told our “how-I-gotto-Memphis” stories. e party was over, and I le with Memphis Flyer magic in my heart.

I dreaded my meeting with Bruce and Ken the next day. Did I piss them o by not saying hello? I hoped they understood. ey did. Ours was a sort of headache-y, bleary-eyed kind of meeting that we all wished we had postponed for a day. We laughed and told our “Best Of” party stories from the night before. I le with handshakes and a new job that I could not have known I’d keep for the next decade.

I’m not nostalgic or sentimental, but the glow of that rst Best Of party still burns bright. Under those unforgiving uorescents, I was Flyer-baptized over a pony keg in a gallon of foamy dra beer. Other BOM parties aren’t so memorable, and some years I didn’t even go. But that old Flyer magic was rekindled at our Best Of party last week.

A trough of cool air settled pleasantly over e Ravine. at place — in true Best Of form — is not yet well-known but soon will be. Near the entrance I watched the eclectic panoply of party-goers look upon e Ravine for the rst time, many in wonder. ey met and mingled in its belly with friends and strangers and with, maybe, the only thing in common, a hot-ticket invitation to one of the city’s coolest parties and all under the Flyer ag.

City leaders, media personalities, fashionistas, mechanics, business innovators, artists, bartenders, dancers, servers, chefs, stylists, actors, writers, landscapers, in uencers — if you’re good at a thing in Memphis, you are an equal somebody at the Best of Memphis party. Our contest is a true democracy and all winners are celebrated equally. at’s a key ingredient of the Best Of magic.

NEWS & OPINION

THE FLY-BY

Reporters get used to everyone seeing their work, enough so that sometimes you forget it’s blasted out for all to see. e Best Of party last week was a great reminder of how and how much Memphians think of us, our paper, our voice, our brand. e Flyer does have powerful magic. But it’s drawn from you, its people, truly the best of Memphis.

Our Best of Memphis parties help fuel my patronus when times get tough here, outsiders bash us on social media, and folks back home wonder why we don’t move. It shines up the gleam of that old, glowing Memphis magic that has always burned bright. It still does.

Toby Sells

PHOTO: JIM KERAS SUBARU CONVINGTON PIKE FACEBOOK

Our Best of Memphis party at e Ravine

SHARA CLARK

THE fly-by

{CITY REPORTER

By Kailynn Johnson

Questions, Answers + Attitude

Edited by Toby Sells

Memphis on the internet.

BEST OF MEMPHIS

Hundreds of phones captured thousands of pictures of our Best of Memphis sign in e Ravine last week. Here are a few takes on it.

Audubon Park Friction

Neighbors balk at a golf course expansion plan that could take away parkland.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s o ce says that it will seek public input concerning renovations to Audubon Park, a er several complaints from neighbors.

e $8 million project was recently announced by Memphis Parks and will include a new playground, pavilion, and golf course, according to a post on the Memphis Parks Facebook page.

e post also states that Memphis City Council approved the budget, and Strickland signed o on it. e renovation was part of Strickland’s 2022 budget proposal for $95 million in capital improvements that also promised a new Lester Community Center and a new Mt. Moriah police precinct.

Signs like these, posted around Audubon Park, are part of a new movement to draw attention to the city’s plan to expand the golf course.

According to Angela Link, leader of a group called “Saving Audubon Park,” the Memphis Parks department released design renderings of the proposed Links at Audubon. She says that these renderings failed to acknowledge that the renovations will eliminate public use of green spaces by the lake at Audubon Park.

Several citizens have voiced their concerns regarding these renovations, with many criticizing the lack of transparency by Strickland. A new website, savingaudubonpark.org, states that citizens found out about these plans through other media outlets.

“Despite the mayor’s suggestion that he wants transparency in his administration, there have been no public meetings to discuss the plan or get feedback from the people who currently use this area, the taxpayers of Memphis,” the website says.

“ e golf course design portion of Audubon Park in question has yet to be nalized,” reads a statement from the mayor’s o ce. “Green space near the lake will be available for use by the public. Memphis Parks will be seeking public input in an upcoming community engagement forum.”

Link agrees the course needs a renovation, but there “is no need to expand the course at the expense of all the green space.”

“ is green space and lake area is used by picnickers, walkers, dog walkers, teens playing hacky sack, families ying kites and feeding the ducks, people just eating their lunch looking at the lake, and all the rest people who are

seeking a quiet calm refuge to just enjoy nature,” Link says. “If this plan moves forward, there will be nowhere in East Memphis for all these people to go to enjoy the outdoors by a lake.”

On Tuesday, September 27th, citizens Laine Agee and Cathy Mich set up a table at Cancer Survivors Park to encourage park-goers and visitors to sign a “Save e Park,” petition, in hopes of reaching 150 signatures. According to Mich, an employee with Memphis Parks informed her that if they received 150 signatures, a meeting would be set up to discuss concerns.

Mich says that she recently went to a groundbreaking ceremony for the new pavilion and playground at Audubon Park. She initially thought this ceremony was for the golf course.

“ ere were about 25 people down there, and Mayor Strickland was at the podium, and he had this big mound of dirt behind him with shovels stuck in it, a big [public relations] opportunity for him,” Mich says. “While they were lming him talking, I held my sign up behind him. One of them said, ‘Sneaky deals,’ and the other one said, ‘Don’t tell the public.’ I held both of those up and people started coming from both ends.”

Mich says that they threatened to call the police if she didn’t stop. She was then approached by an employee and was able to receive pertinent contact information.

“It got their attention,” Mich says. “I consider this a success.”

Visit the News Blog at memphis yer.com for more local news.

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PHOTO: KAILYNN JOHNSON

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By Kailynn Johnson

Memphis Urban Market

Agricenter’s new Sunday market focuses on Black entrepreneurs and farmers.

Natasha Fountain does all things natural. “From my hair to my legs, everything is natural for me,” she says.

As a natural herbalist, Fountain says that she has struggled to nd a space and place that caters to the health and wellness of Memphis.

“We have di erent vegan festivals scattered out here and there, and farmers markets, but there really isn’t a place that has it all in one place,” says Fountain. “Me being an active, holistic person, I want to provide more options to our city on a weekly basis.”

Fountain is used to nding natural solutions to her problems. During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fountain discovered that by mixing her favorite oolong tea with herbs, she could nd a solution to her recent weight gain. is actually spearheaded her journey toward learning about herbalism, which birthed her tea company Sovereign-Tea.

Fountain participates in the Agricenter Farmers Market every Wednesday and Saturday. However, she realized that there wasn’t really a market that catered to Black entrepreneurs and farmers. Fountain says that she had met many Black farmers around the city, but there seemed to be a lack of them at the market.

ucts and about their ‘why,’” says Fountain. “I feel like Black entrepreneurs don’t really have a voice, and with them having this marketplace, they will have a way to express themselves and sell their products and services.

“My ultimate goal is to change the city’s narrative,” she adds. “I want to provide a holistic and natural way to heal from the trauma of our city and our crime.”

According to Fountain, there are a limited number of places for patrons to nd “real, healing, holistic, health, and wellness” in Memphis.

PHOTO: NATASHA FOUNTAIN e markets will run from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

“People typically go to the Midtown area for things like this, but it’s all over the city of Memphis and no one knows that,” she says. “We have di erent restaurants and stu like that, but nothing in particular that can really help us be healed. I wanted to make one sole place where we could all come together to build the camaraderie up.”

While the market promises many holistic wellness options, there is a nancial literacy component as well.

On Sunday, October 2nd, Fountain and other vendors joined together for the inaugural Memphis Urban Market, “a marketplace for health, wealth, and wellness … for us and by us.” e market will run from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Agricenter on Sunday a ernoons.

“ e di erence between the Memphis Urban Market and the main farmers market in Memphis is that it’ll be a place that has people that look like you and teach you things about their prod-

e TIAA Institute states that “ nancial literacy is low among many U.S. adults, including African Americans. On average, African-American adults answered 38 percent of the ‘Personal Finance (P-Fin) Index’ questions correctly.”

“With me targeting Black entrepreneurs, and Black people, in particular, I know that we are the least knowledgeable when it comes to nancial literacy, business literacy, and home ownership as well. For me, I wanted to be able to help Black people as much as I can. I want to make sure I cover all the bases for our wellness.”

I wanted to be able to help Black people as much as I can.

By Bruce VanWyngarden

In God We Must

Tennessee continues to chip away at the separation of church and state.

When you get your new, blue Tennessee license plates, you can ask for one with “In God We Trust” on it. It doesn’t cost any more and the print is so tiny, you can’t even see it from 20 feet away, but the state of Tennessee has helpfully made it quite easy for you to tell if the car in front of you is driven by a god-fearin’ Tennessean or a heathen: On the “IGWT” plates, numbers are to the le of the center logo and letters are on the right. On the secular plates, the letters are on the le , numbers on the right.

So if, say, a vehicle with license plate BRK-1234 makes an illegal turn from the center lane, it’s probably because he’s going to hell eventually, anyway.

In May, Tennessee counties were surveyed to see which plate their drivers preferred. Some rural counties were more than 90 percent IGWT-ers. Conversely, drivers in big-city counties like Davidson (86 percent) and Shelby (74 percent) favored the secular plate. (Of course, a er the incompetent and delayed roll-out of the new plates in Memphis, Shelby Countians can probably be forgiven if they’ve lost their faith.)

All this begs the question: Why is the state mixing religion with license plates? e godly plates are free, so there’s not even a nancial reason for it, as there is with other specialty plates you can order.

e answer, of course, is that Governor Bill Lee and our GOPdominated state legislature would like to push their brand of Christianity on everybody, in any way they can. One has only to look at Lee’s years-long insistence on getting Hillsdale College charter schools established in Tennessee — with our tax dollars, of course.

Hillsdale president Larry Arnn, you may recall, outraged Tennessee educators in August by saying in a speech that teachers are the “dumbest students from the dumbest colleges.” Lee, who was at the speech, nodded calmly, and has yet to criticize Arnn for his remarks.

In response, local school boards in the state have vigorously opposed the granting of charters to Hillsdale, but Lee loaded up the state committee that approves charters with cronies and Hillsdale supporters, so the odds were good that they’d get approved.

at all changed this week, when Nashville television reporter Phil Williams (who’s been all over this story) found a video of Hillsdale spokesperson David Azerrad mocking the achievements of

African Americans, including George Washington Carver and the NASA mathematicians in Hidden Figures, saying that putting them in history books kept more deserving white people from being written about.

I wish I were making this up.

Governor Lee, let me remind you, has said of Hillsdale: “I believe their e orts are a good t for Tennessee.” No, they are not, you mouth-breathing cheeseball. Hillsdale is a racist Christian-nationalist academy whose students’ academic scores are anemic. Last ursday, Hillsdale withdrew its applications in Tennessee, due in no small part, one assumes, to the racist video being uncovered.

Perhaps, the state can take a lesson from New York. In mid-September, e New York Times broke a story about that city’s Hasidic schools, which get funding from the state, much like what Lee is pushing for in Tennessee. e story revealed that Hasidic schools were ush with government money, but that male Hasidic students were getting only ve or six hours a week of secular learning (math, English, history, etc.) and spent 90 percent of the time learning Hebrew and studying religious texts.

Don’t mind me. I’m on a highway to hell with this godless license plate.

e Times also found that rabbis routinely hit students with rulers, belts, and sticks wrapped in electrical tape, and that parents o en “tipped” rabbis $100 to keep their boys from being abused. Hasidic boys’ scores in the state’s standard tests were the worst in the city. e state had let the issue slide for years because Hasidic Jews are a monolithic voting bloc that can swing elections in several districts.

ere is a reason our Founding Fathers established the separation of church and state. In this country, you have the right to practice any faith you choose, but taking tax dollars to prop up the teaching of religion is patently unconstitutional.

It’s a slippery slope, and it’s wrong. Kind of like providing free specialty license plates for that guy who just cut you o and gave you the nger. Was that you, Governor?

Claiming Social Security

One of the most dicult decisions around retirement is when you choose to take your Social Security bene ts. Deciding when to claim Social Security can make a di erence in your monthly bottom line early in retirement and also in uence your opportunity for a secure nancial future later in life. Here are a few things to consider.

Before You Retire

Your monthly Social Security Bene t amount is calculated based on the number of years you have worked and the taxes you have paid into the Social Security Bene ts program. Social Security counts the years you have paid taxes as “credits” for years that you have worked. For example, if you were born in 1929 or a erward, you must have 40 credits to receive Social Security bene ts when you retire. is is equal to about 10 years of work.

Social Security early, you will be penalized for not waiting until the full retirement age via reduced bene ts.

• Full Retirement Age: is is the age when you are eligible to receive the full amount of your Social Security bene ts. e full retirement age is calculated based on the year you were born. For example, for those born between 1943 and 1954, the full retirement age was 66. If you were born between 1955 and 1960 or beyond, the full retirement age rises to 67.

• Delayed Retirement Age: You can also delay the claim of your retirement bene ts until age 70. If you wait until then, you will continue accruing opportunity for higher monthly income when you do retire. However, potential bene ts stop increasing at age 70, so there is likely not any good reason to delay the claim of bene ts past age 70.

Your bene t amount is also calculated by the number of credits you have earned during your working years. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration has made verifying your expected bene ts easier by setting up an online account. It is worth doublechecking your earnings to catch errors and factor in your expected bene ts as you strategize for retirement.

What Age Should You Claim?

Several ages should be considered when deciding when to claim Social Security.

• Early Retirement Age: e earliest age you can claim Social Security bene ts is 62. However, if you claim

Deciding when to claim Social Security bene ts is important as you approach your retirement age. Cases can be made for taking Social Security early, late, or any time in between, but without looking at your comprehensive nancial picture it’s hard to use any particular rule of thumb. e interplay between Social Security, Medicare, and other retirement decisions can have a major impact on your nancial future, and sometimes you can’t easily undo decisions if you make the wrong choice!

ere is a lot of information available online about Social Security, but of course we believe it’s wise to engage an advisor with experience and tools to help you make the right decision for you — and more importantly, be con dent in that decision.

Gene Gard is Chief Investment O cer at Telarray, a Memphis-based wealth management rm that helps families navigate investment, tax, estate, and retirement decisions. Ask him your questions or schedule an objective, nopressure portfolio review at letstalk@ telarrayadvisors.com. Sign up for the next free online seminar on the Events tab at telarrayadvisors.com.

Savings

PHOTO:

SPORTS By Samuel X. Cicci

Miami Blues

N O W O P E N N! O W O P E N !

The xture against Miami FC always looked like a fairly tricky one, due to 901 FC squad shortages and Hurricane Ian. Luckily, the cyclone had mostly gone around Miami, so the game went ahead. But instead of the con dent, composed team that we’re used to, Saturday’s match was full of mistakes. And despite some heroics by goalkeeper Trey Muse, Memphis conceded from a late Miami strike to lose 1-0.

Normally, Memphis could feel bullish about their chances against any away team. Fresh o a win against conferenceleading Louisville City last weekend in Kentucky, 901 FC walked into the Miami matchup boasting a ridiculous +14 goal di erence for road games. But one problem: A er some heated clashes at the end of last weekend’s match, a mixture of suspensions and injuries meant that three key players would miss the game — leading scorer Phillip Goodrum, Laurent Kissiedou (25 goals between those two), and defender Rece Buckmaster. Instead, Memphis head coach Ben Pirmann tabbed 17-year-old Nighte Pickering to lead the attack for Saturday’s match. On the other side of the eld, familiar faces Kyle Murphy, Mark Segbers, and Pierre da Silva lined up for Miami.

is clash started with some choppy back-and-forth for the opening quarter hour, neither team threatening to take control of the game. Memphis sat back and looked to soak up pressure, but couldn’t quite put together the lightningquick counters that they’ve been netuning all season. Miami had the bulk of possession and had one decent chance that goalkeeper Trey Muse blocked on to the post.

Memphis didn’t really threaten until 25 minutes, with some good interplay around the box eventually seeing Leston Paul’s low cross batted away. From there, they slowly began to ease back into the game. But whenever they did regain possession, the attacking forays saw a more patient buildup than we’ve been used to seeing. Indeed, for most of the rst half it remained a physical game, with defenses coming out on top. Miami almost snuck in behind, but a quick intervention cleared the danger, and that was about it for rst-half action. Memphis did swing possession back

in their favor at hal ime (53 percent), but had only one shot (o target).

e second half started similar to the rst, with Miami controlling the ball and Memphis sitting back, but the home team dialed up the pressure a bit to create a few chances. Muse made an errant pass to a Miami player just outside his box in the 50th, but clawed away the ensuing chip shot. And two minutes later, Miami created a 1v1 opportunity for Josh Pérez, but Muse saved yet again before stopping a headed chance just moments later.

A er that, the ref started to lose control of the match, with tackles going in both ways that drew a couple of cards. Murphy should have been sent o for a wild tackle, while 901 FC mid elder Aaron Molloy cleared out both ball and man on a subsequent hard challenge. On a positive note, Pirmann subbed on new signing Dylan Borczak in the 60th minute. e player needed no time at all to adjust to the pace of the game, committing a foul within

seconds of coming on.

e game sputtered on until the 91st minute, when Memphis’ luck nally ran out. A nal Miami break saw a cut back fall to Adonijah Reid, who calmly placed the ball in the bottom corner to steal the win for Miami.

A bitter pill to swallow for Memphis, who just didn’t really show up to the races last weekend and tallied their rst loss since August 31st. And with only one shot on target, it was always going to be tough to walk away with a positive result. A win also would have taken 901 FC above Louisville to clamp down the top spot in the Eastern standings, but not this day. No need to panic, though. In the end, it’s just one result, and locking up rst in the conference is still possible. Either way, Memphis should have a preferable matchup in the rst round of the playo s.

PHOTO: MEMPHIS 901 FC/RYAN BEATTY Nighte Pickering couldn’t repeat his debut heroics.

Memphis’ sloppy performance results in a road loss.

River Man∑

COVER STORY

By Michael Donahue

atthew Burdine brie y pursued a career in nance on Wall Street a er he got his master’s degree in business from the University of Mississippi at Oxford.

But, “I decided, ‘Nah,’” Burdine says. Instead, he became a “river man.”

Burdine, 37, now gives professionally guided canoe trips with his Mississippi River Expeditions, guiding people down the Mississippi River in multi-person Voyageur canoes. roughout the year, he o ers a range of trips on the river. People camp on islands, sleep outside, and cook meals over a re.

Born in the Mississippi Delta, Burdine grew up on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Mississippi. His father, Hank Burdine, is now an author and Delta Magazine writer as well as a levee board commissioner in the Mississippi Delta.

When Burdine was 9, he moved with his family to Colorado, where he fell in love with the mountains.

While working on his master’s degree, he heard a presentation given

by John Ruskey, owner of Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale, Mississippi. “He builds these huge cypress canoes and takes people out on the river on multi-day trips,” Burdine says. “Sleeping under the stars on islands. Being in the river world.” at clicked.

While still in graduate school, Burdine met Ruskey. He was completely hooked when he saw one of Ruskey’s 30-foot canoes parked in front of his Clarksdale shop. “I was like, ‘Man, what am I doing? I want to do what this guy does. I want to share with people this type of passion and attitude toward this huge wilderness.’

“Up until a couple of hundred years ago, the main way to travel was by canoe. It wasn’t just on the Mississippi River, but all the tributaries.”

A er his brush with the nance world, Burdine moved back to Colorado. “I started living in the back country, spending time in the mountains,” he says.

He also stopped shaving and he let his hair grow out.

“I gave myself a ve-year walkabout to live o the grid, live di erently — and try to learn everything I didn’t learn in business school.

“Over the course of living in the

mountains and spending time on the river, I became a white water river guide on the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado, and a ski instructor in the winter in Vail, Colorado. At the ve-year mark, I found myself in a 16-foot canoe at the head waters of the Mississippi River with 2,400 miles in front of me to the Gulf of Mexico, and no time limit.”

His mother, Sallie Astor Burdine, died from breast cancer in 2003. So, in addition to the trip being his own “spiritual odyssey,” Burdine partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York to raise money with his river trip, which he called “A Million Strokes for a Cure.”

Burdine began the trip in fall 2015 and ended it in the spring of 2016. “I took my sweet time down the river. at’s where the magic is,” he says. “I was photo-journaling so people would have their own river trip through my pictures. All the while raising money for breast cancer research in honor of my mother.”

He always “felt safe in a canoe,” even though he knew “how big water moves” and “all the di erent levels of the Mississippi River. Every year it uctuates 10, 20, 30, 40 feet, depending on where you are on the water.”

When he pulled into the Gulf of Mexico a er six months, Burdine had “an amazing feeling of internal calm. I was ready for anything at that moment.

“Once you reach a goal in life, you just start moving on a course,” he says. “Sometimes life can take you in ways you never imagine.”

In fall 2020, Burdine began thinking about starting a sailing career. “I was getting ready to move to the Virgin Islands and start sailing. A er a decade in the mountains, it was time for something di erent.”

But “it was the islands of the Mississippi River, not the islands of the Caribbean, that were calling.”

While visiting his family farm in Lake Washington during the ice storm of 2021, Burdine called Ruskey. “I said, ‘If you need help guiding on the Mississippi River, I’ll be around.’ He basically said, ‘Yeah, you can help me guide, but maybe it’s time for someone to start thinking about opening their own operation in Memphis.’

“Right then, there was a lightning bolt down my spine. ree weeks later I was driving to British Columbia to

PHOTO: © HUGER FOOTE Matthew Burdine

Burdine

pick up the rst canoe of the eet for Mississippi River Expeditions. e wooden ones John Ruskey makes take a year or so to build, but I needed a canoe sooner than later.”

His new canoe was built to “handle the big waves in the Great Lakes and the big waves of the Paci c Coast. So, they’re a super-safe cra , and a whole new way to experience river travel with a sail. It’s the perfect, capable cra for the Mississippi River.”

Burdine decided to base his business in Memphis. “A er 10 years of living out in the mountains and trekking all around America, I never thought I’d be moving back home. I wasn’t ever running away from the South, but during that time I realized that some of the biggest hearts were down here. I missed the lushness of the South.”

He also missed the mighty Mississippi. “I love all rivers. ose river canyons in Colorado and the deserts of the West. e rivers out in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, and California. e river canyons of the West are a vertically grand world, but on the Mississippi River, it’s a horizontally grand world. All of the old feelings I had on the wild rivers of the West, I have all of the same feelings here on the Mississippi. You don’t need

rapids to enjoy a river. It’s one of the largest rivers in the world. Once you’re out there on it in these canoes, you feel like you’ve stepped into a long-lost world.”

Being on the Mississippi River is “in our psyche because of Huckleberry Finn and Mark Twain,” Burdine says, “but not a lot of people get out and play on the Mississippi.”

Of Burdine, Ruskey, whose Quapaw Canoe Company partners with Mississippi River Expeditions, says, “His heartfelt charisma comes from a deep passion for adventure, education, and conservation of the American wilderness, of which the lower Mississippi River is the single most important natural landscape here in the center of the country.”

With all his experience, Ruskey, adds, Burdine “brings together the maturity and charisma and ethics and strength and grit and wherewithal in one person to overcome the challenges and obstacles he’s sure to encounter as a small businessman.

“As a storyteller and a speaker, he’s in that salty vein of the river-rat tradition of the Mississippi River — the keelboats, the at boats, the explorers,

e Mississippi River is a h izontally grand w ld.

PHOTO: (TOP) MARK RIVER PEOPLES; (RIGHT) FERN GREENE

and the captains of other steamboats, and the crew. He carries the tradition forward. Mike Fink and Jim Bowie were keelboatmen. Twain writes a bit about their salty characters and very colorful and passion- lled speeches and stories, which were o en self-aggrandizing, but also full of self-humor.”

During the summer, Burdine o ered half-day trips because of the heat. His sunset and morning cruises took place during the coolest parts of the day. “ ey became a hit,” Burdine says.

Like all his trips, people met at the Memphis Yacht Club at Mud Island Marina. From there, they shuttled up river, where they put in at the mouth of the Wolf River. ey then paddled across to Loosahatchie Bar, where they swam and explored the beaches of the island and ate Burdine’s hors d’oeuvres, which he calls “river charcuterie.”

In September, Burdine resumed his full-day and camping trips. ey meet at the marina mid-morning for the six-hour trip. From there, they put in at Shelby Forest and canoe 17 miles back down to Memphis while stopping on islands, eating lunch, and exploring all the main and back channels.

Each canoe holds up to 14 people. Burdine will take out any size group, whether it’s one person or 30.

Burdine also does yoga and artistic retreats, friends and family groups, youth groups, and corporate retreats.

ese include Full Moon Floats, Creative Retreats, and Supper Club on the River.

Huger Foote, an internationally known photographer and native Memphian, has been on the river many times with Burdine. “It’s pure magic being out on those waters with Matthew,” Foote says. “At rst, I was uneasy about being on the mighty Mississippi in a canoe. But

with Matthew, I felt so con dent and comfortable on the water, that fear drained away and was replaced by a sense of awe and a connection with the river. Matthew’s experience navigating rivers all over the country makes you feel secure in the canoe as a paddler at one with those swirling currents.

“As an artist,” Foote continues, “I found real inspiration on the sand bars. As a photographer, I found a lot of inspiring subjects. e river, every time it rises and recedes, it reveals a new landscape.”

Burdine is ready for fall with a eet of new canoes. “It’s an honor to be able to show people this Mississippi River wilderness,” he says. “ is Mississippi River we all live on the side of, but rarely go into.”

Burdine is a fan of “this rare, unique city nestled on a blu overlooking this iconic river. It’s a great way to experience it and see the city from a new perspective. At sunset, the city is a glowing orange.”

It’s a treat “to see Downtown Memphis rising out of the trees and seeing the silver Pyramid glowing, and to be paddling under the bridge as the lights light up the Mississippi River.” e professionally guided canoe trips also are a way to rid people’s fear of the river, Burdine says. “For thousands of years people have been telling their youth to stay away from the river. ‘It’s dangerous.’ In all di erent cultures across the world, it’s a common thing. We grow into our adult life being told to be scared of it.”

People refer to it as “old man river,” but, Burdine says, “I see it more as a feminine river. A great mother river. It can turn wild out here in a split second if strong winds blow. But most of the time it’s calm, owing beauty.” For more information or to book trips, go to canoememphis.com or search Mississippi River Expeditions.

Burdine with one of his

Are we hungover writing this? Maybe. Did we have the best of times? Of course. A er all, we’re talking about the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis party — the rst full-on, in-person Best of Memphis party since 2019. For the night, we took over the Ravine. Blvck Hippie and Mighty Souls Brass Band performed, Memphis Made provided the beer, WMC rolled out the red carpet, and the Best of Memphis winners brought the fun. Let’s just say, we get why you like them so much and voted them the best in town. e night would’ve been a dud without them, our sponsors, and you, our readers whose votes and support made the night worth celebrating. While we might not remember every moment, thanks to the night’s specialty cocktails, we do have photos to share. So take a look, and keep the party going!

THE PARTY

PHOTOS: FRANK CHIN

steppin’ out

We Recommend: Culture, News + Reviews

Bare Your Soul

By Abigail Morici

Elmwood Cemetery, no matter when you go, is never a dead scene — even its dead aren’t really dead all the time. And no, I’m not talking about ghosts or lost souls. I’m talking about Elmwood’s annual fundraiser, Soul of the City, where you can meet some of the cemetery’s residents in the esh. is year’s event is all about music.

On these one-hour walking tours, which will be o ered October 6th through 8th, guests will be guided along lit paths, from site to site, to hear the stories from Memphis’ best songwriters, producers, composers, and singers, including Wayne Jackson, Sid Selvidge, Jimmie Lunceford, Sister ea Bowman, John Hampton, and Lillie Mae Glover. Plus, you’ll hear about the legend of Stagger Lee. “ ere’s a connection to Memphis and Elmwood, which I think is very interesting,” Kim Bearden, Elmwood’s executive director, says.

“We don’t always do a theme,” Bearden adds, “but we’re coming out of a really di cult couple of years. We decided we wanted to celebrate the nest of Memphis — our best export, which I think everyone can agree is our music.

“ is year we’ve added a couple special touches,” she continues. “We’re going to have the music playing in the background. It’s going to be oating in the cemetery. It’ll make the stories being told even more relatable because so much of the music will be so recognizable.”

A er the tour, guests can enjoy fare from Mempops on ursday, Pok Cha’s Egg Rolls on Friday, and 9DOUGH1 on Saturday. Tickets cost $22 for adults and $18 for veterans, students, and seniors. Children under 12 get in free. Register online at elmwoodcemetery.org/soul-of-the-city-2022 or call 901-774-3212.

Stax Storytellers:

e 24-Carat Black Stax Museum of American Soul Music, ursday, October 6, 7 p.m., free e 24-Carat Black, a group of more than a dozen young musicians from Cincinnati, created Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, a genre-bending, orchestral soul masterpiece that, due to Stax’s nancial troubles, never received the support it needed to gain listeners — that is until hip-hop DJs of the ’90s rediscovered it.

ree former band members — Princess Hearn, Jerome Derrickson, and C. Niambi Steele — will join author Zach Schoenfeld for a roundtable discussion at the Stax.

e 6th Annual Shout-Out

Shakespeare Series: Macbeth

Various locations and times, ursday, October 6-23, free Returning for its sixth annual free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series, Tennessee Shakespeare Company stages a mystical, modern-dress Macbeth in nine di erent outdoor venues throughout the Shelby County. is 85-minute adaptation features six actors performing as Shakespeare’s players did while touring: with character/costume changes onstage and sound e ects accomplished by hand.

No tickets are required, but feel free to bring a chair, blanket, and picnic. First come, rst seated.

“Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet” Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Friday, October 7-January 8 Renowned for his beloved and acclaimed children’s books, like Where the Wild ings Are, Maurice Sendak embarked on a successful second career as a designer of sets and costumes for the stage.

“Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet” features Sendak’s enchanting illustrations, detailed dioramas, and clever costumes.

Saturday, October 8th, at 2 p.m., the exhibition curator will speak on Sendak’s successful second career. e lecture is free with admission.

Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival

Metal Museum, Friday, October 7, 6-9 p.m., $48

Hosted by yours truly, this festival will have creative bacon-inspired dishes of all kinds from some great Memphis restaurants, plus a vast array of distilled spirits to tempt your taste buds. ere’ll be music and all sorts of merriment and party activities … and did we mention a whole lot of bacon and bourbon?

And to make it even more appealing, we’re contributing a portion of all proceeds to one of our city’s greatest assets, the Memphis Farmers Market.

Sepideh Dashti rediscovers and reinvents her Iranian identity in her exhibit. Arts, p. 36

Quark eatre brings back another small show with big ideas. eater, p. 38

PHOTO: COURTESY ELMWOOD CEMETERY Elmwood’s residents come to life in this beloved tour.

PHOTO: TONY ISBELL

Renderings of two murals that will be painted this weekend at Paint Memphis’ festival

Paint the Town

By Abigail Morici

They say watching paint dry is boring, so watching paint be painted must be exhilarating. Who can resist the sloshing of brushes, the smell of wet paint, the thrill of a slow, controlled stroke? Oooh, do you have goose bumps yet? Well, if your goose isn’t prop erly bumped yet, oh boy, it’ll be bumped at Paint Memphis’ one-day paint festival, where more than 150 artists will paint Broad Avenue Arts District red, and blue, and purple, and pink, and … pretty much every color out there.

This year, artists of all styles from throughout the country will paint 50,000 square feet of wall space along Hollywood, Broad, and Scott streets. “This year we have over 34 buildings we’re painting on,” say Paint Memphis’ director Karen Golightly. “So it’s totally different than we’ve done before. I think our max before was like six or seven. It’s really pushed us to engage more than we ever have, just to really partner with so many different businesses and residents and building owners, so that we can make sure we are communicating a positive message to the community and really trying to reflect this community, its history and its vision for the future.”

In addition to the live painting, the festival will include around 50 vendors, a hands-on mural workshop by Zulu Painter, a skateboarding workshop by Society Memphis, a performance by Memphis Hoopers, a henna demonstration and performance by Kumar Indian Dance Troop, and a children’s hands-on makers space.

Plus, for the first time, Paint Memphis will feature pop-up galleries at Memphis Current, Meaty Graffiti, and Vice & Virtue Coffee, where the artists, all of whom volunteer their time for the festival, can sell their work. The galleries will be open Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and throughout the day Saturday.

Overall, Golightly wants to bring more public, accessible art to Memphis. “One of the best things is that it has become a place where people can go and be proud of their neighborhood,” Golightly says. “I’ve seen the data on it that transforming gray walls anywhere into beautiful murals lowers crime, draws more tourists there, and can reflect the neighborhood.”

Alice’s Ales

Memphis Botanic Garden, Friday, October 7, 6-8 p.m., $35/members, $45/nonmembers

Fall down the rabbit hole for some autumnal fun at the MBG. Attendees will taste all of Alice’s Ales from Memphis Made Brewing Co. while roasting s’mores by the fire, playing yard games, creating a beer can planter, and enjoying live music from Jeremy Stanfill & Josh Cosby. Plus, the garden will have a cash bar with curious cocktails and Wonderland wine. Perfect for a date night or girl’s night out!

This event is for adults only 21+.

V&E Greenline Artwalk 2022

Vollintine Evergreen Greenline, Saturday, October 8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free

The artwalk features more than 50 local artists and craftspeople selling their items along the trail at Kirby Station on the corner of Tutwiler and Avalon. Along with artist booths, there will be music and entertainment, food, craft beer, wine, mimosas, a children’s art activity provided by the Dixon Art to Grow program, a silent auction, artist demonstrations, and more throughout the day.

The V&E Greenline Artwalk is the primary fundraising event for the needs of the trail each year.

Meet the Author:

Sheree Renée Thomas

Novel, Tuesday, October 11, 6 p.m. Novel welcomes local awardwinning writer Sheree Renée Thomas to celebrate the launch of Black Panther: Panther’s Rage, an all-new reimagining of the legendary Black Panther comics arc.

Mary Mack

Old Dominick Distillery, Wednesday, October 12, 7 p.m., 25+ Mary Mack, who you might recognize from Conan, from Last Comic Stand ing, or as the voice of Jesse on Hulu’s Solar Opposites, visits Memphis for a night of hilarious comedy, benefiting Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

Does Don’t Worry Darling live up to Harry Styles’ evaluation as a movie that “feels like a movie”? The verdict is in. Film, p. 44

Alex Greene

Literature, History, & Rock-and-Roll

Singer/songwriter Florence Dore is stoked to be riding the rough-and-tumble roads of a band on tour, winding her way to Memphis, in no small part because of who’s backing her up. “ e band is really good,” she says. “I’ve got the dB’s rhythm section. at’s my husband Will Rigby [drums] and Gene Holder [bass], who was pulled out of never touring again to do this, plus Mark Spencer [guitar] from Son Volt. ey’re so good. It’s a little ridiculous, actually.”

Here’s something even more ridiculous: “We just played at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge for AmericanaFest in Nashville, and a erwards these two university librarians came up and said, ‘Wow, this is the rst time I’ve ever seen university press books at a merch table!’” laughs Dore. Yet that’s just part of the touring life for Dore, who’s also a professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina. And she seems to relish wearing both her academic and musical hats at once.

“ is is a traveling public humanities program,” she avers. “So I’m giving talks, like the one at the University of Memphis with Robert Gordon, and also performances, like our gig at Bar DKDC. It’s funny, the gigs are starting to resemble the public talks. I can’t help that I’m a lecturer! So I’m talking a little bit about this book that I have coming out on Cornell University Press, called e Ink in the Grooves: Conversations on Literature and Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s about the history of the relations between literature and rock, and people are incredibly interested.”

Being back on the road underscores ideas Dore has pondered through much of her academic career, such as the importance of humans simply showing up for one another. “In my last book, Novel Sounds: Southern Fiction in the Age of Rock and Roll, I describe how John Lomax brought Lead Belly to the Modern Language Association meeting, the biggest language professor meeting in the country, in 1934. Lomax presented him as an example of living literature, on a panel called ‘Popular Literature.’ So this body of a folk singer was presented as somehow a magical conduit to the idea of poetry. And that is something you can track through the institutionalization of literature in American English departments since at least the ’30s. at’s the historical link that interests me. One thing about being out on tour and back in classrooms a er Covid is, it does make a di erence. Presence is some-

thing. Something happens in a room with bodies, with people, that actually cannot happen in other ways.”

And yet, even as she ponders the power of such communion and what it signi es, Dore is loath to dissect the music she loves in such terms. “I have an aversion to academic pop music studies generally,” she says. “I don’t want to overanalyze songs. I wouldn’t want to have to say what ‘Frankie and Johnny’ means. I’d rather talk about the fact that Lead Belly was at the MLA and just ponder that. e only way I could make it work for Novel Sounds was to observe the history of it.”

To be sure, there’s a sympathetic vibration between Dore’s two hats. “I wrote something kind of pretty, that sounded kind of traditional, and then the words ended up being about technology,” she says. “It’s a love ballad,

‘WiFi Heart,’ and it directly encapsulates some of these ideas from my books because it’s about bodies:

“‘At the end of our days/When we’re cold in our graves/And our love lives in voltage on high/In the wireless sea/ Without you and me/I’ll sing to you out of the void.’

“ e ‘wireless sea’ in that last verse is from Je rey Sconce’s book called Haunted Media about people’s experience of radio when it rst happened in history. People thought, ‘Oh, that’s what a voice separate from a body is!’ It made people feel like they were being haunted, like they could talk to the dead. One person in the book talked about ‘swimming in a wireless sea.’ I think that’s such a beautiful line, so I stole it.”

Florence Dore will speak on Modernism, Music, and Memphis on ursday, October 6th, at the Maxine Smith University Center Blu Room, University of Memphis, 5:30 p.m. She and her band perform Friday, October 7th, at Bar DKDC.

PHOTO:

Florence Dore

CALENDAR of

October

ART AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS

“A Lasting Memento Art Exhibit”

Exhibition of photography by Bob Pierce. rough Nov. 30.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“Alice’s Adventures at the Garden”

Meet larger-than-life Alice in Wonderland themed sculptures. rough Oct. 31.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

“ARTober”

Members of Artists’ Link present an exhibition of a variety of artistic media and creative subjects. rough Oct. 31.

GALLERY 1091

“be/longing”

A solo exhibition exploring the work of Nigerian visual artist Amarachi Odimba. rough Oct. 31.

UREVBU CONTEMPORARY

“Brooks Outside: Evanescent”

An immersive, outdoor light and sound experience inspired by the beauty, fragility, and transience of the natural world. rough Oct. 16.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet”

Exhibition dedicated to children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak’s set designs and clever costumes. Friday, Oct. 7-Jan. 8.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

“Flowerful: Fashioning the Armored Feminine” Exhibition of Ramona Sonin’s couture gowns and drawings of fantastical women. rough Oct. 23.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Itutu: Diddy Ain’t Invent The Remix”

An exhibition that explores the variety of swag birthed from Black culture rough Oct. 15.

TONE

Jack O’Lantern World. ousands of carved jack o’lanterns are coming to Memphis. rough Oct. 30.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

“Liminality”

Exhibition of work by Sepideh Dashti challenging ideas of femininity and domesticity and to depict her diasporic experience. rough Oct. 8.

BEVERLY + SAM ROSS GALLERY

“Looking Back”

Exhibition of Lynda Watson’s work that incorporates materials such as metal, felt, and charcoal, creating a detailed 3D scrapbook of her memories. rough Jan. 29.

METAL MUSEUM

“Meet the Dixons”

Learn about Margaret and Hugo Dixon’s personal lives, their collections, and their legacy. rough Oct. 9.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Miscellany”

Carroll Todd’s collection of small, bronze works. Tuesday, Oct. 11-Nov. 12.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“Mourning Memphis”

Hear the tales of the rst families while viewing the beautiful Victorian mourning collection. rough Oct. 30.

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

“Otherworld”

Exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Kit Reuther that focus on nonrepresentational fecund landscapes and futuristic geometric shapes. rough Oct. 8.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

“POCKETS REX”

A collection of new works by Clare Torina presented in the gallery’s windows and gaps. rough Oct. 14.

CLOUGH-HANSON GALLERY

“Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960”

Exhibition that explores women’s athletic and spectating attire from the 19th and 20th

centuries. rough Oct. 16.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

“Street Art & Design on Canvas”

World-renowned American/ Swiss artist Kelly Fischer to host exhibition. Friday, Oct. 7-Nov. 4.

ANF ARCHITECTS

“Transparent and Translucent”

Exhibition that focuses on the visual complexity of the subtle

David Lusk Gallery’s “Transparent and Translucent” by Robert Yasuda encourages contemplation and focus.

layers within Robert Yasuda’s paintings that encourage contemplation and focus.

Tuesday, Oct. 11-Nov. 12.

DAVID LUSK GALLERY

advance — to calendar@memphisflyer.com.

DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, ONGOING WEEKLY EVENTS WILL APPEAR IN THE FLYER’S

CALENDAR

FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS LISTING, VISIT EVENTS.MEMPHISFLYER.COM/CAL.

strates solidarity among artists who identify as or support women and people with uteruses in the face of threats to individual and reproductive rights. Friday, Oct. 7, 6-8 p.m.

MARSHALL ARTS GALLERY

“Cultural Influences in Quilting” Reception

Meet the artists of the museum’s latest exhibition. Light refreshments will be served. Friday, Oct. 7, 6 p.m.

THE COTTON MUSEUM AT THE MEMPHIS COTTON EXCHANGE

Maurice Sendak’s Second Career

Exploring children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak’s successful second career beginning in the late 1970s as a designer of sets and costumes for the stage. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, 2-3 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART

MEM-GALA Fashion ’22

A high fashion, top-tier fashion show with profound designers to showcase their collection with models, entertainment, great artists, a gallery lled with masterpieces, and so much more. $40-$50. Sunday, Oct. 9, 5-9 p.m.

RENASANT CONVENTION CENTER

BOOK EVENTS

Meet the Author: George Flinn

Novel welcomes George Flinn to celebrate the book Memphis Memories: Memphis Stories Told by Real Memphians. ursday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

ART HAPPENINGS

Early Renaissance Italy & Northern Europe

Discussing the beginnings of what is o en referred to as the Renaissance in western Europe. $20. ursday, Oct. 6, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART “CHOICE” Opening Reception

Group exhibition that demon-

Meet the Author: Sheree Renee Thomas

Novel welcomes Sheree Renee omas to celebrate the launch of Black Panther: Panther’s Rage Tuesday, Oct. 11, 6 p.m.

NOVEL

The Meaning of Soul Lecture and discussion with author Emily Lordi. Free. Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7-9 p.m.

STAX MUSEUM OF AMERICAN SOUL MUSIC

COMEDY

John Mulaney: From Scratch Tour

John Mulaney is a two-time Emmy and WGA award-win ning writer, actor and comedian. Saturday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

Mary Mack

A comedy fundraiser, starring Mary Mack, the voice of Jesse on Hulu’s Solar Opposites!

Proceeds from the show ben efit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

OLD DOMINICK DISTILLERY

“Weird Al” Yankovic

This is a rare opportunity to get up-close and personal with this legendary performer. $39.50.

Thursday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m.

GRACELAND SOUNDSTAGE

COMMUNITY

Binghampton Brewhaha

A celebration and fundraiser to support LifeDoc Health’s mission to build healthier communities by preventing diabetes and obesity through healthcare and research. Live music, food, and beer specials. Saturday, Oct. 8, 1-11 p.m.

HAMPLINE BREWING

Memphis Parks Appreciation 2022

Celebrate by attending any or all of the family-friendly and

free activities across the city at your favorite park or explore a new one. Friday, Oct. 7.

MEMPHIS

EXPO/SALES

Creative Works Market

Showcasing curated apparel, prints, pins, and handmade goods from over 30 designers, makers, manufacturers, and brands. Friday, Oct. 7-Oct. 8, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

THE HALLORAN CENTRE

Fall Plant Sale

Shoppers can choose from a selection of plants care fully curated for the sale and well-suited to thrive in the Mid-South climate. Friday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

FAMILY

901 Student Passport Program that allows Shelby County’s school-aged children and their families free admission to nine historic sites and cultural institutions. Through Nov. 30.

MEMPHIS

Wacky Hollow Life-sized board game for the whole family! Solve mysteries in this wacky forest maze. Through Oct. 19.

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF MEMPHIS

FESTIVAL

Big River Fit Fest

An all-day free public event

designed to foster a com munity of fitness in Memphis. Saturday, Oct. 8, 9 a.m.

MUD ISLAND PARK Creative Works Conference

Three transformative days of creative inspiration, connec tion, and growth. $99-$399. Thursday, Oct. 6-Oct. 8.

THE HALLORAN CENTRE

Crosstoberfest

An afternoon of beers, food, live music, a stein hoisting contest, and more. Saturday, Oct. 8, 1-8 p.m.

CROSSTOWN BREWING COMPANY

Edge Motorfest

Annual event featuring over 150 cars, food trucks, vendor booths, and more in the Edge District. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

EDGE MOTOR MUSEUM

King Biscuit Blues Festival

Named after the longest run ning radio show featuring blues, barbecue, bike ride, run, and special events. Through Oct. 8.

DOWNTOWN HELENA, AR

Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival

Featuring creative baconinspired dishes of all kinds from some great Memphis restau

rants, plus a vast array of distilled spirits to tempt your tastebuds.

Friday, Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m.

METAL MUSEUM

Paint Memphis 2022

Join over 150 artists create the largest collaborative mural in Tennessee! Food trucks, vendors, workshops, demonstrations, dancers, skateboarding, and live music. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, noon-6 p.m.

BROAD AVENUE ARTS DISTRICT

Shell Daze Music Festival

Presented by Mempho, Shell Daze Music Festival is two days of music at one of the most historic venues in

Memphis. $50/two-day pass. Saturday, Oct. 8, 5 p.m.

SKAtoberfest

A celebration of punk, ska, and all things alternative. Saturday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m.

V&E Greenline Artwalk

Shop with local artists and makers, enjoy good music and a children’s art activity station, have a craft beer, and help support the V&E Greenline. Saturday, Oct. 8, 4-11 a.m.

VOLLINTINE EVERGREEN GREENLINE

FILM

Fright-tober

A kid-friendly matinee screening of Frankenstein at 2:30 p.m., followed by a slightly spookier screening of The Birds at 6:30 p.m. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Hispanic Film Festival

This year’s hybrid format will show five renowned films screened in-person and virtu ally. Movies will be shown with English subtitles. Free. Thursday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m.

UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS Solus

Get in the mood for Hallow een season with a locally made Victorian ghost story. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m.

on page 34

MEDDLESOME

BLACK LODGE

Weird Al returns to the concert stage at Graceland Soundstage after his hugely successful 2019 tour.

Spider Baby

One of the wildest and weird est horror films of the 1960s.

Thursday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m.

CROSSTOWN THEATER

Wattstax Film Screening

Outdoor showing of the classic 1973 concert film featuring Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, the Bar-Kays, and more Stax artists. Free.

Friday, Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.

ORANGE MOUND TOWER

FOOD AND DRINK

Alice’s Ales

Attendees will taste all of Alice’s Ales from Memphis Made Brewing Co. while roasting s’mores by the fire, playing yard games, creating a beer can planter, and enjoying live music. Friday, Oct. 7, 6-8 p.m.

MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN

Conservation & Cocktails: A Night for African Elephants

Spend the evening with the zoo’s herd for a beautiful event complete with live entertainment by BamBam Beats, specialty elephantthemed cocktails and deli cious hors d’oeuvres. Satur day, Oct. 8, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS ZOO

Dinner with the Departed

While dining in an intimate setting, history will come alive with each course. Satur day, Oct. 8, 7-10 p.m.

WOODRUFF-FONTAINE HOUSE MUSEUM

Dixon Beer Garden

Featuring our herbs grown on-site, resident restaurant Park + Cherry, and other Memphis favorites! Friday, Oct. 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

THE DIXON GALLERY & GARDENS

Zootoberfest

Featuring some of your favorite local breweries. Guests can pur chase a commemorative stein to sip beer from while they enjoy a fall afternoon at Memphis Zoo. Saturday, Oct. 8-Oct. 9.

MEMPHIS ZOO

HEALTH AND FITNESS

Bluff City Blues Ride

Distances of a family friendly 20 mile, fun 40 mile, metric century, and imperial century will be featured. Saturday, Oct. 8, 7:30 a.m.

COOK’S LAKE RV RESORT AND

CAMPGROUND

Mutt Strut 5k

Benefitting Dogs 2nd Chance Rescue

Bring your well behaved ca nine run/walk partner for 3.1 miles around Overton Park. Saturday, Oct. 8

OVERTON PARK

Sweat the Greenway:

Barre at Mud Island Barre workouts are a fusion of yoga, Pilates, strength training, and ballet. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, 9-10 a.m.

WOLF RIVER GREENWAY MUD

ISLAND SECTION

Enjoy a boozy evening with food trucks and music at the Dixon Beer Garden, Fridays, October 7th and 14th.

The 34th Annual Frank Horton Classic

A 2k race for elementary and middle school runners and a 5k race for high school runners. The weekend also includes the Horton 5K Trail Race, which is open to the public for all ages. Friday, Oct. 7-Oct. 8.

SHELBY FARMS PARK

LECTURE

Modernism, Music, Memphis

Discussing connections be tween literature and vernacular music in the 1930s, featuring Lead Belly, Zora Neale Hur ston, William Faulkner, and W. C. Handy. Free. Thursday, Oct. 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

MAXINE SMITH UNIVERSITY CEN TER BLUFF ROOM

Slavery, Memphis, and the Mississippi Delta

The first in a series of talks focusing on the diversity of the Delta. Thursday, Oct. 6, 6-7 p.m.

THE COTTON MUSEUM AT THE MEMPHIS COTTON EXCHANGE

Stax Storytellers: The 24-Carat Black

Panel discussion and listening session with original members

Princess Hearn, Jerome Der rickson, C. Niambi Steele, and author Zach Schoenfeld. Free. Thursday, Oct. 6, 7-9 p.m.

STAX

PERFORMING ARTS

The Halloween Ball Featuring Venus Noir, India Taco, Angel Fartz, Sairen Moss, Polly Popjoy, Cheri Lie Maid, and Demonte Knight. $10-$15. Friday, Oct. 7, 10 p.m.

HI TONE

Water Circus: Gold Unit Cirque Italia travels back to the 1950s for a night full of lights, laughs, and so much more.

Thursday, Oct. 6-Oct. 9.

WOLFCHASE GALLERIA

SPECIAL EVENTS

Halloween Bash 2022 Join Memphis Ghost Hunters in a paranormal investiga tion. Are you brave enough

to investigate a cemetery at night? Saturday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

Overton Square

Karaoke Dance Party: Throwback Disney Overton Square is hosting four karaoke dance parties to fill the concert experience void. Free. Saturday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

OVERTON SQUARE

Paw Prints Party

Support your local fourlegged friends by joining the Humane Society for local food, music, fun and fund raising! $150. Saturday, Oct. 8, 6-11 p.m.

HUMANE SOCIETY OF MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY

Trick or Treat on Broad Ave- First Friday

Participating shops will have treats (and maybe tricks) for kids and adults! Costumes recommended! Friday, Oct. 7, 5 p.m.

BROAD

SPORTS

901 FC vs. NY Red Bulls II

Sunday, Oct. 9, 3 p.m.

AUTOZONE PARK

Memphis vs. Houston Friday, Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m.

SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM

Memphis Grizzlies Vs. Miami Heat Preseason. Friday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m.

FEDEXFORUM

THEATER

Black Men Missing

An in-depth view of disparities due to mass incarceration. $55, $80. Saturday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m.

ORPHEUM THEATRE

Pass Over

A politically charged and pro vocative piece of American theatre. Through Oct. 9.

PLAYHOUSE ON THE SQUARE

Pretty Woman

Based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories of all time, this musi cal springs to life. $29-$125. Tuesday, Oct. 11-Oct. 16 ORPHEUM THEATRE

what happens to the hope at the end of the evening

A bittersweet, dark comedy. $20. Through Oct. 9.

OLD RALEIGH CEMETERY

VINCE CARONE

Morici

Liminality

W

oman, life, freedom — these three words have rallied protesters across Iran a er the September 16th death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody a er being stopped by modesty police for not wearing her hijab properly. e protests haven’t stopped since. Iranian women are cutting their hair, burning their hijabs in the streets, defying the compulsory hijab law. e death toll continues to rise, but they persist. ousands of miles away in Memphis, artist Sepideh Dashti, who emigrated from Iran with her husband in 2011, feels the country’s pain and hope. “ is is di erent. is is really di erent,” she says. “Like watching it from the news, it’s so inspiring to see all these women in the streets. I really want to be there now.”

Dashti, for her part, echoes the feminist protests in her show “Liminality,” which centers on the feminine body and its paradoxical experience. “Most of my art is about the body,” she says, “because in my country, we were always talking about hiding your body. It’s about control. When you are in public, as a woman, you are not even allowed to smile or laugh.”

“ en I moved to Canada and some people smiled. And I said, ‘What happened to these people?’”

at wasn’t the only culture shock for Dashti, who, despite her background in engineering, pursued an education in ne arts once in Canada. “I remember in this drawing session that they had a nude model. It was shocking for me,” she says. “And at the beginning I couldn’t watch them, even females. My ears were really hot, and then I started to work on myself and started reading about the di erent waves of feminist theory.”

Over time, themes of feminism began to enliven her work, simultaneously empowering her and invoking anxiety. Outside of Iran, she says, she can speak freely about her contentious relationship with her home country, but there, she has to censor herself. “Maybe they’ll arrest me. I don’t know, but I cannot stop myself from speaking about this.” Despite this vulnerability, she has persisted through the uncomfortable and even invites her

audience into this liminal space, where vulnerability is a form of power, a practice of patience.

In a video looped on a gallery wall, a clump of hair grows slowly from the back of a mouth, jutting itself parallel to the tongue, leaving it dry and inciting a similar sensation in the viewer. Inspired by a Persian idiom, Dashti says, the piece symbolizes “waiting for a long time and requesting for freedom for a long time” — so long that having to repeat the same requests over and over again leaves your mouth parched.

But there is hope that this perseverance will be worth it, that women like Dashti can claim their femininity and Iranian identity with pride. Dashti’s piece Tangled demonstrates this hope, using her own hair and her daughter’s to embroider a grid pattern worn by the Iranian paramilitary, who aim to control women’s bodies, conceal their hair, and limit their selfexpression. By weaving herself (quite literally) into this symbol of control, Dashti reclaims this pattern as one representing feminine expression and endurance. She de nes the act of sewing as a “feminine action that connects me to the women in my family.”

In this way, sewing and, by extension, domestic work takes on a power of its own, a power backed by generations.

In turn, domesticity, traditionally gendered as female, has grounded

the artist as she explores her diasporic experience and her desire to nd meaning in it. In Under Current, Dashti uses dryer lint to shape continents on a globe. e lint, she says, while representative of the domestic, holds memories of her family. “You can see there are pieces of tissue. I always tell my kids, ‘Do not leave tissues in your pocket,’ but they do.”

In addition to lint, Dashti has attached scraps of metal from beer cans embroidered with word play in English and Persian, for instance taking the word “nomad” and separating it into its syllables, “no” and “mad.” e words are scattered across the globe, o en with only one visible at a time depending on where the viewer stands, as if lost in a sea of translation yet in the midst of spurring new meaning.

Accompanying this piece plays a recording of found sounds from Iranian protesters, speci cally women, throughout the decades, in addition to a reading of Jacques Rancière by her daughter. One sound clip features a young Iranian girl who was arrested by the modesty police, shouting, “Leave me, leave me, let me go.”

“It’s kind of inspired by an essay that talks about male voices being dominant,” Dashti explains, “but female voices are considered noises.” Yet in this show, these female voices are the sounds heard across the world, the chants that beckon Dashti’s nostalgia and activism, the chants that unite woman, life, and freedom.

“Liminality” is on display at Beverly & Sam Ross Gallery at Christian Brothers University through Saturday, October 8th. Sepideh Dashti will discuss her work, Friday, October 7th, noon-1 p.m

ARTS

Artist Sepideh Dashti considers her identity as a feminist, mother, and Iranian immigrant.

PHOTO: SEPIDEH DASHTI

PHOTO: MATTHEW THOMAS Dashti de es the compulsory hijab law.

Quark Theatre Revived

Q

uark eatre’s show that opened last weekend didn’t exactly open last weekend. It opened a while back but has been on something of a hiatus. For two and a half years.

e show — what happens to the hope at the end of the evening — had its Memphis debut in March of 2020. It was performed twice before Covid-19 shut it down.

“We thought we’d be back to nish the run in two or three months,” says Tony Isbell, director of the production and a founder of Quark.

“Well, two or three months turned into almost two and a half years, but here we are nishing the run.”

e pandemic was an e ective crash course in the virtues of patience. Quark, being small and able to quickly adapt, bided its time until it could get back to its mission of doing “small shows about big ideas.”

“We try to produce shows that no other theater in Memphis would produce,” Isbell says. “Not because they’re bad shows, but because people maybe haven’t heard of them or they could not guarantee that they would be able to get enough of an audience to make a pro t. Quark doesn’t have to worry about that.”

Isbell got to do this unconventional show in an unconventional way.

“I found the playwright’s email address,” he says. “I emailed him and said, ‘Do you ever license your shows for other people to do?’ He said yes and sent me the script, and I said that we wanted to do it.”

ere are actually two playwrights.

Isbell had communicated with Tim Crouch, who has had a long involvement with the other writer, Andy

Smith.

“Smith writes very, kind of cerebral, intellectual, presentational plays where he talks directly to the audience and he invites them to think about what theater is and how it can a ect the lives of people who see it,” Isbell says. “Crouch’s plays are more about how people can become involved in the theatrical process.”

e two characters in the play re ect the two playwrights and their approaches. Marques Brown plays Andy, and Isbell’s character is known only as

“ e thing that I found really interesting about it was that it’s also about two di erent styles of theater,” Isbell says. “Andy is a character based on a real person. He sits — literally sits — on a stool on one side of the stage. He reads all of his lines from the script — he doesn’t act them in the traditional sense. My character comes into this world and wants to have what we consider a ‘realistic’ encounter. As the play goes on, my character says several times, ‘Come join me. Come over here, be with me.’ And Andy’s character keeps saying, ‘I’m ne. I don’t want to come over there. I don’t want to get involved.’ It leads to a whole lot of humor because there are these clashes between these two di erent kinds of theater, the kind of abstract, intellectual presentational and the very emotional, active kind of wound-up theater.”

e show, Isbell says, is funny, very poignant, and kind of sad. “It’s like many Quark shows,” he says. “We want people to come and be entertained. We also want them to think about what they’ve seen and think about the ideas in each show that we do.”

Friend. And the plot is pretty simple, dealing with two old friends who haven’t seen each other in a few years.

“ ey reunite and they nd out that each of them has gone in di erent directions, and neither of them could have expected what the other one is doing,” Isbell says.

But don’t be fooled by that somewhat conventional description.

In August, Quark came back on the scene with a remount of its 2019 production of Wakey, Wakey with Adam Remsen. at recent production, as well as this one of what happens, are on the stage at Germantown Community eatre. But Quark’s usual home is eatreSouth at the First Congregational Church, and it will stage two more shows there this season, one in January and another in April.

Performances of what happens to the hope at the end of the evening are October 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. e 6 p.m. performance on October 9th is pay-what-you-can. Tickets are available at quarktheatre.com.

PHOTOS: TONY ISBELL

Director Tony Isbell (top) stars alongside Marques Brown (bottom) in this unconventional play.

By Jon W. Sparks

Tony Isbell talks about the interrupted run.

“We try to produce shows that no other theater in Memphis would produce.”

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By Richard Murff

The Game Day Cocktail

It’s college football season — whether you are in the Grove, Tiger Lane, or at home — it’s Game Day, and you, gentle reader, need a drink.

Beer is a good go-to for day-drinking because of simple physics: It is relatively low in alcohol and takes up a lot of space, and if you put your cup down to go to the bathroom, you’ve cut your drinking time by a third. Which makes it hard for things to get really out of hand. Still, whether it’s too much gluten or too much “wind,” sometimes only cocktails will do.

e cocktail rules for Game Day are di erent, and the rst is that this is not the time to get too pedantic and start throwing around words like “cra ” and “authentic.” With the possible exception of the Grove, if you carry around one of those glass bell jars to smoke your cocktails, you won’t get invited back. You shouldn’t. is is not the time for a cosmo, old-fashioned, or a Sazerac; and unless you plan to wear an actual cheer-squad uniform, do not drink anything called a Dirty Shirley.

Game Day drinks should avoid slicing because in these high-alert days, wielding a knife sends the wrong message to the local security establishment. While it’s not obvious, the drinks should be dark because outside is the one place people are allowed to smoke. I learned this the hard way when I went with a bourbon and branch once, and by third quarter I could see a layer of spent cigarette ash in the bottom of my cup. Which is enough to put anyone back on the wagon.

Of course, drink whatever you want, but football is all about tradition, and nothing says “It’s Game Day under a whiskey blue sky!” like the tried-andtrue bourbon and Coke — in a great whacking red Solo cup. Lots of ice and lots of Coke because you’ve got a long stretch of day-drinking ahead of you — even if it’s a night game because you’re still probably going to get started at noon.

A word on your choice of bourbon: ere is no need to splash out on the good stu if you are going to douse it in Coke. If you aren’t drowning your bourbon, there will likely be an awkward hockey-stick in your future where you seem sober enough and then … well … Don’t attempt to

maintain that for six hours, 10 if you win, or 14 for a win when your team was supposed to get creamed.

Understand that while all the bourbon on the bottom shelf is cheap, only some of it is rot-gut. e Coke is there for a bit of pep, not to hide you from agonizing reality. Well, actually it does hide the cigarette ash. … At any rate, you can do worse than Very Old Barton, which, believe it or not, is always winning some blind tasting or another. It is good, solid (and evidently award-winning) bourbon that will only set you back about $10. Benchmark, Bu alo Trace’s bottom-shelf entry, is another bourbon that works well as strong Game Day mixer.

Bourbon drinkers have gotten very touchy over the last decade or so but in their defense, bourbon has gotten a lot better, too. Unfortunately, with an uptick in innovation, quality, and choice, you get an uptick in snobbery. We’re all human, aren’t we? If you really can’t stomach the shame of being quite so sensible with your Game Day bourbon, another solid choice is Old Forester’s original expression, at about $20, which is also excellent on the rocks as well.

Obviously, tradition dictates that you mix the concoction with a pompom shaker.

You’re in for a long haul, and the cocktail rules for Game Day are di erent.

PHOTO: JAROSLAW GRUDZINSKI | DREAMSTIME.COM Bourbon and Coke

By Michael Donahue

Dessert, Anyone?

THANK YOU FOR VOTING!

For those who eat too much at restaurants and, heaven forbid, are too stu ed to look at the dessert menu, here are some that restaurants o er, along with fall specials.

Dory: “ e desserts at Dory are in the spirit of our childhoods,” says executive chef/co-owner Dave Krog. “Our current six-course dessert is aerated peanut butter mousse, chocolate sponge, salted caramel, blackberry, and peanut dust.”

Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen: “ e fall pot de crème will be killer,” says general manager/beverage director Nick Talarico. “Spiced apples with an oat and walnut crumble. It’s like a crème brûlée and vanilla pudding.”

Kinfolk restaurant: “Bourbon pecan crème brûlée,” says chef/owner Cole Jeanes. “We toast the pecans before soaking them in heavy cream with a little orange zest. ey steep overnight and, instead of granulated sugar, I use brown sugar. It’s rich, nutty, and super smooth. With a crunchy brûlée topped with candied pecans, there’s a great contrast in textures. Add a little smoked salt for another layer of avor.”

Las Tortugas: “We do a piña colada an, a traditional caramel an that cooks in a water bath in the oven,” says chef/ manager Jonathan Magallanes. “We then add roasted and fresh pineapple along with coconut shavings and crushed cashews, Mexican fresh cream, and powdered sugar.”

Acre: “I had an apple custard cake on the menu years ago,” says executive chef Andrew Adams. “ e center was so and custardy with bits of apples, and the top was a little crunchy and caramelized. is fall, I switched out the all-purpose our with buckwheat. I steam the cake for the rst 30 minutes and then put it in a high oven. I made the apples smaller, added cinnamon and cardamom and an oat top. e buckwheat adds a nutty avor.”

e Beauty Shop Restaurant: Chef/ owner Karen Carrier features an array of fall desserts — apple-caramel-almond babka from Love Bread Co., pistachio and g babka, chocolate meringue pie, pecan pie with scoop of sweet potato gelato, lemon zest-sugar-butter crepe with a scoop of cinnamon Mexican chocolate

chili gelato, and a dark chocolate crepe with pumpkin pie gelato.

Salt|Soy: “Chocolate miso chess pie with a sesame crust, Suntory Toki whipped cream, and sesame brittle,” says chef/owner Nick Scott. “It’s our Eastmeets-West take on chess pie. We started running it last fall and it became our house dessert.”

River Oaks Restaurant: “A lemon mousse with raspberries and caramelized whipped cream,” says general manager Colleen DePete. Another dessert: Chef/ owner José Gutierrez will add “a poached pear with homemade vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and dark chocolate ganache garnished with thin cookies tuile.”

Southern Social: “Praline hazelnut cheesecake with caramelized hazelnuts and a warm chocolate sauce,” says pastry chef Franck Oysel.

Kelly English restaurants: “At Pantà, we’re o ering a decadent chocolate hazelnut cup topped with raspberry Chantilly,” says pastry chef Inga eeke. “Look for that to change to a pumpkin and chai combination later this month. We’ve also played with the presentation of our Mel i Mató and now o er Mel i Cannoli. Mel i Mató is a traditional Catalan dessert that features a loose cheese similar to ricotta covered in honey. We top our house-made ricotta with Bee 901 honey and toasted pistachios. All tucked inside a Neules cone, a Catalan cookie.”

Fino’s From the Hill: “Apple spice bars will be in the case later this week, and ghost meringues will make their appearance later this month.”

e Second Line: “Seasonal desserts are changing to a chocolate pecan pie and caramel apple cheesecake.”

Restaurant Iris: “Desserts here are de nitely in uenced by the season. Look for a pear tarte Tatin and a pumpkin cheesecake over gluten-free spice cake, among others.”

PHOTO: CALEB SIGLER

Ghost meringues coming to Fino’s From the Hill

Restaurant folk discuss the sweetest time of day.

choosing

FILM By Izzy Wollfarth

Imitation of Life

The new lm Don’t Worry Darling has been overshadowed by the o -screen drama between director Olivia Wilde and stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and red star Shia LaBeouf. at’s a shame because the lm’s message is applicable to contemporary feminism and society. ere’s a lot more to it than just the controversy.

e story focuses on a young married couple, Jack (Harry Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh), who are living a “perfect” life. Alice goes about her day preparing meals for her husband, having a drink ready for him when he arrives home, and satisfying his sexual needs. What Jack does when he’s not at home with Alice is the subject of some mystery. It all seems to be going swimmingly, until Alice starts asking questions: Where does he go every day? Why does she have to live subordinate to him? Why are they even there? But Alice’s questions are met with gaslighting. e men around her portray her as mentally unstable, even dangerous.

When Alice’s friend Margaret (KiKi Layne) asks the same questions, she is driven to suicide and taken away from society. When Alice asks what happened, she is told not to worry, that Margaret and her husband were just having a little trouble. Alice’s curiosity about her world, that is both familiar and unsettling, will lead to shocking revelations and bloodshed.

e strength of Wilde’s direction lies in her world-building. She uses long shots of Alice and Jack’s cul-de-sac to express the habitual routines that de ne the societal structures that keep everyone in their place. She focuses on the details of cooking, cleaning, shopping, and ballet classes that frame Alice’s empty days. Wilde lls the lm with symbols, characters, and dialogue which point to the men’s abuse of power.

Florence Pugh is the most engrossing aspect of Don’t Worry Darling. e brilliance of emotions she displays draws you deeper into this strange world. Whenever Alice felt pain, fear, or confusion, I found myself feeling the same emotions in the

pit of my stomach. When Alice nally decides to act on her vague suspicions, Pugh walks us through her fear, despair, and resolve.

Another strong performance is by Chris Pine, who usually plays a clean-cut prince. He and Wilde play with your expectations, turning Pine’s character Frank into a dark, godlike gure who appears to hold the answers to the mysteries of this

Florence Pugh carries Don’t Worry Darling. Harry Styles, not so much.

world. Wilde nds the hidden layers of Pine’s personality that were only glimpsed in his previous hero roles.

While Pugh and Pine are excellent, the oppressed housewife role is overplayed. What saves Don’t Worry Darling from a

Florence Pugh is dazzling in Olivia Wilde’s feminist fable Don’t Worry Darling

Izzy Wollfarth

potentially dull plot line of suburban conformity and gender expectations is the shock ending. I won’t spoil it here, but when walking out of the theater, I found myself repeatedly saying, “Wow. Holy crap. Wow. That was —.”

The film’s biggest problem is the miscasting of Jack. Like any other Gen Zer, I have a special place in my heart for Harry Styles as a singer. But for a story so laden with meaning, casting a teenage heartthrob as the male lead turns out to be a very bad choice. Styles can sing, but he can’t act. Often, I found Styles’ facial expressions inappropriate for the emotions Jack should be expe riencing. For example, when Alice says she wants to leave their life, she weeps into Jack’s arms and cradles his hands whilst tears stain her dress. Jack, two

inches away from Alice’s blushed face, has not a single tear, semblance of emo tion, or even eye contact with Alice. This happened many times in scenes where emotion was essential.

In the end, the positives outweigh the Harry Styles-shaped negatives. For me, Don’t Worry Darling is a must-watch for its powerful evocation of feminist val ues, and the lengths some men will go to in order to feel superior to the women in their lives. Wilde’s themes are best summed up by a minor character’s final words. As Shelley (Gemma Chan) uses a kitchen knife to take charge of her life, she hisses, “You stupid, stupid man.”

Don’t Worry Darling

Now playing Multiple locations

FILM

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Cars, Sriracha, & Lawn Chairs

Shortages may come next for popcorn and tomatoes. When does it end? e answer might disappoint you.

Shortages of basic goods still plague the U.S. economy, two and a half years a er the pandemic’s onset turned global supply chains upside down. Want a new car? You may have to wait as long as six months. Looking for a spicy condiment? Supplies of sriracha have been running dangerously low. If you feed your cat or dog dry pet food, expect empty shelves or elevated prices.

Baby formula, wine and spirits, lawn chairs, garage doors, butter, cream cheese, cereal, and more have also been facing shortages in the U.S., and popcorn and tomatoes are expected to be in short supply soon.

While each product experiencing a shortage has its own story, at the root of most is a concept people in my eld call the “bullwhip e ect.” e term was coined in 1961 by MIT computer scientist Jay Forrester in his book Industrial Dynamics. It describes what happens when uctuations in demand reverberate and amplify throughout the supply chain, leading to worsening problems and shortages.

Imagine the physics of cracking a whip. It starts with a small ick of the wrist, but the whip’s wave patterns grow exponentially in a chain reaction, leading to the tip, a snap, and a sharp pain for anyone on the receiving end. e same can happen in supply chains when orders for a product from a retailer go up or down by some amount and that gets ampli ed by wholesalers, distributors, and raw material suppliers. e pandemic, which led to lengthy lockdowns, massive unemployment, and a whole host of other e ects that messed up global supply chains, essentially supercharged the bullwhip’s snap. e supply of autos is one such example. New and used vehicles have been in short supply, at times forcing consumers to wait as long as a year for the most popular models. In early 2020, carmakers began to anticipate a fall in demand, so they scaled back production. is sent a signal to suppliers, especially of computer chips, that they would need to nd di erent buyers for their products. Computer chips aren’t one-size- ts-all; they are designed di erently depending on their end use. So, chipmakers began making fewer chips intended for use in cars and trucks and more for computers and smart refrigerators.

With shortages, expect empty shelves or elevated prices.

When demand for vehicles suddenly returned in early 2021, carmakers were unable to secure enough chips to ramp up production. Production last year was down about 13 percent from 2019 levels. Since then, chipmakers have begun to produce more car-speci c chips, and Congress even passed a law to beef up U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors. Some carmakers have decided to sell incomplete cars, without chips and the special features they power like touchscreens, to relieve delays. But shortages remain. You could chalk this up to poor planning, but it’s also the bullwhip e ect in action.

is is a problem for a lot of goods and parts, especially if they, like semiconductors, come from Asia. In fact, pretty much everything Americans get from Asia — about 40 percent of all U.S. imports — could be a ected by the bullwhip e ect. Most of this stu travels to the U.S. by container ships, the cheapest means of transportation. at means goods must typically spend a week or longer traversing the Paci c Ocean.

e bullwhip e ect comes in when a disruption in the information ow from customer to supplier happens. Let’s say a customer sees that an order of lawn chairs has not been delivered by the expected date. So, the customer complains to the retailer, which in turn orders more from the manufacturer. Manufacturers see orders increase and pass the orders on to the suppliers with a little added, just in case. What started out as a delay in transportation now has become a major increase in orders all down the supply chain. Now the retailer gets delivery of all the products it over-ordered and reduces the next order to the factory, which reduces its order to suppliers, and so on.

Now try to visualize the bullwhip of orders going up and down at the suppliers’ end. e pandemic caused all kinds of transportation disruptions — whether due to a lack of workers, problems at a port, or something else — most of which triggered the bullwhip e ect.

When will these problems end? e answer will likely disappoint you. As the world continues to become more interconnected, a minor problem can become larger if information is not available. Even with the right information at the right time, life happens. A storm might cause a ship carrying new cars from Europe to be lost at sea. Having only a few sources of baby formula causes a shortage when a safety issue shuts down the largest producer. Russia invades Ukraine, and 10 percent of the world’s grain is held hostage.

e early e ects of the pandemic led to a sharp drop in demand, which rippled through supply chains and decreased production. A strong U.S. economy and consumers ush with coronavirus cash led to a surge in demand in 2021, and the system had a hard time catching up. Now the impact of soaring in ation and a looming recession will reverse that e ect, leading to a glut of stu and a drop in orders. And the cycle will repeat.

ese disruptions will take many years to recover from. And as in ation reduces demand for goods and consumers begin cutting back, the bullwhip will again work its way through the supply chain, and you’ll see more shortages as it does.

is story originally appeared in e Conversation, a nonpro t, independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good.

These disruptions will take many years to recover from.

PHOTO: DAVID WOOD | DREAMSTIME.COM