Folio Vol.36, Issue 22

Malls in the Digital Age Where did all the mall rats go? Ambar Ramirez 24

Local Voices, Local Flair: Jacksonville’s Zine Scene Looks To Grow

The organizers of a local zine fest are building on its success with the creation of a new nonprofit Lauren Fox

Back on the Scene

Georgio Valentino is home, for the holidays Shelton Hull

Being the Elite Austan Goolsbee meets the World Affairs Shelton Hull 38

Quitting the 9-5 for Art

A feature on artist Christina Pope Molly Britt

Behind the cover: Photo & Design : Team Folio Collaboration

TERESA SPENCER general manager

ROB NICHOLSON sales director

MOLLY BRITT account executive/contributor

SHELTON HULL contributor

AMBAR RAMIREZ multi-media creative CARMEN MACRI intern

JOHN M. PHILLIPS, ESQ. publisher

KERRY SPECKMAN copy editor

THANKSGIVING HOROSCOPES

ARIES

The full moon lunar eclipse on Nov. 8 was a sign of financial gain for you, Aries. You may be facing difficulties in your work life, but don't fret. November will bring clarity and cash. Just in time for a Christmas shopping spree! It is time to put all of your energy into your work, for it will pay off soon enough.

Thanksgiving food: Sweet potato casserole. Yum!

TAURUS

Uh, oh, Taurus, seems like drama is in the air for you this month. But don’t let it get to you! If you stick to what (and who) you know and focus on yourself, by the end of the month you will feel brand new. Lean into your Venusian side with candle-lit bubble baths and calming face masks. Most importantly, steer clear of the usual Thanksgiving dinner family feud.

Thanksgiving food: Dinner rolls

GEMINI

Scorpio season is a very busy time for you, Gemini. New friendships and relationships are on the horizon. It is time to put that feisty side at bay and see what the universe has to offer. With all of these new faces, don't lose sight of who really matters — you. The full moon lunar eclipse in early November will leave lasting effects. Prioritize your sleep, lord knows you need it.

Thanksgiving Food: Vegan mashed potatoes

CANCER

It's time to bring out your snappers and protective shell, Cancer. This month we’ve got another chaotic eclipse coming your way that may rock the boat, but you have survived them before and will survive this one. As long as you have your friends by your side, the ship won’t sink.

Thanksgiving Food: Cranberry sauce

LEO

You’ll be quite the wildcard this month, Leo. The two back-to-back lunar eclipses have brought a hurricane of cosmic energy your way. Think rationally in November. Your mind may seem jumbled, but take this time to put all this energy into something worthwhile. Pick up that journal you’ve been telling yourself you’ll start using.

Thanksgiving food: Hot cider

VIRGO

Lucky you, Virgo, you survived last month's rollercoaster of emotions. But life isn’t fair and after the lunar eclipse on Nov. 8th, you may be left feeling lost and paranoid. While it may be wise to stay home and take some much-needed downtime this month, don’t exclude yourself too much. Every once in a while, it's OK to be in the spotlight!

Thanksgiving food: Stuffing

LIBRA

November may have started off with a rocky start, Libra. But as Mars’ energy shifts from aggressive to passive, it’s time to kick back and relax. With the eclipse out of the way, you may find yourself buying flower bouquets and listening to Taylor Swift. Delve into all things love and by the end of the month, you’ll be glowing.

Thanksgiving food: Pumpkin pie

SCORPIO

’Tis the season, Scorpio! You are a sexual powerhouse this month (and every November!), and this month is all about pleasing you. Embrace the inner pillow princess. The two lunar eclipses in Scorpio bring a high tide of lustful energy your way; don’t shy away. Your relationships prove to be bountiful. This is the one month of the year when it's acceptable to text your ex. Just be wary of which one.

Thanksgiving food: Turkey (Obviously! You’re the main dish.)

SAGITTARIUS

Happy Birthday, Sags! Put on your party hats and get to celebrating! While this month may be busy with all the cosmic events, as long as you focus on yourself, you will have nothing to worry about. Let your friends do all the planning while you sip on some warm apple cider and cozy up to your boo.

Thanksgiving food: Gravy

CAPRICORN

Tsk tsk, Capricorn. You’ve been busy, haven't you? You are coming up on a much-needed self-care splurge. It is easy for you to put yourself last but not this month. The full moon lunar eclipse calls on you to slow down and take a breath. Your social circle will revolve around you as the sun, Mercury, and Venus travel through Scorpio. This cosmic climate is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Thanksgiving food: Charcuterie board

AQUARIUS

The stars have a lot planned for you this month, Aquarius. Still, despite all the good things coming your way, you may be feeling a bit aggressive this month. As they say, think before you speak. Sometimes it's necessary to start a fight, other times it's best to lock yourself in your room and watch your favorite TV show (aka “Gilmore Girls”).

Thanksgiving food: Red wine

PISCES

Scorpio season tends to be a rocky one for you, Pisces. Much like every November, juicy secrets will be revealed. The celestial energy begins to shift once Venus makes its way into Sagittarius on Nov. 15, followed by Mercury two days later. Keep your circle tight this month. Now is the perfect time to host that girls/boys night you've been putting off.

Thanksgiving food: Green bean casserole

Submit your thoughts to team@folioweekly.com

BOUQUET

American Legion Post 129 for donating $90,000 to Here Tomorrow, a nonprofit suicide prevention organization, to fund a full-time veteran peer counselor position over a three-year period. Thanks to a matching grant made to Here Tomorrow by the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund and J. Wayne Weaver Fund, the donation will be matched dollarfor-dollar.

A survey conducted by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs showed that about 22 veterans are dying by suicide each day in the United States. If you or someone you love is experiencing hopelessness and contemplating seeking help, contact Here Tomorrow at 904-372-9087 or hello@heretomorrow.org. There is no cost for the support and follow-up services provided by Here Tomorrow. For more information and resources or to donate, visit heretomorrow.org.

BRICKBAT

To those responsible for the vandalism graffiti all over downtown. The culprits are painting the symbols all over buildings, existing murals and even on some of our “Folio” boxes. Listen, we are all about expressing yourself creatively, and we appreciate graffiti when it's art or making a space beautiful, but spray painting on historical buildings and vandalizing artwork needs to stop. Shame on you!

Jacksonville's Indian Culture via Manan Patel

Words by Teresa Spencer

The first Thanksgiving is portrayed and remembered as a friendly harvest festival where the Pilgrims (or immigrants I should say), came together to eat and give thanks. But, in reality, the assembly of the Indigenous Natives and the English settlers was more about political alliances, the pursuit of peace, and diplomacy, according to some historical tales.

Since 1970 there has been a gathering at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. While most Americans take this day to give thanks and celebrate family, those of Native American descent see Thanksgiving as the National Day of Mourning. Though a glum label, the event is actually held to remember ancestral history, protest racism, and protest years of oppression, which some (probably most) continue experiencing today.

But what about those of Indian descent here in Northeast Florida that are not connected to Indigenous people in America? Who are they and where did they immigrate from? Do they celebrate Thanksgiving in the same sense that Americans traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving? We wanted to know and we found out that in fact there are many different types of Indian immigrants, all with varying opinions about celebrating Thanksgiving.

While researching, It was found that around the mouth of St. Johns, Jacksonville was home to the Saturiwa tribe, their main village along the river’s south bank. But by the 1770’s Florida’s Indians collectively became known as Seminole, completely ignoring each tribe's individuality. There are in fact more than a dozen original Native American tribes in Florida – each one with distinctive cultures and customs. Despite the various heritages and lifestyles, most are in agreement that Thanksgiving isn’t what modern-day Americans portray.

I spoke with Manan Patel who runs an official Facebook group, established in 2018, for the Jacksonville and St. Johns Indian Communities. It became quite clear that what is more important than getting into the specific beliefs and practices of immigrant Indians here with respect to Thanksgiving, was to learn more about the local immigrant Indian community and why he started the Indian-based social media group in the first place.

Folio: What inspired you to start this group?

Patel: I wanted to give back to the Indian community. I didn’t know how to connect with them. After graduating from UNF, I went on to grad school in Atlanta and New Zealand. But when I came back in late 2016 to my hometown Jacksonville, I had no idea what was

happening in my Indian community. To stay updated with events and community news, I had to sign up on various newsletters from many different organizations. There wasn’t really a central online meeting point or Facebook page/group that existed.

I thought I'd create something to make use of my free time and my social media skills. I created a Facebook group that would allow me to share information that would benefit me and my friends. My friends liked what I did and they invited their friends. From there on, it snowballed. I encouraged the Indian organizations to join and to share their events. They now realize how useful it is.

It became the hub and the central online one-stop shop for everyone to stay updated about what’s happening in Duval County and St. Johns County.

Now, it’s a place where people go to share opinions, find assistance, engage in discussions, share restaurant reviews, movie reviews, and most importantly, to stay in touch with their friends and families online. One member even mentions that it's something she would look forward to when waking up in the morning. To see what new information there is and to see beautiful pictures of places around Jacksonville and St. Johns County.

We also have guides such as catering lists where people can look for Indian caterers, lists of Indian restaurants, a list of small businesses/ vendors and tiffin service like home cooked meals.

Businesses can use this Facebook group to advertise their businesses, solicit constructive feedback, and reach out to the community in real time. It allowed our Indian community to support local Indian-owned businesses.

What I am most proud of is that if there’s an Indian family visiting or moving to Jacksonville or St. Johns County, they can easily find this group online. Once they join the group, they will find useful guides, information packets that help them get familiar with their surroundings, allow them to do their research with the information provided and reach out to the community to connect. They can learn about the lifestyle here in Jacksonville and St. Johns County. They can ask questions and get answers in real time. It's so much better than Googling around for hours and talking to various realtors or visiting the city and driving around.

How does this social media group contribute to the Jacksonville community?

Before the pandemic, I was merely sharing flyers and important events in the Facebook group. During the pandemic, it became a way for the Indian community to stay connected online. To share food pictures, movie reviews, join Zoom classes, and to engage with the community in a fun way. Now, it has become bigger. It became an online community. It became a tool. It became the place where you can immediately seek out information. It is the place where Indians living in Northeast Florida can go and connect with everyone.

Please elaborate on any statistics or relevant information the citizens of Jacksonville should know about the Indian history/ culture and the current data in Northeast Florida.

The Indian community is really complex because there are different regions of India meaning that everyone has different ethnicities. Everyone is from each different region of India and though, we are labeled as South Asians or Asians. Even though I am Indian but to be more specific, I am a Gujarati from the state of Gujarat. There are several Indians living in Jacksonville that are from other states of India. So in Jacksonville and St. Johns County, there are about 40% of Gujaratis, 30-40% of South Indians (Tamil, Malayalees, Telugus, etc), and roughly around 10-20% of Punjabis. This is only a rough estimate based on my experience being a Jax native. I have asked a few respected community leaders and they agreed on this estimate.

The actual data of Asians living in Jacksonville and St. Johns County indicates there are roughly 4% of Asians in Jacksonville but it doesn’t specifically outline the ethnicity.

Patel hopes the Indian community reading this will find it inspiring and be proud of how they have come together to show that in reality no matter the descent, his group promotes being ONE Indian community!

Here at Folio we give thanks to all cultures, creeds, races, and ethnic backgrounds in Jacksonville. Especially those that are actively working and contributing to making our society (and home) a better place to live.

Wild

Weird Stuff

Words by Shelton Hull

One of the weirder phenomena to emerge in 2022 is the organized vandalism of classic paintings by rogue environmentalists, using assorted foodstuffs. Incidents were documented in this column earlier this year, a couple of times, so let’s begin this edition with two more.

Mashed potatoes were the weapon of choice in Potsdam, Germany, with “Les Meules” by Claude Monet as the protesters’ target. This came just days after tomato soup was deployed against Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers,” one of the most important works of art ever created, at the National Museum in London. In both cases, the vandals then immediately glued their hands to the wall, which is really more of a problem for their hands than it is for the wall.

Next up: A pair of incredibly brave Cuban migrants were picked up by the U.S. Border Patrol while attempting to reach the Florida Keys by water. Two things stand out about this: 1) they were apparently close to landing, which meant the difficult part was already over; and 2) their vessels of choice were windsurfing boards. Now, we have heard many incredible stories of the extreme risks people have taken to make it across the ocean to America, but this is exceptional. By all means, give them asylum, and a movie deal. The script basically writes itself.

Speaking of travel, a bird called the bar-tailed godwit just set a record last month for the longest continuous flight ever documented by a bird. Birds have no hands, as you know, so it was hard to obtain accurate data for much of the trip, but scientists were able to attach a 5G tag to the bird to chart its progress with better reception than any of us have. It flew for 11 days straight, from Alaska, going southwest across the Pacific Ocean to Australia, for a total distance of 8,436 miles. Apparently when bar-tailed godwit migrate, the adults of the species depart a few days ahead, basically clearing a path to chaperone the juveniles, who remain on shore, fattening up for an exhausting journey. They have done this for many generations. Meanwhile, people literally put kids in the mail until 1915.

Nassau County gets busy, as Floridians know. And so do their counterparts in Nassau County, NY, where a woman (who we just naturally assume looks like Lisa Kudrow) was hustled to the pokey after being caught with roughly $40 million in counterfeit luxury goods. Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada, as well as 22 printing press machines and, according to one report, thousands of synthetic, heat-sealed counterfeit labels. This is the kind of operation you’d expect on Canal Street or Trump Tower. No names, but I’ll tag them later.

Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales is where the death of Dobby in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was filmed, and it’s currently where a kerfuffle is ongoing, related to a makeshift memorial building amidst the rocks out of socks (IYKYK). The National Trust has strongly discouraged the practice, citing obvious environmental concerns, but it remains a stalemate. Dobby was a real one, though, and his sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Weird wild stuff, indeed, but once again, #Florida man comes through with the finery to retain the crown. We’ll actually name him this time: Matthew Concepcion, 19, who beat more than 1,000 competitors from 32 states in a 10-day Burmese python hunting contest sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. It’s an invasive species that, much like conservatism, has flourished in South Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The longest one caught was 11 feet, but they can get to almost double that size. Out of 231 total pythons caught, 28 were Concepcion’s, and that earned him a $10,000 grand prize. When asked what he would spend the money on, he said his first purchase would be better lights for his python hunting truck.

The Truth Behind Thanksgiving and Its Odd Traditions

Words by Ambar Ramirez

We’ve all heard the story in elementary school, probably while wearing pilgrim hats made out of construction paper. In the process of tracing our hands to make turkey decorations, the teacher would walk up to the front of the room and ask, “Do any of you know why we celebrate Thanksgiving”? To which we would all reply with a collective “nooo.” She would go on to tell the story…

It was November 1621. The Mayflower had been sailing for more than two months, under harsh conditions within and outside the ship. The group of 102 Europeans seeking a place of refuge to freely practice their religion, landed in what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they were greeted by supposedly smiling (and fluent in English?) Native Americans. Squanto, a Patuxet tribe member, would go on to happily help the disease-ridden Mayflower passengers and teach them how to live off the land. Along with their first successful harvest, the pilgrims and Native Americans gathered a huge feast to celebrate and came to an agreement to protect each other. And they lived happily ever after.

Now every year we give thanks by throwing extravagant dinner parties, inviting all of our family members and friends, and eating so much food ’til we drop.

While the aspect of sharing thanks is a positive and (possibly) true telling of the first Thanksgiving, celebrating the holiday also silences the years of exploitation and crimes committed against Native Americans and other indigenous groups. And the lighthearted narrative traditionally taught in school does not, in the slightest, depict what actually happened back in 1621.

Prior to the Mayflower landing in Massachusetts, Europeans had been capturing and selling indigenous people to the slave trade for years. It was during these excursions that the Europeans brought about disease and violence to the native tribes. Illnesses rapidly spread through the tribes, completely wiping out most of them over three years, including the tribe of Tisquantum (or as you may know him “Squanto”). It was where Tisquantum’s village once stood that the pilgrims would establish Plymouth.

But it wasn’t Tisquantum’s idea to welcome the pilgrims with open arms, as he had just escaped the Europeans himself after being captured by slave traders six years prior. It was at the hand of the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, who thought having the pilgrims as allies would aid the tribe against their rivals, the Narragansett tribe. Massasoit held Tisquantum prisoner and used him as a translator between the groups. After Tisquantum established himself as a key source to the pilgrims, teaching them how to plant corn and beans (and how to shower), the Wampanoag tribe and pilgrims formed a treaty that guaranteed protection on both ends.

The pilgrims then celebrated a prayerful feast with stolen harvests and gunshots. The sound of the rifles prompted the Wampanoag to prepare for battle and investigate their pilgrim neighbors, only to find them in the midst of their regular colonist celebration. Instead of prompting a war, the tribe used their prepared weapons to hunt meat that they shared with the pilgrims and held what is now known as the “First Thanksgiving” for the following three days.

The Native Americans did not willingly accept protection or allegiance just because they were friendly. It was due to years of disease, massacres, and the need for a sense of security that prompted the tribe to fearingly hand over their knowledge. And by 1637 the peace between

the pilgrims and tribes would disintegrate, prompting decade-long wars. Wars that would end with most native tribes erased from history.

Unfortunately , the story of the “First Thanksgiving” isn’t even the only misconstrued aspect of the widely celebrated holiday.

The real reason why we even celebrate Thanksgiving has nothing to do with the event that took place centuries ago and is tied to what most holidays are centered around in America: business or the remembrance of some war won.

The first mention of the holiday was by George Washington in 1789 when he signed the proclamation for “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” In 1863 Abraham Lincoln encouraged Americans to recognize the last Thursday of November as “a day of Thanksgiving,” as a way to unite the American identity during the schism created by the Civil War. It wouldn’t be until 1870 that congress would declare Thanksgiving a national holiday, one that would be up to the president’s discretion as to when it should be celebrated.

Franklin D. Roosevelt kept Lincoln's tradition of setting Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November as a way to extend Christmas shopping and help businesses gain more money after the Great Depression. It was November 28, 1940 when the last Thursday of November officially became the day of Thanksgiving when Massachusetts representative Allen Treadway made a plea to Congress.

But what about the pumpkin pie and stuffed turkey that fill our tables each November? Or the breaking of the wishbone and the man of the house having to take the first cut at the turkey? Did the pilgrims and Native Americans understand each other as they went around the table and gave a list of things they were thankful for? They definitely didn’t have TVs to watch the football game on or football games at all.

The tradition of breaking wishbones actually comes from an old tradition that dates back to an ancient Italian civilization. The Etruscans would regularly practice bird divination, and it somehow found its way to becoming a modern-day Thanksgiving tradition. Men having to carve the turkey refers to an old chivalry code in which women cook the food while the men eat it. ( I like to think we’ve moved on from that outdated rule as a society.) Football games on Thanksgiving day basically started with the game's inception in 1876, mainly because it's a day everybody had off from work and school. Most, if not all, of these traditions are linked to something unrelated to what happened back in Plymouth in 1621. And yet, while there are 574 governmentally recognized native tribes active in the United States, it seems that Thanksgiving is the only time these groups are acknowledged.

The myths and facts of the popular holiday are enmeshed like the mashed potatoes and gravy that fill your plate. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power. With this new knowledge, I hope that during your Thanksgiving festivities you acknowledge its true history and put a stop to the silencing of a demographic that is very much still relevant.

The Unexpected LEGAL ADVICE

Words by John M. Phillips

Life is filled with the unexpected. A job promotion or a spontaneous trip are some of the good kinds of surprises that life brings. However, every once in a while, life changes in an unexpected way after an accident like a slip and fall or a fender-bender. If you ever find yourself injured in an accident, the process of recovery can be filled with medical, financial and legal challenges that can be tough to navigate alone.

First Things First: Go to the doctor, be honest and be detailed.

The first thing any injured person should do is to see a doctor. This is not only an important first step towards healing, but it is very important that any injuries are documented by a medical professional. These records will be crucial in future legal matters. Insurance carriers and their lawyers always look to use evidence against you. For example, they look at how long it took to get to a doctor, what injuries you complained about or what issues you didn’t complain about. They will comb through your records in painful detail. So, get medical attention, be honest and be detailed.

If necessary, hire a lawyer.

Hiring a lawyer is a very personal decision. Given the over-the-top advertising antics employed by some firms, deciding who to hire can be an overwhelming experience. Should I go with someone who is for the people or someone who is on my side? The truth is – not all lawyers have your best interest at heart.

Back when I was first learning how to be a lawyer, I worked as a law clerk for the Honorable James C. Woods. Lawyering, you might say, is in my blood. In fact, I come from a long line of lawyers. My grandfather and great-grandfather on my mother’s side were both attorneys in Mississippi. My great-grandfather was an elected judge. I was raised on stories about their work, some of which rivaled the literary legend of Atticus Finch. These great men served others regardless of the ability to pay, race and other challenging factors that influenced southern life back then. I discuss some of this in my TEDx talk. Link/QR.

Back in 2001, I accepted a job with an insurance defense firm and relocated to what would become my home - Jacksonville, Florida. I thought insurance defense would fit me. In college I’d often joked that I would have been a doctor but for the fact I was “grossed out by other people’s blood.” In the beginning, insurance defense did fit me.

Most people don’t know much about insurance defense. In other words, it’s a lawyer who works for the insurance company. Most of the lawyering happens rather quietly behind the scenes. Driver’s buy automobile insurance from the likes of State Farm, Geico, or Allstate and buried within those contracts is how their attorneys are picked. I was one of those lawyers.

For the first half of my career, my job was to keep payouts low. And I was really good at it. There was a lot of: Those injuries weren’t caused by this; those injuries were inevitable; you overstated what you cannot do; and my favorite, we have surveillance to prove it. I spent my days going from deposition to deposition, getting opposing parties to loosen up and ultimately saving insurance and big business clients money.

It was not until I crossed paths with a woman named Misty that I started having second thoughts. Misty had been in a pretty bad car wreck. She had spine injuries that required surgery. She was a working wife and mother. She said at her deposition she couldn’t lift 5-10 pounds and my insurance company client paid for surveillance to prove, in fact, she could life gallons of milk and other groceries just fine. Not only that, the private investigator had the audacity to lift her toddler up and down in the ocean over a Memorial Day weekend. As I watched her do all of the things a great mom does no matter what pain they have, I compared it to her medical records. She was injured. No doubt about it. She had no prior history. But she had been inconsistent with the truth. We used it against her and settled the case for less than policy limits.

I won.

But I felt terrible. I was starting to really see and feel the mudslinging my job required. I had disdain for many of the tricks lawyers used and still do, but that didn’t make this flea market negotiation right.

Tricks of the trade.

I was once told by an older lawyer, “Look, you make your hourly fees for a few months and then tell your adjuster to get to mediation. I’ll convince her we have a pretty good case and you get paid and I get paid.” The simple honesty of some of the grossness of personal injury stuck with me.

So, I switched sides. I accepted a job with a large plaintiff’s firm that we’ll call Bargain & Bargain. I didn’t last two years. I thought I was going to right the wrongs but boy was I mistaken. I now had 400 cases and a staff who was hired based upon who they knew, not on their qualifications. Even worse, the business model cared about only one thing - money. “Fuck you, pay me,” was one lawyer’s catchphrase. I call this last-offer lawyering. It’s where you work the case to simply get the adjuster to bend and then the client to accept. Sometimes it’s fair, but it’s always lucrative. Size may matter, but bigger isn’t always better.

And there was always a plus-plus to consider. When you look at some attorney / client contracts, you see a lot of taking. For instance, in an older contract from a Jacksonville firm we’ll call Costs & Morecosts, standard costs were added to attorney fees. But even this wasn’t enough. They also charged for opening a file, keeping a file and for costs not captured by cost tracking? I’m not even sure what that is. They also charged clients a compound daily interest on things like postage stamps.

Think about that. Interest on the cost of a postage stamp. Whose side are they really on?

What to look for when hiring a lawyer.

It’s important to schedule a consultation with a good lawyer. Many of our clients are hurting, struggling and hoping they get better, but aren’t. You get one shot at recovery. Lawyers can help make sure the insurance companies are acting fairly. I worked for nearly a decade and could write a book about ways insurance carriers use your desire to be fair and reasonable - against you.

Carriers also pay attention to the lawyer you hire. They see if you let your doctor pick one of their friends. They can tell if you have fallen for a certain kind of advertisement. They look at a lawyer’s reputation. One local firm calls themselves preeminent and the best, only they do not try cases. They will refer a case out to another firm if they can’t settle it. And carriers pay attention to this and use it to their benefit.

Insurance carriers try to negotiate every dollar they can, because all of those dollars add up to millions more for their Board of Directors. Attorneys matter. Defendants and their carriers will change their game plan when an experienced lawyer is involved. For these reasons, people should select lawyers carefully.

When choosing a lawyer, it’s important to make sure it is the lawyer him or herself who shows up to meet with you. Check their jury trial record- as first chair. Have they ever been to a trial? You are hiring a lawyer and deserve their time. Also, ask for sample closing costs. As we mentioned, many lawyers charge for faxes, phone calls, scanning, postage, “in house courier” charges and even interest in these charges. When you pay more and get less, you are making them “bigger,” and not you better.

Personal injury law requires knowledge about medical science and biomechanics (the forces on a body in a wreck or a fall). The science is far greater and more specific than you’d think. The other side, the insurance defense attorneys, have doctors and huge bankrolls on their side. You should have a knowledgeable lawyer on yours.

The Florida Bar has a Board Certification process which is the expert standard for lawyers of most specialties. The Bar certifies lawyers who pass a full day examination and undergo extra training. Lawyers who have a documented history of going to trial and good peer reviews. If you are paying the same contingency fee no matter who you hire, we recommend hiring a Board-Certified lawyer. It makes a difference.

My journey as a lawyer has been filled with the unexpected. It’s been filled with twists and turns, some unexpected. Others are completely predictable in hindsight. However, my days of endless depositions and last-offer lawyering are behind me. At Phillips & Hunt, we only work for injury victims. Our business model is centered around JUSTICE. At Phillips & Hunt, justice is spelled one way but defined many different ways. In some cases, the definition is certainly financial restitution. But it is also important to make sure further wrongs are prevented. Phillips & Hunt is not afraid of the courtroom.

Words by Carmen Macri

Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.

It pains me to say that stuffing the family pet has made somewhat of a comeback, based on social media posts anyway. Losing a beloved animal is never easy, and there really is no right way to say farewell, but maybe turning the family pooch into a rug is more traumatizing than heartwarming. (Yes, someone actually did this, then tried to sell it on Facebook.)

We love walking through natural history museums and seeing onceliving animals frozen in time in their natural habitats. Even a deer head mounted on a wall does not warrant a second glance to most people. Pharaohs and royalty have been found buried next to their mummified pets, so why does gutting and stuffing our own pets seem so… disturbing?

There are dozens of different taxidermy styles. The most common is the original taxidermy when an animal is stuffed and mounted on some sort of stand. It usually involves arranging an animal's real skin over a premade form to make the animal look alive. Freeze-dried taxidermy is exactly what it sounds like. Using cold temperatures and vacuum pressure, taxidermists can remove all moisture from the animal while keeping the muscles and tissue intact — meaning the pet will remain in its original form. Welcome to Uncanny Valley.

May Baril is a professional taxidermist located in Quebec who has a deep appreciation for the art. “Life and death are two inseparable things,” Baril explained. “We are no longer in 1850; no one kills for taxidermy anymore. It is now about conservation and respect; the art of preserving the beauty of an animal forever and paying homage to it.”

Baril has been practicing taxidermy since early 2013. She fell into it by accident after moving into a home in the countryside of Quebec. She raised rabbits in a shed she built on the property, but she only used the rabbits’ meat. Not wanting to waste the skin and fur (Baril has a strict no-waste policy), she decided to look into taxidermy as a way to preserve them. After countless hours of watching videos and reading books on the subject, Baril decided she was ready to taxidermize her first rabbit. Both Baril and her husband were surprised with the outcome. Clearly, she had stumbled upon her calling. Rather than a regular bunny, Baril created a jackalope, which led to her business name, May Jackalope.

“[Pet] taxidermy is a multidisciplinary art,” Baril said. “You need to have a flame, a passion. For me, it's an obsession. You have to unconditionally love animals and have a lot of patience and resourcefulness.”

Pet taxidermy is a tricky thing with many seeing it as taboo. Dozens of cult classic horror films portray taxidermists as psychotic serial killers. Because taxidermy deals with death and “rebirth,” there is a stigma surrounding the entire art. People associate it with something morbid and gruesome when that is rarely the case. All of Baril’s taxidermy subjects are ethically sourced.

place in a pet cemetery with headstones and blooming flowers. Pet taxidermy, like most trends, will come and go and come back again. While it is not everyone's cup of tea, when done respectfully, (again, not turned into a rug or drone) it can be a beautiful art.

To see Baril’s work, check her out on at @May.jackelope on Instagram.

They're So Big Because They're Ful l ofSecrets

Words by Carmen Macri & Ambar Ramirez

Even if you say you don’t, we all love fast food. The question is: how much do you really know about these fast food giants?

With Thanksgiving coming around the corner, we know cooking a feast for a family of 10 can be a drag. Luckily we live in America where there is a McDonald's around every corner. And a Wendy’s and a Taco Bell and a Burger King and a KFC… You get the point.

But as times change, these companies change with us (or at least they try to). From menu changes to mascots, these fast-food giants are always looking for new ways to please the masses.

In order to regain its influence on kids and families, McDonald's came out with the well-known Happy Meals during the 1970s. While the McFamily at the time was not on board with targeting children with this new marketing tactic, it proved successful. Getting a toy with a happy meal became an essential element of the McMenu, so much so that McDonald's developed into one of the largest toy distributors in the country. And now, 52 years later, the popular junk food icon is taking a trip back in time.

Just like it did back in the ’70s when the company was facing strong competition and low revenue, McDonald’s had to bring attention back to itself by including toys in artistically styled boxes, turning the attention away from the food and toward creativity. Partnering with the rising apparel company Cactus Flea Market, McDonald's recently added “Adult” Happy Meals to the menu. While the adult versions don't include a Ronald McDonald with french fries for pubes, it does include a selection of nostalgic, limited-edition toys, including a new member of the McCast, Cactus Buddy, in an ode to Cactus Flea Market. The appeal of these “adult” toys (not to be confused with “adult toys”) that display classic McDonald’s characters like Grimace, The Hamburglar and Birdie, isn’t about making toys for adults, but more so a fresh marketing tactic. A way for the aged company to regain its appeal with a younger generation that is into streetwear and collectibles.

Still, it seems that the fast-food chain will do anything to bury its past, but there's no forgetting the video we all watched in school explaining the “ingredients” that went into making the famous McNuggets (beaks and feet, we were told.) Exploiting children in their ads, frying supposedly vegetarian-friendly fries in the same oil used to cook meat, claiming its food is healthier than it is, the list of McScandals is long and kind of scary. Remember the 2004 documentary “SuperSize Me” where follow filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate <only> McDonald’s for 30 days … straight. Still, the (gross) facts revealed about the large chain didn’t stop people from consuming their products. And it didn’t stop the company from continuing to fall into some McSticky situations.

An ad released in the early 2000s showed a sneaky Ronald McDonald leaving Burger King with a bag full of Whoppers. And later, Burger King was found guilty of mimicking the Big Mac, fueling the 55-year-long feud between these two fast food giants.

It is ingrained in our earliest memories; The creepy king. (What is up with that?) Burger King has quite an interesting take on marketing strategies, one being to make their audience squirm in their seats. Much like Ronald McDonald, the king was everywhere. In late-night commercials slithering across the floor, staring at you through a Ring doorbell, or hiding in someone's bed … (Seriously.)

Struggling to keep up with the hype of McDonald's was creating, Burger King began falling far behind, until Pillsbury bought the company for $18 million dollars in 1970. With the home of the giggling doughboy behind them, Burger King was able to grow into America's second-largest burger chain. (Ouch.)

Burger King did not let that discourage them though! If they couldn’t be number one for burgers, they'd be number one for scandals.

Back in 2013, the U.K food industry was shocked after it had been revealed certain beef products contained traces of horse meat. The supplier, Silvercrest Foods plant, had sold “100% beef” that was actually 78% beef — and 29% horse meat… Yum! Silvercrest just so happened to be Burger King's supplier. Obviously, they took immediate action. But that didn't stop them from getting dragged on social media. They copied the Happy Meal with a very shortlived promotion called The Real Meal which included the Blue Meal, Salty Meal, Yaaas Meal and DGAF Meal with the tagline “No one is happy all the time, and that's OK.” Great message, but not a great marketing tactic. People quickly picked up on the fact it was a dig at McDonald’s.

From claiming their Impossible Whopper was vegan (it wasn't) to tweeting “Women belong in the kitchen,” Burger King is not afraid to piss off the public.

Cue the burger chain sex wars. In the early 2000s, Hardees and Burger King had a marketing competition on who could create the most explicit ad and get away with it. They do say that sex sells which is probably why one of the oldest fast-food chains started to gear its ads in a (dare I say) naughty approach.

Back in 2020, Krystal had to file for bankruptcy in response to low revenue and high competition. Instead of completely closing down stores and leaving the past in the past, the old-school eatery signed a deal with rapper 2 Chainz to get sales rolling. And what better way to kick off the interesting partnership than with a new menu item that hints at Gen Z slang?

The recently released 15-second long ad ends with social media

influencer, Brittany Renner saying, “Keep your main thing if you want. We just wanna be your side chick.” Considering that 2 Chainz doesn't eat beef or pork, it makes perfect sense that the first menu item to be added with the new head of creative marketing is the Side Chik sandwiches. Still, it makes us wonder if the fast food sex wars aren’t over.

Even the seemingly innocent chains have some sort of dark history. Founded by Dave Thomas, the fast food restaurant named after the youngest of his four daughters, Melinda Lou Wendy, is unsuspecting. I mean, who could think of anything wicked related to the red-haired pigtail icon? But her Twitter persona is ruthless…

In 2018 Wendy’s had Twitter in a chokehold. Everyone was tuning in to the savage tweets Wendy’s would post. Whether it was calling out the other fast-food giants or roasting their followers. (They asked for it.) When Wendy’s took to Twitter, it quickly became everyone's favorite Twitter account. Hosting “roasts” for anyone who would comment under the hashtag #NationalRoastDay.

Or the iconic response tweet to McDonald’s when they posted “Today we’ve announced that by mid-2018 all Quarter Pounder burgers at the majority of our restaurants will be cooked with fresh beef.” To which Wendy’s responded “So you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants? Asking for a friend.” The tweet went viral.

As we all know, Twitter can be a dangerous place. Wendy’s might have flown too close to the sun. With their Twitter popularity rising, it makes the fall that much harder. During the Trump campaign, it was revealed that the CEO of Wendy’s parent company had donated $440,000 to the campaign… which did not sit well with Twitter (for obvious reasons).

Of course, we can’t go into depth about <all> the fast-food scandals (you’re safe for now Taco Bell), but we also can’t end without talking about Kentucky Fried Chicken, better known as KFC.

Allegedly, the good ol’ Colonel Sanders, founder of the fried chicken chain, was a racist. The company has also been accused of serving cross-contaminated food, expired meat and fried paper towels all while promoting its “finger-lickin' good” slogan. KFC has tried to cover up these scandals by selling supposedly fresh grilled-chicken buckets and fire logs that will make your campfire smell like their very own fried mutant chickens.

We know that all this isn’t gonna change your mind about waiting in those long drive-through lines (especially after a night out). But hopefully, if anything, this information will make you think twice before scarfing down on those 20-piece chicken nuggets at 2 a.m.

Malls in a Digital Age

Where did all the mall rats go?

Words by Ambar Ramirez

I pull off to what I imagine used to be a packed parking lot, teeming with eager shoppers ready to spend away. Now, Regency Square Mall reflects what most low-tier shopping promenades look like, a ghost town. On one end of the mall, I recall getting tested for COVID at what must’ve been a Sears, on the other end Impact church stands where Belk once was. And what was once a large JCPenney has been refurbished into a car dealership.

But it's not just Regency Square mall that has faced what seems to be the end of an era. According to a report by Credit Suisse, one in four U.S. malls will close by 2022. Even the beloved department stores where you could find anything from kitchen utensils to shoes are having to file for bankruptcy as society and malls enter a new age.

Not too long ago I was scrolling through an old “Folio Weekly” (the Aug. 8, 2000 issue, to be exact). On the cover, three girls happily pose in front of Orange Park Mall. In the background, a large group of people gathered at what used to be the place to hang out. Back in the day, they were called “mall rats,” frequent mall goers who would go to the mall for social purposes.

I too remember putting on my best outfit and hitting the mall with my closest friends. With no plans of buying anything at all, we would maybe try on a couple of wedding gowns for fun and shove spoonfuls of Dippin’ Dots ice cream in our mouths while we walked through the crowded paths.

Nowadays, it seems like all the mall rats have gone underground, under where the booming malls once stood. Or maybe they have moved on to more hip and luxurious shopping destinations dubbed “outdoor lifestyle malls.” While the traditional malls we once knew may be dying, those that evolved fast enough are becoming more than just structures full of stores, stores and more stores.

In order to recover from the pandemic and lost business, malls had to either elevate the shopping experience or put up “for sale” signs. The malls that survived started to incorporate tenants like yoga studios and high-end restaurants. Those that didn’t see the writing on the wall sold vacated spaces to corporations and offices.

It's not just the pandemic that we have to blame for the change in shopping habits. It's tied to what is causing most businesses to sell out, the internet. Or, more so, internet giants like Amazon that can have your product delivered right to your doorstep within a day or two. The option of finding exactly what you are looking for online within seconds and at any time of day or night, compared to having to walk around aimlessly from store to store when the stores are actually open does not require much thought of the part of consumers. And it definitely does not leave much room for lowtier properties to compete.

But before the internet, smartphones and online shopping, traditional malls were the place to be. Especially at the height of the consumerist culture with decked-out store displays and stores like Hollister and Abercrombie that attracted mall goers with their signature (and slightly addictive) scents, there was <nowhere> else to be. Now, the culture has digressed from buying what everyone has to wanting something unique. Shopping from second-hand stores or being more conscious of which companies they buy from has also increased as a result.

Because of this shift, stores that took up the majority of space at these traditional malls are having to file for bankruptcy. The gildedage icon Sears has lost millions in revenue, laid off thousands of employees and recently reorganized due to bankruptcy. In fact, the world famous Sears Tower in Chicago, now called Willis Tower, now serves as home to a global insurance broker. Neiman Marcus, Gordmans and Barneys have all filed for bankruptcy in recent years, while some like Lord & Taylor have shut down retail outlets for good. Even Dillard’s at Regency Square Mall, the one department store still standing, regressed into a clearance center.

So it is time to say goodbye to walking around with hands full of bags from various stores and to sampling food court cuisine you would never otherwise eat. And say hello to where all the mall rats have gone: food bars and high-end designer stores.

Local Voices, Local Flair:

Jacksonville’s Zine Scene Looks To Grow

The organizers of a local zine fest are building on its success with the creation of a new nonprofit

Words by Lauren Fox

Chatter filled the Jacksonville Public Library on a recent Saturday afternoon, the excitement defying the hushed atmosphere people might expect from a house of books.

Near the library’s entrance stood Ma Bones, sporting a costume that matched her name — skeleton bones printed on her sweater and a cat-skull mask covering her face. Although dressed as death, her demeanor was lively and animated as she welcomed spectators to her table covered in self-published zines and “books to die for.” “What's really wonderful about these zines is that anybody can make them,” she said, unfolding one. “It’s a little bit like magic, I think.”

The Duval Comics and Zines Fest (DCAZ) celebrated that magic, with more than 1,000 people flocking to the Main Library downtown to connect with other creators and share their underground stories, bringing them to the surface. Death, philosophy, gender identity, Florida wildlife, fantasy and “time-warp stuff” were a few of the many themes the zines contained.

But the impact of the fest goes beyond letting people show off their work for one day.

Following the success of the event, co-founders Dan Waily and Lindsay Anderson are establishing DCAZ as a nonprofit organization, with plans to run zine-making workshops throughout the year and a dream of starting their own independent publishing center.

“We want to make sure the community has the engagement at their fingertips at any given moment,” Waily said. “We really want to use our resources to help others and self-publishing continue.”

Jacksonville’s zine scene is growing, with more creators of all ages and backgrounds embracing the medium of mini homemade magazines that are cheap to produce and easy to make.

Zines’ allure? Accessibility.

At DCAZ, crowds from different walks of life flocked to read the selfpublished stories of their Jacksonville neighbors. Long-time punks reminisced on the hardcore DIY movement that drew them to zines decades ago. Children and teens rushed to tables scattered with markers and collage materials to make their own zines for the first time.

“I would hope my zines have some sort of impact,” said Connor Poovey, who makes zines about Florida wildlife and conservation. “My feeling is that just having the conversation does something.” Starting conversations through self-publishing has been a part of the American experience dating back to Colonial days, with zines flourishing in the ’80s and ’90s. Things the mainstream press talk about today, like gender identity and racial inequality, were once underground concepts sketched out in handmade pamphlets and passed around.

“If you were on the outside or your story was deemed unworthy, zines were the place that anybody could go,” said comic artist and University of North Florida associate professor of art and design Andrew Kozlowski. “You can publish them yourself. You don’t need anybody to give approval.”

In recent years, zines have returned, as creators turn to new tools and modern ways of connecting with each other, favoring a physical medium for storytelling over a social media post.

At DCAZ, Kozlowski tended to a Riso printer the size of an oven, working with a steady line of eager zinesters waiting to make copies of their new works of art.

“This was a moment where I thought about community expression and what we do and make as a group, as a collective, as a city,” Kozlowski said.

That’s where accessibility plays in. For self-publishing to truly be a collective effort, the economic barriers must be broken down. Luckily, zines are cheap to make. Sketched on folded sheets of paper and photocopied, these collages of voices wait to be noticed. Their creators are diverse, their narratives even more so.

“Zines are about anything creative or obsessive or focused. It can be about why we don’t have the best transportation in Jacksonville, it can be about how to survive sexual assault, it can be about a lot of different things,” explained library associate Selome Brathwaite, who helped plan the event.

Zines are also about community.

Historically, zine makers spread their words by leaving their inexpensive pamphlets in places for others to find, whether it be in a bathroom, a doctor's office or a bus station.

“You’re not just scrolling past it online,” Waily said. “It's a physical something.”

To Kozlowski, physically making something, collaborating and expressing yourself through zines offers something tangible that online posts lack.

“When you’re making a zine, you’re physically making a form of your fascination,” Anderson said. “It's almost like you're making a shrine to it.”

A shrine to ideas, an assortment of voices, the narrative of Jacksonville’s people — all emerging with the turn of a page. Each design may be different. Each intention may deviate from those of its neighbors.

It’s a big city, after all, and no one can speak for everybody.

But these voices have one thing in common: A desire to be listened to.

Back on the Scene

Georgio Valentino is home, for the holidays

Words by Shelton Hull

It’s been almost three years since Georgio Valentino was last in Jacksonville, the site of his last real job, editor of “Folio Weekly.” He hopped a plane to Athens for vacation in March 2020, with plans to return in just a couple of weeks. But then the pandemic happened, and he was stuck. “Folio,” in its original incarnation, died a month later, and then Valentino was suddenly without a job, isolated from his family, his friends and all of his possessions, including his musical instruments.

Most people would have quickly been driven crazy, but since he was already crazy, he’s held up pretty well. “I don’t do much these days,” Valentino said via Zoom from his hotel in Bologna, Italy. “I wake up, I hang out, and then I go to sleep.” He’s being modest, typically so, underselling the fact that 2022 has been one of the busiest years in his three-decade music career. But this was his day off, and he hasn’t had too many of those lately. Valentino maintains his base in Greece, where he has carved out a whole new existence for himself, although he hasn’t really spent much time there recently.

Between his own music, and his extensive side work with friends, Valentino has spent much of the past few months on the road, as he was at the time of our conversation. A big chunk of the year was spent playing guitar in Crime and the City Solution, one of his favorite bands growing up. He is currently on a duo tour with another musical hero of his, Blaine L. Reininger.

Georgio visited family in West Palm Beach this spring, but there was no music on the itinerary. This time, however, he’s planning a proper return engagement, with at least three Florida performances scheduled for December.

The run begins at Rain Dogs on Dec. 9, followed by Dog Rose Brewing in St. Augustine on Dec. 10 and Epoca Brewing in Miami on Dec. 11. “The current iteration of the Georgio Valentino Band is Jax-centric,” he said. The Florida shows are trio gigs, featuring Jessica Leigh Walton on bass and Jason Irvin on drums, two more musicians out of the dozens who have worked for “Folio” over the years. “I'm looking forward to reconnecting with the whole ‘Folio’ fam in a big way!” he said.

Valentino’s newest album, “Lines of Flight,” dropped digitally last year, along with a limited-edition vinyl release. He’ll be bringing the last few extant copies to Florida, and it’s something you’re gonna

want to have. The cover was painted by artist Camille Marceau, the granddaughter of legendary French performance artist Marcel Marceau, while the music was recorded in a variety of locations like Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and, of course, Jacksonville.

“I took the first steps while I was still at ‘Folio,’” he said of the complicated recording process, which began with a chance meeting with his old Berlin buddy Craig Walker. “I ran down to have lunch with him in Orlando because I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and he said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come out to Berlin and get back in the game?’ Because I hadn’t made any music, at that point, in a couple of years. So I went to Berlin, and we wrote and recorded a track [“Bound Berlin”] in about three hours,” he recalled. “It was so much fun and so effortless that I thought, well, maybe I should start doing this again. Then, when I got stranded in Greece, I figured, well, I’ve got nothing else to do, so I might as well just work on some tunes.” Everyone was forced to develop our own coping mechanisms for the pandemic era, and for Valentino, music was the answer. “We had a couple of severe lockdowns here, so that was sort of a bright light,” he said. “Even though we couldn’t all be in the same room, jamming together, it was communication, it was cognition, it was contact with fun, familiar people. And it was <new>. I’ve been doing this all my life, but my recent experience has been not completely different, but different enough. It gave me something to focus on that wasn’t some kind of existential dread.”

This year has seen Valentino’s artistry on display in a variety of settings, each of which has its own particular vibe. “Touring with Crime is like running away with the circus for months at a time,” he said. “It's this big tent of characters and kit that somehow manages to slither from town to town without arrest or misadventure. Touring with Blaine is like a buddy movie, a joy ride to exotic destinations. Light footprint, max range, free and easy. And this Georgio Valentino Band tour is like going home.”

Valentino’s return to Florida is also planting the seeds for more extensive touring in the new year, mainly with Crime and the City Solution, but also with his own band. “As soon as it’s possible to do that safely, and predictably, because these things take so long to put together. I know a lot of musicians, but it will take time to scout out a full band and get them ready to tour the U.S.” The logistics of touring are always a challenge, especially going international with such a large group. “The biggest obstacle to performing live these days is brute expense,” he said. “Just when the pandemic started letting up, the price of everything, especially everything travel-related, exploded. That said, any challenge encourages innovation, and we're finding ways to survive. And it still beats working for a living!”

Flaunting the First Coast for the Children

Words by Molly Britt

The Women’s Board of Children’s Hospital is a board of devoted individuals who raise funds for the hospital ensuring the best healthcare available for the children served. One way they raise funds is through an annual event, which this year is the Winter Design Show: Flaunting the First Coast.

Taking place Dec. 2-4 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, the Winter Design Show “reimagines the beloved Art & Antique Show by featuring the work of top designers and artists as well as current trends in home décor.” Events include a black-tie event and lectures by renowned designers, antique dealers, and physicians, all leading up to the beloved Children’s Fashion Show featuring past and present patients of Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

The lectures feature Emmy-winning host of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and designer/carpenter Ty Pennington; neonatologist and star of TLC’s “The Little Couple” Dr. Jennifer Arnold; chief medical officer of Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville and author Dr. Gary Josephson; and author and acclaimed interior designer Janie Molster and . range from topics on overcoming challenges to designing your own spaces.

With more than 45 exhibitors, the weekend-long show is a great opportunity to shop for holiday gifts while supporting a great cause. “As we reach our five-year, $4 million pledge to fund an endowment to

support the new Neonatal Intensive Care Center, we are also marking five decades of helping to bring a world-class children’s hospital to our region,” said Robin Albaneze, president of The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital. “We hope to see thousands of returning and new faces come out to support and enjoy this event … with many new experiences that reflect the best of Northeast Florida.”

The annual event has been raising money for a Wolfson Children’s Hospital for the past 40 years, and this year’s iteration raises funds for the hospital’s new, state-of-the art Neonatal Intensive Care Cente, an endowment aimed at providing provide programs, equipment, and services for the new center.

The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital was the first organization to commit to an endowment for the new Borowy Family Children’s Critical Care Tower, and for more than four decades, this highly-anticipated event has helped to support and save the lives of thousands of patients.

The Women’s Board of Wolfson’s Children's Hospital was founded in 1973 by Ellen Cavert. Since its inception, the all-volunteer board has raised more than $34 million for community awareness and funds for the hospital’s various programs and services

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit womensboardwch.com.

An in-depth preview of the 2022 Winter Design Show benefiting Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital

November Screen Reviews

Words by Harry More

Black Adam

Warner Bros. and DC comics take another swing at its interconnected universe of superhero movies with this Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsonfronted bore about a god-like antihero. The film begins in the ancient country of Kahndaq, where a tyrannical king has enslaved much of the population and rules with an iron fist. When a young slave boy attempts to stage a revolution, he is given mythical powers by the Council of Wizards and becomes the heroic champion of Kahndaq, known as Black Adam, who kills the king before going into an eons-long slumber. But in the present day, Kahndaq is oppressed by a major criminal organization, which leads to freedom fighter Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) to awaken Black Adam in order to retake the mantle as the nation’s protector. This convoluted, uninspired plot is the least of this film’s worries; with stilted performances, flat dialogue and derivative action sequences also being major features in this final product. And “product” is a perfect description for this overly market- tested piece of corporate content masquerading as a movie. An entirely derivative and soulless enterprise that features no inherent character or substance but handily ticks off all the boxes that audiences would expect to find in a superhero origin story.

Johnson is best used when making jokes, using his gigantic physique for stunts and flashing his million-dollar smile. In “Black Adam” he does none of these things. Johnson became a star because of his charisma and one-of-a-kind ability to work a crowd, but the character he plays here is constantly stone faced, charmless and has few endearing factors, if any. Johnson simply isn’t a nuanced enough performer to make such a character compelling. The filmmakers attempt to forge some humanity out of Adam by including a budding friendship/guardian angel relationship with Adrianna’s young son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), who is intent on teaching Adam how to be a modern and cool superhero. But instead of pulling at heartstrings or creating laughs, it just plays out like a pale imitation of the relationship between John Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robot protector at the center of James Cameron’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” It is also a reminder that Johnson has failed to reach the movie star heights of Schwarzenegger, who is an everlasting icon of the screen. Perhaps it is because Johnson continues to work with directors who are content with meeting every studio mandate, while Schwarzenegger repeatedly worked with visionary artists like Cameron and Paul Verhoeven. “Black Adam” is an overlong and overwrought drag of a film that is a prime example of some of Hollywood’s worst tendencies, and there will undoubtedly be many more sequels to follow.

Barbarian

A woman (Georgina Campbell) arrives at an Airbnb she booked for the night only to find a mysterious man (Bill Skarsgård) has also made a reservation for the same time. The stay soon takes a sinister and shocking turn. Previously known for his work in comedy, most notably the sketch series “The Whitest Kids You Know,” writer and director Zach Cregger makes his horror debut with “Barbarian,” the sleeper hit of the fall. Cregger’s twisted and unpredictable screenplay is brought to the screen with confidence and a clear reverence for the horror genre. The film’s opening act expertly builds tension through impeccable pacing, which is inevitably released in satisfying but surprising ways. Campbell is excellent in her role, reinventing the scream queen character for a new generation by doing everything that we as an audience believe is the right decision in such a situation, almost as if she could hear the advice being yelled at the screen. Skarsgård also gives a strong performance, balancing both the appearance of being harmless and seemingly sinister. “Barbarian” is a film that benefits viewers who know as little about it as possible with the story regularly subverting expectations and constantly keeping the audience on the edge of their seat and second guessing what will happen next. It is also likely going to have you opting for a hotel on your next trip out of town.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

The iconic, pop music parody artist Weird Al Yankovic receives the biopic treatment in the most befitting of fashions; with a parody of overwrought musician biopics. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Weird Al, in his second comedic performance of the year after appearing in the Sandra Bullock/ Channing Tatum romcom “The Lost City.” Radcliffe has consistently made interesting choices as an actor, following his great success early on as a child, regularly choosing quirky or unique projects to work on. He has also professed his admiration for comedy throughout his career, and it is clear he is having the time of his life playing a beloved comedy star. He is able to sell the film’s many silly jokes with a knowing performance that leans into the overly dramatic. Written by Al Yankovic himself, alongside director Eric Appel, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” is packed with rapid fire jokes and cutting riffs the tropes of the biopic format; from improbably quickly written hit songs to the inevitable indulgence of drugs and alcohol. While the film treads on familiar ground as “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” starring John C. Reilly, “Weird” is still able to find humor in the biopic genre by delving into the absurd, as we see Al not only go through the usual highs and lows of a popstar career, but also take on Pablo Escobar and his cartel, among several other events that probably didn’t really happen. “Weird” is a funny and fitting tribute to the king of musical parodies that lives up to the spirit of its title.

Being the Elite

Austan Goolsbee meets the World Affairs

Words by Shelton Hull

The World Affairs Council’s new season has just begun, and we’re here to give you a quick preview.

The Council as we know it began in 1995, when it joined the larger network of World Affairs Councils of America, which now include over 90 chapters in 40 states. Its roots, though, go back a decade earlier. The list of speakers they’ve hosted have included world leaders, iconic journalists and pioneering figures in numerous industries and disciplines with an emphasis on media, foreign policy and military affairs.

The season began Sept. 14 with former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, followed by documentarian Lynn Novick on Oct. 25. Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler and Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist speaks Dec. 5.The final two events take place in the new year, starting Feb. 21 with Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and one of America’s leading foreign policy experts. She’ll be speaking specifically on U.S./Russian relations, a subject that will surely be as relevant four months from now as it’s been for the past 150 years or so. The season concludes on March 21 with an even spicier subject: U.S./Saudi relations, as explained by Graeme Woods, staff writer for “The Atlantic” who also lectures at Yale University.

The next sessions, which take place on Nov. 29 and 30, feature University of Chicago professor Austan Goolsbee, who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama. Goolsbee holds a master’s degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a Fulbright Scholar. He also hosted “History's Business” on the History Channel and wrote about money and culture (which go hand in hand, of course) for Slate and “The New York Times.” Goolsbee was always seen as a rising star in those circles, one with a unique skill for summarizing and explaining the complex nuances of global finance. Not only that, but he’s able to do it without being a jerk, which is extremely rare. This offers a rare opportunity for local audiences to take a real deep-dive into American economic policy from someone with executive branch experience.

At least 240 public figures have appeared at World Affairs Council events here since its inception. A partial list includes Madeleine Albright, Anne Applebaum, David Broder, Ken Burns, David Gergen, Richard Haas, Juliette Kayyam, Michio Kaku, Peggy Noonan, Condoleezza Rice, Alice Rivlin, Burt Rutan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Volcker, Lech Walesa, Bob Woodward, Steve Wozniak and Fareed Zakaria, as well as local legends John Delaney, Ed Hall, Megha Parekh and Shad Khan. But in any given session, the talent in the audience is right on par with the featured attraction. The

membership overlaps with many other centers of economic and political power in Northeast Florida, so the networking potential is itself a key selling point for attending.

Annual membership ranges from $40 for students and military to $1,700 for the Ambassador’s Circle. Regular memberships are $140 for adults ($225 for couples), with the 21-40 demographic offered a special “Council EDGE” rate of $75 ($100 for couples). It’s a great deal, at any price but especially at that price. Memberships include all kinds of perks, including discounted subscription rates to publications like “Harper’s Magazine,” “The Economist,” “Foreign Affairs Magazine” and “Foreign Service Journal.” Members also get into exclusive sessions and preferred access to a luxury travel agency run by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.

Sponsors and top-tier members of the World Affairs Council also have access to special events including presentations by Maria Ressa at Epping Forest on Dec. 4 and Graeme Wood at the The River Club on March 20.

The list of upper-tier members includes many movers and shakers spanning three generations of local history. They also run a variety of educational and mentorship initiatives. But the best part is that events, like Goolsbee’s, are free to the general public thanks to corporate sponsors and membership fees.

For more information on the World Affairs Council and upcoming

Folio Weed: Session Obsession

Words by Shelton Hull

What is an “influencer”? It means nothing, in my opinion, but also everything. No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has some type of platform, and everyone has an audience of some size. Social media has broken down a lot of the walls that once separated people based on race, politics and particularly economic status. The concept of “celebrity” is now so amorphous that the line between you and the creators you enjoy is so thin, it’s positively diaphanous.

Andy Warhol was exactly right, as usual, when he predicted that in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. Being a voracious consumer of tech, in all its form, Warhol (who died prematurely in 1987, as a result of lingering injuries from a near-fatal shooting back in 1969) would have loved the internet, particularly in its current format. In a sense, he could be considered the original influencer, and he helped set a standard for how artists can engage the business community. I say that, to say this: One piece of advice I always give people is to always tag companies on IG. Be it food, drink, clothing or anything else, always tag the brands you like, because you never know who’s watching.

In just the last few weeks, I’ve been sent a half-case each of seltzer from Stewart’s and the Hard Rock Cafe, as well as three massive bags of fine chocolate from Awake, which laces each bite with 50 mg of caffeine. Both of these items have proven quite useful in my day job, which today is writing a column about some really cool cannabis accessories I got in the mail, not even an hour ago, at this writing. It started with an email from one Ellie Bloom, representing Michele Marie PR in New York. (It’s always nice to get love from NYC—sooo validating!) She wanted to let me know about a new line of products from Session Goods.

She asked if I was interested in checking out a few samples, and I said “absolutely.” Because I am a professional. The box was on my doorstep within a week, and the goodies are now scattered in front of me as I type. The one-hitter is $22—cute, clean, clear, easybreezy, with a silicone tab to protect your fingers, although the glass is so thick, it’s not really a concern.

I also got a couple of their newest items, Stash Pods made of hard translucent plastic, about an inch long. These allow you to carry small nubbins of bud with you; I’d suggest grinding it up in advance, and then just dipping your one-hitter in. Now, if you’re more into spliffs, joints or blunts, they have a Stash Tube that’s four inches

long, which you will find as indispensable as anything four inches long can ever be. There’s nothing worse than having a pre-roll break in your pocket or purse, and you don’t know until the moment you need it. All of these gimmicks can attach to your keychain, but I would advise against that.

My favorite part of the package, however, was the designer “Cloud” pipe ($48), a beautiful conical masterpiece of frosted white borosilicate glass. It comes with a silicone sleeve that allows you to carry a fresh packed bowl anywhere without having to worry about weed or ash falling out into your briefcase or fanny pack. They really did think of everything, as far as maximizing the experience. In a market so heavily saturated, aesthetics are key.

This was just the tip (so to speak) of the proverbial iceberg, as Session Goods carries a whole array of items online. Their signature item is Bong. It is a bong (hence, the name), available in any of eight different colors at $185 each. All their pipes are made of 4mmthick borosilicate glass; they’re not indestructible, but it would take deliberate effort to break any of their stuff. It also has a sleek design with inset bowl, and a silicone footer for durability and ease of use, as well as two extra bowls, a backup downstem, cleaning caps and a mouth cover.

They don’t sell cannabis, just accessories, which makes their products safe to ship to all 50 states and most Western countries. They sell stems and bowls, large and small, as well as things like mouth covers for pipes and cleaning kits. This is nice, because hygiene in the pandemic era is a priority, a priori, plus if you’re gonna pay money for high-end bongs and such, you should take care of your stuff. They also sell an ashtray and a gorgeous little stash jar ($48 each), the latter of which is probably my favorite item in the whole line.

Also, since these items are for smoking cannabis, Session went ahead and curated a Spotify playlist corresponding to different moods. They also offer free shipping on your first order, and a whole rewards program for frequent shoppers. And that is something you will likely become, one you check them out for yourselves. You can even pay in installments. Just remember to tag them on social media, and tell them I sent you!

Quitting the 9-5 for Art

A feature on artist Christina Pope

Words by Molly Britt

On a canvas filled with bright and contrasting acrylic colors are mixes of patterns painted by abstract artist Christina Pope. The patterns make you want to stare at each canvas for hours trying to see something hidden. At least, I do.

“It’s always been my dream, since I was super little, to be an artist, but I never actually pursued it,” Pope said, so she followed along the path of 9-5 office jobs and “practical” careers, thinking that’s what she needed to do. It was not until recently that she became able to pursue a career as an artist. What was once just a hobby had become her dream come true after discussing with her partner how she could move toward working as an artist full-time without fear of repercussions, financial or otherwise.

While working at her office job, she realized she just “wanted to be happy,” and the path she was on was not getting her to that spot. “It all came down to just, what did I want to do every single day with my life, and I wanted to create,” Pope said, feeling creativity was what was missing in her day-to-day life. The lack of response to her art and her inability to draw reactions from people as just a hobby made her feel as if she was missing a big piece “of my heart.”

Interestingly, her passion for drawing has turned into a love for painting. About two years ago, she began working with acrylic paint and found it to be more versatile in creating her images. It wasn’t long before she was achieving more with her art than she even realized was possible.

Pope’s pieces range in color and style, making sure to keep her audience interested. Created with the goal for viewers to see themselves represented in her work, her work is also intended to elicit raw reactions, whatever types of reactions those will be. “I wanted to create conversations and create feelings. It’s not about what I’m creating, it’s about what people see in it,” Pope said.

At just the beginning of her long artistic career, she hopes for her work to be known…to get it in front of as many people as possible, so that she can make people question themselves when they see it and ask what it is. “I just want it to be seen” is Pope’s hope for her work.

Outside of her painting, Pope is passionate about her family and her “life’s dream.” She’s a laid-back member of a friendly family living on a piece of land they bought to roam around on. She enjoys her daily life with her partner and kids, as she is always willing to learn more from her self-taught art skills.

Yo, Terry and Shari:

I have a bit of an issue and don’t know if I should be mad or not. Every year we go on vacations mainly to Universal Orlando and always go with my two sons, their wives and five kids, and my daughter who just made 18. Long story short, I just found out I’ve been paying for everything. Rental house, two rental cars, tickets, express passes, dinners. Last year was $8,000. I don’t care about money one bit or what she spends. Hell, I don’t even know when payday is mostly lol. But for some reason, this rubbed me the wrong way. Especially since our 25th anniversary was last year, and I wanted to go to Seattle and Vancouver in April but was told we didn’t have the money for that trip. I’m never angry or mad at her, but I’m feeling a type of way: $8,000 could go a long way for two people on vacation. I know I will never say anything but should I?

TERRY: Be mad. Be very, very mad.

SHARI: That seems to be your default lately, Terry.

TERRY: Then people need to stop making me mad.

SHARI: He’s actually kinda like you, Terry. You both have chosen to put your money into the hands of your partners.

TERRY: Yes. But she likes to spend it while you like to save. Big difference. I think you’re actually in a good position here, Gee Jay. Since you keep your mouth shut about finances, it will carry more weight when you have to put your foot down. And make no mistake about it: You need to put your foot down.

SHARI: I agree. It’s a little disrespectful.

TERRY: Ya think?

SHARI: Well, at the very least, it feels like your good nature is being taken advantage of.

TERRY: And speaking from experience, that hurts a little more.

SHARI: You definitely need to say something to her, Gee Jay. And you should do it now while you’re hot.

TERRY: Yes, you should. Now is the time. We say that because you seem like the kind of guy who will let this pass. And like I said earlier, you have leverage now. Let me know how it goes because I may want to have a similar talk with Shari.

SHARI: Wait. What?

TERRY: Yes, we need to talk.

SHARI: About what?

TERRY: He said something in his email that got under my skin. That’s all.

SHARI: Well, let’s hear it.

TERRY: OK. I don’t like it when you plan

expensive dinners or weekend stays at one of your stupid Airbnbs and then tell me we can’t afford to go where I want to go. Now before you try to defend yourself, I have to tell you that I take full responsibility for not being more communicative and letting these moments pass without saying anything. It’s totally my fault.

SHARI: That’s tough because you guys can’t have it both ways. You’re sending us mixed messages by saying you want nothing to do with the finances and then complain about it when it suits you.

TERRY: Good point. Fair enough. Here’s what we need to do, Gee Jay. We should open up the door to communication a little more. We have to be a little more vocal and get our partners in the headspace that we really do care from time to time.

SHARI: OK. Where do you want to go, Terry?

TERRY: Your mama’s.

SHARI: Go ahead.

Gee Jay