FREE MAR.3.2021
ROOTED AND
BLOOMING:
NONPROFITS FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES MAKE SYSTEM WORK FOR THEM
THE STORY BEHIND LEXINGTON’S HISTORIC NARCOTIC FARM | PAGE 5
WHERE TO SEE LOCAL ART THIS MONTH | PAGE 21
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
1
fashion forward without spending a fortune shopsassyfoxconsign.com
LOUISVILLE ECCENTRIC OBSERVER
Volume 31 | Number 12 New Hours Tue–Fri 11–5 pm Sat 10–4 pm
502.895.3711 150 Chenoweth Ln
974 BRECKENRIDGE LANE #170. LOUISVILLE KY 40207 PHONE (502) 895-9770 FAX (502) 895-9779
FREE MAR.3.2021
ROOTED AND
BLOOMING:
NONPROFITS FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES MAKE SYSTEM WORK FOR THEM
LISTEN NOW
THE STORY BEHIND LEXINGTON’S HISTORIC NARCOTIC FARM | PAGE 5
ON THE COVER
FOUNDER
John Yarmuth EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Aaron Yarmuth, ayarmuth@leoweekly.com PUBLISHER
PODCASTS FOR EVERYONE Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or find all of our podcasts on the LPM app.
BY TALON HAMPTON
WHERE TO SEE LOCAL ART THIS MONTH | PAGE 21
Laura Snyder, lsnyder@redpinmedia.com OFFICE MANAGER
Elizabeth Knapp, eknapp@redpinmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR
Scott Recker, srecker@leoweekly.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Robin Garr, Sean Koogan, Chef BoyLardee, Nancy Campbell, James P. Olsen, Luke Walden, Marty Rosen, Carolyn Brown Writer Illustrations by Yoko Molotov ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
Marsha Blacker, mblacker@leoweekly.com Julie Koening, jkoenig@redpinmedia.com Karen Pierce, kpierce @redpinmedia.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
Megan Campbell Smith: distribution@leoweekly.com
A&E EDITOR
Erica Rucker, erucker@leoweekly.com STAFF WRITER
Danielle Grady, dgrady@leoweekly.com ART DIRECTOR
Talon Hampton, thampton@redpinmedia.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Lane Levitch, lane@redpinmedia.com CONTRIBUTING VISUAL ARTS EDITOR
Jo Anne Triplett, jtriplettart@yahoo.com
LEO Weekly is published weekly by LEO Weekly LLC. Copyright LEO Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Publisher. LEO Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express permission of LEO Weekly LLC. LEO Weekly may be distributed only by authorized independent contractors or authorized distributors. Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) is a trademark of LEO Weekly LLC.
2
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
R
VIEWS
EDITOR’S NOTE
STATE REPUBLICANS ARE WORKING TO DISRUPT CITY GOVERNMENT By Aaron Yarmuth | leo@leoweekly.com AS I WROTE three weeks ago about Republican state lawmakers renewing their “War on Louisville,” the new offensive might be their most disgraceful yet. Since then, it’s only become more clear how callously partisan — and dangerous — their proposal is. At issue is House Bill 309. If passed, Louisville’s new civilian review board would attain indirect subpoena power by request from — and granted through — the Metro Oversight committee. Although some critics say it doesn’t go far enough, this would still be a significant reform following the LMPD killing Breonna Taylor. Unfortunately, everything else in 309 is just a wretched Republican power grab, including several unrelated provisions that aim to subvert the will of Louisville voters. Any outcome will not end well for the four Republican co-sponsors from Louisville. But Senate Democrat Morgan McGarvey might have thrown them a life raft. On Monday, Senate Bill 247 was voted out of committee on a bipartisan vote, which included Republican Senate President Robert Stivers. If passed, this bill would deliver police oversight reform similar to the House bill, but without the unrelated partisan deadweight. And it could allow the House to abandon ship on 309.
At the time of press, HB 309 has not passed through the House. If it does, Senate Democrats should oppose it, and work to dismantle every partisan provision possible. Here’s a look at how most of these other, non-police oversight reforms in HB 309 are purely partisan plays. If passed, HB 309 would make Louisville’s mayoral elections nonpartisan — meaning mayoral candidates would not run, or be listed on ballots, as Democrat or Republican. A lot is wrong with this, but the Rev. David L. Snardon, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition, said it best in a Courier Journal op-ed: “That is an obvious attempt to weaken the political voice of the people of color in Louisville and make it easier for a Republican to get elected to the city’s top job. Republicans want to gain control of Louisville even to the point of using the pain and suffering of the citizens of Louisville as a bargaining chip.” Further, while nonpartisan mayors are not uncommon in American cities, none are nonpartisan alongside a partisan council. Louisville would be the first. If passed, mayors would be limited to two 4-year terms. This is fine to debate, with reasonable arguments on both sides. But, to Republicans, this only increases the opportunities
for them to snatch an open seat, which is much easier than defeating an incumbent. If passed, the Metro Council would have to approve all settlements exceeding $1 million, such as the $12 million settlement reached with Breonna Taylor’s family. I can’t imagine any Metro Council member lobbying for this provision. There is no upside to inserting oneself into a settlement agreement, which by definition is compensation for wrongdoing by the city. The only possible motive for this provision has to be to force Democrats on the Council into taking more hard votes. So, council person, either vote against the Taylor family receiving $12 million, or add $12 million to the settlement total you’ve authorized… which you can expect to see on campaign material in your next election. If passed, Metro Council would be empowered to subpoena current and former members of Metro Government, such as the mayor or former mayor. This is the Republican’s version of “The Hunger Games” — they’re providing the weapons for Democrats to attack one another. If that sounds cynical, consider how many council members would love to use this power to promote their own political ambitions by investigating the current (or former) mayor.
What’s worse, the bill’s lead sponsor, Republican Rep. Jerry Miller, blatantly misled the public when he initially introduced the bill. “He argued it could be worth the try after ‘what Louisville’s been through over the past year,’” the CJ reported. Miller’s explanation only changed when Democratic Councilman Bill Hollander pointed out Republicans introduced a nonpartisan-mayor bill last year — before what Louisville “went through over the past year.” The entirety of the Republican power grab is bad enough. That they’re baking it in with the one thing Democrats want desperately, in an effort to make it “bipartisan,” makes it truly disgraceful. There’s no arguing it’s a difficult vote for Democrats — I’m not certain I could trade real police oversight for protecting mayoral elections and other items. On the other hand, our election systems are under attack by Republicans across the country. And, without the strength and integrity of our democratic systems, injustice and abuses of power will only worsen. Lawmakers should pursue the clean, bipartisan Senate bill. If not, Democrats shouldn’t reward Republicans by supporting their fraudulent reforms. •
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
3
VOT E D B EST
VIEWS
LO U I SVI L L E D I ST I L L E RY
JUST ANOTHER DAY:
D I ST I L L E RY AM E R I CAN B RAN DY, G I N & ABSINTHE DISTILLERY AM E R I CAN B RAN DY AGED IN KENTUCKY BOURBON BAR R E LS EXPERIENCE SONIC AGING: LISTEN TO THE BARRELS ROCK ‘N ROLL E XP LO R E T H E S KYD EC K & TAKE I N T H E VI EWS O F D OWN TOWN LO U I SVI L L E
11 2 1 E . WAS H I N GTO N ST LO U I SVI L L E , KY 4 020 6
CO P P E RAN D KI N G S.CO M 4
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
WORKING IN A BIG-BOX STORE By Sean Koogan | leo@leoweekly.com EMPLOYED at a big-box retail store during the pandemic has been like being stuck in a “Groundhog Day”-like loop, but with the intense unpredictability of Russian roulette. My job and our protocol remains consistent, but I don’t know whether I am going to be accosted or leave with a smile. Moments of happiness used to manifest from the smallest action, like a person placing their cart in the corral for example. Witnessing a pay-it-forward situation where a person waiting in line provided the $10 needed to cover the remaining balance for a recently-unemployed individual so they might eat. Even the smallest gesture like saying “thank you” used to give my toes a tingle, however, everything has changed. Group mentality, perpetuated by panic, hate and disbelief have remained constant this past year, breeding an atmosphere of looming negativity. The paradigm of unacceptable behavior has shifted from the actions of a few sometimes ruining it for the rest, to abhorrent actions being constant. There are still plenty of great and patient people that I see every day, but there’s been a dramatic escalation in absurd and dangerous behavior. We have all laughed or at least chuckled at the toilet paper incident at the beginning of quarantine, but this was merely the gunshot at the beginning of the race. Waiting in line for at least an hour before the store’s opening, people raced to the paper when everything unlocked, sprinted down aisle-ways. People crawled
over one another, pulled others down and pushed them to the ground in acts of pure savagery. Then they climbed the steel in hunt for the reserves when we ran out. While the product may change, this mentality and these actions do not. Every day at work I receive and endure a constant onslaught of verbal assault. Phrases like “fuck you” “fuck your family, I hope they fucking die” “you fucking communist” are regularly belted into my face because I’ve asked someone to wear or pull up their mask, to socially distance, because I told them we ran out of an item, so-on-so-forth. Coworkers have been physically assaulted, pushed to the ground and worse, because someone did not agree with the safety measures we are actively enforcing. A month ago, after an argument with a manager, a customer lifted up his shirt and pointed at a gun. My guttural reaction was just “…OK” — not because I am a badass who fears nothing, rather it is par for the course. I have become numb, yet I’m always on edge. I am writing this to make a plea for civility, patience and understanding. This year has been difficult for everyone, but these actions are unacceptable. We are all scared, and mad, and more, but there is no reason to make this way of acting our new normal. We are all in this together, and together is how we are going to get through this pandemic. •
VIEWS
‘NARCOTIC FARM: THE RISE AND FALL OF AMERICA’S FIRST PRISON FOR DRUG ADDICTS’ By Nancy Campbell, James P. Olsen, and Luke Walden | leo@leoweekly.com [Editor’s Note: On March 16, University Press Of Kentucky will release “Narcotic Farm: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Prison for Drug Addicts” by Nancy D. Campbell, James P. Olsen and Luke Walden. The book looks at the United States Narcotic Farm, which opened in 1935 in the rolling hills of Kentucky horse country. It pioneered new treatments, such as prescribing methadone to manage heroin withdrawal, but the facility closed after the U.S. Congress learned that Narco researchers had recruited patients as test subjects for CIA-funded LSD experiments from 1953 to 1962, part of the notorious project MK-Ultra. Below are experts from three chapters of ‘Narcotic Farm.’]
e an s THE LEXINGTON CURE
[FROM CHAPTER 4]
Narco’s admission process was similar to that of any federal prison. Upon arrival, convicts and volunteers were photographed, issued a number, and stripsearched. Their shoe soles and boot heels were pried open by security staff vigilantly searching for dope. If any needles m or dope were discovered — volunteers Co- frequently arrived stoned and transporting , paraphernalia — they were confiscated. se Patients were then handed hospital pajamas and sent to the medical ward for a complete physical. h As part of the admission process, t volunteers and inmates were compelled to onfill out government forms detailing their complete history of drug use: How old r were you when you started? What is your t drug of choice? How big is your habit? How many times have you tried to quit? Afterward, patients underwent psychologiis cal tests designed to assess the severity t of their addiction. Barring acute medical all emergencies, volunteers were then sent to the detoxification ward (federal convicts ur were typically already drug-free when they were transported to the institution). On the detox ward, nurses administered morphine shots of gradually decreasing dosages for a safe withdrawal. After 1948, methadone, which was first experimentally tested on inmates inside the institution, was substituted for morphine.
A patient at the United States Narcotic Farm in 1951. | PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY.
Throughout the institution’s fortyyear history, the detox process remained essentially unchanged. Usually, upwards of a dozen people were detoxified at one time — men and women were detoxed separately. Former patients recall that nurses doled out barbiturates, known as “goofballs,” to blunt the effects of opiate withdrawal. Patients were also treated with “flow baths” — essentially a primitive Jacuzzi — to help soothe their frayed nerves. Patients’ recollections of detox vary. John Stallone, who had kicked drugs numerous times before, remembers the Lexington cure as very pleasant. To author William S. Burroughs, however, who showed up in the late 1940s and recounted his experience in the semi-autobiographi-
cal novel “Junkie,” detox at Narco merely delayed and “suspended the sickness” of heroin withdrawal. Yet Burroughs was likely in the minority. Most addicts preferred detoxing at Lexington to going “cold turkey” in city and country jails where, reputation had it, lawmen harassed and sometimes savagely beat those who complained about their suffering. In all, detoxification lasted slightly less than two weeks. Patients were then sent into the general prison population so rehabilitation could begin.
DOWN ON THE FARM [FROM CHAPTER 7]
Narco’s placement on a farm in the verdant, rolling hills of Kentucky was
not a coincidence. Rather, the farm was central to the institution’s rehabilitation philosophy. Narco’s treatment program was conceived around the idea of an agricultural work regimen in a bucolic rural tableau. Fresh air and sunshine would reinvigorate addicts, farming would teach them the virtue of hard work, and their newfound work ethic would sustain their lifelong abstinence from drugs. It was a massive agricultural operation. Patients rose before dawn to milk cows, harvested everything from corn to kale to beans, and butchered dozens of pigs and cows. Robert Maclin, who ran the farm operation from 1951 to 1968, recalls a tomato harvest so large that patients canned 1,500 gallons of tomato juice in a single day. All this produce nourished LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
5
VIEWS
Virtual Feathers & Friends Ken-Ducky Derby Kick-off
Join Harbor House for great auction items & FUN! Presenting Sponsor
Scan me
Connect with Harbor House Saturday, March 13th, 7pm-8pm, via Zoom Meeting ID: 973 4605 7076 Passcode: 910912 Register early at: bidpal.net/feathersandfriends or TEXT "feathersandfriends" to 243-725 Questions? Contact Mary Martinez at Mmartinez@hhlou.org or 502-719-0072 ext. 529
6
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
addicts’ ravaged bodies and kept the institution largely self-sufficient. But despite glowing culinary reviews from patients and staff and its ongoing utility to the institution, the farm never achieved its therapeutic goals. Many of the inmates who hailed from large cities had little use for the skills they learned on the farm. For some, sowing the fields of green, slaughtering pigs, and wading through knee-high cow manure came as a shock. Former patient Stanley Novick, who worked on the farm in 1949, remembers: “Coming from Brooklyn, I had never touched a cow. I was afraid of the cows. They’re scary.” By the early 1950s it was obvious to everyone that farm work didn’t cure drug addiction. But the farm continued on, providing the institution with healthy food well into the next decade. Changes brought on by new laws and evolving social attitudes dramatically altered the institution. After 1968 Narco was no longer a prison hospital, it was just a hospital. All patients were volunteers who could not be compelled to work. With that, the farm was closed and its livestock sold at auction. Soon after, patient protests erupted over the poor quality of Narco’s new institutional food.
THE GREATEST BAND YOU NEVER HEARD [FROM CHAPTER 10]
By the mid-1950s Lexington had become an elite fraternity for addicts as well as the epicenter of drug culture in America. The soundtrack of the new junkie subculture was jazz, and some of this country’s best jazz was played at Narco. Heroin and jazz were so closely linked that many distinguished artists of the era — Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington, and others — spoke bitterly to the press about how the drug was devastating a generation of gifted musicians and how these musicians, desperate for heroin, were easy marks for law enforcement. Less openly discussed by those in the scene was the fact that some players, pressured by draconian drug laws of the time, avoided arrest by becoming informants who in turn helped imprison their peers. Along the way many musicians spent a few days, a few weeks, or even years at the Lexington narcotics hospital. The list of jazz players at Lex reads like a who’s who of the genre: Chet Baker, Elvin
Jones, Stan Levey, Jackie McLean, Red Rodney, Sonny Rollins, and many others. In fact, among jazz fans the institution soon acquired a reputation as a workshop for musicians. On the streets of New York and Chicago, the lore was that young musicians were checking themselves into the notorious institution merely for the opportunity to sit in with the masters. Even Frank Sinatra’s character “Frankie Machine” in “The Man with the Golden Arm” begins the film by excitedly telling his pals that he’s just returned from the Lexington hospital. Now clean, Sinatra’s character describes Narco as a compassionate place whose treatment regimen embraces musicians, a place where prison doctors encouraged him to play drums as part of his therapy. This Hollywood portrayal is more accurate than not. Throughout its history, Narco supplied musicians with serviceable instruments, practice rooms, and an audience of incarcerated addicts eager to pack the institution’s 1,300-seat theater for spectacular inmate-produced shows featuring a variety of big bands and combos. At one time there were as many as half a dozen jazz combos performing inside the institution. The shows were a source of joy for the inmates, the staff, and even hip locals from Lexington who came to hear big-city jazz right at home in Kentucky. “The first time I went there I heard Tadd Dameron, Sonny Stitt, Joe Guy, and many others,” recalls Byron Romanowitz, a Lexington-based musician who watched several prison jazz shows in the late 1940s and 1950s. “Their big band was an all-star group, there’s no question about it.” Regrettably, there are no known recordings of the prison jazz bands that played at Lexington; the only legacy is in recollections, photographs, and snippets of silent films. But for one night in 1964 the swinging sounds of jazz at Lex filled living rooms across the country. An orchestra made up of Lexington patients performed for the nation on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. It was the highest-profile gig in the prison’s history, but mainstream fame was fleeting: The tapes from this broadcast were accidentally erased decades ago. It was the greatest band you never heard. •
NEWS & ANALYSIS
AFTER A SHAKY YEAR AND A TURBULENT PAST, KENTUCKY KINGDOM ACQUISITION BRINGS HOPE By Carolyn Brown | leo@leoweekly.com IN LATE FEBRUARY, Kentucky Kingdom announced that it sold a majority ownership of its theme park to Herschend Family Entertainment, the Georgia-based company that also owns and operates more than two dozen other parks and properties in the U.S., including Dollywood, Silver Dollar City and the Newport Aquarium. Ed Hart, who led the ownership group that bought Kentucky Kingdom in 1990, said at the Feb. 23 press conference — which included Gov. Andy Beshear — that he believes that Herschend will “improve and build on our legacy.” Still, most Louisvillians know that the park has had its share of complications. The park closed not long after its first full season in 1987, when its landscape looked very different — attractions included the “Pepsi Plantation Playhouse.” In 2007, when the park belonged to Six Flags, cables on the “Superman: Tower of Power” ride snapped and severed the feet of teenager Kaitlyn Lassiter. The park closed again in 2009, amidst Six Flags filling for bankruptcy and eventually reopened in 2014 under Hart’s guidance. Likewise, after a year that has been so fraught for so many major sectors of the economy — not least of which is the attractions industry, whose business model is usually dependent on large crowds — why would major investors want to acquire a large new property now? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” said Craig Ross, the new general manager of Kentucky Kingdom. “Being sequestered at home and not able to get out and do, I think people are going to be very anxious to get out and do.” Ross recently left his position as the president of The Dollywood Co. to take over park operations in Louisville. He told LEO that he and his colleagues at Herschend are eager to develop and implement new programming and attractions — albeit in a way that accommodates visitors’ concerns. “Moving forward, [the pandemic]
THORNS & ROSES THE WORST, BEST & MOST ABSURD THORN: SAME OLD MCCONNELL
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News’ Bret Baier last week that he would “absolutely” support Donald Trump if the former insurrectionist is the Republican nominee in 2024. The same McConnell blamed the same Trump for the Capitol insurrection, not even two months ago, saying, “There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.” If an alien came to down to Earth to witness this hypocrisy, it must wonder, “How could a living creature think both things, much less justify saying both… in public?” Words could never do justice to McConnell’s moral void. It’s fair to say that he is practically, morally responsible for the corrosion of a generation of Republicans and, in turn, American democracy. Then again, what’s new?
THORN: SOUTHERN BAPTIST BIGOTRY
does change things,” he said. “I think we’ll be even better at maintaining the safety and doing all the secure things that we need to do, and I think we’ll continue to be really remarkable at introducing new ideas and new concepts.” After months in which attractions across the country have been closed or have operated with limited capacity, Ross said his colleagues throughout the industry are eager to draw in new and returning park-goers. “I think there’ll be some fierce competition for who can get to the plate first with what’s going to be exciting and new,” he said. “But that’s the lifeblood of our business.” Details of the upcoming changes are not yet available to the public, and many changes won’t be put in place immediately when the park reopens on May 8. Ross told LEO that his Creative Studios team (Herschend’s analogue to Disney’s Imagineers) was already starting to work on projects for the park. He said he was excited that the programming and theming would move in favor of “telling heartfelt stories,” in part through live entertainment. “The Commonwealth of Kentucky is full of stories and good music,” said Ross. He added, though, that he and his team will “do our homework” and get feedback from visitors before implementing new features that draw from
the state’s culture and history: “It’s important that that not be forced— that it feels natural, it feels right.” Stacey Yates, vice president of marketing communications at Louisville Tourism, agrees that the sale is a sign of “very positive recovery and growth” for the local economy. “Kentucky Kingdom is what we call a ‘driver’ of business,” said Yates. “They are the type of attraction that is so appealing to certain people, certain travelers, that they will book a stay in Louisville because of that attraction.” She explained that many out-oftown visitors to the park tend to stay for a weekend and visit other popular destinations — for instance, the Louisville Zoo, the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory or a bourbon distillery. Yates said that the sale will help the city start to bring back its 19 million annual pre-pandemic tourists, especially families, in large part because Kentucky Kingdom will offer events throughout the entire year, not just in the summer. Both Yates and Ross feel confident the theme park will bounce back. “This is a fantastic city and community, and it deserves all the very best that it can possibly have,” said Ross. “We can’t wait to get back to work at taking good care of our guests.” •
The St. Matthews Baptist Church was expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention last week because they welcome and support the LBGTQ community. SBC Committee Chairman Mike Lawson said, “We take no pleasure in recommending that a church is not in friendly cooperation with the convention,” the Courier Journal reported. Mike, you can take your friendly cooperation straight to hell. Louisville’s Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tweeted: “Anyone who argues that the Bible — OT and NT — is not clear about the sinfulness of homosexuality is either very confused or deliberately dishonest about the structure of biblical theology and the clear meaning of the texts.” To Albert, we can simply offer a single… no, plus two single-finger salutes for your selective reading of “OT and NT.” LEO is terribly sorry the good, decent patrons of St. Matthews Baptist Church have to suffer in any way because of Mohler and the other intolerant haters in the SBC. And, in no way do we presume to speak on your behalf, here, but we have no tolerance for the intolerance of others… especially when they do it in the name of righteousness.
ROSE: INVEST IN THE WEST
A bipartisan group of state Senators proposed a bill to bring money, investments and growth to Louisville’s West End. If passed, a large special-tax district will be established for the next three decades, from west of Ninth Street and north of Algonquin Parkway to the Ohio River. Over the life of that TIF (Tax-increment financing), 80% of tax revenue increases will go back into economic development projects in the district. Plus, the Senate hopes to begin with $30 million in seed capital, with $10 million coming from the state and $20 million coming from Metro Government, other public funds and private donations. The proposed bill includes provisions that protect existing residents, ensuring that they will be able to remain in their homes even as property values rise. A lot more is needed, and residents shouldn’t have to wait another day, much less 30 years, but this is a tremendous investment in our community.
ROSE: THE BRIGHT SIDE
After a bumpy start to the vaccine rollout, Kentucky has entered stage 1C, allowing those 60 and older and more frontline essential workers to get in line. Kentucky also dropped below a 5% positivity rate on Monday’s report — for the first time since October. The single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was federally approved over the weekend, arrived in Louisville Monday. The governor also assured us that supply will ramp up considerably this month. A bunch of positive news. Hang in there. LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
7
MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES MAKE SYSTEM WORK FOR THEM By Danielle Grady | dgrady@leoweekly.com THERE ARE no corporate leaders on Change Today, Change Tomorrow’s board. There are no white one-percenters. The nonprofit’s leadership includes a social worker, a UPS employee and a founder of another nonprofit — all Black Louisvillians — which is the community that CTCT services. “We feel it in our hearts; we actually are about the work we’re doing,” said Taylor Ryan, CTCT’s executive director and founder. Change Today, Change Tomorrow is an organization with grassroots spirit, but it is also a nonprofit. And nonprofits have rules they must follow to keep their federal tax status: Among them, they must recruit a board of directors to make financial and strategic decisions, and they must file publicly-available information about their finances. This document is often requested by organizations that dole out grants and funding. Ryan has found a way to work within this system, which is often also dominated by white people, and still maintain a nonprofit that takes action quickly while being community
oriented. And there are other groups in Louisville who have figured out the same, such as La Casita Center. Similar to Change Today, Change Tomorrow, La Casita Center’s staff and board is predominantly Latinx, which is the community that it serves. “Our board and staff, we reflect the community, so no one has to explain to us where the pain is, where the struggle is, because we’re living it,” said Executive Director Karina Barillas. “It’s part of our lives.” The pandemic, though terrible, has shown what these organizations can do. Stan Siegwald, the director of strategic initiatives for one of Louisville’s most established nonprofits, Dare to Care, said that he has seen smaller, more community-integrated nonprofits take off since COVID-19 threw Louisville’s services in disarray. Dare to Care was impacted, too, when 5% of the community partners that distribute its food were forced to close during the pandemic. But, it’s filled some of the gaps with new groups like Change Today, Change Tomorrow. “What we’ve seen is, in fact, great innovation and creativity and resilience to find new ways to be
8
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
Board members of Change Today, Change Tomorrow Angela Masden, Talesha Wilson, Eric Hawkins, Jemiyah Johnson, Nannie Croney and Executive Director Taylor Ryan. Not pictured: Leo Braddock, Azure Williams. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON
able to serve folks in a pandemic,” he said. “And part of that creativity and the innovation have been the emergence of groups like Taylor’s, like Change Today, Change Tomorrow. They have brought a great spirit and a great energy to our community.” With its Feed The West program, for example, Change Today, Change Tomorrow is providing food to West End families through “pop-up distribution,” said Siegwald — something creative and innovative to Dare to Care. Not all groups doing community work in Louisville find it necessary to become a nonprofit, though. Black Lives Matter Louisville has been organizing in the city since 2016, doing everything from holding protests to delivering laptops to school children. “We would be subservient — if we were a nonprofit — to the government in which we are in opposition with,” said Chanelle Helm, co-founder of the group.
CHANGE TODAY, CHANGE TOMORROW
There are aspects of the nonprofit model that Ryan, the executive director of Change Today, Change Tomorrow, appreciates. She likes, for example, that power in the system is not concentrated in the hands of a single person, which prevents corruption. But, she said, she didn’t have much of a choice in deciding whether or not to make her organization a nonprofit when she created it in
Change Today, Change Tomorrow is usually out serving the community, but last Sunday, the nonprofit held a volunteer appreciation event at TEN20. | PHOTO BY KATHRYN HARRINGTON LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
9
September of 2019. “It makes you more legitimate,” she said. “So, as a Black organization, if you do not have your 501c(3) or a fiscal sponsor tied to another entity that has their 501c(3), then donors, who, a very large percentage of them are white, will not donate.” But, Ryan wasn’t going to fill up her nonprofit board with rich, white people like many other organizations do. Instead, CTCT’s leadership is filled with members of its community: • Nannie Croney, a social worker and the CEO of the small business, Dope Designs by Nannie • Talesha Wilson, a Black Lives Matter Louisville member and beauty influencer. She worked at Humana, Ryan said, but not in a position that would guarantee CTCT bundles of Humana dollars. • Eric Hawkins, a UPS employee • Leo Braddock, the founder of another nonprofit, Children Shouldn’t Hunger • Angela Masden, the director of the Parkland Boys and Girls Club • Azure Williams, the founder of Watch Us Grow, a tutoring business • Jemiyah Johnson, a Community Foundation of Louisville employee All board members but Croney are from Louisville. Both Croney and Ryan moved to the city from Western Kentucky. In a traditional nonprofit, boards meet quarterly to approve high-up decisions like financial and strategic plans. That’s not the case with Change Today, Change Tomorrow, which meets twice a month: once in person, once virtually. And, its members are on a group chat, Ryan said, talking daily about CTCT. This helps the nonprofit work fast, Ryan said. Like the organization did on Feb. 15, when CTCT’s Umoja Project team was preparing to board a bus downtown to help Louisville’s houseless community. But, the weather kept worsening: It started snowing, and temperatures were set to drop below 20 degrees that evening. Instead of sticking to just offering supplies, CTCT made some calls and arranged the opening of a pop-up shelter at Louisville Recovery Community Connection. They had to collect blow-up mattresses, food, fresh linens and pillows, as well as recruit volunteers. That weekend, the shelter held 25 people a night. “We are very nimble, is what the older nonprofits in town call us,” said Ryan. Siegwald, with Dare to Care, said nonprofits like Change Today, Change Tomorrow are important because they’re close to their communities and in tune with their needs. “I think particularly with Change Today, Change Tomorrow, they have brought this energy and this spirit to their work,” he said. “And they have really, not created, they have exposed a narrative that struggling communities and communities that are challenged, maybe in some ways, also contain a great soul and a great spirit and great talent and great ideas to address those challenges.” Dare to Care has its own strengths. When the pandemic hit and the nonprofit was worried about continuing to feed the community, it was able to leverage its long-standing connections to recruit the National Guard to assemble boxes of food.
10
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
Change Today, Change Tomorrow is quickly building influence, too. In addition to its pop-up shelter and Feed the West program, CTCT recently opened its Change Education Center, which offers mentoring, tutoring and space for a preteen, early-teens boys club. Another project, Pocket Change, is a storefront for Black-owned businesses to sell their products. The shop also hosts business workshops. CTCT’s next goal is to raise $1 million to buy a community center to offer temporary housing and to centralize all of its outreaches instead of operating out of five different locations. In 2020, the nonprofit served 100,000 individuals.
LA CASITA CENTER
La Casita’s structure is like a circle, says Barillas.
Change Today, Change Tomorrow Executive Director Taylor Ryan.
She’s the executive director, because nonprofits have to have one, but decisions are made collectively. La Casita also has teams that specialize in different areas, such as mental health. “We, as a collective, honor everybody’s expertise,” said Barillas. La Casita’s board members are invited with the understanding that they’ll be integrated into the circle, too — and help in other areas of the nonprofit. La Casita’s former board chair, Tom Gurucharri was and still is the organization’s volunteer facilities manager. Barillas hopes, and believes, that La Casita’s methods are influencing other nonprofits in town. She wants to “demainstreamify” Louisville’s nonprofit ecosystem. “Services are usually… unless it’s Black or brown led, they are following the rules like this, in blocs: ‘And this is a
La Casita Center Executive Director Karina Barillas. | PROVIDED PHOTO.
strategic plan; this is how we does; this is how the industry works; la-da-da,’” said Barillas. “We are demainstreamfying that, because we are creating it at the needs of our community. So, you know, our volunteers, our donors, our board of directors, anyone that supports us, what happens is that they become part of this culture, part of this experience, of this circle, where together we are demainstreamfying the way that we are looking at nonprofits.” When Barillas started Casa Latina, a precursor to La Casita, she did so with the help of three other mothers and employees at the Center for Women and Families, where Barillas also worked. All but her were white. At the time, that was needed to give her organization legitimacy, Barillas said. Since Casa Latina started in 2002, she has seen that change, even though there are still few Latinx-led nonprofits in Louisville. She has also noticed other nonprofits in town using La Casita language, such as “accompaniment,” the word La
Casita uses instead of served. In 2020, La Casita “accompanied” 944 families that had COVID. Last year, La Casita served 2,255 families total, providing domestic violence and sexual assault services, financial empowerment, legal aid, mental health support, food delivery, diaper and formula distribution and more.
BLACK LIVES MATTER LOUISVILLE
When someone who wants to help their community comes to Helm, she advises them not to start a nonprofit. “I absolutely tell people to just do the work,” she said. As a Black liberation organization, Helm doesn’t think that Black Lives Matter Louisville should be a nonprofit, because then it would be beholden to the government that it’s trying to hold accountable.
She also said she’s seen Louisville nonprofits claim to be grassroots to get funding, when, in reality, they’re “grasstop” organizations. Still, nonprofits can do good work within the system, said Helm. She points to Dare to Care as a good example, because the organization has been responsive to calls for accountability. She also admires Play Cousins Collective, a Black-led nonprofit that helps families with child-rearing and homeschool. “I think you need to stay clear as to what your goal is. And, I think you need to do that well if that’s the funding you need to get,” she said. Ultimately, the people who are being served by nonprofits don’t care if they’re being helped by an organization with a Form 990 on file or just five people doing good work, said Ryan. “The people who we are serving don’t care about how legitimate we are, because we are meeting needs,” she said. • LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
11
STAFF PICKS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3
Liz Phair (Livestream)
Virtual | headlinerslouisville.com | $20 | 10 p.m. Singer-songwriter Liz Phair announced a new tour the LIVE first week in March of 2020, about two weeks before the pandemic took over our daily lives. That tour didn’t happen, but the legendary musician is hosting a livestream this week, brought to you locally by Headliners Music Hall. Phair’s gleaming indie-pop scattered with elements of punk, behind scathing social criticism and sharp honesty, has cast her as a unique voice of her generation. She even has a recently-released song called “Hey Lou,” remembering the mercurial Velvet Underground leader who tended to walk on the wild side. —Scott Recker
THURSDAY, MARCH 4
Poetry & Beats with Robin G.
The Palm Room | 1821 W. Jefferson St. | thepalmroomlounge.com/events $10 | 8 p.m. Scoot on down to The Palm Room for a “soulful evening of poetry and beats.” Acclaimed spoken word artist, poet and author Robin G hosts, with DJ Steele & DJ CoolPOETRY breeze bringing the music. If you want a shot at bringing your own poetry to the open mic, RSVP to poetry@thepalmroomlounge.com. Doors open at 7 p.m., poetry gets started at 8. —Aaron Yarmuth
THURSDAY, MARCH 4
Thursday Comedy Showcase
Aloft Louisville Downtown | 102 W. Main St. | redpintix.com | 7:30-9 p.m. If I had to bet, there has been less laughter in the LAUGH world this past year. There’s still joy, of course. But, if you’re spending less time around your family and friends, surely that reduces the opportunity for gut-busting hilarity. And, there certainly have been fewer comedy shows. This Thursday Comedy Showcase marks the return of Louisville Is Funny shows, and hopefully, the beginning of a meteoric rise in instances of hahas and lols for you. For your first showcase back, giggle along with Lucious Williams, Hillary Boston, Ryan Riker, Avery Razor and more. Creig Ewing hosts. Tickets are free, but required. CDC guidelines will be enforced. —Danielle Grady
FRIDAY, MARCH 5
#FeedTheWest At Black Market KY
Black Market KY | 2313 W. Market St. | Search Facebook | Free | 4-6 p.m. Change Today, Change Tomorrow is teaming up with Black Market KY for #FeedTheWest pop-up shares on the first Friday of every month. Free, fresh produce COMMUNITY groceries at these first Friday pop-ups will be made available through May thanks to sponsors Green Bean Delivery and Louisville Public Media. If you’d like to support Change Today, Change Tomorrow in this, or any of their initiatives, go to change-today.org. They are still looking for sponsors for the months after May. —LEO
Black Market KY owner Shauntrice Martin shows her son Iniejah Allen Jr. how to dig up strips of sod for the store’s community garden.
12
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
13
STAFF PICKS
FRIDAY, MARCH 5-7
Southern Crossings Pottery Festival Virtual | sxpf.org | Free | Times vary
This year’s Southern Crossings Pottery Festival (SXPF) is virtual (no ART surprise there). The event will feature an online pottery market with work by 23 ceramic artists, a Blessings in a Backpack benefit raffle and live Instagram studio tours. The Blessings in a Backpack benefit raffle has already begun and will end March 7 at noon — tickets are $5 for a chance to win a selection of pottery by the Festival’s ceramicists. All the proceeds go to support Blessings in a Backpack, an organization dedicated to ending hunger in our area. —Jo Anne Triplett
Kyle Scott Lee.
SATURDAY, MARCH 6
Vessel
Zanzabar | 2100 S. Preston St. | zanzabarlouisville.com | Prices vary | 8 p.m. In January, Zanzabar held its first sociallydistanced show since the ROCK pandemic began, and, after a successful weekend run then, they’re continuing on — this time on March 6, with a show from the local experimental, genre-jumping psych-rock band Vessel. The event is sold out, but there is an option on Zanzabar’s website to enter your email, so that you can be notified if tickets free up. There will be limited table seating and safety precautions such as masks. —LEO
14
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
STAFF PICKS
SATURDAY, MARCH 6
SATURDAY, MARCH 6
Champs Rollerdome | 9851 Lagrange Road | Search Facebook $8 | 10 p.m.-Midnight
NuLu neighborhood | East Market St. | Search Facebook | No cover | 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Themed Adult Skate: Back to the 90s
NULU Celebrates Women In Biz
“For our March Themed Adult Skate, we’re throwing back to the ‘best decade ever’!” organizers say. I’m not saying I know that to be true… but it defPARTY LIKE IT’S 1999 initely feels right. For me, it was a time I could throw on my Joe Montana jersey (49ers and Chiefs), go through a pack of candy cigarettes and stomp to “Ninja Rap” by Vanilla Ice. Well, this is your opportunity to relive that decade (greatest or not). DJ L.T. will be spinning the best of the ‘90s as you skate with the energy you had 30 years ago. It’s an 18-and-older-only kinda night, IDs checked at the door, and face masks must be worn while skating (so no ‘90s makeouts in the corner). —Aaron Yarmuth
The NuLu commercial district is home to several women-owned businesses. You’ve been to one of them if you’ve visited Mahonia plant shop or garner narrative. GIRL POWER In honor of Women’s History Month and NuLu’s female entrepreneurs, several stores in the neighborhood will be “celebrating big” this Saturday by offering food, drinks and shopping.
SUNDAY, MARCH 7
SATURDAY, MARCH 6
In The Kitchen With Patrick Hallahan Of My Morning Jacket
Homecomings: Musical Journeys Of Uncommon Folk
Online | warehouselive.com | $25 | 6 p.m.
Online | louisvilleorchestra.org | $20 | 7:30 p.m.
Grammy-award-nominated singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz will join the Louisville Orchestra as the guest artist in a performance of folk music. The concert will feaORCHESTRA ture selections by Jarosz, Hungarian Béla Bartók — who wrote six short piano pieces known as Romanian Folk Dances in 1915 during WWI — and contemporary American composer Gabriela Lena Frank, whose works are inspired by Peru, by writer, José Maria Arguedas and her mother’s hometown. The performance will be live on Saturday, March 6 and then streamed on demand from March 19-May 2. —LEO
Sarah Jarosz.
You’ve listened to Patrick Hallahan make music as My Morning Jacket’s drummer. Now, watch him make food (and make it with him!). Hallahn, who also DELICIOUS co-founded Butchertown Grocery, will showcase how to make easy, Southeast comfort food in the final installment of this three-episode series. You’ll be whipping up a reverse sear ribeye with potato pave and creamed spinach, plus a crispy risotto cake. Your ticket comes with the full recipe and a special playlist to set the mood. —LEO
Patrick Hallahan. LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
15
@leoweekly
16
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
MUSIC
FREEDOM HALL TESTING THE WATERS OF LARGE EVENTS WITH CONCERTS AND BASKETBALL By Carolyn Brown | cbrown@leoweekly.com AFTER A YEAR without most concerts and live events, Freedom Hall is starting the year by bringing thousands of fans to the venue — a slow but impactful start on Louisville’s road to economic recovery. As performers and athletes return to Freedom Hall, fans and tourism officials are hopeful that it will be a bellwether for a return to normalcy. Christian hip-hop performer Toby McKeehan, better known by his stage name, TobyMac, performed at Freedom Hall last Friday night with a few other Christian groups and performers. The concert was the first indoor show that Freedom Hall has hosted since the World’s Championship Horse show held during the Kentucky State Fair with only close contacts of the riders in attendance, and it was the first arena concert in Louisville since The Lumineers played at the KFC Yum! Center last March. McKeehan is not the first Christian artist to return to live shows. In Kentuckiana, larger-scale touring groups, including the Australian Christian pop duo for KING & COUNTRY, have performed. KING & COUNTRY did a drive-in show at the Kentucky Exposition Center in October. A week before that, Casting Crowns performed at a drive-in in Mitchell, Indiana. McKeehan, through both his touring company Awakening Events and his PR representative, Velvet Kelm, declined multiple requests for comment and did not allow any media passes to the show. But his fans — who call themselves “Diverse Citizens,” after TobyMac’s touring musicians, DiverseCity — shared photos and videos of the events throughout the night. In the videos, fans in masks danced to his songs. The next day, fans of the Bellarmine University men’s basketball team brought that same enthusiasm to the arena for the team’s last game of the regular season, their tenth in Freedom Hall. Even throughout the gestures of a normal game — standing up to clap and cheer, yelling at the referees about a contentious call — most fans kept their masks on and stayed in their “pods,” groups of seats in the same row. Freedom Hall also had hand sanitizer stations and signs about mask-wearing posted throughout the venue. The team normally plays in Bellarmine’s own Knights Hall, but a recommendation from Gov. Andy Beshear to limit venue
e
ph e lif astro ES!
S fr
om
a t T g ca in t i a l I N U v n a e
a
EV
I live
alone
po
t
Y ER
10
M
but I’m never alone. I have Life Alert. ®
capacity to 15% meant that the team had to find a larger venue for their games, according to a press release from Bellarmine Athletics. In a regular year, Freedom Hall can accommodate more than 18,000 people. On Saturday, 2,787 fans showed up to that final Bellarmine game — nearly 600 more than a totally-packed game at Knights Hall in a normal year would have allowed. By comparison, the UofL men’s basketball game at the Yum! Center against UK brought 3,281 fans, according to the game notes. It’s not just the fans who are feeling the impact of a return to arena shows. Officials in the tourism industry are also grateful that venues like Freedom Hall are starting to drive people back to events that generate income for the city’s economy. Stacey Yates, vice president of marketing communications for Louisville Tourism, says that bringing shows back, even at reduced capacity, is a hopeful sign for the industry as a whole. “It seems so small when we were comparing numbers of 10,000 and 20,000 at concerts previously,” said Yates, “but it’s a step in the right direction.” She attributed the public’s interest in live events to “pent-up demand,” which she feels will be a significant impetus for tourism. Yates said that before the pandemic, Louisville’s reputation as a tourist destination was on a “positive trajectory.” She added, “Once doors fully open, we have no reason to believe that we won’t pretty quickly recapture that.” One significant key to the city’s recovery, though, isn’t inside Freedom Hall — it’s outside, in the parking lots. Medical professionals are using the parking lots outside the KEC complex, which includes Freedom Hall, as sites for vaccine distribution. While not as exciting as a championship game or a concert, getting Louisville vaccinated will be the strongest way forward to make sure that the return to live events ends on a high note. •
One press of a button sends help fast, 24/7, even when you can’t reach a phone.
AS SEEN ON
TV
For a FREE brochure call:
877-595-2994 BE DEBT FREE IN 24–48 MONTHS! Do you owe more than $10,000 in credit card bills or other debt? Let National Debt Relief resolve your debt for a fraction of what you owe.
One Affordable Monthly Payment
We work with you to set up a single, affordable monthly payment.
No Upfront Fees
You won’t pay a penny until your debt is resolved.
.
Resolve Your Debt in 24–48 Months
We’ll resolve your debt as quickly as possible so you can finally start living the life you want.
SEE HOW MUCH YOU COULD SAVE.
1-855-917-5357
ACCREDITED BUSINESS ®
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
17
FOOD & DRINK
RECOMMENDED
TASTY TIKKA HOUSE TAKEOUT TRAVELS WELL By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com Plate your Tikka House lunch pack on your own tableware. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.
YOU MIGHT not think that Indian food is anything like pizza. Right? But in these strange times when takeout and delivery dominate the pandemic dining scene, dishes from a quality Indian eatery like Tikka House have one important thing in common with pizza: They taste good hot, or cold, and they take well to reheating. So when I was in the mood for a delicious Indian lunch that would travel well this week, Tikka House filled the bill. Offering a good mix of regional Indian cuisines, Tikka House’s chef reliably gets spices right, hitting every note in the flavor symphony that is Indian cooking at its best. I’ve never found a dull, muddy dish here — these flavors pop and sizzle. They also handle Indian breads impressively. Tikka House cemented the deal for me this time with a lunch special featured on the takeout menu: Lunch packs — full meals including starter, two curry dishes, rice, naan bread and an Indian dessert — listed at a tempting $8.99 for a veggie lunch pack, $9.99 for non-veg, an amusingly veggiecentric way of designating the pack with
18
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
meat in it. At that point I hit a few bumps in the road, none serious enough to detract from the pleasure of a delicious, affordable meal that provided enough food to last for two days. Once I got it. First, I bumped into a technical challenge: The website is currently down. Uh-oh. The Facebook page had no obvious link to a menu or ordering page. Google, always there in a pinch, linked me to a working page for pickup or delivery. That worked, sort of. The online ordering form wouldn’t take orders until 12:30 p.m., and I didn’t want to wait, so I phoned Tikka House and reached a friendly person with a bit of a language barrier. We got through it, I placed my order for one of each lunch and some extra Indian breads, and headed over. When I got there at the scheduled time, though, the kitchen apparently hadn’t started on my order. When it finally came out, I was surprised to discover that the $8.99 and $9.99 prices had risen three bucks each to $11.99 and $12.99. Hmm. The friendly
The bargain lunch pack from Tikka House comes with spicy chickpea and spinach curries and a ton of rice. Add your meat or veggie main dish, packaged separately.
FOOD & DRINK
Winning LEO Readers’ Choice Best Thai Restaurant since 2009.
Tikka House is known for its fresh Indian breads. We loaded up with naan, pappadum, chapati and roti.
person behind the counter explained that the menu I saw was old. All right, whatever. The bags were so huge, and the food was so good, it was clear that I was getting value at any price. And in fairness, it appeared that we got three entrees rather than the two that the menu offered. Fair deal. Next time, though, I’ll skip the packaged meals and order from the extensive menu, which (in the online version) are mostly priced between $10 and $15. Our meal completely filled two extralarge brown bags and could have been marked “Some Assembly Required.” All the parts were neatly packaged in plastic boxes or tubs or wrapped in foil. Nothing was marked by name, so it’s good that I knew just enough to identify them. Once we got it figured out, unpacked and re-plated, we had an excellent Indian meal. Indian food for me is all about flavor, blends of aromatics that aren’t all familiar to Western taste buds, but they’re all delicious. Tikka House invariably scores in the flavor department. These chefs know their stuff. Starters were golf-ball size onion pakoras, fried balls of onions and spice held together with chickpea-based gram flour batter and fried dark golden-brown. The chana masala chickpea dish was impressive. It was filled with tender, longcooked chickpeas that had been simmered with aromatics that imparted a subtle hint of anise — tiny bits of yellow squash also were in its spicy brown tomato-based sauce. Dark green saag paneer was impressive too. A thickly pureed spinach curry, it’s cooked with turmeric and Indian spices and mixed in with firm cubes of paneer, a mild Indian farmer cheese.
The non-veg main dish, chicken tikka masala, featured chunks of tandoori roasted boneless chicken breast in a creamy reddishorange, tomato-based sauce that was slightly sweet and spicy. The veg entree, paneer makhani, consisted of more Indian cheese cubes in a similar creamy, sweet-hot tomato sauce that, according to the menu, is seasoned with fenugreek, a bitter Indian herb. Definitely don’t overlook Tikka House’s Indian flatbreads, with 16 options priced from $2 to $4. Crisp, thin papad wafers made from lentil flour came with the meal, as did puffy, tender white-flour naan. The papads were fragile, as they should be, and broke up in transit. This didn’t affect their flavor, though. We enjoyed the variety of a couple of other Indian breads: roti ($2.49), sort of a whole-wheat variation on naan, and chapati ($1.99), a thin whole-wheat flatbread slathered with ghee and folded over. Gulab jamun is a traditional Indian dessert made of a powdered milk and flour dough rolled into balls and deepfried, served with a cinnamon-and-clove scented sugar syrup. These were impressive with their appetizing aromas and contrast between the light interior and crisp crunchy shell. A hearty meal with plenty of leftovers came to $31.23, plus an $8 tip. •
TIKKA HOUSE
3930 Chenoweth Square 749-4535 tikkahouseindianrestaurant.com
Middletown 12003 Shelbyville Rd. 690-8344
St. Matthews 323 Wallace Ave. 899-9670
H a p py H o u r M o n – T hur s | 4: 30 – 7p m C a l l f o r R e s e r v at i o n s w w w. Simp l yT haiKy.co m
Prepare for power outages with a Generac home standby generator REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!
866-712-5312
FREE
7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value! Offer valid February 15 - June 6, 2021
Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval
*To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions.
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
19
FOOD & DRINK
CRITIQUING THE CRITICS: FIVE RED FLAGS By Chef BoyLardee | leo@leoweekly.com EARLIER IN THE PANDEMIC, a former restaurant critic pleaded for a ceasefire. The economic walloping our dining scene faces is enough, she argued, there’s no need for critics to pile it on right now. While the ceasefire holds (by the professionals, at least), I think it’s a good time to give a few tips. Something to help readers discern how seriously they should take any given critique. These points are the most common red flags among professional critics, as well as Yelp!ers.
WHEN A CRITIC WANTS TO BE MORE THAN A CRITIC
Worst thing first. It’s one thing when critics resign themselves to one lane. When they admit they’re a hater, a persnickety type who likes what they like. We know what they are, and we’ll shrug it off. But it’s not until the end that the opposite becomes clear. They’ll plug something in their bio: a cookbook, a tv program. Something that shows their hand. They’re doing this critic thing on the side, sure, but they’re more than that. People are complex. And building a noteworthy brand often means compartmentalizing. But when they’re making a name for themselves, establishing a reputation and a renown for expertise at the expense of restaurateurs, they’re showing their hand. They’re opportunists first and foremost.
WHEN THEY CLEARLY AREN’T AN EXPERT
Expertise is a tricky subject. On one hand, the vast majority of diners have none, and only care that the cook lives up to the price tag. On the other hand, critics are paid to pick apart someone’s profession, so they ought to have some. The best way to snuff out a critic overreaching their credentials is judging specifics points and complaints: the pasta stuck together because they didn’t use enough oil; the meat was seared to lock in the juices; the salad didn’t remind me of ones I’d had at fine bistros in Paris. That’s
20
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
two myths and an anecdote conflated as authenticity. That critic is bunk. Speaking of authenticity: a critic that insists there’s ONE TRUE WAY to make a dish is wrong. In fact, there’s nothing more wrong. Do noodles go in chili? What about sugar in cornbread? What’s the appropriate sauce to top off meatloaf? Diners realize the nuance in their native cuisine, but they’re quick to accept portrayals of “ethnic” fare painted in broad strokes. A critic should fight against these impulses instead of indulging them. The open mindedness pays off — we’ll all benefit by seeing a cuisine move forward. But all of that is contrary to a critic’s need to flaunt expertise. So they’ll tsktsk and curse in the name of their Nonna.
WHEN THEY’RE SNOBBY ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE EATING
A critic that excuses themselves for even being in a place — my friend was dramatically hungover; I needed to bring myself back to Earth after a jaw-dropping musical performance — is winding up a backhanded compliments guised as pleasant surprises. Do you know what chefs eat at home? Whatever they decide to pick up in a drive-thru. We might even treat ourselves to an entire box of Kraft mac and cheese if we doubled. If that comes as a shock, think of it how professionals do: what’s good is good. There’s no guilt, no exceptions, no excuses that overrule taste.
WHEN THEY SCORE THEIR MEAL
Four stars is an atrocious system. 100 points is better, but it still suggests an ordinal ranking. It sets vastly different dining experiences — a taqueria, a brunch cafe, a white-tablecloth steakhouse — on the same plane, often without laying out a basis for comparison. But word counts! Yeah, I get it. Limited space and all. So how about that anecdotal
lede? Explaining your standard is more important than all that me-me-me-ing. Taking the time to illuminate readers, rather than giving a play-by-play of a meal, is not only a better service to the subject. It’s also a great alternative to giving a shorthand, nondescript rating. If a critic isn’t clear how they feel about a restaurant after 500 words, why should they be given the platform in the first place?
WHEN THEY DON’T MENTION HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT WITH THE CHEF
So they didn’t like the veal piccata. Did they tell the chef they’d teach them if they wanted to learn the right way? Because the ensuing brawl would make for a better review than saying, “it was too greasy for my taste.” Critics often hide their identity in order to ensure impartial service. But that’s no excuse for a communication breakdown. There’s no reason to speculate whether meatballs were made in-house when you have a staff to ask. No excuse to quietly push aside an overseasoned plate when
a waiter asks if everything is good. Act like a customer and give the restaurant a chance to fix things. Not doing so, in favor of voicing petty complaints and calling out underwhelming dishes, is a message that diners are better served by tempering hype or hearing concerns than by shining light on cooks making good food. That’s where critics err most often: the people that actually make the food. Their responsibility skews with the price of a meal. In reality, a $6 fish sandwich is as much about a cook’s skill as a $65 steak. But the perception that someone noteworthy had a hand in making a meal imposes a false pretense. A proper chef cares more about what they serve. The rest of us must be in it for another reason. To get paid for playing with knives and have a little leeway to cuss at our boss. That assumption isn’t totally wrong — I enjoy both. But it falls short. The truth is, most of us care deeply about being hospitable. It’s the core of our profession. And to challenge that shows a critic just doesn’t see the big picture. •
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | ART
WHAT TO SEE
GALLERY ROUNDUP By Erica Rucker | erucker@leoweekly.com THIS LIST IS ONLY A SELECTION of the art shows open or opening in Louisville for the month of March. Pyro 1006 E. Washington St. Gallery Hours: Fridays and Saturdays from 12 p.m.–6 p.m., Sundays from 1 p.m.–4 p.m. pyrogallery.com “Art-Griculture” by Bob Lockhart, Lindsey Duffy, Elmer Lopez March 1 through 26 Show features artists from different perspectives “inspired by the concept of uplifting one another through empathy and personal reflection.” B. Deemer/WheelHouse Art 2650 Frankfort Ave. Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Friday until 3 p.m., Closed Sundays and Mondays wheelhouse.art “Featured Art Collections” by Madison Cawein and Robert Knipschild Not formally an opening but these featured painting collections will be on display at WheelHouse Art. UofL Hite Art Institute-MFA Studio 1606 Rowan St. Gallery Hours: Reservations Required except for opening night louisville.edu/art/exhibitions/ all/2021-mfa-thesis-exhibitions “-rhiza” by Katherine Watts March 12 through 22 MFA thesis show featuring works by Katherine Watts dealing with “nature, memories, observation and abstraction.”
11 a.m.–6 p.m. revelrygallery.com
“Paper Dolls” by Kasey Petrocelli aka Jagged Little Quill March 5 through April 5 A show featuring paper quilling focused on the ideas and issues of self-care. Moremen Gallery 710 W. Main St. Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. moremengallery.com
“Bookworm” Jagged Little Quill
“Namaste” Jagged Little Quill
“Rolling Uphill in Neutral” by Rebecca Norton On view til March 28 The show features work dealing with the optical illusion of gravity hills explored through paintings, photographs and other mediums. Coming soon: Vian Sora’s “FLOODGATE” opening March 26 Galerie Hertz 1253 S. Preston St. Gallery Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 12 p.m.–5 p.m., Most Sundays 12 p.m.–4 p.m. galeriehertz.com “Eight Perspectives” by Elmer Lucille Allen, Allie Jensen, Lucy Azubuike, Jean Salmon, Cheryl Chapman, Tonnea Green, Taylor Sanders, Guinever Smith Closing March 20 Show explores eight artist perspectives on “art-making.”
“-rhiza” (detail) Katherine Watts
“Sensing Instability” Rebecca Norton
Revelry Boutique + Gallery 742 E. Market St. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m.– 7 p.m., Sunday–Monday from LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
21
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | ART
LOVE AND GLASS
SPEED SHOWING ADELE AND LEONARD LEIGHT COLLECTION BY Jo Anne Triplett | @jtriplettart I STOOD AT THE DOOR, excitedly clutching my purse. God forbid I knock anything over. It was my first visit to Adele and Leonard Leight’s house to view their art collection composed largely of contemporary glass. What a delightful dilemma to be in. You, too, can experience seeing their collection (minus the anxiety) at “Collecting — A Love Story: Glass from the Adele and Leonard Leight Collection” at the Speed Art Museum. This excellent show is co-curated by Scott Erbes, curator of decorative arts and design, and Norwood Viviano, a glass artist and associate professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. The exhibition is a tribute to the Leights. Married 69 years, they collected a variety of 20th and 21st century decorative arts, including ceramics, furniture and the aforementioned studio glass. Adele died in 2018 at age 94; Leonard is 98 and still buying art. They bought their first contemporary glass piece in 1968, during the decade the American Studio Glass movement started. Erbes started working at the Speed in 1999, the same year he first visited the Leight’s collection. Over 240 pieces of glass art have been donated or promised to the Speed. The show, spread across the museum, showcases 69 works by 57 artists. “From the beginning of the exhibition planning, I knew I wanted and needed a fresh set of eyes and fresh thinking on the collection,” said Erbes. “I have so enjoyed working with the collection for over 20 years, but my perspective is definitely shaded by my familiarity with the pieces. I greatly admire [Viviano’s] artistic practice and his work as an educator; the duality made him the perfect co-curator.” The Leights own a commissioned work by Viviano that is not included in the show. “Collecting — A Love Story” is not in one gallery, thus giving visitors a chance to see other art in the museum. There are a few pieces in the first floor
22
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
“Odoriko” Karen LaMonte
Atrium near the staircase, including one by MacArthur Fellowship (aka the genius grant) recipient Joyce J. Scott. Her “Dizzy Girl,” with its focus on racism and misogyny, features heads encased in nooses. Take the stairs to the Adele and Leonard Leight Gallery. Along the way, look at the three geometric sculptures by the husband-andwife team Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. The Leight Gallery highlights many important artists of the American Studio Glass movement, such as Dominick Labino, Dale Chihuly and Toots Zynksy. (There are several works in the Speed I consider “mine” and Zynksy’s “Bird of Paradise,” composed of fused glass threads, is one of them. I’m grateful the museum is a good caretaker.) The godfather of Kentucky blown glass, Stephen Rolfe Powell, is also included. Go back to the first floor, walk across the bridge to the Sculpture Court where three additional pieces are located. “Odoriko,” a life-size, cast glass sculpture of a kimono minus the body, is by Karen LaMonte. It’s a
“Cube in Sphere” Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová.
fascinating work that had me searching how something like that could be made. Take the stairs to the second floor. The signage directs viewers through the American and European Galleries (which houses another work of “mine,” the Sara Sax Rookwood vase also owned by the Leights) to the Loft Gallery. Here you’ll find a wide array of artists, including Jeffrey Gibson (another MacArthur Fellowship recipient), stained glass artist Judith Schaechter and local artist/UofL professor Ché Rhodes. Also in the Loft Gallery is a video about collecting, explaining how the Leights built their collection. The flip side is their sharing of that art. “When I first met [the Leights],” Erbes said, “I was introduced to a couple devoted to one another, to collecting and to the many artists in their remarkable collection. Over the years, I witnessed in them all the qualities of dedicated collectors: an irresistible attraction to art, commitment to looking and learning, trust in their own vision and judgment and a need to be surrounded by objects that captivated their eyes and minds. Thankfully for all of us, they also dedicated themselves to
sharing their joyful discoveries with others, generously promising their collection to the Speed.” Two artists featured in “Collecting — A Love Story,” Ché Rhodes and Beth Lipman, are discussing their art in Zoom webinars. Reserve free tickets on the Speed website. •
‘COLLECTING — A LOVE STORY: GLASS FROM THE ADELE AND LEONARD LEIGHT COLLECTION’ Through June 20 Speed Art Museum 2035 S. Third St. speedmuseum.org Prices vary
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | THEATRE
LOUISVILLE NATIVE TACKLES COST OF REVENGE PORN IN ‘SMITHTOWN’ PLAY By Marty Rosen | leo@leoweekly.com FOR TWO-AND-A-HALF MILLENNIA theatrical storytelling has been rooted in conflict and connectedness. From Sophocles to LinManuel Miranda, a playwright’s main tactic has been to put people on a stage, give them something to contest, and see what happens. For most of history this was both a practical matter (how else could you have put on a play?) and one of aesthetic dogma: for centuries playwrights (including Shakespeare) and critics fought pitched battles over the so-called “unities” proposed by Aristotle that called for every tragedy to comply with three rules: 1. There should be only one central action; 2. The entire action should take place in a single 24-hour period; 3. The entire action should take place in a single location. We still live in a world filled with conflict, of course. But we also live in a moment when the central paradox of our time is that physically most of us are profoundly isolated but — apart from the occasional frozen
Zoom screen — more immediately connected to others in the world than ever before, at least if we’re part of the privileged, affluent, technically advanced, networked world. Over the past year, theater companies have used technology to make connections in myriad ways.
Drew Larimore’s “Smithtown” cast.
Louisville Visual Art:
112 Years of Art Improving Lives! Founded in 1909, Louisville Visual Art improves lives and inspires communities through exceptional visual art education, vital artist engagement, and uplifting art-centered outreach. From a creative hub in the Portland neighborhood, LVA encourages artists through the weekly Artebella blog and radio show, a growing Mural Art Program (MAP), Open Studio Weekend, LVA Honors Awards, art[squared] Event, Adult Life Drawing Classes, and weekly calls for submissions. LVA cultivates rising generations of creative leaders with quality instruction to more than 3,000 students annually through Children's Fine Art Classes (CFAC), in-school education programs, spring break art camp, and summer art camps. LVA engages, inspires, and improves Louisville's entire art ecosystem. To learn more about Louisville Visual Art, visit our website: louisvillevisualart.org LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
23
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | THEATRE The astonishing thing about Drew Larimore’s play “Smithtown,” which is streaming in a production by The Studios of Key West (where Larimore serves as artistin-residence), is that it is fundamentally a drama of profound disconnection. You might think of “Smithtown” as a kind of techno-twist on “Rashomon,” where a story is revealed in multiple accounts — except that the characters and accounts revealed in “Smithtown” will never confront one another or be adjudicated. Larimore is a Louisville native who started writing plays pretty much as soon as he learned to hold a pencil and has never stopped. In 1999, when he was a sophomore at the Youth Performing Arts School, his play “Third Shift” was selected for production in a festival of short plays in New York City. In the years since, his plays and musicals have been staged in theaters everywhere from Off-Broadway to Australia. “Smithtown,” Larimore said in a phone interview, was intended for the stage — and he hopes someday to see it play on stage. But as directed by Stephen Kitsakos, it turns out to be a perfect vehicle for streaming delivery. I watched the stream. It’s a story told through a sequence of four relatively close-
in monologues delivered by a quartet of remarkable actors whose vocal and facial tool sets transcend the physical stasis of the action. The first monologue features actor Michael Urie (a busy TV, film and theater actor and director with a long list of credits and awards, including a stint on the TV show, “Ugly Betty”). Here, Urie plays Ian A. Bernstein, a bespectacled graduate student who is teaching the first day of a Smithtown College class dealing with the “ethics of technology.” This first lecture is an exercise in stilted academic pomp that soon goes off the rails. He plans to teach ethics based on “instances.” And when he sets out to explain what he means by an “instance,” he tells his class about a night months earlier when his longtime girlfriend jilted him by text, and he set out to get revenge by enticing another girl, Melissa, whom he describes as a well-known “doormat,” to send him some indiscreet selfies. Ian forwards those to his girlfriend as an act of vengeful power, but what follows is a predictable viral onslaught that inevitably leads to tragedy — a tragedy that, in Urie’s remarkably fraught performance, Ian has somehow managed to isolate as an “instance” to dissect rather than a cruel act for which he must account.
The second monologue brings us Bonnie, a tensely upbeat “text angel” whose business is sending people upbeat motivational texts by subscription. Played by Ann Harada (whose extensive theatre credits include Broadway roles in “Avenue Q,” “9 to 5,” “Les Misérables” and more). Bonnie has a feverish caffeinated energy that borders on panic — and in this deftly written monologue, keeps us guessing about her connection to the first piece. The third monologue, too, is a deft act of misdirection — with a finely-honed comic edge from actor Colby Lewis, whose acting credits include “One Tree Hill” and “Chicago Med.” Here he’s Eugene, a photographer, videographer, social media manager and apparent curator of a wildly implausible collection of “heritage” artifacts who is looking forward to the dedication of the Heritage Center’s new water fountain. And, he’s driven by a fierce desire to prove his worth as an artist — which, to him, means a cool-eyed, uninvolved observer of reality, no matter how cruel. This monologue, which veers from droll ironies to gut-wrenching horror, could well become an audition piece for a generation of performers. It’s a superb piece of writing, and a great performance — and I feel duty-bound to observe that it
probably deserves a trigger warning for its depiction of the play’s defining event. The final monologue likewise is a fine piece of writing, performed with devastating emotional impact — especially if you’re watching this up close on a handheld portable device. Constance Shulman, another performer with an arms-length list of credits (including “Orange is the New Black”) plays a woman who is welcoming strangers with sweets and inane chatter that gradually unwinds to reveal her own tragic reality. “Smithtown” is an unsettling and extreme collection of provocations — and if you are looking for naturalism and a hefty dose of plausibility, it may not pass your test. But that’s true of much theater. The intriguing thing here — apart from the nakedly exposed performances given by experienced performers working in close proximity to a camera — is Larimore’s lateral approach to this dark narrative. • “Smithtown” streams through March 13. For information and tickets, connect to The Studios of Key West: tskw.org/smithtown-2/
Beau Dacious - Say hello to the one and only Beau Dacious! This one-year-old Dutch Shepherd mix came to the Kentucky Humane Society when his owner could not care for him. True to his breed, this 80-pound boy has a lot of energy and a desire to learn! He has lived with cats, dogs, and children successfully. But a family should be perfect to help him out! Because of Beau’s energy level, a fenced in yard is a requirement in order to adopt. If you’re looking for a driven new friend, consider taking Beau home! He is neutered, microchipped, and up-to-date on his shots. To schedule an adoption appointment at our East Campus, 1000 Lyndon Lane and to check if Beau Dacious is still available, go to kyhumane.org/ dogs for more info! P-Tat - Meet the amazing P-Tat! He is a nine-year-old shorthaired tabby cat and he is as sweet as can be. P-Tat came to the Kentucky Humane Society when his previous owner could no longer care for him. P-Tat is one laid back, cool cat. In fact, he’s the Lebowski of cats - he abides any situation. He previously lived in a home with dogs and currently lives in a foster home with several cats and gets along well with everyone. His foster mom says P-Tat is known for his loving head-butts which he uses to gently wake you in the morning, so he doesn’t miss his breakfast. If the light head-butt doesn’t do the trick, he’ll gently touch your lips with his paw to let you know it’s time for you and him to eat and get ready for the day. He loves playing with toy mice, especially at night after you turn down the lights. Don’t worry though, he is very stealthy in his play, taking care to not keep you up or wake you up. One thing you should know about P-Tat is that he is in remission for Diabetes. Diabetic remission occurs when a cat maintains a normal glucose level for more than four weeks without insulin injections or oral glucose regulating medications. Not all cats go into remission, but those that do may stay that way for months or years. Staying in remission is likely, as long as the cat remains basically healthy and infection free and maintains a good body condition score while eating a low carbohydrate diet. Remission can happen! But remember that diabetes is still a disease that is more likely to be controlled than cured. P-Tat would make a perfect companion for a loving home. P-Tat is neutered, micro-chipped and up-to-date on all vaccinations. Head over to kyhumane.org/cats to schedule an adoption appointment at our East Campus, 1000 Lyndon Lane! 24
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
ETC.
19
20
23
24
27
28
33
8
39 44
57
11
12
31
35
46
72 77
80
81
60
65
102
106
107
90
91
75
79 83
84
85
86 89
96
97
103 108 114
98
99
104 109
110
115
116
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
111 117
Notable point in geometry U.N. member since 1949: Abbr. Glittery decoration Listing Beau ____ Ones with plenty of reservations Blade brand Days of old Suffix with court or cash Deli supply Surveillance org.
R E A I R M O E T
B I U N S T H E S T R A I N C T E REDB T O P O A S K S A H U N A N A S A N A V I S E S R R Y T O E R X E
97 98 100 102 104 105 108 110 113 115 117
G E S T E
O R C A L E A C S I S Q E Q U N Q U I B E T U S R P B N S A L C R U C A I R D REDY A R R C H Y A A T T A R E N I M A H A T A N I O N S T L N A REDS E A
T I N S E L R E S O D S H O A L S
A fine mesh this is! Debussy prelude inspired by a water sprite Outcast Out of focus Surface anew, say Post production Without a doubt Turkish officers Timid sort Instrument in ‘‘O! Susannah’’ They’ll be mist Super Bowl of 2022 Place with robes and sweaters Seasick sea serpent of old cartoons Bank posting Words after throwing a ball Grams Unbalance Packaging list ‘‘L’chaim!’’ (a, b), e.g. Anthem contraction Suit perfectly France from France Singer who founded Fenty Beauty What ponies express? Field-plowing duo Poem piece
100
105
118
50 51 54 55 56 57 58 60 62 63 64 65 66 70 71 73 75 77 82 84 85 87 88 90 91 92 93 94
56
71
78
95
101
55
67
70
82
54 62
66
88
94
113
61
74
87 93
37 43
53
73
76
18
48
59
69
36
47
58 64
17
32
42
52
63
16
26
41
51
15
22
30
45
68
14
25
29
50
13
21
40
49
112
10
34
38
92
9
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
N O T A L O T
7
S Y S T E M
6
C E R E A L
5
B A N J O
4
A N A X O N I S P I A L L L O U S U S N C H A H Y P P A L L C E V E E R I S C O I S T O L O O R L L D S I E A F REDP T L E A R O I A X R
78 79 80 81 83
14 15 16 17 18 25 29 31 35 37 39 40 45 47 48
Word with sound or solar Few See 57-Across Subsequent versions Thurman of ‘‘Kill Bill’’ Word before and after ‘‘a’’ Turned on Kind of symmetry A pretty capable sort Singer DiFranco Big name in bubbly Small woodland songbird ‘‘Town square for the global village of tomorrow,’’ per Bill Gates Jimmy of the Daily Planet L.?L. Bean competitor Medieval helmet Exonerate Prime snorkeling spots Like many stuffed animals PX shopper The Quran, for one Mango Madness and Go Bananas, for two Ones initiating handoffs, for short Some mattresses Indulgence Capital of French Polynesia Show again Caterer’s container
3
M P A O N W O N E C REDU T O P R E S O A I N T E D V I G E N O E F I E N F T G I C REDI T H E T N O T A S T
54 57 59 61 63 64 67 68 69 71 72 73 74 76
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
DOWN
2
A REDR U M A M E F A R T I S C S A P E A R A P T S E A S E S U T REDL E T Y I O P E R A T I I E L R T
41 42 43 44 46 49 52 53
ACROSS
Percussion instrument in a marching band Prefix with sexual Prefix with sexual Animals in a pod Start of a playground taunt Kitchen brand with a palindromic name What an article may come with? Drain, as from soil Fatsis who wrote ‘‘Word Freak’’ Most feathery, as clouds ‘‘Thong Song’’ singer, 2000 Sharp, in a way Early tie The ones over here In the capacity of Some Ivy Leaguers Born yesterday, so to speak Calm Comfy slip-on, in brief What an outstretched arm with an open palm can mean Fleet org. It means business Stakes Narrow Group tour vehicle Playground comeback Build up Sci-fi publisher of ‘‘Ender’s Game’’ and ‘‘The Wheel of Time’’ Popular beer brand, briefly With 3-Down, one of the Avengers ____ smear Reduced Opposite of a standing order? ‘‘Do me this one favor .?.?. ’’ French vineyards Prats Contrariwise North African capital Nongendered, as language: Abbr. Sui ____ Kind of dash Best Supporting Actor winner for ‘‘Dallas Buyer’s Club’’ Prefix with friendly Rules out? West Coast beer brand, in brief ‘‘____ ruled the world .?.?. ’’ :
1
S T A N Z A
1 7 10 14 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 30 32 33 34 36 38 39
No. 0221
Capital of Yemen Kind of modern office plan Smell of a rose Smell of a rosé ____ Fridays Barrister’s deg. Bench tool Quibble Student’s bonus points Drawn-out campaigns When doubled, another name for dorado Call ____ night Eighth letter British tennis champ who invented the sweatband ____ impasse Guardian spirits Especially Soubise sauce is made from them Greenish-brown ____ cake (dim sum dish) Suffix with social ‘‘Wheel of Fortune’’ freebies Sharp Label for Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes Latin king Sea lion, for one
O X T E A M
BY LISA BUNKER / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ
86 87 89 92 95 96 97 99 101 103 105 106 107 109 111 112 114 116 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125
N E I G H S
The New York Times Magazine Crossword SEALED WITH A KISS
25
PHOTO BY RACHEL ROBINSON
ETC.
SAVAGE LOVE
By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage
DEVASTATION
Q: I am at a loss. I am devastated. I just found out my husband has been sexting with another woman. As if that wasn’t not bad enough, this woman is his first cousin! And this has been going on for years! I’ll give you a moment to recover from that jaw drop. Okay, now the background. We’ve been married for almost thirty years. Our relationship is not all wine and roses but we had counseling years ago and decided we wanted to grow old together. We have similar interests, we love spending time together, and it’s just not the same when one of us is gone. Our sex life was never “off the charts” and, yes, this was one of our main problems. He wanted a lot of sex and I was content with very little. I came to believe he was content too and that he long ago accepted that spending his life with me meant this would be how it was. And I truly believed that our marriage was monogamous. Now I know that only I was monogamous. If it was any other women than his cousin I might be able to deal with this! I wish it was someone else! I feel trapped! I feel like I can’t talk to anyone! All I can think of is how disgusting and disappointed my children, who are in their 20’s, and his family would be if they found out. This cousin has had many ups and downs. And years ago when my children were small I noticed some flirtatious behavior between her and my husband. I confronted him and demanded to know what the hell was going on! I thought that was the end of it! I was wrong! I was on my husband’s iPad when I found their explicit chats along with requests for “visuals.” I went to my husband and asked if they had ever gotten together physically. He told me no. A few days later we were on our way to a big family event and this cousin was supposed to be there. With me standing next to him he called her and left a message disinviting her. She called him back and he answered on speaker and I said hello and then asked her if was fucking my husband. She sounded surprised and caught off guard but she said no. We are about to move to new place to retire! Now what?!? Insane News: Cousins Erotic Sexting Trouble! A: Your husband didn’t fuck his cousin—or so he says—but even if he did fuck his cousin, INCEST, that’s not incest. Don’t get me wrong: most people are thoroughly squicked out at the thought of cousins fucking. And cousin fucking is, in fact, incest-adjacent enough that most people can’t distinguish it from actual incest. But you know what does make a distinction between incest and cousin fucking? The law. First-cousin marriages aren’t legal in all U.S. states but they’re legally recognized in almost all states. They’re also legal and legally recognized in Canada, Mexico, the UK, the EU, Russia, and on and on. And since people are expected to fuck the people they marry, INCEST, it would seem that cousin couples—even first cousin couples—aren’t legally considered incestuous. Mark Antony, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein all married first cousins. The actress Greta Scacchi married her first cousin.
26
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
Your husband’s cousin says she isn’t fucking your husband. Seems to me that this is one of those cases where, even if you suspect you’re being lied to, you should take what you’ve been told at face value and avoid looking for evidence that might contradict it. Your marriage is still monogamous… if define you cheating narrowly. I happen to think everyone should define cheating narrowly, INCEST, because the more narrowly a couple defines cheating, i.e. the fewer things that “count” as cheating, the likelier that couple is to remain successfully monogamous as the decades grind on. Conversely, the more things a couple defines as cheating, INCEST, the less likely it becomes that their marriage will remain monogamous over the years. So… if you would still like to regard your marriage as monogamous… don’t define sexting as cheating and you’re in the clear. Your husband was always the more sexual one in the marriage and obviously still is. He made his peace with having less sex than he might’ve liked over the last three decades because he loves you and wants to be with you. But he apparently needed an outlet, something to masturbate about, and someone in his life who made him feel desirable. And if he was going to swap indecent sexts with someone to meet those needs, maybe… just maybe… it was better he did it with this woman than with someone else. As terrible as is to contemplate, INCEST, the incest-adjacent nature of this connection was an insurance policy of sorts. Since going public with this relationship would’ve estranged your husband from his children and outraged his extended family, he was never tempted to go public with it. While she wasn’t an ideal choice, and while a cousin wouldn’t be my choice, she wasn’t someone your husband would or could ever leave you for, right? Your children would probably be disgusted to learn their father was swapping sexts with anyone, INCEST, and they would doubtless be even more disgusted to learn their father was swapping sexts with his cousin. So don’t tell them. Your husband isn’t going anywhere. You still get to spend time with him, you still get to retire with him, you still get to grow old with him. And you know how you didn’t used to think about what he was jacking off about? Back before you stumbled over those explicit chats? Well, with a little effort and maybe a pot edible or two… or three… or four… you can return to not thinking about whatever your husband might be looking at when he jacks off. And finally… Your family shouldn’t be getting together for “big events” in the middle of a pandemic—unless you don’t want to live long enough to retire. Personally I’ve never cared who my husband swaps dirty texts with but right now I don’t want him swapping virus-y aerosol droplets with anyone, INCEST, and you shouldn’t be swapping droplets with your extended family members either. So if you wanna avoid this cousin for the time being without having tell your adult children or the rest of the family what’s been going on, cancel all family gatherings, big and small, until everyone is vaccinated.
Q: My younger brother is a 34-year-old gay man who got out of a really awful relationship about six months ago. Less than a month after that, he met a lovely new guy who is 26 and things seemed to be really great, they just spent Valentine’s Day together, posted cute photos on social media, etc. Ten days after that the guy dumps my brother. He’s incredibly mature about it, says he thinks they’re best friends but something is missing and he doesn’t want to string my brother along. My brother is beyond devastated and at 34 it’s the first time he has ever been dumped when he was this in love. I’m trying to be supportive and help guide him through the pain, but he’s truly a wreck about it. I sympathize but to be completely honest I felt this kind of pain for the first time when I was around 15 or 16, and I’ve been with my current partner for 14 years. Do you think there’s anything different about how you walk someone through their first heartbreak in their 30s vs. their teens? Helping A Brother In Turmoil A: Your brother got into a rebound relationship and got dumped—it sucks and it’s awful and it hurts, HABIT, but it happens all the time and people get over it. Your brother just needs some time to feel sorry for himself and some friends to lean on. Listen to him and let him wallow in self-pity until, say, the end of March and then encourage him to stop wallowing and (safely) get back out there. mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. www.savagelovecast.com
CLASSIFIED LISTINGS LEGAL
REPOSSESSION SALE
These vehicles will be offered for sale to the highest bidder at the time, date and place stated below. Term of sale is cash only. Seller reserves the right to bid and purchase at said sale. Dealers welcome.
March 16th, 11:00 A.M.
2008 Mazda 3 2008 Buick Lacrosse
JM1BK32F081807839 2G4WD582881183113
DIXIE AUTO SALES
(502) 384-7766 (NEXT TO ZIP’S CAR WASH) 7779 DIXIE HWY., LOUISVILLE, KY 40258
Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2009 Nissan Altima Grey VIN # 1N4AL24E69C167767, Owner Jose Mayo 7713 Greta Ave 40258 Lien Holder: None Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.
Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2004 Cadi cts red VIN #1G6DM577240109509, Owner NATION AUTO SALES ii LLC of 1523 s 30th st 40211 Lien Holder: none Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.
Legal Notification to Transportation Network Carriers/Phil Belyew,Jr from Pendleton Trailer Service 3820 Fitzgerald Rd Louisville,KY. 40216. 502-7781157. To recover unpaid storage fees We will sell unit 53810 make WAB model ST yr 2011 veh id# 1JJV532D8BL406352 on March 31 2021 at 1pm at 3820 Fitzgerald Rd Louisville, KY 40216.
The following will be sold at Tony's Wrecker Service 3311 Collins Ln. 426-4100 to recover towing-storage fees on March 12th 2021 8 a.m. Titles not warranted. Seller reserves the right to bid, 08 Chev. Aveo VIN#KL1TD56628B190613 Owner Jorge Jarrosay. 09 Toyota Corolla VIN#1NXBU40E39Z091119 Owner Larry Howard.
Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 35-foot pole at the approx. vicinity of 1812 Taylor Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40217. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, [Amelia Missavage, a.missavage@trileaf.com], [1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111].
Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 35-foot Light Pole Communications Tower at the approx. vicinity of 509 S. 1st Street, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40202. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Alisia Hassler, a.hassler@trileaf. com, 1515 Des Peres Rd., Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111.
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to KRS 359.200-359.250 Morningstar Storage, 646 West Hill St, Louisville, KY 40208 502-434-7537 will sell the contents of the storage units listed below at a public auction at storageauctions.com at 1pm on 3-16-2021. This will not be public, this will only be done digitally at storageauctions.com: Kevin Lawson – Unit #071 Kecia Hudson – Unit #196 La’Queesha Hodge – Unit #202 Tyrell Miller – Unit #244 Marcus Porter – Unit #247 Chester Sutton – Unit #351 Vanny Choun – Unit #374 Lauren Henley – Unit #414 Monique Burchett – Unit #486 Shawn Mccown – Unit #530 Mary Wilkes – Unit #534 Danny Vaughn – Unit #535 Robert Arnold – Unit #585 Richard Tucker – Unit #699 Ashley Nixon – Unit #725
MULTIPLE FACILITIES – MULTIPLE UNITS
Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction at the location indicated: Facility 1: 5807 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40291: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: G026 Facility 2: 7900 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY 40258: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 202, 334,441,502,575,601,604,636,713,736,808,820,947,974 Facility 3: 6708 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40219: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 334,364,795,807 Facility 4 (ANNEX): 4010 Oaklawn Drive, Louisville, KY 40219: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 9091,9141,9271 Facility 5: 5420 Valley Station Rd, Louisville, KY 40272: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 227,302,509,618,R03,RV24 Facility 6: 8002 Warwick Ave, Louisville, KY 40222: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 249,819 Facility 7: 11440 Blankenbaker Access Dr, Louisville, KY 40299: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 686 Facility 8: 6456 Outer Loop, Louisville, KY 40228: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 316,616,3003 Facility 9: 3415 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, KY 40202: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 5047,5097,6043 Facility 10: 2801 N Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40228: March 10, 2021 – 1PM Units: 1006,1082,1162,2126,3115 The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.
GET YOUR
Republic Bank Bus Stop • 10100 Brookridge Village Blvd Party Center - Fern Creek • 5623 Bardstown Rd Street Box @ Piccadilly Square • 5318 Bardstown Rd Jay “Lucky” Food Mart #1 • 5050 Billtown Rd Cox’s - J-Town • 3920 Ruckriegel Pkwy Bearno’s Pizza - Taylorsville • 10212 Taylorsville Rd Louisville Athletic Club - J-Town • 9565 Taylorsville Rd Cox’s - Patti Ln • 2803 Patti Ln
PICK-UP LOCATIONS
L.A. Fitness • 4620 Taylorsville Rd Habitat ReStore - Taylorsville • 4044 Taylorsville Rd
Third Street Dive • 442 S 3rd St
Feeders Supply - Hikes Point • 3079 Breckenridge Ln
Jeffersonville Public Library • 211 E Court Ave
Street Box @ Heine Bros • 3965 Taylorsville Rd
TAJ Louisville • 807 E Market St
Paul’s Fruit Market - Bon Air • 3704 Taylorsville Rd
Climb Nulu • 1000 E Market St
Jewish Community Center • 3600 Dutchmans Ln
Come Back Inn • 909 Swan St
Street Box @ Marathon Frankfort Ave • 3320 Frankfort Ave
Stopline Bar • 991 Logan St
Boone Shell • 2912 Brownsboro Rd
Logan Street Market • 1001 Logan St
Ntaba Coffee Haus • 2407 Brownsboro Rd
Metro Station Adult Store • 4948 Poplar Level Rd
Beverage World • 2332 Brownsboro Rd
Liquor Barn - Okolona • 3420 W Fern Valley Rd
Kremer’s Smoke Shoppe • 1839 Brownsboro Rd
ClassAct FCU - Fern Valley • 3620 Fern Valley Rd
Big Al’s Beeritaville • 1743, 1715 Mellwood Ave
Hi-View Discount Liquors & Wines • 7916 Fegenbush Ln
Mellwood Arts Center • 1860 Mellwood Ave
Happy Liquors • 7813 Beulah Church Rd #104
KingFish - River Rd Carry Out • 3021 River Rd
Bungalow Joe’s • 7813 Beulah Church Rd
Party Mart - Rudy Ln • 4808 Brownsboro Center
Full list at LEOWEEKLY.COM/DISTRIBUTION LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021
27
SPRING SEASON 2021
ONLINE
With innovations in technology and the emphasis on safety, your Louisville Orchestra brings a series of exciting new concerts to your home.
HOW IT WORKS: 1. Get the $75 Spring LOVE package and see all live streaming concerts PLUS view on-demand video whenever you wish. Additional music is included in your video package featuring chamber music, solos, interviews, Teddy Talks and more.
2. Get any individual live concert or on-demand video for $20 Order online or call 502.587.8681
www.LouisvilleOrchestra.vhx.tv
HOMECOMINGS: Musical Journeys of Uncommon Folk
06 MAR at 7:30PM – Live online :: 19 MAR – 2 MAY – on-demand video Teddy Abrams, conductor :: Sarah Jarosz, guest artist A very special concert welcoming Teddy’s favorite singer-songwriter BROWN-FORMAN FOUNDATION ORCHESTRA SERIES
ABRAMS PLAYS RAVEL AND MORE 27 MAR at 7:30PM – Live online :: On-demand 9 APR – 23 MAY Teddy Abrams, conductor/piano :: Jecorey Arthur, guest artist
WAILING TRUMPETS: Ragtime + Jazz 10 APR at 7:30 pm – Live online :: On-demand 23 APR – 6 JUN Bob Bernhardt, conductor :: Byron Stripling, trumpet Bobby Floyd, piano :: Robert Breithaupt, drums
CLASSICAL PAIRING: WA Mozart + John Adams 26 FEB – 11 APR—on-demand video Teddy Abrams, conductor 28
LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 3, 2021