All About Aphrodisiacs

art entertainment food drink music nightlife Thursday, February 9, 2017

DGO

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ALL ABOUT

APHRODISIACS Natural libido enhancers have been in use for thousands of years. We bring you some of the best.

Also: Beer for dessert, Get Smart about responsible media consumption, how weed and craft beer go hand in hand, and Imaginario Circus spices up Valentine’s Day at the ACT.

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MAY 18, 2017 Fashion Fusion-Style in Motion is an exciting, fast paced runwaystyle competition between local businesses with garments created out of non-traditional materials. This year’s Style in Motion theme will challenge designers to incorporate motion into their outfit or runway presentation. It’s a fun night outclassy, sassy and family-friendly!

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STAFF

What’s inside Volume 2 Number 16

February 9, 2017

Chief Executive Officer

7 Cirque du sexy-time

Douglas Bennett

Imaginario Circus (left), a collective who perform variety acts of the aerial, acrobatic, and cirque assortment, will honor amour on Valentine’s Day: A night of wild revelry at Animas City Theatre.

V.P. of Finance and Operations Bob Ganley V.P. of Advertising David Habrat V.P. of Marketing Kricket Lewis Founding Editors David Holub

David Holub dholub@bcimedia.com 375-4551 Staff writer Patty Templeton Courtesy of Imaginario Circus

ptempleton@bcimedia.com 375-4546

5

Katie Cahill Christopher Gallagher Alexi Grojean Bryant Liggett Jon E. Lynch Cooper Stapleton

Advertising 247-3504 Reader Services 375-4570

DGO is a free weekly publication distributed by Ballantine Communications Inc., and is available for one copy per person. Taking more than five copies of an edition from a distribution location is illegal and is punishable by law according to Colorado Revised Statute 18-9-314.

6

It’s what Cortez needed: A small performance space that isn’t a bar for touring musicians who may skip playing Durango but still want to hit the Four Corners. Enter the Sunflower Theatre.

Drink your (sweet)heart out Don’t know where to start in the world of dessert beers? We offer a few nom noms easily found in Durango liquor stores.

Katie Clancy

Robert Alan Wendeborn

4

Love it or Hate it

8

Sound

Downtown Lowdown

8

Album Reviews 9 16 Weed

8 A hub for the arts

Editor/ creative director

Cyle Talley

From the Editor

10 Beer

Amy Maestas

Contributors

4

This super nerve might the key to super wellness When I begin to value the power of slowing down, I witness the magic of slow breathing. Stretching the breath stimulates one of the most intriguing nerves I’ve encountered on my journey. When it all feels shattered and frazzled, I retreat within to my true safety vein, the vagus nerve.

Seeing Through 16 the Smoke

17 Vintage Durango 17 Movies 18 Savage Love 19 Happening 20 DGO Deals

23 A hub for the artistic, intellectual If you’re confused about the news, let Larry Hartsfield, professor at Fort Lewis College, tell you about how we’re all entitled to our own opinions – but not our own facts.

22 Horoscope/ puzzles 22 Pages 23 Get Smart

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ON THE COVER Are they spooning or are they forking?

David Holub/DGO

Tell us what you think!

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[ love it or hate it ]

David Holub |DGO editor

Candy hearts Love it

Epic airport nightmare tests beliefs about karma, payback

“K

arma’s a bitch.”

That’s the last thing I heard from the cabdriver before he drove away, leaving me standing outside a DoubleTree Hotel somewhere in Denver around midnight after having just realized that I had lost my wallet at Denver International Airport.

How I ended up at a DoubleTree somewhere in Denver at midnight on a Sunday was like Murphy’s Law, if Murphy had overdosed on human growth hormone.

I’d been at DIA for close to eight hours, my flight to Durango delayed one hour, every hour starting at 5 p.m. The initial cause of the delays was United’s countrywide computer meltdown. Then the delays were about our flight crew, which was stuck in Birmingham or Billingsworth or Beaverton. And considering the snow was being measured in feet in Durango, the chances of getting out of Denver that night were slim.

But wait! There’s the flight crew! After hours and hours of delays, I’m actually going to be home by 10! We board in record time. Even dillydalliers have a hustle in their step. We’re all buckled, overhead bins loaded and locked. Let us fly.

But wait! Somewhere between a plate in the baggage compartment needing repair, an unexpected need for more fuel, the fuel crew going to fuel the wrong plane, and the flight crew at the end of its allotted daily working hours, our flight is canceled after sitting on the plane for over an hour.

We all stood in customer service lines 20 deep to get vouchers (hotel, $20 in airport food, and two taxi vouchers, $50 each way, which was more than enough to get us to the hotel, the United employee assured).

My headaches were just beginning.

Sitting at the airport for so long, then getting so close to takeoff, had infuriated and depleted me. I get in the cab: “Where you going?” “The DoubleTree.” “What’s the address?” I call the number on the voucher and relay the hotel address to the cabdriver. And then I sit and watch the fare tick upward. When it goes beyond the $50 my voucher allots, I reach into my bag to discover my wallet missing.

I’m panicking and the cabdriver says, “Which DoubleTree is it? There’s one on each side of the highway.” It’s the most I’ve snapped directly at a working person in some time: “I’ve been at the airport for eight hours. I gave you the address; it’s the best I can do,” I said. “My phone is dead.

I’m sorry, I simply can’t do any more.”

At the hotel, we searched his cab with the light from his phone. I owed him $5 more than the voucher. Without my wallet, I said I had no way to cover the whole fare. And then the karma comment.

At the airport the next morning on three hours sleep, I managed to spend $18 on breakfast at McDonald’s, and after going through the extreme vetting the TSA requires of passengers without ID, another two hours of delays, we finally boarded and had an uneventful flight to Durango. But for some reason, I couldn’t shake the cabbie’s karma line. Had I deserved the travel catastrophes I’d encountered? Had I put so much negative energy into the world that it was catching up with me? Did I even believe in karma?

On one hand, our actions do come back to us. If I am kind to others, others will, by and large, be kind in return. But karmic beliefs where I lose my wallet as payback for something I’ve done are grossly simplistic, often confirming what I already think.

When my confidence dips or self-esteem is low, when I’m not happy with my behavior and something bad happens, it’s easy, if illogical, to think I’m being punished for such things, especially when pointed out by a cabdriver I’d gotten snippy with. But what or who is supposedly punishing me? And if good things happened to good people, and bad things happened to bad people, the world would be a lot different.

On Sunday, two weeks after my wallet went missing, I received a call from the airport lost and found. They had my wallet, credit cards, driver’s license and each of the six bucks I had intact (I’ve never felt so good about procrastinating for a new license).

I’m not saying this makes me any better of a person, but it sure helped my headache.

Oh, and the web address for the DIA lost and found? dia.great-karma.com. Take that, cabbie!

The pinnacle of Valentine’s Day, and possibly the last time I cared about Valentine’s Day, was in third grade when we’d bring storebought Valentine’s Day cards for the entire class. Boys brought something boyish, G.I. Joe or Transformers, and girls brought something girly, like Barbie or My Little Pony.

If you were lucky, more cards than not contained one to four candy hearts. Always seeking the affection of the ladies, even at the age of 8, I’d rip open the Valentine’s Day card, and if it was from one of the girls I was ga-ga for (that would be a third of the girls in the class), I thoroughly analyzed each candy heart, looking for the smallest indication that I was being sent a romantic signal.

Did Jenny actually want me to be hers? Did Erica really want me to hug her?

Why did I think I should read into their candy-heart messages?

Because I definitely vetted each candy heart I sent, making sure old Brenda didn’t think she was the one, or for Marlena to think I wanted her to marry me.

No, a candy heart never led to anything long term, but it could always give a little guy hope.

—— David Holub

Hate it Chalk. Ground up guano. The residue that dry-erase markers leave on your finger. This is the awful crap that candy hearts remind me of.

I don’t want to shove bat crap or fatty chalk sticks in my maw, so why the hell would I let a candy heart enter it?

Candy hearts began in 1847 by the Necco company. Yes, the same company that created Necco wafers. Mmm, yes, delicious – a disk that tastes like dust scratched from the petrified heart of a sugar mogul.

Necco makes over 4.8 billion candy hearts. They make up 40 percent of the Valentine’s Day candy market. Who are you people eating these horrendous hearts? Why aren’t you eating peanut butter cups? There are so many BETTER CANDIES. So many candies that are less pastel.

Ugh. As if the missives of bland infatuation weren’t bad enough, Necco candy hearts aren’t vegetarian. The little jerks have gelatin in them.

Didn’t want to eat you anyways.

—— Patty Templeton

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[beer]

Drink your (sweet)heart out »» Dessert or

beer? With this selection, you don’t have to choose The stars are out. A history doc is on your laptop. The thought pops into your head, “Candy!” Maybe, instead of giving into choconuts and sugarpuffs, give your mouth a new sweet to suck on – a brewski.

Don’t know where to start in the world of dessert beers? Here are a few nom noms easily found in Durango liquor stores.

Make a beer run to Liquor World, 695 Camino del Rio, to find the Tangerine Quad, Mexican Biscotti Cake Break, Organic Chocolate Stout, and Root Beer.

Hit up Wagon Wheel Liquors, 30 Town Plaza, for the Blood Orange Cyser, Mango Astronaut Ale, and Black Raspberry Nectar.

Avery Brewing Co. Tangerine Quad

Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout

Small Town Brewery Not Your Father’s Root Beer

»»10.1 percent ABV

Evil Twin Brewing Imperial Mexican Biscotti Cake Break

Off Avery’s Botanicals and Barrels line, this Belgian style quad pours a lovely caramel color, has full-bodied citrus flavor, and a light taste of the bourbon barrels it’s aged in.

»»10.5 percent ABV

»»5 percent ABV

»»5.9 percent ABV

A dark stout brewed with coffee, vanilla beans, almonds, and a smidge of cinnamon.

The barest warmth of habanero peppers warms through it.

This is a chocoholic’s dream, luxuriantly creamy with a pleasant cocoa perfume. Side note: Samuel Smith’s Apricot Ale is also amazing.

Hands down, this is the best alcoholic root beer on the market. Vanilla, sarsaparilla, and mega sweet. Can’t get enough?

Small Town Brewery also does a fab Vanilla Cream Ale.

Redstone Meadery Black Raspberry Nectar

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Mango Astronaut Ale

Southern Tier Brewing Co. Crème Brûlée Imperial Milk Stout

Stem Ciders Blood Orange Cyser

»»8 percent ABV

»»5.3 percent ABV

»»10 percent ABV

Redstone’s most popular mead has an intense berry flavor and is medium-sweet with a light body and a full honey-tinged finish.

Pours an orange-amber and wafts of hella mango. A light, crisp sipping ale.

A rich, dark khaki-colored stout that gives a vanilla custard smell. The taste is a powerful caramel that sweet-fiends will adore. Bonus: You gotta try Southern Tier’s Choklat, too.

—— Patty Templeton DGO Staff Writer

»»10 percent ABV Cyser is a term for a mead variant made of apples and honey fermented together.

The zest of blood orange blends with a bottomless honey blush for a crisp-sipper.

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[wellness]

GravityBrain | Katie Clancy

This super nerve might be the key to super wellness

I

t hardly requires a particularly sensitive person to tap into the severity of this situation: We’re the lucky ones, cloistered way up here in our protective bubble of our beloved Rocky Mountains.

We have easy access to bliss, wild preserves, locally-grown vegetables, and a million modalities that promote meditation and awareness. We seemed steeped in safety.

Yet, even here, the suspicious villain within the psyche is creeping in. Not even a month into the Trump era, an agenda that seeks to control through mass paranoia, distraction, and fear, I feel the pressure.

I go from “real” to “really,” as in: How well do I REALLY know my neighbors? How good a friend is that person, really? Where there was once trust and connection, I am now learning to become suspicious, frozen like a cardboard cutout version of myself. There are moments of can’t sleep, can’t act, and can’t stop this heavy black hole spinning anxiety-riddled electricity through my veins.

We may claim to know peace and love, but are we really getting there?

If we have money (or white skin), we can turn away, build luxury bunkers and prepare for nuclear holocaust. We can try and run, retreat into the illusion of separation. Or, perhaps we can choose to stay woke.

A wise woman once told me that a contradiction – something that denies itself or another – becomes a paradox when the two ends of extreme poles finally meet and create a circle like the serpent ouroboros who eventually finds his own tail. When the heat of hatred and the coolness of peace find a place to see each other and become one, that’s when we can integrate. But how do we cross that abyss? Maybe all it takes is a moment of stillness.

When I begin to value the power of slowing down, I witness the magic of slow breathing. (I’m curious to hear what happens for you, especially right now.)

From a GravityBrain perspective, stretching the breath stimulates one of the most intriguing nerves

A highly-tuned vagus nerve allows us to feel empathy and respond to another’s body language and emotional expressions. Research also shows that a high vagal tone makes your body better at regulating blood glucose levels, reducing the likelihood of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease.

So how do we stimulate this clitoris of the brain? Like any good love-making session, the body needs to feel safe and calm in order to open up and become vulnerable. Find the textures and places that evoke that sense within your skin.

I’ve read about more gross ways to hijack Alexi Grojean/Special to DGO the nerve, like wearing ice helmets, inducing gagging/vomiting, coffee enemas, and electriI’ve encountered on my journey. When it all feels cal stimulation, but who’s got time for that? I’ll shattered and frazzled, I retreat within to my true start by finding slower and longer exhales. safety vein, the vagus nerve.

To me, activism is the opposite of turning away, Deep within our brain stem lives a bundle of senof rejecting reality and going to sleep. It’s a courageous way of turning towards our inner demons sory fibers that extends into our bodies like a wise and shady neighbors to develop presence and find vagabond, networking the brain with the stomach and digestive tract, the lungs, heart, spleen, intesunderstanding. If I make friends with my breath, tines, liver and kidneys, not to mention a range of maybe I’ll become a little bit kinder, a little more other nerves that are involved in speech, eye contact, capable of being vulnerable. Maybe I’ll be a better neighbor. I must remember that small acts of crefacial expressions and even your ability to tune in to other people’s voices. The vagus nerve is an essential ativity and self-love can indeed be revolutionary. part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which The body is always present; the mind, hardly ever. is responsible for calming organs after the stressed In order to integrate these intense emotions raging “fight-or-flight” adrenaline response to danger. through the system, I want to turn toward my body Evolution theories claim we’ve been hardwired and cultivate presence. To me, it’s no longer a luxuwith this bio-information database since the primorrious want; it’s a need. dial beginning, even before we were salamanders in The Trump era also reminds me of a very old the mud. Operating far below the level of our consaying that “... I’ve got one nerve left and damn if you’re not on it ...” Which might work out, of course, scious minds, the vagus nerve is vital for keeping if that’s the vagus nerve. our bodies healthy.

It prevents inflammation, helps us make memories, tells our lungs to breathe, is intimately involved Katie Clancy is a movement educator, dancer, and with the heart’s strength and rate, initiates our freelance journalist living in Durango. She dedicates her bodies’ relaxation response, and acts as a translator time to supporting healthy spines and structural alignbetween our gut and brain. ment through the therapeutic traditions of Pilates, yoga, “It’s the heart of the nervous system,” local yoga bodywork, and dance; she is also a member of 20Moons teacher Nan Cresto explains. “It’s a window into unDance Theatre. Find her here: www.altaer.org; clancy. katie@gmail.com. derstanding how we human beings connect.”

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[visual]

CIRQUE DU SEXY-TIME »» Looking for something

mind-blowing and different on Valentine’s Day? Durango’s Imaginario Circus presents Bacchanalia

GO! Imaginario Circus presents Bacchanalia When: 7:30–10 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 14 Where: Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive Cost: $25

By Patty Templeton DGO STAFF WRITER

Y

our doorbell rings. You open it to find an inebriated, jovial dude in nothing but an ivy crown. He’s surrounded by lusty goatmen and ecstatic, whirling women. Naked dude hands you a jug of wine and a party invite.

You’ve just met Bacchus – Roman god of frenzies, festivals, and hooch. The Greeks called him Dionysius. He’s a protector of those who don’t fit into conventional society and he wants you at his rager.

Enter Imaginario Circus – that lovely bunch of freaks and weirdos, a collective of (mostly) Durango creatives who perform variety acts of the aerial, acrobatic, and cirque assortment. Founded by Hattie Miller and Steve Ward, Imaginario brings circus arts into modern day entertainment. In honor of amour, Imaginario has created a one-night-only Bacchanalia, i.e.: A wild revelry. Were you on the fence on how to spend your Valentine’s Day – perhaps you were leaning to Netflix and ramen? Banish the thought! Buy your tickets to Bacchanalia online or at the Animas Trading Co. You will receive a mass of marvels and proceeds will benefit iAmMusic’s youth services’ program.

What can you expect? Step right up!

Enter bold souls! When you arrive at Imaginario’s Bacchanalia, you’ll be treated to divine desserts and a glass of complimentary champagne from a sexy server. As the bubbles fizz through you, you’ll be sensually stirred by the premier circus and burlesque acts of the Four Corners.

The Animas City Theatre will be transformed into a celebration of the sultry! A banquet of the bizarre! A shindig of the shocking!

Durango, prepare your souls for a kaleidoscope

Information: https://www.facebook. com/events/1196174020438310/ »» Proceeds go to iAm Music’s youth services program

of curiosities that will bewilder and titillate.

None can resist the artful bump-ngrind of Coco’s Hen House Burlesque imported from Taos. Word around town is that there will be a tassel battle – the twirlin’, whirlin’, and twinklin’ will heat up that heart-o-yours. Flesh will bounce and cheeks will blush.

Let your eyes skim high. Aerial acts will astound. Performers, such as the mysterious and intensely flexible Andrea Thompson, will climb, roll, and waltz with bolts of fabric and rope. Bending, gyrating bodies will work the lyra – a hoop suspended from the heavens. You’ve seen tightrope walkers before, but have you seen the art of slacklining? Liz Thomas will highline till your heart thumps harder. The boundaries of balance as explored at great heights! Then, the limits of air and ability will be broken by a rapid leaping demonstration of parkour.

Need you more? Ben Dukeminier will mime your mind out. A contortionist will crook and hook the human form into seemingly impossible shapes. Vigorous swing dancing will keep you gasping for breath.

Ashley Edwards and Jesse Ogle (of Hello, Dollface) will bust out in song. A parade of performers will arouse and entertain you. Then, when you are stuffed full of magic, sweets, and risqué thrills, DJ Posh Josh will turn the night into a dance party.

To quote e.e. cummings, “Damn everything but the circus.”

This is a 21+ event. Costumes encouraged!

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[sound]

Downtown Lowdown | Bryant Liggett

Cortez’s Sunflower Theatre: A hub for the artistic, intellectual

I

t’s what Cortez needed: A small performance space that isn’t a bar for touring musicians who may skip playing Durango but still want to hit the Four Corners. When you don’t want to go from Flagstaff all the way to Denver in one haul, you book a show here. The Sunflower Theatre, a cozy space that sits just below KSJD Community Radio in downtown Cortez kicked off as a venue in February 2015, bringing entertainment to the (at times) entertainment-starved and hearty folk of Montezuma County.

Building the theater was a good use of extra space, which is what KSJD had when they remodeled the old Montezuma Valley National Bank Building, built a radio station, and moved in.

“We knew we had more space than we needed for a radio station, but we weren’t sure exactly what to do with the space,” said KSJD Executive Director Jeff Pope. “About that same time, two groups – the city of Cortez through its comprehensive plan revision process, and the Montezuma Arts Council through a survey process – came to the same conclusion: Cortez needed a venue for the arts and culture.”

Since, it’s hosted dozens of shows, from local and regional bands to some heavy hitters, including bluegrass band Finnders & Youngberg, rock and hip-hop outfit The Flobots, and folkie Mollie O’Brien. Hell, the place even hosted Bob Dorough, the be-bop and cool-jazz pianist who was the creator of the “Schoolhouse Rock” series seen

Bryant’s best Friday: Blues and R&B with Missy Andersen, 7:30 p.m. $15. The Sunflower Theatre, 8 East Main Street, Cortez. Information: (970) 516-1818.

Saturday: Funk, soul, blues with Wake Up Laughing, 9 p.m. No cover. The Balcony Backstage, 600 Main Ave. upstairs.

Information: 422-8008.

BCI Media file

»» Theater director Kim Welty checks the lighting for the stage at Sunflower Theatre before it opened in February 2015.

on Saturday morning television in the 1970s. If you’re in the dark on Dorough, I insist you YouTube the man.

In addition to concerts, the theater screens films and hosts lectures, and is a general gathering spot that further promotes art through education, for which there’s a growing audience. Back in the day, the old Hollywood Bar in neighboring Dolores would draw a packed and rowdy house for music; the Dolores River Brewing Co. does the same, as does the Sunflower. This is not only limited to concerts; the theater is the Montezuma County home to The

2016 CR-V Clearance Event

Raven Narratives, the storytelling series that has played to a packed house in Durango at the Arts Center, and KSJD has partnered with the Cortez Library for screening documentary films with post-film discussion. It’s also growing as a community theater; The Sunflower troupe has performed three plays, as well has hosting acting and improv classes.

These are community events that break the mundane. Investment in art is an investment in community and education, a mind-expanding deposit on a community’s mental growth that adds richness and diversity to culture

while enhancing, and broadening general discourse.

“What we’re finding is that the Sunflower and KSJD are playing roles as conveners of important conversations, both artistic and intellectual in our community,” said Pope.

On Friday (Feb. 10), the Sunflower Theatre will host blues vocalist Missy Andersen, with her husband, Heine Andersen, on guitar. Heine is a true student of the blues, reared on Library of Congress recordings from each decade of American blues. His guitar playing is clean and concise, a mix of straight blues rhythms and the ability to hint at funk, all sandwiched around a hot solo. Missy at the front exudes cool and confidence, a subtle yet powerful voice diving into blues, New Orleans jazz, Stax-inspired soul, gospel, and even perhaps some rock. It’s a great package, simplistic and raw, upbeat and fun.

The duo will also perform Feb. 11 at Crash Music in Aztec.

Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.

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[sound] What’s new The Sadies,“Northern Passages” Available: Friday, Feb. 10, via Yep Roc Records or at your favorite local independent record store on compact disc and on standard black vinyl.

There are just some bands you don’t want deviating too terribly far from what you’ve grown to love about them.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s The Sadies are very much one of those bands.

They have been making records since 1994 and have been doing so in a somewhat consistent and similar style all the while.

Certainly difficult to stylistically pin down, The Sadies (comprised of brothers and singers/guitarists Dallas and Travis Good, bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitksy) make

New at

Feb. 10 1. Lupe Fiasco,“Drogas Light” Lupe has been going through some shit lately, and it’s honestly surprising that this album is even seeing the light of day. Originally a part of a trilogy including two other albums titled “DROGAS” and “SKULLS,” “Drogas Light” comes at the end of a huge amount of controversy after a freestyle that was criticized as being anti-Semitic.

Regardless, the dude is one of the more interesting rappers working today, jumping from soul beats on “Wild Child” to intense trap beats on “JUMP.” If you were a fan of “Food and Liquor,” you might be disappointed by the seeming lack of “conscious raps,” but still give it a shot.

music that shifts in and out of Americana, country, surf, punk and psych-folk. Really, one can mix and match any of the aforementioned genre identifiers, bending and blending, as the song or moment dictates. Just as soon as that particular musical moment passes they’re on to the next style as they deem fit, sometimes even, impressively, within a single song. For example, side one, track three, “There Are No Words” begins as an echo-heavy distorted rocker before seamlessly shifting tempo to finish a surf-tinged

opus, an experiment in noise, and a gorgeous album as meandering as the dusty roads of East Texas. Stylistically, it fits between Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Low, and those evangelical super church preachers. If you like weird and epic, you should definitely pay attention. No one listened when it first released in 2001, and now you have a chance to pretend you were cool 16 years ago.

3. Tinariwen,“Elwan” Tinariwen are a group of Tuareg musicians from the Saharan region of Mali. They play a beautiful blend of guitar-driven blues and Tishoumaren, a North African genre that is itself a blend of electric blues and traditional African percussion and stylings. They have slowly become one of my favorite “world music” groups, and the new album “Elwan” is a great example of why. The slow but churning rhythms move anyone with a soul and production-wise it is full but dry, just like the Sahara.

2. Lift To Experience,“Texas Jerusalem Crossroads”

4. Thievery Corporation, “Temple of I and I”

“Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads” tells the story of three Texas boys minding their own business when an angel of the Lord comes to them and tells them that Texas is the center of Jerusalem. I was introduced to this album and band by my good friend Chuck, and it is one of the strangest listening experiences in a long time. At once a post-rock

Another local favorite, Thievery Corporation is a band that can wear many masks. At times a dub powerhouse, at other times dancehall geniuses, and even still they can do subdued soundtracks with the best of them.

I would not call the new album subdued at all, though. It eases into the reverb-drenched dub with the track

alt-country cut.

To established fans of the band, this is of little surprise and part of their appeal.

ing role for the band. Over time and successes, the artists remained friends and when asked to contribute to this track, Vile “... laid down his vocal part in the midst of his own grueling tour schedule.”

That doesn’t suggest they are entirely without surprise. Known for a vast, extensive and staggering list of guest contributors, the only track released before the album’s full release was lead single “It’s Easy (Like Walking),” featuring indie rock wunderkind Kurt Vile. Apparently Vile (either with his Violators or perhaps as a former member of The War on Drugs) befriended The Sadies some time ago while touring in a support-

“Northern Passages” was recorded during the winter of 2015 by the band at the home of Dallas and Travis’ parents north of Toronto, with Dallas once again handling production duties. The album is, at times, a sonic extension to 2013’s “Internal Sounds.” This makes for a fantastic introduction to new fans, just as it welcomes and warms the old.

“Thief Rockers” before blasting into some bombastic reggae with vocals from scene-newcomer Racquel Jones.

Someone looking for island vibes in this

weird-cold but not cold winter we’re having will feel right at home in this one.

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Recommended for fans of Calexico, The Gun Club, Dick Dale, The Byrds or The Replacements.

—— Jon E. Lynch KDUR_PD@fortlewis.edu

—— Cooper Stapleton

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[beer]

First Draughts | Robert Alan Wendeborn

Weed and craft beer go hand in hand. Here’s why

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he most difficult part of moving away from Colorado has not been the weather (it’s basically been 70 degrees outside since October), or the culture (the food here is the best, and I haven’t heard a jam band since I got here). It’s been my sentimental attachment to mountains, and I’ve been trying to feed that sense of loss by going on little swamp hikes. There are dozens of wild areas that throw a little boardwalk out into the swamp and it feels like you’re walking into the middle of the bayou, in the middle of all the wild. I’ve seen ospreys and alligators, and last time, I saw a baby raccoon swimming through the swamp. It’s nice, but it’s not

a mountain. I just know there is no substitute, and I’ll just have to make it back to get my fill of scenic vistas and wild hot springs and that feeling of being on top of the world. It’s tough missing all that, but I can deal with it, knowing that everyone in my Facebook feed is appreciating it on a regular basis.

The one thing that I can’t deal with, and the second most difficult part of moving away, is becoming a criminal.

Yes, pretty much from Day 1 of my time in Louisiana, I became a criminal. I am in possession of marijuana, and sometimes I buy it ... from a drug dealer! It’s a difficult and strange world, I know; it’s like a bizarro “Twilight Zone” episode or something.

But, if there’s one thing craft beer is

good for, it’s spreading the love of recreational marijuana. The first person to smoke me out was a sales rep from a large craft brewery known for their love of weed (Google: “St. Patrick’s Day Massacre 2005” for an excellent read). The first person to offer me weed for sale was also employed by a craft brewery.

Weed and craft beer go so well together, it’s hard to imagine the slew of articles that came out last fall/winter each with headlines akin to “Legal Weed Damages Craft Beer Sales.” The beer distributors of Massachusetts donated to the opposition campaign to legalize weed in Massachusetts (it passed anyway). Sam Adams released a statement saying that the legalization could hurt profits. (Let’s be

honest, there are likely other things that are hurting Sam Adams profits than legal weed.) And the Brewer’s Association released its own study on the subject (which basically said, you can’t prove anything).

The thought process behind all these fears was that people have a set amount of money for “fun” and that money spent on weed would cut into the money spent on beer. Which totally ignores two very important facts: 1. People are already spending money on both weed and beer; weed is just illegal, so you can’t keep track of that money.

2. The prices of weed will go down once it becomes legal, thus freeing up Continued on Page 11

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[beer]

the

Silhouette Series

OF PERFORMING ARTS AT SAN JUAN COLLEGE PRESENTS

Thursday, March 2, 7 p.m.

Henderson Performance Hall Tickets: $22 adults, $15 seniors, $18 students and $12 children 12 and under

Purchase tickets on the web at www.sanjuancollege.edu/silhouette

SAN JUAN COLLEGE Success Matters

The Cultural Beacon of the Four Corners

Box Office: 505-566-3430 I www.sanjuancollege.edu/silhouette San Juan College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, genetics or veterans’ status, or on the basis of any other category protected under federal or state law, in regard to admissions, employment, programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policy of San Juan College: Director of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator, 505-566-3215.

For the free, romantic, spirit in you.

Cozy up with warm knits, stylish prints, simple gifts, and much more for the special someone in your life.

Alexi Grojean/ Special to DGO

From Page 10

more money for weed and beer.

Plus, the Beer Distributors of Massachusetts (the official trade organization) are corrupt as [expletive], recently getting caught in a pay-to-play scandal, auctioning off tap handles to the highest bidder.

Honestly, I think there’s a beautiful symbiotic relationship between the two industries, and, at the heart of that, is the fight against prohibition.

I think states with the best beer also have legal weed. The Brewer’s Association is right, you can’t real-

ly prove that there is a connection between the sales of beer and the legalization of weed, but this statistic is hard to argue against: California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, Alaska, Nevada, and D.C. have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Last year, these states combined for exactly half of all the medals won at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival (144 out of 288 medals).

Robert Alan Wendeborn is a former cellar operator at Ska Brewing and current lead cellar operator at Tin Roof Brewing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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A P H R O D I S I A C S T H E A L L - N AT U R A L A C T I VATO R S »» Try these time-tested

are dark. A gray fuzz grows on the toilet. There’s a pyramid of PBR cans in the sink. One stained, holey towel crunches under foot. Something skitters from the faucet into the sink drain.

enhancers to amp up your get-down

You feel like this is where people catch the herp. In the very least, crabs. You get the hell outta one-night bae’s apartment, go back to the Ranch, and find a dapper lover with a clean bathroom, the kind where you can have sex with those suction cups in the shower.

T

hump. Thump. Thump: The sound of your heart bumping against your chest as you wait on your velvet chaise lounge for date night to start. “Harlem Nocturne” slinks from Spotify. Sandalwood candles line the mantel. You bathed with a honey and ylang ylang shower gel from Lush. Your robe is silk and casually draped open. You’ve left no sexy stone unturned. Tonight will be the night. You researched aphrodisiacs and your partner consented to trying them.

Getting your swerve on is never (supposedly) better than when aphrodisiacs are at play. An aphrodisiac is a food, drink, or drug that stimulates sexual desire. Here are time-honored libido enhancers.

Oysters Romeo, Romeo, what for is that waft? Tis the mild, fresh smell of oysters, the Emperor of Sex Foods. Romeo wants to cram as many of those, um, lady-shaped lovelies in his mouth as possible.

Oysters have been an aphrodisiac since the 2nd century. Famed lover Casanova was said to breakfast on 50 oysters every day. Besides being a high-protein food that will build energy for bumpin’ fuzzies, oysters are filled with zinc, which can crank up testosterone production and higher testosterone has long been associated wither a higher sex drive. Researchers have also proved that oysters are chock fulla rare amino acids that trigger sexual hormones.

Chile pepper Mmmm and yes. Put that long, thick chili pepper in your mouth. Give it a lick and a nibble. Chile peppers are full of capsaicin, which encourages the body to release endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals.

Chile peppers will also cause your heart rate to increase, which literally gets the blood flowing. There ain’t any promises of engorged meat-flaps and pocket rockets, but chile peppers sure as heck can’t hurt in the department of Heat Things Up.

Cooking skills You wooed a hottie into a round of spank and tickle. You’re back at their place. You’re both starving after the good ol’ sweat and pound. You need sustenance. Hottie says, “I’ll make us something!” Fifteen minutes later, the fire department is there. Hottie somehow turned ramen into a house fire.

A warning: Remember that time you cut a jalapeño and then rubbed your eye? Keep that in mind when inserting peppers or rubbing spicy tongues on sensitive bits.

A clean bathroom You found a one-night bae at the Ranch. You go back to their place. You find the powder room to freshen up.

Alexi Grojean/ Special to DGO

::queue Psycho theme song:: The bathroom is grime central. Two out of three lightbulbs

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Flash to the future, one of only you ever making dinner after a long day’s work – elsewise you’d eventually suffer a fiery death. You thank the firefighters for saving your life and leave. Ain’t no way you’re gonna Round 2 boink someone you can’t event trust with making boxed and frozen food.

Continued on Page 14

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[love] From Page 13

to make what you are going to scarf down in two minutes. The soup can take on any flavor but will have a rubbery texture. One bowl will set you back at least 40 bucks. The spit you’ll eat is a protein high in calcium and potassium. Potassium helps to maintain heart health and that heart is gonna help keep them lady and boy parts going.

Red wine Is it wine-o-clock? ::peers at watch:: Damn right it is.

If you don’t consider wine a superfood, you should. It has been credited with helping stave off colds, cancer, and heart disease.

Not any old wine will impact your trim diddlin’. It’s gotta be red.

Brains Not to eat, ya weirdo, but to admire. You knew this moment would come. You are sitting at the Smiley Café and you have nothing to say to the babe across from you. The sex is phenomenal but there’s not much behind those eyes.

You try anyway.

The earthy, woody musk of red wine is said to increase female sexual appetite. Reds also contain resveratrol, an antioxidant the increases blood flow.

Increased blood circulation in women can trigger lubrication. The extra blood flow is gonna engorge you. Booyah.

A: “Read anything interesting lately?”

B: “I like turtles.”

A: “Um. Ok.” This is not where you want to be. You don’t want a looker with no smarts. That works for a fling but not the longterm.

Your pushing-pal doesn’t have to be a physicist or anything, but you should share interests.

If your gray matter ain’t matching, it’s not gonna be long before the wood won’t work.

Being dependable You are on your third date with the lover who made you moan your brains out against a tree in Buckley Park.

Totally inappropriate, for sure, but oh my gawd, you didn’t know you could get that hot in the middle of winter. Unfortunately, the SOB was late for your date. Again. And now that your El Moro dinner is over, lover-pants totally forgot their wallet and can’t go splitsies. You pick up the tab.

Again.

You, rightly, decide you are better than this bullshit. ... you wink at the bartender who’s been making French eyes at you all night. Anyone who has to deal with a cash drawer will be more reliable than Sir-Skip-The-Bill.

Alexi Grojean/ Special to DGO

Birds Nest Soup Don’t start climbing trees and collecting yet.

For birds nest soup to be an aphrodisiac, it has to be made from the home of a Southeast Asian, cave-dwelling swift. In fact,

it ain’t even twigs that are gonna get you going, it’s petrified bird spit.

This certain swift’s nest is made entirely of its own spit – which spools out in a noodle form and dries together in chunks.

It takes 35 days for the swift

Remember: The sexiest part about someone is their confidence. Get your swag on and if you don’t have swag, fake it till you make it. Be honest. Be genuine. The most reliable pick-up line is, “Hello.” When you do find a friend to make the two-backedbeast with, double check with your doc about the safety of any meds or foods you consume to enhance your libido.

— Patty Templeton DGO Staff Writer

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[democracy] Black History Month edition News you need to know

obscured and unsung.”

Over 40 years later, the contributions of black folks are still being passed over to recognize a paler face instead.

FROM THE FILES OF

This might fall more aptly under the title of “From the Files of NOT OK.” Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged February being Black History Month via this tweet: “As #BlackHistoryMonth begins, we remember when Pres.

Lincoln submitted the 13th Amendment, ending slavery, to the states #NationalFreedomDay”

NOT NORMAL

Why this is not OK On Feb. 1, President Trump gave a Black History Month speech wherein he didn’t seem to know who abolitionist, orator, and writer Frederick Douglass was. Hours later, Pence celebrated a white man – Abraham Lincoln – for Black History Month.

When honoring the first Black History Week in 1975, President Gerald R. Ford said that the achievements of black people had “too long been

In honor of Black History Month and in support of personal growth, DGO issues Pence, Trump, and our readers a challenge: Read or watch something created by a black person every day in February.

This challenge was inspired by the essayist and fantasy writer K. Tempest Bradford. Her exact challenge is to, “Read something by a Black person that isn’t only about pre-Civil War American slavery, the Civil War, or the Civil Rights Era.” Because the lives and achievements of black people don’t stop at Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

If you need ideas, Bradford will be curating a growing list on her website, http://tempest.fluidartist.com.

—— Patty Templeton

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[ weed ] Seeing Through the Smoke Christopher Gallagher

The cast of criminals when it comes to marijuana prohibition

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his whole illegal weed game didn’t just happen by itself. There were real villains behind it: Harry J. Aslinger and his cronies, Richard Nixon and his allies in the culture wars of the Vietnam era. And there is a new breed of prohibitionists who continue to play the game in the 21st century.

The main opponents to legalization, be it recreational or medical, can be classified into a few groups: Police unions, prison guards, individuals and corporations with a stake in the private prison industry, pharmaceutical companies, alcohol companies, and tobacco companies.

These are the coteries who consistently lobby against ending prohibition, each, of course, for their own interests (read: $$$). Joining these organizations is one individual who consistently reaches into his very deep pockets to oppose ballot initiatives nationwide: Sheldon Adelson.

I have equal parts open-hearted sympathy and closed-fisted disgust for Adelson, the octogenarian casino magnate from Las Vegas whose personal fortune is estimated to be of the order of $30 billion (to clarify, if this sentence reads as if I’m saying I’d kind of like to punch an 83-yearold in the face, yes, that is accurate). My pity for him extends from the fact that he lost a son to »» a drug overdose in 2005. The source of my contempt is the fact that this tragedy came not at the hands of cannabis (obviously), but cocaine and heroin. His response has been to vilify a plant that is seen by many to be the antidote to hard drugs by donating nearly $200 million (including buying a newspaper to use as a bully pulpit) to lobby against legalization efforts in areas far beyond his home state, all while making a personal fortune off the activities that happen in his gambling dens. This is a fifth of a billion dollars that could have been used in efforts to educate and treat people plagued by the substances which killed his flesh and blood. For that, Adleson, I call you out.

In a stroke of good news, Adelson’s Nevada was

troops remain in Afghanistan, to guard the poppy fields. They’re the financial backers and primary benefactors of the national opioid epidemic and the group that convinced the FDA to approve candy-flavored amphetamines for schoolchildren and Oxycontin for children as young as 11 years old. I don’t even know how to begin a rant against the Real Drug Cartel. They know cannabis is medicine, and they know what this safe, relatively side-effect-free medicine will do to their bottom line if legalized, so they throw lobbyist after lobbyist at Capitol Hill and continue their monopoly. Lump in the manufacturers of tobacco and alcohol products as organizations that follow the same path as the pharmaceutical companies, for similar reasons.

I have basically run out of steam here. I have little energy left to go after police officers and prison guards – they reside at the bottom of the pole in this struggle to overturn an immoral system that has roots in dishonesty, racism, and the love of lucre. They are fearful of losing their livelihoods and conditioned (as we all have been, to some degree) to demonize cannabis.

But, most importantly, I want to end on a positive note. Cannabis is a gift, easy to produce, infinitely versatile, endlessly generous. This plant Illustration by David Holub/DGO; image via Associated Press has continued to not only survive, but thrive, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. even in the role of the explicitly-stated enemy in our United States’ “War on Drugs.” The tide of this battle against Mary Jane has risen in one of four states that passed a recreational legalizathe favor of legalization, but the only realistic way to finally silence those who would use any undertion initiative on the 2016 ballot. This is bad news for another group that resides in the “Making Money handed method possible to fight legalization is by a

by Reprehensible Means” category: private prison nationwide statute passed by Congress. We have the stakeholders. The privatized prison industry, at its opportunity to push toward that final goal. Educate core, is a system that commoditizes the incarcerayourself, advocate for this change in federal law, and don’t forget to take the occasional smoke break to tion of human beings in order to turn a profit. There remember how lucky we are. few more nauseating ways to turn a buck, so are I am going to leave well enough alone with these folks. If you have the time and inclination, read up Christopher Gallagher lives with his wife and their four on this crap and draw your own conclusions. dogs and two horses. Life is pretty darn good. Contact him Next up is Big Pharma. They’re the reason our at chrstphrgallagher@gmail.com.

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[movies] [Vintage Durango]

Playing in Durango Animas City Theatre (For movies, check out www.animascitytheatre.com)

Gaslight Theatre La La Land. In this modern take on the Hollywood musical, Sebastian and Mia are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts, they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair. Rated PG-13.

Fences. An African-American father struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to terms with the events of his life. Rated PG-13.

Animated Shorts. (Wednesday only) 85th Academy Award Nominees. Includes: “Head Over Heels,” “The Longest Daycare,” “Paperman,” “Fresh Guacamole” and “Adam and Doc.” Plus additional award-winning shorts: “Abiogenesis,” “Dripped” and “The Gruffalo’s Child.” Not rated. »» Advertisement for”I was a Teenage Werewolf,” in the Jan.7, 1958, Durango Herald.

Creature feature coming atchya An a-hole teenager gets an experimental therapy for his anger issues and – Oh no! – he’s turned into a snarling SOB who wants to eat his friends. “I was a Teenager Werewolf” was the first movie to ever use the word “teenage” in the title. Though pure camp now, at release, it was considered shocking. Never before had a youngster been turned into a monster, in film.

If you caught the movie on its first run, it rolled as a double feature with “Invasion of the Saucer Men.” Plot: A drunk, an alien corpse, a lover’s lane, and the military. It may be that 1957 had better movies than we do.

“I was a Teenage Werewolf” re-entered the pop culture radar via a song of the same name on the 1980 album “Songs the Lord Taught Us,” by The Cramps. Writers of ass-shakin,’ primitive rock ’n’ roll, The Cramps performed songs heavily infused with B-horror, sci-fi, and risqué themes.

Here’s Lux Interior, the Great Garbage Man himself, singing his psycho werewolf song.

—— Patty Templeton DGO Staff Writer

Durango Stadium 9

raised in an experimental colony after his mother dies during childbirth. Sixteen years later, he begins an online romance with a girl living in Colorado and hatches a plan to travel across the universe to meet her. Now, on the run, with Earth’s gravity threatening his very existence, Gardner must race against time and nature to find his love and win her heart. Rated PG-13.

A Dog’s Purpose. A devoted dog finds the meaning in his own life through enriching the lives of his humans. Based on the beloved novel by W. Bruce Cameron.

Rated PG. Split. Kevin has 23 personalities, but there may be one personality more dangerous than all the rest. It certainly is to the three girls he’s abducted. M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film. Rated PG-13.

Hidden Figures. The untold story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Rated PG.

Fifty Shades Darker. When a wounded Christian Grey tries to entice a cautious Ana Steele back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together. Rated R. John Wick: Chapter 2. Legendary hitman John Wick is forced out of retirement by a former associate. Bound by a blood oath to help him, Wick travels to Rome, where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest assassins. Rated R. The LEGO Batman Movie. ( Also available in 3-D with surcharge) In the spirit of fun that made “The LEGO Movie” a hit, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up. Rated PG. Rings. A group of high school students have to find someone to watch an evil videotape or else they’ll all die. Third film in “The Ring” franchise. Rated PG-13 The Space Between Us. Gardner Elliot, the first human born on Mars, is secretly

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[love and sex]

Savage Love | Dan Savage

Delving into a sack of short but pointed questions Last week, I spoke at the Wilbur Theater in Boston and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Audience members submitted their questions on tiny cards before the show, allowing them to remain anonymous while forcing them to be succinct.

Here are some of the questions I didn’t have time to get to at both events ...

My girlfriend wants to explore her sexuality with another woman but be “heterosexually exclusive” with me.

She wants me to have equal freedom but doesn’t think it’s fair for me to be with another woman. I am a heterosexual man. How can we achieve sexual equality?

An open relationship for her but a closed-on-a-technicality relationship for you? Yeah, no. Want to achieve sexual equality? Explore your sexuality with other women – as a single man.

I am a 50-year-old queer man who never really came out – except to people I’m cruising or [effing]. Oh, and to my wife. Is there any social or political value to coming out now, in the shadow of a Trump presidency?

There’s tremendous social and political value to being out, whoever the president is. There’s also social and political risk, whoever the president is. If you’re in a position to come out – and you must be, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking – not coming out is a moral failing.

When I’ve tried to do the F-buddy thing, I’ve gotten attached. Any way to avoid that?

Only do the F-buddy thing with Republicans.

I’m a 31-year-old straight female. I have an intermittent sexual relationship with a married polyamorous friend. Each time we hook up, he says he regrets it. But several months

later, he will contact me and we will hook up again. Should I say no? What do you think is up?

Your friend’s head is what’s up – up his own ass. Stop letting him stick his dick up yours. (P.S. His regret has me wondering if his marriage is actually open or if he’s cheating on his wife.

If you’ve never discussed their polyamorous arrangement with her, that probably what’s up.)

Why are liberals OK with people self-identifying their gender but not their race? Aren’t both considered social constructs?

“If race and gender are both social constructs,” Evan Urquhart writes at Slate, “and if both have been built around observable biological traits, then what is the crucial difference that makes a felt gender identity a true one, but a felt racial identity fraudulent?

The short answer is that most trans people and their allies suspect that transgender people are born that way.”

(Google “Evan Urquhart,” “trans,” and “race” to read the rest of his essay.)

We just legalized weed here in Massachusetts! Yay! How can I, as a consumer but industry outsider, help to ensure more diversity in the legal selling business?

Before the shops open, get in the face of your elected officials to make sure licenses are made available to pot entrepreneurs of color. Once legal weed shops are open, go out of your way to patronize pot shops owned by people of color and insist all legal weed shops employ people of color and pay a living wage. And once the profits start rolling in, demand that pot activists and shop owners stay in the fight to demand that people convicted of possessing or selling pot in the past – primarily POC – get full pardons and restitution.

Please elaborate on your suggestion

that an open relationship could save a marriage.

Here’s an example: married couple, together a long time, low-conflict relationship, good partners. Spouse No. 1 is done with sex – libido gone, no interest in taking steps to restore it – but Spouse No. 2 isn’t done with sex. This can play out two ways: (1) Spouse No. 1 insists on keeping the marriage closed, and Spouse No. 2 opts for divorce over celibacy. (2) Spouse No. 1 allows for outside contact – they open the marriage up – and monogamy is sacrificed but the marriage is saved.

How do you get over the guilt of being a straight guy? I used to feel a lot of sexual shame from hearing that men are pigs all the time. I got over most of it, but I still have leftover shame. I want to be respectful of women without having to take responsibility for the actions of every asshole straight man out there.

As a gay man, I’m not responsible for the actions of Roy Cohn, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Peter Thiel. Likewise, I deserve no credit for the accomplishments of Michelangelo, Alan Turing, and Stephen Sondheim. When you feel the shame and guilt welling up, all you can do is remind yourself that you’re not responsible for the piggishness of Donald Trump or the awesomeness of Chris Kluwe. (And just to complicate things: While most straight women hate straight male pigs, most straight women want their men to be pigs – but only now and then, and only for them.

A dash of controlled/vestigial piggishness is a desirable trait, not a disqualifying one.)

What’s the healthiest way to address jealousy in a relationship with a jealous and confrontational partner?

The healthiest thing would be for your jealous and confrontational partner to address their issues with a

therapist after you’ve dumped them.

F, marry, kill: Donald Trump, Rick Santorum, Mike Pence.

F everything, call off the wedding, kill myself.

I see you’ve resurrected your ITMFA campaign. (Bragging rights: I got the Mass license plate ITMFA. The DMV tried to take it back when someone complained, and the ACLU won the case for me! I removed the plate, of course, after Obama won.) My question: If Trump is removed from office – if we “impeach the mother[F’er] already” – we’ll have Mike Pence. Do you really think he’d be any better?

We already have Mike Pence. And Pence, as awful as he is, oscillates within a predictable band of Republican awfulness. With a President Pence, we’ll get shitty Supreme Court nominees, attacks on queers and people of color, and fiscal mismanagement. With President Trump, we get all that plus war with Mexico and Australia. And you don’t have to remove your ITMFA buttons once Trump is removed from office – keep ’em on until Pence is impeached, too.

Speaking of impeachment: Four in 10 Americans support impeaching Trump. Nixon didn’t hit that number until 18 months into the Watergate scandal. And speaking of my ITMFA campaign: We’ve already raised $100,000 at ITMFA.org, with all proceeds going to the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the International Refugee Assistance Project. Get your ITMFA hats, buttons, and T-shirts at ITMFA.org! (Coming soon: coffee mugs and stickers!)

Dan Savage is a nationally syndicated sex advice columnist writing for The Stranger in Seattle. Contact him at mail@ savagelove.net or @fakedansavage on Twitter and listen to his podcast every week at savagelovecast.com.

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[happening] Get a heart-on at a pop-up art store If you’re crazy in love, that paramour deserves a present for putting up with your S. If you think Valentine’s Day can suck it, good for you.

Get yourself a present instead.

Handmade Love is a onenight-only pop-up boutique.

From 5-8 on Saturday, Feb. 11 p.m., local artists will display handcrafted goods. There will be an array of affordable products, such as textile art, clothing, bags, jewelry, and lingerie by creators including Emily Perea, Shanti Savage, Alison Roush, Tayler Hahn, Tricia Gourley, and Vanessa Bohaty.

Cash or credit will be accepted. The pop-up will be located at 862 Main Ave. in suite 219 (above Chimayo).

Thursday Craig Childs: Meet the author, 9:30-

11 a.m., Reed Library, Fort Lewis College, www. fortlewis.edu.

Get your feel-good, gut-laugh on Two peanuts were walking in a park. One was a-salted.

BWAHAHAHAHA! Need a better joke? Or, since that was a brilliant joke, need more jokes? Hit up the Durango Arts Center this Saturday for Durango DOT Comedy’s improv showcase.

Doors are at 7:30. Show is from 8-10 p.m. For $10, you’ll get local comedians roasting the world in a 100 percent improv performance.

stairs at the Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.thebean.com.

91.9/93.9 FM, www.kdur.org.

East Second Ave., www.durangogov.org.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., 8th Avenue Tavern, 509

People’s Practice in the Park, 12:30

p.m., Buckley Park, 247-8395, www.turtlelakerefuge.org.

Greg Ryder, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

East Eighth Ave., 259-8801.

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Ska

“Photography from the Inside Out” art workshop, 10 a.m.-noon, Durango Arts

Saturday

Center, 802 East Second Ave., www.durangoarts.org.

Henry Stoy piano, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-

Pierre Bakery, 601 Main Ave., 385-0122.

Joel Racheff, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle

Craig Childs: College hour colloquium, 12:45-2:20 p.m., Student Union

Robby Overfield, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 2474431.

Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Ballroom, Fort Lewis College, www.fortlewis.edu.

Craig Childs: Lecture and book-signing, 2:30-4 p.m., Noble Hall,

Room 130, Fort Lewis College, www.fortlewis. edu.

Tim Sullivan, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle

Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Robin Davis, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritori-

um, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Karaoke with DJ Crazy Charlie, 9 p.m.,

Wild Horse Saloon, 601 East Second Ave., 3752568.

Karaoke, 9 p.m., 8th Avenue Tavern, 509

East Eighth Ave., 259-8801.

La Plata Quilters Guild meeting, 5:30 p.m., United Methodist Church, 2917 Aspen Drive, 799-1632.

Friday Donny Johnson, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond

Brewing Co., 225 Girard St., www.skabrewing. com.

Spoken Word, 7-9 p.m., Steaming Bean,

Greg Ryder, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritori-

downstairs at the Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.thebean.com.

um, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Ace Revel, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritorium,

Karaoke, 8 p.m., 8th Avenue Tavern, 509

699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

East Eighth Ave., 259-8801.

Sunday

Tuesday

Henry Stoy piano, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-

Terry Rickard, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Pierre Bakery, 601 Main Ave., 385-0122.

Acoustic jam, 6-9 p.m., Steaming Bean,

Irish music jam session, 12:30 p.m.,

downstairs at the Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.thebean.com.

Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.theirishembassypub.com.

Blue Moon Ramblers, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Jazz church experienced musician session, 6 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725

Super Ted’s Super Trivia, 6:12 p.m.,

Ska Brewing Co., 225 Girard St., 247-5792, www.facebook.com/supertedstriviaatskabrewing.

Main Ave., 247-5440, www.derailedpourhouse. com.

Useless Knowledge Bowl Trivia+, 7 p.m., Durango Brewing Co., 3000 Main Ave., 247-3396.

Joel Racheff, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritori-

Tim Sullivan, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spirito-

um, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

rium, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., 8th Avenue Tavern, 509

Open Mic, 8 p.m., Moe’s Starlite Lounge, 937

Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

East Eighth Ave., 259-8801.

Main Ave., 259-9018.

Dustin Burley, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Monday

Wednesday

Open Mic, 7-11 p.m., Steaming Bean, down-

Four Corners Arts Forum, 9 a.m., KDUR

Bird Walk, 9-10:30 a.m., Rotary Park, 1565

Acoustic jam, 6-8 p.m., Irish Embassy Pub,

900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.theirishembassypub.com.

Geeks Who Drink trivia, 6:30 p.m.,

BREW Pub & Kitchen, 117 West College Drive, 259-5959.

Pub quiz, 6:30 p.m., Irish Embassy Pub, 900 Main Ave., 403-1200, www.theirishembassypub.com.

Two-step and swing lessons, 6:307:30 p.m., $10, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 East Second Ave., 799-8832.

Terry Rickard, 7-11 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave., 247-4431.

Pingpong and poker tournament,

8 p.m., Moe’s Starlite Lounge, 937 Main Ave., 259-9018.

Karaoke with DJ Crazy Charlie, 9 p.m.,

Wild Horse Saloon, 601 East Second Ave., 3752568.

Submissions To submit listings for publication in DGO and www.dgomag.com, visit www. swscene.com, click “Add Your Event,” enter the event info into the form, and submit.

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Horoscope ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A friend will surprise you this week.

Alternatively, you might meet someone new who is a real character. Even your relations with clubs, groups and organizations will be unpredictable.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Something might suddenly throw you into the spotlight this week because people notice you. Perhaps a discussion with a boss ultimately will give you more freedom.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Unexpected opportunities to travel or learn something new this week will fall into your lap. Stay light on your feet so that you can react fast because your window of opportunity will be brief.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22)

Bizarro

Double-check everything to do with

shared property, inheritances and bank accounts this week because something unexpected will occur. Hopefully, it will be good news. Do not be caught off guard.

LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) A discussion with a partner or close friend will be enlightening this week, and you might even put a new spin on your relationship. It’s possible that someone will throw you a curveball.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) Something different will occur during your daily work routine this week. New high-tech equipment might arrive, or someone unusual might suddenly join your ranks. Be ready.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) A surprise invitation to a social event might delight you this week. Sports events will be exciting. This also is a clas-

sic week for love at first sight.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21) A parent might say or do something this week that you least expect. Something will happen within your family or at home that is exciting. You might bring home something new and high-tech.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21) This week, you’re full of bright and clever ideas because you can easily think outside the box. One thing is certain: Your daily routine will change. Be prepared.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) You’re full of clever moneymaking ideas this week. However, something unexpected also might affect your earnings or finances. Keep your eyes open.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)

This week, you feel restless and rebellious. Your freedom will be very important. This is why you have to do your own thing this week.

PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20) Something hidden might catch you off guard this week, but it might make you feel liberated. This also is a classic week for secrets to be revealed.

BORN THIS WEEK You are a free thinker with eclectic ideas. You know how to clearly express yourself. You seek out advice from others but ultimately follow your own rules. You likely will make an important decision or choice this year. Reduce your overhead expenses during the first half of the year so that you are financially strong later.

It’s true: Happiness is having alternatives. © 2017 King Features Syndicate Inc.

weekly bestsellers Jan. 29 – Feb. 4 »»1. A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (Paperback) »»2. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead (Hardcover) »»3. What We Do Now: Standing Up for Your Values in Trump’s America, by Dennis Loy Johnson

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(Paperback) »»10. Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett (Hardcover)

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[Expert Advice on Trivial Affairs]

Get Smart | Cyle Talley

On responsible media consumption If you’re confused about the news, let Larry Hartsfield, professor of English, environmental studies, and media studies at Fort Lewis College, tell you about how we’re all entitled to our own opinions – but not our own facts.

Fake news, alternative facts – what the hell?!

(Sighs) I think it goes back years, and you could trace it to the rise of right-wing radio and figures like Rush Limbaugh. The internet contributes enormously to the growth of fake news, too. Everyone’s living in echo chambers. You’re only exposed to ideas and “facts” that support your view of things. What’s really scary is that we have, in the office of the president, someone who seems to believe in fake news, whose world is informed by conspiracy theories and whose spokespeople are putting out the idea of alternative facts. There are no alternative facts. Pat Moynihan, a senator some years ago said, “Everyone is entitled to [their] own opinion, but not [their] own facts.”

Does good information exist anymore?

[Publications] that have historically been sources of good information continue to be so. Newspapers like The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times. There are problems occasionally, sure. The New York Times got taken in with the Iraq war and published false information, but they work hard to make sure that what they’re presenting is accurate and fact-based.

As someone who teaches this stuff, what consumption strategies do you employ?

One of the things that I do is I try to read a number of sources every day. And that includes conservative sites. I read the New York Times, the Washington Post, and catch up with the Atlantic Monthly every day. But I also listen to Fox News to see what they’re saying – and they’re not always inaccurate. I also try to at least touch base with CNN and something on the progressive side like MSNBC. But you have to be willing to evaluate the information that you’re getting from these sources.

When you say “evaluate”– One of the first things to do is to try to become aware of your own biases. When you approach a news story, ask yourself, “Does this confirm something that I already believe? Should I find something that’s going to Hartsfield challenge my viewpoint?” Try to explore that alternative to see if there is at least a grain of truth in it. See if there are sources for the story. Are they reputable sources? What sort of experience does the writer have? Is the writer reputable? Which think tank are they associated with?

A simple way to start is to go to something like snopes. com. Politifact.com is another one.

What about identifying biases?

When you read a story and say, “I agree with that,” ask yourself why. It’s a tough question. There has to be a lot of self-examination. Most of us know whether we’re conservative or progressive. The main thing is trying to be aware of your way of looking at the world and recognizing that other ways of looking at it are also valid. That there might be competing visions of the good – not competing visions of the facts – competing visions of the good. If you’re willing to accept the so-called “alternative facts,” then you know immediately that you’re in an echo chamber and your biases are being supported.

Where do our biases come from?

There’s been some really interesting work done over the last few years about what differentiates a liberal brain and a progressive brain. How some people are

Westwood

drawn to a more controlled world and some are drawn toward an open-ended world. One toward possibility and one toward closure. The primary things would be education, family background, religious background.

The great majority of people vote the party their parents did. It’s worth exploring why you’re a Republican or a Democrat and how those things came to be. It also clearly comes from what we expose ourselves to – and there’s that reinforcement quality, that echo chamber.

If we’re only watching or listening to one kind of thing, we’re probably not going to be aware of our biases.

How can I become a better critical consumer of news?

Even if you do nothing but watch television and listen to the radio, make sure that you’re getting news from more than one source. Be willing – force yourself – to be exposed to information sources that you would [look] to. I am not a typical member of the Fox audience, but I watch it because I want to know what’s being said.

Someone who’s conservative might watch a few episodes of Lawrence O’Donnell or Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Don’t just listen to the progressive radio stations where you hear everything that you want to hear, listen to the conservative stations as well. [And remember], media is driven by profit. It doesn’t have a liberal or conservative bias – the media has a corporate bias and it will cover whatever will make it money. So if you’re questioning why Donald Trump got so much free exposure, it’s because he was a money-maker for them. If you wonder why the media seemed to be cheerleaders for President Bush and the war in Iraq, it’s because it made them money.

Cyle Talley misses Bedhead Coffeehouse something fierce.

If there’s something you’d like to GET SMART about, email him at: cyle@cyletalley.com

Westwood

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