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FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK

DOMES AUDIT REVEALS LAX MILWAUKEE COUNTY OVERSIGHT

Located in Mitchell Park on Milwaukee’s southwest side, the popular Domes attraction comprises three massive display gardens under beehive-shaped glass—the Tropical Dome, Desert Dome and Floral Show Dome. The complex also has a $14 million greenhouse facility with about 65,000 square feet, including the multi-use Annex used for the weekly Winter Farmers Market and special events. The greenhouses (which also serve other county parks) were completed in 2014 and funded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Operated by the Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, the conservatory engages with two partners. The nonprofit Friends of the Domes “provides educational, cultural, recreational and scientific programs and operates its membership program” and the Domes’ gift shop. Zilli Hospitality Group, a Waukesha-based private catering business, provides food and beverage services. Zilli is also the booking agent for Domes’ weddings and other events. The audit recommends “increased oversight and contract monitoring efforts…by Parks to ensure [that] the requirements of current agreements with Friends of the Domes (Friends) and Zilli Hospitality Group (Zilli’s) are met.”

Parks Department, Zilli Hospitality and Friends group all cited ::BY VIRGINIA SMALL

recent audit of operations, concessions and events at the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, commonly known as the “Domes,” reveals non-standard accounting or questionable management practices among all parties ostensibly in control of the facility. The audit’s pointed title is: “The Domes should evaluate its current admission practices, increase its monitoring of contracts and establish stronger controls, policies and procedures in order to position itself for success in the future.” The 79-page audit was released by Milwaukee County’s independently elected Comptroller Scott B. Manske in mid-December. The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors formally requested the audit, which makes 19 recommendations to improve operations, income generation and accountability. BEN KRUT

Compliance Issues

Mitchell Park Domes

6 | JANUARY 24, 2019

On Sept. 14, 2008, the County Parks entered into a 10-year contract with Zilli’s as the Domes’ exclusive caterer. The initial agreement expired Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, but the County Board authorized the parks to enter into a new agreement with Zilli’s. The audit “found Zilli’s to be noncompliant with the contract in a variety of areas.” Although Zilli’s 2008 contract does not authorize them to collect room rental and set-up fees or to issue refunds and credits, “the current Domes rental permit directs patrons to Zilli’s for payments.” Milwaukee County was shorted more than $20,000, because “a lack of monitoring and reporting led to errors in credits and refunds by the County… In 2016, after a sudden temporary closure of the Domes to make repairs, many clients cancel[led]…events scheduled in the venue. Efforts were made to relocate clients to other facilities,” but many cancellations occurred. Review of refunds and credits “clearly showed two separate systems operating simultaneously at the Domes: one by the Parks Department and one by Zilli’s.” Parks issued 33 room rental refunds totaling $51,243. “Zilli’s issued credits against the room rental fees, and in some cases, without a clear reason stated, but in all cases without written authorization from Parks,” the audit says. Consequently, “Parks issued both full and partial refunds to clients whose events were still held, totaling $20,976. Zilli’s provided reimbursement of $650, which resulted in a net revenue loss of $20,326 for Parks.” Domes continued on page 8 >

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NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE um, Greenﬁeld Park, the Milwaukee County Zoo, South Shore Park, Trimborn Farm and Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.

> Domes continued from page 6

The audit states: “The agreement with Parks and Zilli’s is very basic and does not require Zilli’s to provide any documentation to verify a majority of the provisions; Parks currently has no financial data to verify food and bar [sales]…nor is Zilli’s required to submit proof of local licenses, including liquor licenses. Parks staff indicated that they do not ask for proof of sales [for which Zilli’s pays an 8% commission to Parks] or audited financial statements from Zilli’s. Parks just take their word that the sales [figures] are correct. Parks did not have on file the contractually required certificate of liability insurance.” Zilli’s also provides catering at other Milwaukee County facilities, including Boerner Botanical Gardens, the Charles Allis Muse-

The Friends Partnership

On Feb. 4, 2010, the Parks and the Friends entered into their current agreement to help ensure “the continued success and growth of the Domes.” The agreement remains in effect until terminated upon one-year written notice by either party or by mutual consent. Paid staff and volunteers perform various routine services, including conducting about ﬁve special events annually that serve as fundraisers, with proceeds underwriting improvements to the Domes. Among concerns the audit cited, “During 2014-2017, it appears that Parks and the Domes failed to monitor key provisions and

conditions of the agreement, the Friends retained funds owed to Milwaukee County, and the Friends failed to provide required documents.” Auditors recommend that Parks “clarify the role of Friends in relation to County staff reporting…[and] formally approve amendments to the agreement when provisions and conditions are changed.”

Assessing Fees and Attendance

After analyzing attendance and fee-related data during 2014-’17, the auditors found that “82.3% of all revenue at the Domes was from admission fees, which has limited the Domes’ ability to generate additional revenue without changes to admission policies and fees.” During that same period, the Domes and Annex generated approximately $2,966,000 in reve-

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nue. Expenses were nearly $6,448,000 during the same time period, “after adjusting for the centralization of Park Service Division fees.” Since the conservatory is “not a self-funded entity, the Domes has a continuous need to evaluate current and potential revenue sources to increase revenue,” the audit states. One audit recommendation calls for Parks to “review its attendance practices and establish a benchmark for free vs. paid admissions.” Also, since data sets did not match, “the system for tracking attendance needs attention.” Additionally, the audit says, “Domes operations would benefit from comprehensive written policies and procedures along with increased monitoring of sales tax issues, including payments” related to Domes staff, Zilli’s and the Friends. The audit concludes that, “to make informed management decisions and possibly increase revenues, the Domes must first improve tracking of revenues including revenue from attendance at events.” Stakes remain high for all parties involved with Domes’ operations, with problematic implications for each. Some county officials have begun advocating for “new governance” of the Domes. One option would be to have the facility function as an independent unit within county government rather than as part of the Parks Department. The Friends have also publicly expressed interest in governing the Domes. Zilli’s contract is currently being renegotiated; a draft released in 2018 indicated Zilli would control rentals of Domes facilities for up to 20 years (a 10-year contract with two five-year extensions). The pending contract, which covers multiple county park facilities, says: “Except for standard default provisions, [there is] no right in the County to terminate prior to end of term, including during any extensions.” Thus, the contract would allow Zilli to opt out, but not the county, without facing steep penalties. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele enthusiastically promotes ever-increasing privatization of Milwaukee County facilities and services. Speaking at a December 2018 forum about public-private partnerships, he said that, when services are privatized, “it’s never been in a place where we’re doing something incredibly well and consistently providing value. It’s usually because we’re not.” Abele also acknowledged that some privatized contracts are “sub-optimum,” even when managed by well-intended people. “Even with a well-designed contract… most people in government are not as sophisticated about contract maintenance and oversight as folks in the private sector… Guaranteeing that it is always going to be a sort of rosy outcome; it is impossible for an elected [official] to do.” The audit will reportedly be on the agenda of the County Board Finance and Audit Committee meeting starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Room 203R. The Audits Division staff will conduct a six-month follow-up. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( JAN. 24 - JAN. 30, 2019 ) The Shepherd Express serves as a clearinghouse for all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Donald Trump administration, as well as others who seek to thwart social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teach-ins, party-building meetings, drinking-discussion gettogethers and any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Thursday, Jan. 24

Bystander Intervention Training @ Tippecanoe Church (125 W. Saveland Ave.), 10 a.m.-noon

This bystander intervention training session will focus on ways to safely intervene during public instances of racist, sexist, antiMuslim, anti-Semitic, anti-trans and other forms of oppressive interpersonal violence and harassment. (Also on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 10 a.m.)

Eviction in Milwaukee @ Ambassador Hotel (2308 W. Wisconsin Ave.), 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. This panel discussion will feature representatives from a number of community organizations working directly with those affected by eviction. Panelists include Amy Koltz of Mediate Milwaukee, Joe’Mar Hooper of CommonBond Communities, Shawanna Lindenburg of Community Ad-

vocates and Raphael Ramos of Legal Action Milwaukee.

Saturday, Jan. 26

Community Brainstorming Breakfast @ Saint Matthew C.M.E. Church (2944 N. Ninth St.), 8-11 a.m.

The theme of this community brainstorming session is “While Black: Racial Harassment and Surveillance in Milwaukee and Beyond.” Panelists include state Rep. David Bowen, Running Rebels youth representative Dynasty Caesar, America’s Black Holocaust Museum head griot Reggie Jackson and UW-Milwaukee graduate student Dalila Negreiros.

Peace Action of Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ The corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and North Avenue, noon-1 p.m.

Every Saturday from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action Wis-

consin to protest war and, literally, “Stand for Peace.” Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee afterward.

Sunday, Jan. 27

Free Screening of ‘This is Home’ @ Unitarian Church North (13800 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon), 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

This is Home is the story of four Syrian refugee families finding their collective feet over the course of eight months in Baltimore. After the film screening, there will be time set aside for a deeper discussion of the challenges faced by refugees.

Monday, Jan. 28

Expanding Democracy with Campaign Finance Reform @ Riverwest Public House Cooperative (815 E. Locust St.), 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Matt Rothschild, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, and state Sen. Chris Larson will come to the Riverwest Public House for a conversation about campaign finance reform hosted by Our Wisconsin Revolution.

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Wednesday, Jan. 30

Update from Madison @ Brown Deer United Methodist Church (5736 W. Brown Deer Road), 5:45-8 p.m.

State Reps. Jonathan Brostoff, Evan Goyke and David Bowen will update constituents about the legislative priorities of Tony Evers’ administration for 2019 and beyond at this event hosted by Grassroots Northshore and Brown Deer United Methodist Church.

MPS School Board District One Candidate Forum @ Villard Square Library (3310 W. Villard Ave.), 6-7:30 p.m. Milwaukee students, staff, parents and community members are invited to meet the candidates for the Milwaukee Public Schools’ Board of Directors. First District candidates Shyla Deacon and Marva Herndon will be in attendance.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex. com. Together, we can fight to minimize the damage that Donald Trump and others of his ilk have planned for our great country. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Believe Putin Has Leverage Over Trump Last week, we asked if you believe Vladimir Putin has lever-

“The Way You Look Tonight” “When I Fall In Love” “Going Out Of My Head”

age over Donald Trump. You said: n Yes: 83% n No: 17%

What Do You Say? Should the government be reopened and paychecks to federal employees resumed before the President and Congress negotiate border security? n Yes

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n No Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEWS&VIEWS::TAKINGLIBERTIES

Grothman’s Congressional Caucus: The ‘Worst of the Worst’ ::BY JOEL MCNALLY

ith congressional Republicans falling all over themselves these days to support the nation’s worst president ever, it’s difficult for any of them to rise above their dreadful colleagues in sheer contempt for the innocent victims of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. That’s why Sixth District Wisconsin Congressman Glenn Grothman deserves special recognition. Grothman was one of only seven congressmen, all Republicans, who were mean-spirited enough to vote against paying the 800,000 federal employees who’ve gone without pay during Donald Trump’s irrational government shutdown after it finally ends. Yes, that even includes the 420,000 federal employees who are being forced to work without pay during the shutdown as well as all those who have been locked out of their jobs. Grothman was on the losing side of a 4117 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the pay resolution that then unanimously passed in the U.S. Senate. Grothman’s district includes some of Wisconsin’s wealthiest residents in River Hills and rural areas stretching north toward Green Bay and west toward Madison. But the lopsidedness of the House vote shows Grothman’s disdain for working people goes far beyond the extremism of most other rightwing Republicans. Grothman’s open contempt for federal employees is an anachronism dating back nearly a quarter century to the first unsuccessful Republican government shutdown. That was in 1995-’96, when then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich was riding high, leading a Republican revolution against then-President Bill Clinton. It all started to unravel after Gingrich engineered a 21-day government shutdown, the longest in history until Trump’s. The shutdown was partially blamed for Democrats picking up House seats in 1998—a rare midterm gain for an incumbent president’s party. Gingrich was forced to resign as speaker that November; two months later, he resigned from Congress. What I remember most about that ’95-’96 shutdown was all the chortling from Milwaukee’s rightwing radio hosts—Charley Sykes and Mark Belling—who couldn’t have cared less whether the government ever reopened to provide necessary public services. Rightwing talk shows thrive on inflaming public hatred toward government and its employees. Fortunately, in those days, the political influence of SHEPHERD EXPRESS

such shows was limited to a few dim-witted local aldermen. We’re in much more dangerous territory these days when a dim-witted president shuts down the government and demands billions to build a worthless wall after listening to Rush Limbaugh.

He Doesn’t Pretend to Care

In every other Republican shutdown—including the first one that began the demise of Gingrich’s political career—Republicans at least pretended to care about American workers. That’s what makes Grothman’s nasty little band of opponents to paying federal workers so extreme. After all their hostages are released, Republicans have always joined Democrats to award back pay to federal workers locked out of their jobs through no fault of their own. Those are among the few times Republicans ever vote to ease the economic struggles of the working class. They’re usually too busy easing the tax burdens on millionaires and billionaires. But faking respect for American workers has become even more important for Republicans under Trump. That’s because some of the president’s strongest supporters are blue-collar, white workers fooled into believing a self-obsessed billionaire president whose first home is a gold-plated tower would ever give them a passing thought. He doesn’t. Trump demonstrated how little he knows about real, live, working Americans when he publicly proclaimed most of the 800,000 federal employees going without pay support his government shutdown because they’d rather have a multibillion-dollar wall than a paycheck. All working people living paycheckto-paycheck have to do to survive a shutdown Trump says could last for years is make a few adjustments. The Coast Guard even provided its employees with some helpful tips on how to survive without pay during a shutdown with no end in sight. They included: “Have a garage sale,” “Offer to watch children, walk pets or house-sit, “Turn your hobby into income” and “Become a mystery shopper.” Grothman recruited only six other grinch congressmen to his caucus of the “worst of the worst” voting against ever allowing federal employees to recoup their wages. But, there are plenty of other rightwing Republicans relishing the current shutdown for exposing that nearly half of federal employees have been deemed by their departments as “nonessential.” If they could just fire half of all government employees, they could pass even more whopping tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Of course, in Trump’s corrupt government, “essential” is in the eye of the beholder. The bipartisan National Governors Association has warned states are about to run out of funds for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Meanwhile, hundreds of federal workers have been called back to work without pay in the Bureau of Land Management to speed approval of drilling permits for the oil and gas industry, which makes enormous contributions to political campaigns. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

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ERIN BLOODGOOD

NEWS&VIEWS::HEROOFTHEWEEK

3242 W National Ave, Milwaukee | 414-226-6711

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Maria Miramontes

Maria Miramontes HELPING MILWAUKEEANS NAVIGATE HEALTHCARE AT CORE EL CENTRO ::BY ERIC BLOODGOOD

s a young girl growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, Maria Miramontes vividly remembers her parents welcoming people from their community into their home and helping them with their daily struggles. She recalls her father reading the newspaper every morning, learning how current events affected his community. He didn’t have much schooling, she explains, but he would teach himself enough politics and law to be the man that people came to for advice. Similarly, Miramontes describes her mother as one who would accept anyone into their home if they needed assistance, whether she knew them or not. Her mother would tell her children that, if they were ever in need one day, she hoped a stranger would offer them the same hospitality. The values Miramontes learned from her parents stayed with her into her adult life and led her to her career in Milwaukee. However, the road she took to get where she is today was not always clear. Twenty-one years ago, Miramontes made one of the hardest decisions of her life: to get married and move to the U.S. with her new husband. She left her family and friends behind and came to a culture where people live more separately from one another. “I felt isolated,” she said. At the time, she didn’t speak English and didn’t know how to meet new people. Eventually, however, she learned English at Centro Hispanico Milwaukee, a community organization serving Latinos, and began meeting people who understood what she was going through. Miramontes finally found the place where she could be herself when Centro Hispanico recommended her to CORE El Centro, a non-profit that offers healing and wellness services at affordable rates. Miramontes first came to CORE as a client. She was drawn to the fact that the people at CORE make a strong effort to understand people’s cultural backgrounds when helping them heal. The organization has taught her that a person’s culture and daily life are significant factors that contribute to his or her health. Years later, Miramontes transitioned to become a volunteer at CORE and is now employed there as a health navigator. When new clients come to CORE looking for help, she is one of the first people they meet. She listens to their struggles, asks them about other doctors or therapists they have seen and takes time to get to know them before referring them to the ideal place for healing. She gives them very personalized care—spending anywhere from an hour to months with a client. As she explains, the experience has taught her to put herself in the client’s shoes and to never assume that she knows what they are going through. To understand someone else’s life, it takes time. Miramontes thinks back to the genuine love and support her parents gave to others and traces her path to CORE. “I have always wanted to help people, and that is what I’m doing,” she says. She can relate to the many immigrants in the Milwaukee area and learns from those with different stories from her own, helping them to find their path to a healthier life. Learn more at core-elcentro.org. For more of Erin Bloodgood’s work, visit bloodgoodfoto. com. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n 12 | J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::CANNABISCONNECTION THE GO-TO SITE FOR EVERYTHING CANNABIS IN WISCONSIN

COURTESY OF TURTLE CREEK GARDENS

We will keep you informed each week about the growing availability of legal cannabis products in Milwaukee and what’s happening at the state level with respect to Wisconsin’s movement towards legalization, what’s happening in other states and in the rest of the world.

Cannabis is Still Strictly Banned in Iowa DESPITE BEING LEGAL, CBD IS HARD TO OBTAIN ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

isconsin is often worse off than its neighbors when it comes to cannabis legislation, but Iowa is a serious contender in the race to the bottom. Recreational and medical marijuana are both absolutely illegal in Iowa. Possession of any amount of cannabis, however trivial, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine under Iowa law. Cultivating or selling any amount is a felony that is punishable by a prison sentence no matter the amount sold. However, even with these harsh laws, Iowa is still relatively more progressive than Wisconsin. In Iowa, possession of cannabis is never considered a felony, and the punishment when selling is lighter—selling 50 kilograms in Iowa is punishable by a maximum of five years in jail, while selling only 10 kilograms can net you a 15-year sentence in Wisconsin. Surprisingly, Iowa lawmakers have been repeatedly attempting to pass progressive legislation on cannabis going back to the 1970s. Recently, a 2014 House File suggested to lighten punishment for possession of 42.5 grams or less by turning it into a $300 fine, but it was rejected. That same year, cannabidiol (CBD) was legalized by way of the Medical Cannabidiol Act, signed into law by then-governor Terry Branstad. CBD is a cannabis component that doesn’t make you feel high, unlike its psychoactive component, THC, while retaining medical applications—this is what justified its legalization in Iowa under the condition that CBD products contain “less than 3% of THC.” Just before leaving office, Gov. Branstad extended the number of medical conditions qualifying individuals for CBD use, including cancer, seizures, AIDS, untreatable pain and any illness with a life expectancy of less than one year. However, the CBD legislation has been heavily criticized, as only licensed manufacturers can produce cannabidiol in Iowa, and it is illegal to transport it across state lines. The state also imposes heavy fees and regulations on the production and sale of cannabinoids, while very few people—fewer than 1,200 as of Friday, Jan. 11, 2019—have been given registration cards qualifying them to obtain CBD-derived medical treatment. As such, many consider that CBD is not really legal in Iowa because it is too strictly regulated to be widely accessible. Things are unlikely to look up in Iowa in the foreseeable future. Despite attempts by the legislature to expand the CBD laws—specially to remove the current 3% THC cap—none of them have been successful. Recently reelected Gov. Kim Reynolds has been very quiet on the subject, replying with just one word when asked if she’d support marijuana reform: “No.” Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Turtle Creek Gardens

Hemp Proves Advantageous for Delavan Farmer

::BY SHEILA JULSON

s a farmer for 30 years, Janet Gamble has seen lots of changes. She managed the farmer training program for Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and in 2010, she co-founded Turtle Creek Gardens, a whole-system regenerative farm. When Gamble noticed bigger farms swooping in to fulfill niche produce markets once supplied by smaller farms such as hers, she knew it was time to consider other high-value crops. Then, along came hemp legalization in Wisconsin. Gamble and her business partner spent last winter researching hemp and working with a local broker-distributor that deals with hemp oils and nutraceutical products. Once the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) had its 2018 hemp-licensing program in place, Gamble applied. “We grew CBD [cannabidiol] hemp and industrial grain hemp,” Gamble said. “The hemp grew well, there was good execution and timing, and we had a successful crop.” The licensure process through DATCP involved a background check, having GPS coordinates in place to track where the hemp was grown and approval of seed genetics. The DATCP took tests from each hemp farm plot. About 30 days before harvest, farmers had to contact DATCP for additional sampling to be sure the crop was at or below the legal limit of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Farmers whose crops were below the legal limit receive a fit-for-commerce certificate that allows them to harvest and sell it. If a crop tested above the legal limit, it had to be destroyed. “Every sale you make has to be accompanied by

a license number, and the processor also has to have a license,” Gamble explained. She said DATCP ofﬁcials have been helpful and accommodating during the 2018 pilot process. “I think they really want the hemp industry to succeed in Wisconsin.”

Hemp is ‘Definitely Good Economics’

Gamble said they started with five acres of industrial grain hemp and 400 CBD plants on 1/8th of an acre. Industrial grain hemp is an extremely tough plant because of its fiber and hard stalk, and Gamble said modified machinery is needed to process industrial grain hemp and separate its two byproducts, hemp fiber and hemp hurd—the soft inner core of the stem. She noted there’s currently no hemp processing infrastructure in place in Wisconsin to handle industrial grain hemp. Turtle Creek Gardens sold many of their industrial grain hemp seeds and will bump up this year’s CBD hemp crop to about 5,000 plants. Like most vegetables, hemp is also harvested in the fall, so Gamble said there was a lot of juggling involved caring for and harvesting their vegetable and hemp crops, but the hard work was worth it. “The hemp was definitely good economics, because we had such a horrible vegetable year, and we took a hit,” she said. “There’s a saying that ‘hemp can save the world.’ I don’t know if it can save the world, but it definitely saved our farm. The sales of hemp really helped, and it was good that we had that cash crop.” With so many smaller farms struggling, Gamble sees hemp as an opportunity, but she predicts the recent federal legalization of hemp will fast-track big companies to get on board the CBD bandwagon. But smaller farms can use transparency, traceability and artisanal aspects to stay competitive. “Like craft breweries creating their own craft industry, I feel that the hemp industry can be the same,” she said. “Along with CBD, the cannabinoid profile also includes the terpenes, chlorophyll and a wider variety of products that are beneficial. I think that’s where the opportunity is for small growers to make it into an artisanal brand.” For more information, visit turtlecreekgardenscsa.com. Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 13

::DININGOUT

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SHEPHERD STAFF

FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

Bao Bun from Easy Tyger

EASY TYGER NOW FOCUSES ON ASIAN FUSION

Okonomiyaki fries ($4.95) were modeled after the Japanese savory pancake dish of the same name. This version swaps the pancake for crispy, crinkle-cut fries. Kewpie mayo, Japan’s mayonnaise brand of choice, is squirted on judiciously, followed by a drizzle of sweet, barbecue-like tonkatsu (aka “bulldog”) sauce. Then come the sprinkles: furikake—an umami-loaded seasoning; bonito flakes—smoky, dried tuna with a texture of tissue paper—and scallions. There’s a lot going on, and the fries serve as a good base for the rich toppings. It’s a massive portion, so plan on sharing. Two items are takes on Vietnamese phở: a phở eggroll ($4.95) and phở beef dumplings ($9.95). Beets, beansprouts, onions and herbs are stuffed into a ::BY LACEY MUSZYNSKI crispy eggroll wrapper with phở broth on the side for dipping. Closer to its roots, though, are the dumplings, which swap out the usual rice noodles for beef-filled asy Tyger, An Asian Gastropub, started out life difdumplings. They swim in a shallow bowl of phở broth along with beansprouts, ferently than what it is today. When it opened a few Thai basil, cilantro, hoisin and red jalapeño. Be sure to use a spoon to get plenty years ago, it was serving small plates with flavors from of broth with every bite. all over: Latin America, Norway, Portugal and elsewhere. Fried brussels sprouts ($6.95) with Korean gochujang vinaigrette were tasty if It was well reviewed, but the menu lacked cohesion. somewhat overcooked. Even the largest halved sprouts were too soft; some of Now, Easy Tyger’s menu is much more focused. The the tender individual leaves were just beyond being pleasantly charred. Fresh small-plates-only concept is essentially gone, replaced by herbs helped lift the dish, though, and crushed cashews had a welcome texture menu sections of bao buns, appetizers and ramen, and if here. Local parmesan cheese rounded things out. you couldn’t tell from those headers, they’ve settled on Five types of ramen are offered, plus rotating specials. Red curry ramen ($10), one continent: Asia. a special offering, lacked much curry flavor, but had a rich, creamy broth. There Though the menu is divided into apps and entrees, the was no skimping on the noodle portion, however, though they were somewhat only entrees are ramen and gluten-free rice bowls. The overcooked and lacked springiness. Grilled pork meatballs were springy and appetizer menu is quite long, especially when you insavory, and the halved egg was cooked with the yolk just runny enough. Other clude the bao buns in that category, so it’s pretty easy to ramen options include the classic tonkotsu ($12.95) with pork broth that cooks still order and share like a small-plates restaurant. That’s for 24 hours, roasted pork belly, fish cakes and nori. Spicy miso ramen ($10.95) what I’d recommend doing, because it was the appetizers with crispy tofu and buttered-corn ramen ($10.95) with coriander-lime butter that were the best part of the meal. and herbed tofu are both vegetarian. For anyone who’s into noodles but not Fried chicken bao buns (they come in pairs for $8.50) had a soup, scallion noodles ($7.95) forgo broth for a ginger scallion sizable hunk of crunchy fried chicken lightly coated in kung pao sauce with beansprouts and lemongrass pickles. sauce. A creamy daikon radish slaw was full of fragrant herbs that A cocktail menu includes a lot of Japanese whiskey, like the Easy Tyger popped, while marinated cucumber was mellow and fresh. Stray toki highball ($10) with yuzu shrub, sparkling water and mint. 1230 E. Brady St. cashews didn’t add much and fell out of the supple bun. Beef There are cocktail specials, too, like a sparkling sake colada ($8) 414-226-6640 • $$ that was refreshing and light. They make good excuses to sit at brisket buns include char siu beef, cucumber kimchi, daikon and easytygermke.net spicy mayo tucked into the folded bun. the bar in the modern space and nosh.

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::SHORT

DININGOUT::EATDRINK

ORDER

Stone Bowl Offers Korean Menu Featuring Bibimbap ::BY BLAINE SCHULTZ On a cold day, where better to dine than a Korean restaurant? Stone Bowl (1958 N. Farwell Ave.) is a perfect place for meals inspired by traditional Korean comfort foods. One antidote to the 20-degree temperatures outside is a sizzling bowl of squid bibimbap, the Korean-style hotstone bowl. Atop a wooden platter and sizzling stone bowl sits a bed of rice sizzling with tender squid slices, onions, shredded carrot, shallot, jalapeño and fried egg. Using chopsticks allowed me time to let the bowl cool a bit, but even by the end of the meal, it was still warm. Regarding the spice level for items on the menu, you may want to ask your server to temper the heat to your chosen threshold. The natural light from the windows facing Farwell Avenue offers a view of passers-by, and the restaurant’s uncluttered interior features tasteful artwork. Daily specials are posted on the walls. The menu also features barbecue entrees, Ramen noodle dishes and silken tofu casserole offered with a variety of meat choices. The drink list includes Asian beer, rice wine and sake.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEW SOUP OTZIE’S OWNERS SPOON OUT TRADITIONAL FAVORITES ::BY SHEILA JULSON

cott McCowan knows that you don’t mess with success. When he and his wife, Molly, purchased The Soup Otzie’s (3950 S. Howell Ave.; 414-747-9670) this past July from founder Joan Otzelberger (who opened the restaurant in 2003), the couple remained dedicated to keeping the soups that built the eatery’s loyal and passionate customer base. Molly had worked as a representative for Sysco Food Distributors, and The Soup Otzie’s was one of her accounts. “The first time Molly was here, she called me right away and said she found the coolest little place on the South Side,” Scott said. The couple loved The Soup Otzie’s offerings and ambiance so much that they took days off work to go there to eat; under Otzelberger, the restaurant was only open for lunch and closed around 2:30 p.m. Molly loved the Otzelberger’s pork posole, and Scott’s favorite is lobster bisque. The McCowans became good friends with Otzelberger, and when they learned she had planned to sell the business, they saw a great opportunity. “I love the communal feel of it,” Scott said of the intimate space that was once a George Webb location. “Every time we came in, everyone was welcoming and interacting with each other.” Like Molly, Scott had also worked in sales. He had worked in a restaurant for about a year while the couple lived in Maine. While growing up, his family members enjoyed cooking, and Scott frequently hung out in the kitchen to watch. “I’m half Puerto Rican, and my abuelito (grandfather) was a chef. I used to sit in the kitchen and watch him. He was the most joyful man you’d ever meet in life.” The McCowans have all of Otzelberger’s original recipes, and she still mentors and occasionally helps out at the restaurant. The three classic daily soups are still available: cream of potato, Mom’s Pot Roast and old-fashioned chicken soup, which Scott said has become quite popular. “It’s the most basic chicken soup—your brothy, vegetable chicken soup with homemade dumplings. We sell about twice as much of that as we do anything else.” In addition to the three mainstays, two rotating soups are available daily, with some vegetarian options like coconut chickpea with spinach and tomato Florentine. Other customer favorites include stuffed bell pepper, stroganoff and

cheeseburger soup. The Soup Otzie’s offers about 80 soups on their specialty list during the course of the year with seasonal changes. Summer, for example, brings options like gazpacho, a cold tomato soup. The Soup Otzie’s also has panini sandwiches, The Club, tuna melt and the popular Cubano—a slow-marinated pork loin served on rustic ciabatta bread. So far, any small changes the McCowans might make would be to add lighter fare such as salads during the spring and summer months. Customers can dine in or take-out. The McCowans expanded The Soup Otzie’s hours until 7 p.m. Monday - Thursday. Several staff members from Otzelberger’s team have stayed on, and the McCowan’s teen son, Jaden, occasionally helps at the restaurant. “We’ll see how things transition, but for me, it’s about providing a place where you can slow down, get away from your day and leave with a smile,” Scott said. So far, customers seem to agree; regulars from the restaurant’s Tippecanoe neighborhood still frequent the establishment, as do area business owners and travelers and employees from nearby General Mitchell International Airport. For more information, visit thesoupotzies.com.

P I N K U M B R E L L A T H E AT E R C O M P A N Y

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ARTISTIC DIRECTORS - ISABELLE KRALJ & MARK ANDERSON : PRESENT :

Welcome elcome Wi Winter inter Wo Wordsmiths W rdsmi Tim Johnston’s new literary thriller is a Boswellian favorite! Ride The Current to Boswell on Mon, January 28, at 7 pm. A tour-de-force that booksellers Tim, Kay, and Chris call “a masterful performance.” Milwaukee native and New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth beams into Boswell with the wacky new

How to Properly Dispose of Planet Earth, on Wed,

January 30, 6:30 pm. Adults and kids 8 +.

Christina Ward slices and dices through food history at Boswell with American Advertising

Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love Bananas, Spam, and Jell-O, Fri, February 1, 7 pm.

Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan, coauthors of

Watch Us Rise,

Sat, February 16, 3 pm, at MPL Washington Park Branch, 2121 N Sherman Blvd. Karen Babine’s All the Wild

Hungers: A Season of Cooking and Cancer has been called “a lush gem of a book, both heartbreaking and heart-making” by Amy Thielen. At Boswell, Sat, February 16, 6 pm.

ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE featuring: Ben Yela | David Flores | Emmi! Morgans Hannah Klapperich-Mueller | Katie Gesell Leslie Fitzwater | Ron Scot Fry directed by: Isabelle Kralj music by: Jason Powell, Frank Pahl and Li!le Bang Theory lighting design by: Alan Piotrowicz

Based on Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People, this engaging theatrical work, typical of Gigante’s hybrid style, addresses a number of challenges that remain highly relevant today. Environmental issues vs. economic interests, policy debates, and the moral dilemmas and tensions involved in speaking truth to power.

FEB. 8–16, 2019

CREATED BY ISABELLE KRALJ & MARK ANDERSON Kenilworth 508 Theatre • 1925 E Kenilworth Place

tickets: $25 general • 20 seniors • 15 students giganteenemy.brownpapertickets.com or 800-838-3006 info: www.theatregigante.org

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Visit boswellbooks.com/ upcoming-events for information on these events and many more to keep you warm this winter! Boswell Book Co. 2559 N Downer Ave (414) 332-1811 info@boswellbooks.com 60 | J A N UA RY 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::A&E

Brought to you by The Milwaukee Art Museum

COURTESY OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Crystal’

Cirque du Soleil Transforms Fiserv Forum into a ‘Crystal’ Palace

skating. Skating experts such as Kurt Browning, Ben Agosto and Marilyn Langlois were a part of this process and led exploration workshops in the months leading up to the cast arriving in Montréal, Canada, for the beginning of creation,” Lemire explains. “We have 18 skaters in Crystal from different backgrounds.” These include pair and solo figure skaters; a freestyle skater whose style is influenced by hip hop, martial arts and breakdancing; and extreme skaters who come from the world of inline and ice-cross skating and racing. As for what Crystal is about, Lemire says that the show’s title character is “a teenager who is looking for her purpose in life,” whom the audience will “follow ::BY JOHN JAHN as she falls through ice into a world that she creates.” There, “she meets her Reflection, who guides her sique et de Danse de Paris, Lemire performed for many through this adventure, whereby she comes to realize years as a principal dancer and a guest artist in various that she has the strength within herself to be who she productions touring North America, Europe, northern wants to be: curious, confident and creative.” Young Africa and Asia; he joined Cirque du Soleil in 2008 and Crystal’s story is told through narrative, projections on was appointed this show’s artistic director last June. the ice, stunning acrobatics and unique skating segAsked about the challenges of doing an acrobatic ments. show on (and high above) a sheet of ice, Lemire As for the show’s soundtrack (always a major eleexplains that “safety is, and will always be, our main ment of Cirque du Soleil productions), Lemire says that priority. There is a lot of training involved prior to try“the music’s composer, Maxime Lepage, was given ing something new. We conducted workshops prior to the opportunity to write music that would guide the the start of Crystal’s creation to see what opportunities audience and connect the story together—a little bit would come from a slippery surface like ice. There is a like a movie soundtrack. Crystal is performed in arenas, risk factor to what everyone does, and for which are big facilities, and the songs that this reason we had our artists train with were chosen are related to where Crystal Cirque acrobatic coaches and skating experts. is in her journey, but they also create a The element of risk is always a part of the connection with the audience as the pop du Soleil circus, but everything is assessed and Jan. 30-Feb. 3 songs are widely familiar.” well-trained-for prior to being presented in “We are very excited to offer the first Fiserv Forum Cirque du Soleil production to perform in front of an audience.” Cirque du Soleil had to acquire special the new Fiserv Forum and to participate coaches, trainers and cast members for in the growth of Downtown Milwaukee,” Crystal given the ice-show aspects of the producsays Lemire. tion. “When the idea of creating this show came up, Crystal runs Jan. 30-Feb. 3 (seven shows) at the Fiserv we went into a phase of research and development Forum, 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave. For tickets, call 414-227to find talent that had expertise in the world of ice 0511 or visit fiservforum.com.

Famed troupe brings its first ice show to Downtown Milwaukee irque du Soleil returns to the Milwaukee area with its coolest arena show yet, Crystal—A Breakthrough Ice Experience, which fuses circus arts and the world of ice skating in a stunning new production that will take the audience on a journey into a surreal world where figure skating blends with acrobatics and aerial feats. Crystal will mark Cirque du Soleil’s eighth Milwaukee appearance since 2006, and the production is excited to bring this first-of-a-kind show to Milwaukee’s newest large-scale venue. The show features world-class ice skaters and acrobats exploring their new frozen playground with speed and fluidity as they challenge the laws of gravity with newly created acrobatics. It showcases synchronized, freestyle and extreme skating alongside circus disciplines such as swinging trapeze, aerial straps and hand-to-hand. Crystal’s artistic director is Fabrice Lemire. Trained in dance in Paris and rewarded first prize for male dance from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Mu-

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE THURSDAY, JAN. 24

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band w/ Grand Funk Railroad @ Fiserv Forum, 7:30 p.m.

Bob Seger’s no-nonsense heartland rock was never especially cutting edge, which may be why it’s stood the test of time so well. At 73, the raspy Detroit rocker remains an arena headliner, and he’s still recording new material. His most recent album was 2017’s I Knew You When, which includes covers of songs from two recently departed legends—Lou Reed’s “Busload of Faith” and Leonard Cohen’s “Democracy”—and a whole bunch of up-tempo rockers in the spirit of Seger’s classic recordings.

‘Shrek Retold’ @ Bremen Cafe, 8:30 p.m.

Between its garish character design and grotesque fart humor, it’s amazing that a movie as glaringly bad as Shrek could make such a massive cultural imprint. If you spend much time online, you’ve probably seen the movie memed and parodied, but the internet’s ironic Shrek fandom has never seen anything quite like Shrek Retold, an absurdist, shot-for-shot remake of the movie initiated from the Milwaukee comedy group 3GI Industries. The group recruited more than 200 collaborators to present the movie through a demented mix of live action, animation and puppetry. In less than a week the movie netted one million views on YouTube, but for those who’d rather watch the movie with a crowd, Bremen Cafe is hosting this screening.

FRIDAY, JAN. 25

Blind Boys of Alabama

SATURDAY, JAN. 26

Blind Boys of Alabama @ Marcus Center, 7:30 p.m.

Few groups can claim longer track records than the Southern gospel and blues ensemble The Blind Boys of Alabama, which has been performing in some capacity since 1939. The group’s current lineup looks a lot different than it did back then—the last decade has seen several longtime members either retire or pass away—but after all these years, one original member still remains: singer Jimmy Carter, whose voice remains strong even in his late 80s. The group has continued recording, too. In 2013 they expanded their audience with I’ll Find a Way, an album produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and in 2017 they released their latest record Almost Home.

Pablove 10 @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 6:30 p.m.

Umphrey’s McGee w/ Marcus King Band @ The Riverside Theater, 7 p.m.

WESTON RICH

When Umphrey’s McGee swing through Milwaukee, they don’t just visit. They stay the weekend. Among the heaviest and most prog-rock influenced of the major bands on the jam scene, majorly indebted to Pink Floyd, Genesis, Frank Zappa and Dream Theater, the group will park at the Riverside Theater for two nights this weekend. The group has been as experimental as ever on their recent records. 2016’s Zonkey was an unusual mashup collection that drew from the works of Radiohead, Nirvana, MGMT, AC/DC, Beck and The Beastie Boys, among many, many others, while last year’s It’s Not Us doubled down on thick, heady prog-rock. (Also Saturday, Jan. 26.)

After the death of his son Pablo, Milwaukee native Jeff Castelaz made it his life mission to increase awareness about pediatric cancer with his Pablove Foundation. Every winter that organization hosts a grand benefit concert in Milwaukee called Pablove, which in the past has featured reunion performances by some big acts from Milwaukee’s music scene. This year the event is doing something different: The main event will be an “all-star singalong” of perhaps the most beloved Milwaukee album of all time, The Violent Femmes’ 1983 self-titled debut. Abby Jeanne, Die Kreuzen’s Dan Kubinski, Decibully’s B.J. Seidel, Mark Waldoch, Mike Benign, Liv Mueller and Eagle Trace’s Mitchell Borgardt will be among the musicians paying tribute to that classic. The night will also include a set from the Los Angeles band Voilà and a reunion show from Milwaukee’s The Blow Pops.

Umphrey’s McGee

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IshDARR w/ EMAAD, BoodahDARR and MT Twins @ The Rave, 8 p.m.

How beautiful is it to see a Milwaukee rapper headline one of the city’s biggest concert venues? It hardly ever happens, but nobody’s worked harder for it than IshDARR—a Messmer High School alum who’s built an impressive following with his dexterous flow and unusual melodic instincts. He’s released several albums of effusive, partystarting hip-hop, including last year’s Slow Down, KID, his slickest, most pop-minded record yet. Last year he also made his major motion picture debut in the Matthew McConaughey gangster movie White Boy Rick. For this show, Ish will be buoyed by a trio of hometown rap acts: EMAAD, IshDARR BoodahDARR and MT Twins. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Read our daily events guide, Today in Milwaukee, on shepherdexpress.com

SUNDAY, JAN. 27

Brewers on Deck @ Wisconsin Center, 10 a.m.

It’s not too surprising that the Milwaukee Brewers’ annual fan festival Brewers on Deck has already sold out this year. The team has rarely been hotter. They ended their season last year just one game away from the World Series, and given their record-breaking payroll this year and the blockbuster acquisition of catcher Yasmani Grandal, the team is dead serious about making another push this season. Most of the team will appear at this year’s event, including Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Orlando Arcia, Ryan Braun and Corey Knebel, joined by manager Craig Counsell, general manager David Stearns and legends like Bob Uecker, Robin Yount and Jim Gantner for a day of autographs, photo opportunities, panels, Q&A sessions, kid’s baseball clinics and games.

Panic! At the Disco w/ Two Feet and Betty Who @ Fiserv Forum, 7 p.m.

While bands from the mid-’00s emo boom quickly faded from the spotlight, Panic! at the Disco’s following has only grown over the last decade, despite a series of lineup changes and defections that left singer Brendon Urie its only original member. Like Fall Out Boy, the band has prospered largely by looking beyond emo and pop-punk. The group’s 2016 album Death of a Bachelor dove head first into contemporary electronic styles, while drawing liberally from pop and hip-hop as well. Those stylistic leaps paid dividends for the band: It became their first number one album and earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album. Last year’s Pray for the Wicked was even more audacious, building on those styles while drawing from the spirit of Broadway, following Urie’s 2017 stint playing the lead in a production of Kinky Boots.

King Tuff w/ Stonefield @ The Back Room at Colectivo, 8 p.m.

OLIVIA BEE

Kyle Thomas has done time in J. Mascis’ stoner-metal band Witch and toured with the giddy punk band Hunx & His Punx, but he saves his finest work for his own garagerock project King Tuff. The group’s albums for Sub Pop have been deliciously glammy, imagining a heavier, hungrier T. Rex while spotlighting Thomas’s lean, grimy riffs. Like its predecessor, 2014’s Black Moon Spell, the band’s latest The Other features drums from rocker Ty Segall. He’s not the only indie royalty who contributed to the record: It also features saxophones from Mikal Cronin and backing vocals from Jenny Lewis.

King Tuff

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::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK ASHLIERENÉ

A&E::BOOKS

For More to Do, visit shepherdexpress.com

THEATRE

Locomotion Richard Dawkins & Sam Harris

BOOK|PREVIEW

SAM HARRIS’ ‘EXPERIMENTS IN CONVERSATION’ AT PABST THEATER ::BY LORA NIGRO AND KEVIN RUTKOWSKI

s social media consumes our collective consciousness bit by byte, is reasoned dialogue among humans in danger of extinction? Nimble public intellectual Sam Harris returns to the oral medium through which he and his interlocutors broach pressing, taboo topics with civility before live audiences. “Experiments in Conversation,” his current armchair roadshow, is coming to The Pabst Theater at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29. Guest mathematician and economist Eric Weinstein will join him to flex some neurons and slay some sacred cows for our dairy state’s more curious minds. Harris is one of the new breed of experts revolving around comedian-podcaster Joe Rogan, curating rationality, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, philosophy of mind, politics, religion, terrorism and artificial intelligence in his weekly “Waking Up” soon to be “Making Sense” podcast. His stage-message is two-fold: a mental entertainment oddity and a crash course in how science and critical thinking are what can make America great again. Harris has been evangelizing polite discourse as the “only remedy to violence” since snapping up a nonfiction PEN Award for his first book in 2004, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason. A case in point is his new documentary, Islam and the Future of Tolerance, in which Harris debates, then collaborates with Islamist-turned-liberal Muslim Maajid Nawaz on the need to reform Islam’s incompatibilities with 21st-century liberal values. In one prominent confrontation, on an episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Harris was accused of racism by actor Ben Affleck after stating “liberals have failed on the topic of addressing theocracy,” and that “We have to be able to criticize bad ideas, and Islam is the mother lode of bad ideas.” Replying to his critics, Harris says, “If we want to know what is true or good, we can’t avoid difficult conversations. Many of our neighbors have installed tripwires in their minds and seem to spend most of their time waiting to be offended. My conversations never go well with such people—and the failure comes long before they understand what I believe or what my political goals actually are.” He is known as one of the neo-atheism movement’s “Four Horsemen of the NonApocalypse” (along with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and the late Christopher Hitchens) attempting to bring religion to its knees. Some heads were turned when his sixth book, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, cast Harris as a would-be defector. It chronicles his profound psychedelic drug experiences as a young adult that beckoned him to India and Nepal to study with Buddhist and Hindu religious teachers. His meditation practice blossomed into a “Waking Up” app that facilitates discoveries about the human mind through introspection. For a full interview with Sam Harris, visit shepherdexpress.com.

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In First Stage’s production of Jacqueline Woodson’s Locomotion, we find a young lad named Lonnie Collins Motion who has had some tough breaks in his life. When he discovers a passion for writing poetry, he finds a way to express his feelings about the foster care system, his friends and his school, while sharing his unique perspective on the world. Locomotion is a play that lyrically weaves Lonnie’s past and present life together in a poignant story that reveals one boy’s journey of hope from tragedy to a brighter future. “With Locomotion, Woodson presents us with rich, compelling characters we are able to identify with and invest in,” says director Aaron Todd Douglas. Depending upon which performance you attend, you’ll either see First Stage’s “Rainbow Cast” or its “Honeysuckle Cast;” the former consists of Kamani Graham, Aura Grant and Derrick Taylor, and the latter includes Jakobie Jackson, Ronna Kelly and Nahjee Robinson. Adult cast members are Ronnel Taylor, Tosha Freeman, Nadja Simmonds, Natalie Harris and Sherrick Robinson. The play is very appropriate for young people ages 9 and up. (John Jahn) Jan. 25-Feb. 24 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. For tickets, visit firststage.org.

Five Guys Named Moe

“I love the guys onstage, but also love the fact that there is a strong team of women rocking the show behind the scenes,” comments Malkia Stampley, director of the upcoming Skylight Music Theatre production of the high-energy tribute to jazz band leader Louis Jordan, Five Guys Named Moe. The production features an all-female creative team. Of the “guys onstage,” Stampley describes them as “six African American men in all their artistic glory, tailored suits, singing rock and roll, blues, dancing and living their best lives on stage.” “Louis Jordan’s music is funny and theatrical and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster between laughter and heartbreak,” Stampley explains. “Five Guys Named Moe is popular with all audiences because Jordan’s music is funny, joyful and human,” adds Skylight artistic director Ray Jivoff. “This is a true ensemble piece with a small, swinging band.” The show features more than 25 songs. (John Jahn) Jan. 25-Feb. 10 in Skylight Music Theatre’s Cabot Theatre, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, call 414-291-7800 or visit skylightmusictheatre.org.

CLASSICALMUSIC

“The Baroque Bohemians: Gypsy Fever from Campfire to Court”

Named after the flame-haired priest (and, far more famously, Italian Baroque composer) Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Red Priest’s vibrant and energetic performances have earned them comparisons to the Rolling Stones and Cirque du Soleil. In their most explosive program to-date, Red Priest explores the connections—both real and imagined—between Gypsy musicians and the master composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Red Priest is a British Baroque instrumental group comprising four talented performers: Piers Adams, Adam Summerhayes, Angela East and David Wright. They play in a flamboyant, theatrical and virtuosic style making use of props, costumes, dramatic lighting and other effects, and the pieces they perform are generally their own arrangements—though based quite closely on the original music by Vivaldi, J.S. Bach, etc. (John Jahn) Saturday, Jan. 26, at 5 p.m. (pre-concert lecture at 4) in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 914 E. Knapp St. For tickets, call 414-225-3113 or visit earlymusicnow.org. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

THEATRE

‘Zie Magic Flute’ Is a Playful and Entertaining Opera for Everyone ::BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

ather than adapting Mozart with deference, the Milwaukee Opera Theatre (MOT), Quasimondo Physical Theatre and the Cadance Collective chose to make a more whimsical adaptation of The Magic Flute. Named Zie Magic Flute, the piece takes place in the majestic Tripoli Shrine Center, which lends the opera some of its strength. In the circular stage, spectators are invited to look up at the balcony, where there is a constant flurry of activity while the story unfolds on the ground floor. We follow Prince Tamino—played by the incomparable Benjamin Ludwig—as he attempts to save Pamina (Lydia Rose Eiche), daughter of the Queen of

Murder Announced in Elm Grove ::BY RUSS BICKERSTAFF

gatha Christie’s clever storytelling animates the stage of the Furlan Auditorium as the Sunset Playhouse presents A Murder Is Announced. Formal notice in a local paper mentioning an upcoming homicide at a spacious British residence comes as quite a surprise to those living there in a tale of tension capably brought to the stage by director Carol Dolphin. A distinctly refined amusement at the absurdities of the announcement casually shifts through a comfortably large ensemble cast lounging about a respectably immersive set by Matthew Carr. The cast inhabiting the stage has an interesting momentum. Tamara Martinsek casually SHEPHERD EXPRESS

the Night (Sarah Richardson), with the help of the lovable buffoon Papageno (Nathan Wesselowski) after she was kidnapped by Sarastro (Mark Corkins). The adventure plays out in a fantastical world, reminiscent of a fairy tale, while accompanied by a discreet but pleasant musical background of piano, cello and flute. The story is punctuated with songs—21 in total—some in English and some in the opera’s original German. All actors have wonderful singing voices; even the Queen of the Night, a part so difficult it became legendary, displays a great range despite putting less passion than ideal in the famous “Der Hölle Rache” aria. The opera is more entertaining than many would suspect, with moments of genuine hilarity. Clearly, this adaptation took some heavy liberties: Some costumes are made of plastic, the main character looks at a portrait through a viewfinder and the three warrior “ladies” act like teenage girls—one drops a “nuh uh” while all three have a song called “OMG!” and think Tamino is “a sexy boy.” The original opera plays a lot on contrasts, and the silliness of the adaptation adds depth to that aspect of the piece. The Magic Flute was originally composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for his friends and family, so the Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s version is close to the original spirit of the play. It’s a light-hearted, playful adaptation that is both entertaining and a great introduction to opera for anyone. Through Jan. 27 at Tripoli Shrine Center, 3000 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, visit milwaukeeoperatheatre.org or call 800-8383006.

commands authority in the role of matriarch Letitia Blacklock. Dana Leone Strothenke and Evan Prier are painstakingly distant from each other as brother and sister Julia and Patrick Simmons. Tanya Tranberg brings a charmingly comic element to the stage as refugee domestic servant Mitzi. Gradually, the relaxed bemusement fades in the encroaching darkness of anticipation. Invariably, murder does occur. The complex and twisted, but carefully planned-out machinations of murder are gradually delved into with brisk pacing as a shrewd Cory Klein plays Inspector Craddock parsing apart the dense convolutions of human intention, aided by a very calm and unflappable Annette Olson as Christie’s beloved mystery-loving sleuth Miss Marple. Agatha Christie’s deft balance between increasing tensions can be very difficult to bring to the stage flawlessly. There are moments in the staging that drag ever so slightly at times. Overall, however, it’s just fascinating very well-crafted story brought to the stage once more. Christie’s work has a stylishness about it that brings depth to any cast. A Murder is Announced runs through Feb. 2 at the Furlan Auditorium on 700 Wall St., Elm Grove. For ticket reservations and more, call 262-782-4430 visit sunsetplayhouse.com.

MICHAEL BROSILOW

A&E::INREVIEW

Milwaukee Rep’s ‘Junk’

THEATRE

Milwaukee Rep’s Superb Production of ‘Junk’

::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN

unk originally meant “worthless,” but in the last century it gained a second meaning: heroin. Perhaps playwright Ayad Akhtar had that double-meaning in mind when he addressed the 1980s bond market in Junk. The pursuit of money can be an addiction as heavy and destructive as any drug. For Junk’s Midwest premiere, Gregory Linington plays the central character, Robert Merkin, standing for the Wall Street wizards who sped the process of social decomposition down the economic avenue during the Reagan era. Embodying the smug eagerness of the greed-is-good crowd, Merkin destroys in the name of creating wealth. He helps transform America from a nation that makes things to a nation whose elites make money regardless of the cost to everyone else. But pure evil? Linington gives Merkin a moment of doubt and makes believable his sole virtue—loyalty, especially to his co-conspirator, the lawbreaking lawyer Raúl Rivera (Justin Huen). No one in Junk is pure. Junk’s plot centers on Merkin’s scheme to leverage a hostile takeover of a family-owned steel manufacturer on behalf of the feckless but personable entrepreneur Israel Peterman (Demetrios Troy) by selling junk bonds to raise capital. The bonds produce debt and debt becomes habit forming. Merkin is opposed by the company’s owner, Thomas Everson (James Ridge), an old school industrialist whose noblesse oblige extends to his workers and the city where they live, and old school plutocrat Leo Tresler (Brian Mani), who worries that the America he knows is slipping away. However, neither is fully heroic. Both share a streak of anti-Semitism and Tresler is a pompous predator. Likewise, business reporter Judy Chen (Rebecca Hirota) figures out the game but is sexually manipulative and silenced by money. U.S. Attorney Giuseppi Addesso (Dominic Comperatore) wants to convict Merkin while pursuing his own agenda. With a vein of satire running through the high drama, Junk touches subjects including money-driven politics, the short-sightedness of unions, the vagaries of plea bargaining, the decline of public morality and belief in the common good. The ethnic resentments come in many colors. Junk’s large cast is studded with informers, moles and dupes. The play’s Milwaukee-born author has written a complicated yet understandable story on the intricacies of debt and market prices—subjects that freeze most minds—with a firm grip on the sound and rhythm of American speech. Director Mark Clements does ringmaster’s work, moving dozens of characters to and fro with speed and efficiency across an uninterrupted two-hour sequence of conversations. Furniture rolls in and out, and projections onto the harsh geometry of the set indicate changing sites and cities. A slight echo trails secret talks in a parking garage between Merkin and a dubious associate, the chain-smoking Boris Pronsky (Jonathan Wainwright). It’s a splendid production of a play about genuine believers in the efficacy of unchecked self-interest. “Is this the future?” Emerson asks in despair. The future is now. Through Feb. 17 at Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, visit milwaukeerep.com or call 414-224-9490. J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 65

A&E::VISUALART

Steve Burnham’s Bizarre Portraiture at Portrait Society ::BY SHANE MCADAMS

teve Burnham gives us plenty to look at in his show “Unlike My Image” at Portrait Society Gallery (through Feb. 3). Fifty-two works to be exact, half of them on paper and half on canvas. Most are vertically oriented and around 20 x 16 inches. The compositional diversity in the show makes it difficult to pin Burnham down as a painter or to tidily characterize his work, which happens to be the exhibition’s greatest blessing, and its greatest curse, but a curse he should carry with pride. The consistency in size and wonderful inconsistency of mark making contributes to a sense of speed and improvisational looseness. However, it turns out that Burnham is actually a measured and discerning composer—this show bears the products of over two years’ work. Even so, “Unlike My Image” feels as if it’s been made in a convulsive fit of uninterrupted energy. So, to scrutinize a single painting here as one would a Tintoretto or a Poussin would confer an undue preciousness and premeditation on it. The way into it is rather to take the whole cosmos of the show in and freely search for meaningful constellations. One of my favorites of those constellations is an acrylic and spray paint work cryptically titled The Anxiety of the Flower’s Ghost. While he is compositionally all over the map, Burnham does lean on the frontal portrait as a preferred device. This one is slightly more obvious than others as a face, with radiating bands of color emanating from behind the skull-like form atop a black background and bursts of multicolored spray paint. An orange ribbon snakes from the eye holes and into and around its nose. Deathly, as representational subject matter, but completely alive as a painting. Another bizarre portrait, titled Accessories Before and After the Fact, mummifies the head of its subject in straps of acrylic paint with slight relief, topped by what might be a rose and a hair pin. It is grotesque where Anxiety is macabre; a dark comedy while the other is simply dark. Any two works in this show 66 | J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

could easily become the basis of some kind of Mad Libsesque parlor game of unexpected adjectival collisions. This reflects a certain stream-of-consciousness impulsivity in his work. Streams of consciousness, though, can often be diarrheic and indulgent. But Burnham is a willing and able composer, re-worker, and embellisher. There are countless allusions to art history and politics buried in his improvisatory oddness. Titles like Presidential Mirror and Remember Postmodernism speak to the guile lurking beneath the informality. I’ll save the spoilers and let you discover them on your own. Suffice it to say that one gathers quickly that this isn’t childish stuff, but rather the work of an artist who has deliberately freed himself from the inhibitions and strictures of the left-brained, analytic adult world in order to stretch the possibilities of his own painting. Picasso famously said that we are all born artists, the difficult part is to remain one as we grow up. Burnham’s work is fighting to confirm this statement while simultaneously embracing the wisdom that accrues with age. Picasso’s statement represents one of the most sensitive trip wires in contemporary art, one that alienates many who would otherwise like to enter that world. The phrase “my child could make that” has turned into a cliché jab at informal art, and one reclaimed by artists to mock the philistinism of anyone who would use it unironically. But the insiders might have a little more sympathy as most nonartists have been forced to disavow the primal instincts they’ve spent a lifetime overcoming: imagination, play, expression, inhibition. To those tripped up, they might try to be as fearlessly creative as a 3-year-old, to help remind them of how astoundingly difficult it is. Like most polarizing conflicts, the answer here is “somewhere in between”; art requires a blend of youthful abandon and mature awareness. And ample portions of each are on view in “Unlike my Image.” Steve Burnham, The Anxiety of the Flower’s Ghost, Acrylic, spray paint on canvas, 20x16”, 2018

SPONSORED BY

::RUTHIE’SSOCIALCALENDAR Jan. 23—Wine Happy Hour at D.I.X. (739 S. First St.): Like wine? Like happy hour? Like drag queens? Then, you’re in for a treat when Milwaukee diva Jaida Essence Hall hosts this 6 p.m. tasting. Enjoy $5 flights of wine to sample a few or sip on a $6 pour. You’ll also find bottles available for sale and an expert to answer all your wine-o questions. Hang out for a 9 p.m. drag show as well. Jan. 23—Winter Old Fashioneds and Chocolate Pairing Class at Indulgence Chocolatiers (211 S. Second St.): Say what? Old Fashioneds and chocolate? What the hell could be better? Don’t miss this tasty take on a 6 p.m. happy hour that’s sure to warm your spirits. You’ll enjoy a casual class and sensational samples for your $30 ticket. Pre-registration is a must so call 414-220-0123 to hold your spot. Jan. 24—Come Out to Meet the Bar at Camp Bar (525 E. Menomonee St.): The LGBT Bar Association of Wisconsin invites you to this 5:30 p.m. meet-and-greet. Enjoy a few cocktails, order up some food and make a few new (lawyer) friends as well. Cheers!

C’mon, Get Happy!

hen it comes to capping off the day with a cold beer or a snazzy cocktail, Milwaukeeans have a host of options to choose from. From frosty to fancy, there’s no shortage of happy hour beverages on the menu, and there’s no lack of swanky spots and basic bars to choose from. Don’t believe me? Check out my social calendar this week. You’ll find all sorts of happy hour hot spots and after-work events to visit. Break up the week, meet some new people, share a couple of laughs and toss back a few at one of the city’s many happy hour events. (You’ll also find some other change-of-pace events on my list, too.) I’ll be back next week with advice for the city’s lovelorn, horny housewives and mislead millennials, but until then, hit a happy hour! Better yet, email me at dearruthie@ shepex.com and let me know where you hang when it’s time to hit the happy. Maybe I’ll even meet you there!

Jan. 25—LGBTQ Health Conference at Milwaukee Marriott-Downtown (323 E. Wisconsin Ave.): Cream City Foundation hosts this inaugural conference regarding the elevation of health and the quality of life in the city’s LGBTQ community. Free and open to the public, the 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. symposium offers a variety of topics (from smoking to HIV to emotional wellness) and features speakers from numerous backgrounds and professions. Please register at creamcityfoundation.org for planning purposes or contact info@creamcityfoundation.org for more information. Jan. 25—TGIF January at This Is It! (418 E. Wells St.): The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center brings its traveling happy hour to the oldest gay bar in the city with this 5:30 p.m. party. Enjoy snacks, drink specials and all the mixing and mingling you can handle in the bar’s new and expanded space. Jan. 27—Walker’s Point Winter Mini Putt Putt Classic (various locations): Grab your balls and head to Walker’s Point for this popular noon to 6 p.m. tournament. Each of 10 bars in the Walker’s Point area (including five LGBTQ bars) offer a whacky putt-putt hole; teams of four visit each location and give each mini course a try. See the “Walker’s Point Winter Mini Putt Putt” listing on Facebook to learn how to sign up, register and get your team in on the fun. Jan. 27—Miss Ruck & Scrum 2019 at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.): Milwaukee’s Beer Barons Rugby Football Club hosts this tongue-in-cheek night of hilarity at the city’s pink-and-purple burger palace. Don’t miss the fun as these hunky rugby players don heels and gowns and strut their stuff to claim the crown. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the crazy contest starting at 6 p.m. Your $10 cover helps the rugby club but bring extra singles! The “lady” who makes the most tips wins the competition. Jan. 28—A Fundraiser for Courage MKE at Good City Brewing (2108 N. Farwell Ave): Swing by this local brewery from 6-9 p.m. and you’ll find live music, a silent auction, light appetizers, cash bars and more. Your $10 cover goes to Courage MKE and gets you into the good time! Jan. 30—“Reflect” Runway Show by Lyn Kream Designs at The Rave/Eagles Club (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave.): Designer to the stars and local darling, Lyn Kream is ready to impress Brew Town with her first runway show. Keep an eye out for local divas hitting the runway in Lyn’s creations as well as a star-studded audience. In addition to the dazzling fashion display, the 7 p.m. evening includes work from other artists, hair and makeup pros, live music, cash bars and more. See rawartists.org for your $22.50 presale ticket. See you there! Ask Ruthie a question and share your events at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on Instagram @ruthiekeester and Facebook at Dear Ruthie. Don’t miss her hilarious reality show on YouTube—“Camp Wannakiki!” SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::ILIKEITLIKETHAT ::MYLGBTQPoint of View

Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, an American First ::BY PAUL MASTERSON

recent article in online news magazine LGBTQ Nation announced San Francisco’s opening of “America’s first LGBTQ arts center” in a building purchased by the city’s gay chorus for $9.6 million. Aside from the purchase details, it’s fake news. The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center (MGAC) was the first. Dedicated to presenting LGBTQ relevant visual and performance art, the Walker’s Point storefront facility opened in spring of 2005 with an exhibit entitled “Tapestries.” It featured three Names Project quilt panels with names of Milwaukee AIDS victims along with works by several local artists. New art shows followed in six-week cycles. They showcased local, regional and international artists of all persuasions, ages and genders who displayed their art in all media, from traditional works on canvas and sculpture to textiles and video. There were collaborations like “The Gay Youth Art” show with MPS Alliance School. Another, with the Lesbian Alliance, included Zanele Muholi, a then little known South Africa lesbian photographer. Today, her works hang in Cape Town’s new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art and in renowned art institutions throughout the world. A discerning Milwaukeean recognized Muholi’s brilliance and wisely bought one of her photos. Angels in America, Twilight of the Golds, and The Penetration Play were among MGAC’s earliest stage productions of contemporary LGBTQ theater. It made national news when the MPD Vice Squad illegally closed its staging of the musical Naked Boys Singing, an international hit. The ACLU took the case, suing the city that, six years later, settled for $20,000. Theatrical Tendencies, the city’s only LGBTQ theater, made MGAC its home and produced the critically acclaimed Thrill Me, The Little Dog Laughed and Corpus Christi. Its stage also hosted Shaia Fahrid’s monthly “hafla” belly dance parties. She also founded the first and only gay-male Egyptian cabaret style belly dance troupe, MGAC’s Extreme Taqsim (aka the Extremes). Music from the Baroque to show tunes echoed in its marvelous acoustics. In its heyday, performers included Seattle-based duo (a trans man and his girlfriend) Coyote Grace, locals Matt Walton and Brian Firkus (pre-Trixi Mattel), men’s and women’s choruses, among dozens of others. MGAC suffered its share of the usual indignities—eggings, harassing phone calls and, during the first Walker gubernatorial campaign, a rock smashed through one of its windows and posters in its foyer were torched. Undeterred, MGAC strove to integrate the LGBTQ community with audiences at large. It collaborated with the Milwaukee Art Museum, providing guest docents (myself and Dear Ruthie) for its special exhibition of British gay artist couple Gilbert & George. It fielded its own SSBL softball team, MGAC Scream, the league’s only non-profit sponsored team. The MGAC stage became an annual PrideFest staple, presenting Shaia Fahrid’s Pride of Dancers, an international dance extravaganza, and a full spectrum of musicians, comedians, the first PrideFest performance by Richard Brasfield’s hip-hop dance group Revamped as well as Nomadic Limbs, a modern dance ensemble comprised of Milwaukee Ballet members. Meanwhile, MGAC Scream volunteers staffed a beer pod and artists exhibited in the Art & Culture Building. Funding always remained an issue. An all-volunteer organization, it raised money through its admissions and support from philanthropist Joe Pabst, Cream City Foundation (CCF) seed money, art sale commissions and other creative fundraising (like eBay sales of donated vintage beefcake magazines). It was the first Milwaukee LGBTQ organization to receive a Milwaukee Arts Board grant. Still, despite its penny pinching finances, rent increases and unforeseen costs (inexplicably, the building’s laundry for its six apartments ran off MGAC’s electric system), sustaining the Center became more and more difficult. The then CCF executive director told me “my donors are business people, not artists.” In other words, supporting Milwaukee’s LGBTQ arts wasn’t worth the investment. When, in 2014, MGAC’s landlord announced a new tenant would pay 50% more rent, he added “I know you can’t pay that” and gave 30 days to vacate. Still, for a decade, MGAC celebrated LGBTQ life and identity through art. It was a historic first for Milwaukee and the nation. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

LIVING OUT LOUD AND PROUD Dr. King’s Message ::BY CARMEN MURGUIA

oday, I have the privilege of being off from my day job in marketing—all thanks to the work of many black men and women leaders who created a bill and fought diligently to have a day passed to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday. It’s not just today, it’s every day that I think about his dream for all of us; Dr. King never wavered and never discriminated against who gets to have that dream. That’s another privilege I feel I have as a woman-loving woman, as a Latina as someone part of the LGBTQ community—Dr. King fought for civil rights that were about black people in this country and yet those very justices and equalities and freedoms and dreams included me. We now have to make sure this dream includes everybody, and right now, I don’t believe the dream as we know it includes everyone, especially black and brown people in the United States. I firmly believe this. I’m at King Library now, listening to the band Cigarette Break playing live as I write, wondering as I bop to Frankie Beverly and Maze’s “Can’t Get Over You” and Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do” if I’ll be able to concentrate on finishing my column in these beautiful and loud conditions? I think the point of King’s birthday is a celebration meant to honor his life. Part of his legacy is that we can gather as black, brown, white, Asian, Native, straight and gay (I’m old school, so I also use the word “gay” to describe LGBTQ people, don’t get it twisted). The fact that the Milwaukee Public Library does this, year after year, to bring us together in one of the quietest, most public of places—amidst the books, magazines, CDs and DVDs, computers and, of course, those we hold near and dear, our librarians and library aides—is a wonderful thing. I was raised with parents who were activists and a family foundation built on welcoming everyone, so we’d often go from our home on Seventh and Mitchell to Milwaukee’s North Side for equal housing rallies, and to St. Francis Church where we’d gather with Puerto Ricans and black people and white people to pray together. We would march on National Avenue with other Mexicans and Mexican Americans for civil rights and economic equality. My parents raised us to go everywhere and anywhere with our heads held high as Mexican American children, and to this day, I feel I can go into any room proudly, even when my very presence is

a bold statement of “I’m here, now what are you going to do?” And I must say, this isn’t completely absent when I walk into LGBTQ spaces in Milwaukee, where I am once again the minority or the token Latina in a majority white room, unless it’s a space that is run by a person or group of color. It’s uncomfortable and I have to remember to breathe and to look for someone I know so that I feel safe and secure. You may not guess this from looking at me or from knowing me, yet it is true, things get uncomfortable even for Carmen Alicia Murguia. So when I am amongst my people, and “my people” encompasses a broad spectrum of both LGBTQ and straight—I could be grinning from ear to ear at This Is It! with my ginger ale or at a Tuesday night meeting at the Galano Club; I could be dancing to live music at Mexican Fiesta, the Puerto Rican Family Festival or Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Arts festival; and it could be visiting down at the Lakefront with friends from out of town that I haven’t seen in a while—I feel good all over because I feel safe, confident, welcomed and sincere in my actions. I owe this ability to move through spaces to Dr. King’s message that resonates in me: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal,’” and quite frankly, I like it like that!

Love, Carmen

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::MUSIC

For more MUSIC, log onto shepherdexpress.com

KAYLA JEAN

FEATURE | ALBUM REVIEWS | CONCERT REVIEWS | LOCAL MUSIC

TRAPPER SCHOEPP DOES ONE FOR THE DAIRY STATE ::BY EVAN RYTLEWSKI

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t’s fortunate that Trapper Schoepp enjoys discussing Bob Dylan so much, because he’s had to talk about him even more than usual this album cycle. The most headline-grabbing song on Schoepp’s new album Primetime Illusion is its closer, “On, Wisconsin,” a love letter to the Badger State that Dylan wrote 57 years ago but never published or recorded. When Schoepp read about the song’s handwritten lyrics going to auction in 2017, he immediately knew that he wanted to finish and record it. “It just seemed serendipitous, me being someone who is a student of folk music and someone who has loved and celebrated Wisconsin culture for 28 years,” Schoepp said. Even more serendipitously: Dylan’s camp responded to what Schoepp describes as his manager’s Hail-Mary attempts to get Dylan to sign off on the song’s release, making Schoepp quite likely the youngest musician ever to share a songwriting credit with the folk legend. That may sound like a daunting distinction, but Schoepp says he viewed putting his own touch on Dylan’s song more as an opportunity than a challenge. “That’s the whole idea of the folk process, extending the line, and that’s an idea that Dylan has spoken at length about,” Schoepp says. “Dylan has said that all of these songs are already there; he’s just brushing the dust off of them. So people have asked, ‘Wasn’t it a lot of pressure?’ and I say not at all. It’s folk music, really. “Especially with this song, it’s so lighthearted, the whole tone of it reminds me of a Woody Guthrie song,” Schoepp continues. “When I saw the lyrics, I just tried to get inside the mind of the singer that wrote this song 57 years ago, and of the character that he was singing from, who was someone who was on the road, homesick and longing for Wisconsin’s finest exports: milk, cheese and beer.” Schoepp only recently connected the dots that the Trapper date written on the upper righthand corner of the Schoepp song’s lyrics says 11-20-1961, which Dylan historians Back Room will note is the same day the singer entered Columbia Recording Studio to begin recording his debut album at Colectivo with John Hammond. And it’s easy to see how the Saturday, Feb. 2, 8 p.m. song might have fit in with all the other road songs and travelogues he recorded for that record. On Primetime Illusion, though, “On, Wisconsin” serves as a homecoming, and a means of grounding a great America rock ’n’ roll album in Schoepp’s backyard. Again, Schoepp notes the serendipity: Dylan opens the song in Wauwatosa, which is where Schoepp recorded the album, at Daniel Holter’s Wire & Vice studio. Wilco’s Patrick Sansone handled production, and the result is Schoepp’s leanest, most driven record yet. Sansone was quick to jump in on guitar or piano when a song called for it—that’s him playing the baby grand on the delirious, Summerteeth-esque “Drive-Thru Divorce”—but mostly he took a less-is-more approach, encouraging Schoepp not to overwork his songs for fear of losing their spirit. “It was 10 days in the studio, no shortcuts,” Schoepp says. “Just a song a day; no bullshit. We were in and out.” Even ahead of its Jan. 25 release, it’s not going out on much of a limb to predict that Primetime Illusion will be Schoepp’s biggest album yet. It’s received features in Rolling Stone and Billboard, and Schoepp notes that the album has already pre-sold more copies than all of his previous releases combined. But Schoepp has been around the music industry long enough now to know how fickle it is, and how quickly career momentum can disappear the moment an artist takes their foot off the pedal, so he’s preparing for a long stretch of aggressive touring behind the record. “We’re going to be taking the ‘drive around in motorized vehicles until I lose my mind’ approach for a few years,” Schoepp says. “My manager is a marathon runner. He actually ran two marathons in a weekend once, so him and I have a marathon approach to everything, and this record in particular, because that’s the way the music industry is now. There’s very rarely a quick ascent to stardom. It’s a very, very slow burn for everyone. So we’re going to do all the classic stuff to promote the album. We know that we have to work for it.” Trapper Schoepp plays an album release show Saturday, Feb. 2, at The Back Room at Colectivo at 8 p.m. with Nineteen Thirteen.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Grab a solo cup and let’s rage! Beer. Punch. Games. Music by DJ Shawna.

Friday, February 8 • 5:30pm to 9pm Tavern at Turner Hall

Tickets: Shepherdtickets.com SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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::::LOCALMUSIC

::CONCERTREVIEW

Erykah Badu’s Milwaukee Return Was Worth the Wait ::BY NAYELI PORTILLO

rykah Badu’s band was roughly 20 minutes into their opening jam session, and it seemed as though much of the audience had begun to grow impatient. There was hardly anyone dancing anymore. The sea of outstretched arms, phones in hand and ready to hit record for the return of the elusive neosoul legend, had dwindled down to a few hopefuls scattered here and there, eager to get a shot of her as she makes her way to the stage. Badu’s highly anticipated show at The Rave’s Eagles Ballroom Friday night marked her first appearance in Milwaukee in more than a decade, and even the raging snowstorm outside didn’t stop the venue from filling up to near capacity. The Dallas native finally emerged, clad in an orange puffer robe, oversized gold top hat and her now famous futuristic L’Enchanteur eyewear. She led the band into “Hello,” the mellow opener of 2015’s But You Can’t Use My Phone and followed it up with an abridged version of “Out My Mind, Just in Time,” her signature slightly raspy and ultra-ethereal delivery capturing the audience’s undivided attention. The last of the tension in the air dissipated once she kicked into her breakthrough debut single “On & On,” as she playfully teased the crowd, ad-libbing to the beat of the song (“All my people up top, c’mon you don’t stop!/ To all the people in the back, what the fuck you looking at?”) Badu is the epitome of an enigma, someone sent to us from the year 3000 with a trademark timbre reminiscent of some of the most famous ’50s jazz singers of all time. In between songs, she tapped away at a drum machine under a rotating laser beam-outlined pyramid. “I just came here to rock your mind and stimulate your world,” she said (or something to that effect) before delving into some of the material off of Mama’s Gun, what she described as an album inspired by the music of the ’70s. The setlist spanned all of Badu’s discography and included everything from longtime crowd favorites like “Appletree” and “Time’s a Wastin’” to deeper cuts like “Kiss Me on My Neck” and “Danger,” along with some covers (“Liberation” by Outkast; “Ain’t No Fun” by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G). The songstress performed with utmost precision, crooning and perfectly harmonizing with her background singers and remaining stationed (for the most part) at her mic stand throughout the performance. She remained quiet on all things R. Kelly, a stark contrast from her concert the following night at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, where her comment on putting up a “prayer for R” was met with significant backlash from fans. Badu closed the set out with “Tyrone,” the infamous ode directed at the best friend of a ne’er-dowell partner and their bromance, which takes precedence over the couple’s relationship.

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OQ PHOTO BY KELLY MICHAEL ANDERSON

OQ’S ECLECTIC ELECTRO -CELTIC FUSION ::BY EVAN RYTLEWSKI

ole Quamme wasn’t setting out to start a band when he began working on the music that would become the basis for OQ, his new project with Milwaukee songwriter Liam O’Brien. Quamme, the drummer for exploratory indie-rock ensemble The Fatty Acids, was planning to create a compilation around some of the weirder, world music inspired beats that he was recording on the side, and had hoped to round up a variety of local collaborators. Most of them flaked out, but O’Brien responded and took the project in directions Quamme never anticipated. “When Cole gave me the beats, he gave me ideas for where he wanted the thematic direction of the project to go,” O’Brien says. “He really wanted it to be based on this concept of re-wilding, the idea of a future in which humans abandon the cities and cities become taken over by plants and humans learn to live again with nature. “Cole originally wanted a bluegrass player,” O’Brien continues. “His music was influenced by this one style of music from Sierra Leone called bubu, so he wanted to do a project that was bubu-grass. I’m not a bluegrass

player, but I have spent time in Ireland, and I’m really connected to Irish music and I play the tin whistle. So I ran with that instead.” The resulting music on the duo’s debut EP Paradice 1 is like little else coming out of the city, or from outside of it, for that matter: a modernist, experimental Afro-Celtic fusion. There’s a little bit of the Talking Heads in the music’s polyrhythmic uplift, but O’Brien grounds each song in traditional Irish melodies continents removed from David Byrne’s world experiments. “Every song has an original traditional song within it,” O’Brien says. “Some of them are from pretty wellknown songs. I’m sure musicians from Irish traditional circles would recognize all of them. So I guess people who dig Irish traditional music are either really going to love or really hate this.” Recorded at Milwaukee’s Silver City Studios and mixed at April Base Studios in Eau Claire, the EP was a collaborative affair, with Josh Evert of The Fatty Acids lending synths and piano, Alex Heaton handling bass, Ivan Eisenberg playing piano and more than a dozen musicians (including Caley Conway, Ian Olvera and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver) contributing vocals. Evert and Noyce also assisted in mixing the EP, which they shared on Bandcamp this week. OQ’s music is also being showcased on the nascent streaming platform 37d03d (pronounced PEOPLE), founded by Justin Vernon and The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner. That website isn’t much to look OQ at yet, but given OQ’s collaborative nature they’re a good fit for the platCompany form, which promises to spotlight Brewing unique artist collaborations. Saturday, Quamme says he expects that Jan. 26, collaborative spirit to carry through 10 p.m. OQ’s future recordings. “By the weird process that this began, we found our own voice unexpectedly,” he says. “I think from there we know the sound now, which was a weird, hard-fought discovery, so I think we’re going to run with it.” OQ play an EP release show Saturday, Jan. 26, at Company Brewing at 10 p.m. with NO/NO and Ruth B8r Ginsburg. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

MUSIC::LISTINGS To list your event, go to shepherdexpress.com/events and click submit an event

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24

County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), Jeff Walski Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) Mezcalero Restaurant, Ultimate Open Jam w/host Abracadabra O’Donoghues Irish Pub (Elm Grove), The All-Star SUPERband (6pm) On the Bayou, Open Mic Comedy w/host The Original Darryl Hill Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Woodland Groove (8pm), In the Fire Pit: Lance Carpenter w/Nora Collins (8:30pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, World’s Funniest Free Comedy Show Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, Robert Allen Jr. Band Site 1A, Two Friends The Bay Restaurant, Ian Gould The Cooperage, The Social The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Martini Jazz Lounge Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25

Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Ali & Doug Duo Ally’s Bistro (Menomonee Falls), CP & Stoll w/Chris Peppas & Jeff Stoll American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), Larry Lynne Band American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Andrea & The Mods Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Julie’s Piano Karaoke Art*Bar, Sam Dorf Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Ellis Paul Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Lyric Advisory Board w/Faux Fiction (8pm); DJ: Fazio (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Spillage! w/Lost Tribes of the Moon & Cold Black Riverom ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee! County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Golden Mast Inn, Joe Kadlec (6pm) Harry’s Bar & Grill, 5 Card Studs Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Open Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & Friends Jazz Estate, Andy Baker Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Ben Dameron Quartet (11:30pm) Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Milwaukee Mike and the Mob Lakefront Brewery, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, The Jack Reed Group w/The Royal Horns of the Marcus King Group Mamie’s, Harvey Westmoreland Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) Mezcalero Restaurant, Suave Miramar Theatre, Young Savage Nation Presents: Rico Savage, DJ Bandana Boy, MT Twins (all-ages, 9pm) Nice Ash Cigar Bar (Waukesha), Robert Allen Jr. Band Pabst Theater, MJ Live – Michael Jackson Tribute Concert Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: The Twintones (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Lance Carpenter w/Nora Collins (9:30pm) Riverside Theater, Umphrey’s McGee w/Marcus King Band Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, Whiskey Throttle Sam’s Tap, Friday Night Open Mic Shank Hall, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound The Astor Hotel, The Chris Hanson Band w/Robin Pluer The Back Room at Colectivo, Chris Fleming The Bay Restaurant, VIVO w/Warren Wiegratz The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge (Oconomowoc), Ol’ Style Skratch The Packing House Restaurant, Tracy Hannemann Group (6:30pm) Up & Under Pub, Horace Greene

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26

American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Nostalgia Anodyne Coffee, Jay Matthes w/Thriftones Art*Bar, Little Chao’s Jam Session Bremen Cafe, The Sunkin Suns Trio Cactus Club, Fate Nite & Friends w/Brendan Bayliss Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Merry Horde Annual Food Pantry Benefit Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: The Farwell Kings w/Riverwest Aces (8pm); DJ: Quixotic Control (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Morbid Saint w/Bray Road & Primal Enemy ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee! County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, 5 Card Studs Cue Club of Wisconsin (Waukesha), Ten Feet Tall Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Kirk Tatnall SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Vocals & Keys Jazz Estate, Jonathan Greenstein (8pm), Late Night Session: Jeremy Kuzniar Trio (11:30pm) Kelly’s Bleachers (Big Bend), FM Rodeo Kick Switch Bar And Grill (Okauchee), Tom & Evan Leahy Lindey’s On Beulah (East Troy), Detour Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Indigo Dog Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, The Blind Boys of Alabama Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Winter Music: Matthew Haeffel Mezcalero Restaurant, The Ricochettes Motor Bar & Restaurant, Bulleit Bourbon Presents BBQ & Blues: Matt MF Tyner (5pm) Pabst Theater, The Rat Pack is Back Pistol Pete’s, 11. One Louder Plymouth Church UCC, The Coffee House presents: Triflemore and Smile Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: 89 Mojo (9pm), In the Fire Pit: Lance Carpenter w/Nora Collins (9:30pm) Rave / Eagles Club, IshDARR w/EMAAD & BoodahDARR (all-ages, 8pm) Remington’s River Inn, Snowball Pub Crawl w/Tangled Lines Riverside Theater, Umphrey’s McGee w/Marcus King Band Ron’s Sports Pub, The Albert Rd. Band Saloon on Calhoun with Bacon, Cherry Pie Shank Hall, Lindsay Beaver Spanky’s Hideaway (Mequon), HouseRockin’ Blues Revue w/ Billy Flynn and Mary Davis The Bay Restaurant, Anne Davis The Cheel (Thiensville), Leroy Airmaster The Lakeside Supper Club & Lounge (Oconomowoc), Mixtape 80’s Tribure The Packing House Restaurant, Joe Jordan & The Soul Trio (6:30pm) Turner Hall Ballroom, Pablove Benefit Concert 10th Anniversary Show and Violent Femmes First Album All-Star Singalong Unitarian Church North, Wisconsin Singer/Songwriter Series presents: Joe Jencks w/Heather Styka Up & Under Pub, Bodichata

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27

Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Derek Pritzl & Friends (8pm); DJ: Sextor (10pm) Delafield History Center (Hawks Inn), SummerStage Winter Concert Series: What’s His Name & The Other Guy (4pm) Dugout 54, Dugout 54 Sunday Open Jam Fiserv Forum, Panic! At The Disco w/Two Feet and Betty Who Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Full Band Open Jam w/host Freddy Marquez (5pm)

::ALBUMS

The Back Room at Colectivo, King Tuff w/Stonefield The Packing House Restaurant, Jazz Unlimited Jazz Jam: CP, Stoll & Company w/Chris Peppas, Jeff Stoll, Warren Wiegratz & Joe Zarcone (1pm)

Eric Blowtorch and The Inflammables

MONDAY, JANUARY 28

(BOPAGANDA)

Jazz Estate, Singers’ Night with Augie Haas Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Ally Fay (sign-up 7:30pm, 8-11pm) Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt Duo (5:30pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Open Jam: Christopher John & Friends w/featured band Up & Under Pub, Open Mic w/Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29

J&B’s Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill, The Players Open Jam w/ The Sunkin Suns and Mas Soul Jazz Estate, Funk Night with Araminati Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Stokes Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Miramar Theatre, Tuesday Open Mic w/host Sandy Weisto (sign-up 7:30pm, all-ages) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White (4pm) Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session The Back Room at Colectivo, Ripe w/Waker Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Transfer House Band w/Dennis Fermenich

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30

Caroline’s Jazz Club, Jimi Schutte American Blues Conway’s Smokin’ Bar & Grill, Open Jam w/Big Wisconsin Johnson Hudson Business Lounge and Cafe, Jazz at Noon: Don Linke and Friends Iron Mike’s (Franklin), B Lee Nelson Acoustic Jam Jazz Estate, Evan Christian Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage w/feature Low Modelo (sign-up 8:30pm, start 9pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Morton’s (Cedarburg), The Blues Disciples (6:30pm) Pabst Theater, ABBA Mania Paulie’s Field Trip, Wednesday Night Afterparty w/Dave Wacker & guests Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White Rave / Eagles Club, RAW: Reflect (ages 18-plus, 7pm) Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Back Room at Colectivo, The Werks The Cheel (Thiensville), Pierre “Mr. Untouchable” Lee (6:30pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Tracy Hannemann & Kostia Efimov (6pm)

Quality Items Radio –Volume 2 Last June, Milwaukee’s indefatigable Eric Blowtorch released the first volume of Quality Items Radio, a mixtape that documented a program featuring a trio of DJs cueing up various Blowtorch projects. The keen listener read between the lines for hints on the band names (Ollie Gahrke, Benny Propane, El Ro Combo, ¡Feminista!). Blowtorch recently released Volume 2 of the session and it continues the groove. Walking the tightrope between social awareness and the dancefloor, Blowtorch and his cohorts flirt with pop hooks (“Guzzling Gasoline”) and Gospel bop (“Some Happy Day”). Paul Cebar wails on a cameo appearance “Drums of Life” and horn players Dave Cusma, Don Turner and Jay Tollefson are featured on cuts as bandleaders. The cassette format should come as no surprise, as Blowtorch has released music on nearly every format save for 8-track cartridge. He even released a song meant to sound like a vintage 78rpm disc. As wildly entertaining as the music on Quality Items Radio gets, DJs Cecilia Matek, Dr. B and Gabriel D’Angel offer between song insights that are miniature history lessons. Where the first volume recalled the Stonewall riots, this volume includes Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan,” the song that explores terrorism. —Blaine Schultz

Comprehensive STI & HIV Testing, Consultation and Treatment. By Appointment, often same-day available. For more information, call us at 414-264-8800 3251 N. Holton Street Milwaukee, WI 53212 www.holtonstreetclinic.org

1/24 Keith Pulvermacher 1/31 Cashfire Sunset

J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 73

BREAKUPS

THEME CROSSWORD

By James Barrick

PSYCHO SUDOKU! “Kaidoku”

Each of the 26 letters of the alphabet is represented in this grid by a number between 1 and 26. Using letter frequency, word-pattern recognition, and the numbers as your guides, fill in the grid with well-known English words (HINT: since a Q is always followed by a U, try hunting down the Q first). Only lowercase, unhyphenated words are allowed in kaidoku, so you won’t see anything like STOCKHOLM or LONG-LOST in here (but you might see AFGHAN, since it has an uncapitalized meaning, too). Now stop wasting my precious time and SOLVE! psychosudoku@gmail.com 9 3

16 6

3 24

19 20

19 12

18 17

1 14

3 18

21 10

74 | J A N UA RY 2 4 , 2 0 1 9

DOWN 1. Grating sound 2. Greek pitcher 3. Vendition 4. Scraps 5. Galleries 6. Aspen relative 7. Rhapsodize 8. Gobbled 9. Of ancient Greeks 10. The “final frontier” 11. Constitutionals 12. — vera 13. Doctor’s order 14. Old drivers of wagons

15. Tyrant 16. Geyserite 17. Leslie Caron role 18. Go now! 24. “— Were the Days” 29. Part of MIT: Abbr. 30. Outbuilding 32. — Heights 34. Very, in music 35. Flashy accessories 36. Ice cream dessert: 2 wds. 37. Chair part 38. Size 39. Sported 40. Filmmaking technique: 2 wds. 41. Midway alternative 42. Longed 44. Portents 45. Oklahoma resident 46. Releases 49. Lets 51. City on the Ruhr 53. Fastener 54. Destructive insect 55. Destined 58. Leaves unmentioned 59. Obvious 61. Arrow poison 63. Coup —

64. Early Impressionist painter 65. Introduce (with “in”) 66. Norman Vincent — 67. Ship’s crane 68. Ascended 69. — seal 70. Tinters 73. Oven 74. Rouse 78. Went beyond 79. Santiago denizens 81. Hare’s tail 82. Jalapenos 83. Hut of a kind: Var. 84. Conflict 86. Act of folly 88. Tried to anger 90. Necktie 91. HELOCs 92. Veiled one 93. Intoxicating drink 94. — du jour 95. For fear that 96. Part of QED 97. Verdi work 98. Oversupply 99. Deck on a ship 100. Dismal 101. Invites 105. “Harper Valley —”

Solution to last week’s puzzle

18 6

9 9

21 7

12 9

8 25

18 18

9 12

21 19

6 26

1/17 Solution

WORD FIND This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 22 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Plenty to do Solution: 22 Letters

76. Dutch painter 77. Form of “John” 78. Alleviated 79. Bird bill part 80. Man in the Pelican State 81. Certain ballot: 2 wds. 84. Gladden 85. Reserved 87. Secluded place among hills 88. Window treatment 89. Copy: Abbr. 90. Tired: 2 wds. 92. False god 93. Cook’s creation: 3 wds. 98. Opera by Vivaldi 102. Butterine 103. Heath genus 104. Quibble: 2 wds. 106. Abbr. in grammar 107. Gaseous element 108. Composition 109. A state: Abbr. 110. Courtroom fig. 111. Data 112. Obsolete 113. Blubbers

Amble Arts BMX Carnival Crowds Dam Dawn Draw Drink Excitement Exercise Expo Fly Food Fun Game Golf

Happy Ice Idle Jog Knit Lake Lonely Lunch Music Nature Nightclub Open Play Pool Regatta Run Rural

Sand Shore Skate Sleep Stereo Summer Surf Tennis Train ride Trip Umbrella Wade Walk Wash Yacht

1/17 Solution: What happens when the planets are aligned?

Solution: Waiting for some down time

ACROSS 1. Geller of “Friends” 5. Connor of “Terminator” 10. Turf 15. Guard and guide 19. — -a-Dale 20. Slacken 21. More pasty 22. Colossal 23. Dwelling type: Hyph. 25. Fish genus 26. Narrative 27. Door feature 28. Quickly: Hyph. 31. Cornbread 32. Kelly and Hackman 33. Conductance unit 34. Nun 37. “— of Anarchy” 38. Tropical fruit 43. Blackboard 44. Rapid: Hyph. 47. After upsilon 48. Misdeeds 49. A flower 50. Second caliph 51. — vital 52. Literary collection 53. Kicked off 54. Cooked 56. Father 57. Like a know-nothing 59. — Vecchio 60. Deposed 62. Stockpile 63. Ventures 64. Gloomy ones 65. Positive aspect 67. Hinder 68. Courted 71. Calendar abbr. 72. Dancer on ice 74. Oenophile’s passion 75. Manta

19 9

Creators Syndicate 737 3rd Street • Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-337-7003 • info@creators.com

Date: 1/24/19S H E P H E R D E X P R E S S

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A motivational speaker and author named Nick Vujicic was born without arms or legs, although he has two small, unusually shaped feet. These facts didn’t stop him from getting married, raising a family of four children, and writing eight books. One book is entitled Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life. He’s a positive guy who has faith in the possibility of miracles. In fact, he says he keeps a pair of shoes in his closet just in case God decides to bless him with a marvelous surprise. In accordance with current astrological omens, Aquarius, I suggest you make a similar gesture. Create or acquire a symbol of an amazing transformation you would love to attract into your life. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): About 11 percent of the Philippines’ population is comprised of Muslims who call themselves the Bangsamoro. Many resist being part of the Philippines and want their own sovereign nation. They have a lot of experience struggling for independence, as they’ve spent 400 years rebelling against occupation by foreign powers, including Spain, the United States and Japan. I admire their tenacity in seeking total freedom to be themselves and rule themselves. May they inspire your efforts to do the same on a personal level in the coming year. ARIES (March 21-April 19): We might initially be inclined to ridicule Stuart Kettell, a British man who spent four days pushing a Brussels sprout up 3,560-foot-high Mount Snowden with his nose. But perhaps our opinion would become more expansive once we knew that he engaged in this stunt to raise money for a charity that supports people with cancer. In any case, the coming weeks would be a favorable time for you, too, to engage in extravagant, extreme or even outlandish behavior in behalf of a good or holy cause. TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The Taurus guitar wizard known as Buckethead is surely among the most imaginative and prolific musicians who has ever lived. Since producing his first album in late 2005, he has released 306 other albums that span a wide variety of musical genres—an average of 23 per year. I propose that we make him your patron saint for the next six weeks. While it’s unlikely you can achieve such a gaudy level of creative selfexpression, you could very well exceed your previous personal best in your own sphere. GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Novelist Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character who personifies the power of logic and rational thinking. And yet Doyle was also a devout spiritualist who pursued interests in telepathy, the occult, and psychic phenomena. It’s no surprise that he was a Gemini, an astrological tribe renowned for its ability to embody apparent opposites. Sometimes that quality is a liability for you folks, and sometimes an asset. In the coming weeks, I believe it’ll be a highly useful skill. Your knack for holding paradoxical views and expressing seemingly contradictory powers will attract and generate good fortune. CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 2006, a 176-year-old tortoise named Harriet died in an Australian zoo owned by “Crocodile Hunter” and TV personality Steve Irwin. Harriet was far from her original home in the Galapagos Islands. By some accounts, evolutionary superstar Charles Darwin picked her up and carried her away during his visit there in 1835. I propose that you choose the long-lived tortoise as your power creature for the coming weeks. With her as inspiration, meditate on questions like these: 1. “What would I do differently if I knew I’d live to a very old age?” 2. “What influence that was important to me when I was young do I want to be important to me when I’m old?” 3. “In what specific ways can my future benefit from my past?” 4. “Is there a blessing or gift from an ancestor I have not yet claimed?” 5. “Is there anything I can do that I am not yet doing to remain in good health into my old age?” LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): John Lennon claimed that he generated the Beatles’ song “Because” by rendering Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” backwards. Even if that’s true, I don’t think it detracts from the beauty of “Because.” May I suggest you adopt a comparable strategy for your own use in the coming weeks, Leo? What could you do in reverse

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

so as to create an interesting novelty? What approach might you invert in order to instigate fresh ways of doing things? Is there an idea you could turn upside down or inside out, thereby awakening yourself to a new perspective? VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Tsonga language is spoken by more than 15 million people in southern Africa. The literal meaning of the Tsonga phrase I malebvu ya nghala is “It’s a lion’s beard,” and its meaning is “something that’s not as scary as it looks.” According to my astrological analysis, this will be a useful concept for you to be alert for in the coming weeks. Don’t necessarily trust first impressions or initial apprehensions. Be open to probing deeper than your instincts might influence you to do. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): The old Latin verb crescere meant “to come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, increase in numbers or strength.” We see its presence in the modern English, French and Italian word “crescendo.” In accordance with astrological omens, I have selected crescere and its present participle crescentum to be your words of power for the next four weeks. May they help mobilize you to seize all emerging opportunities to come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell and increase in numbers or strength. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): When animals hibernate, their metabolism slows down. They may grow more underfur or feathers, and some add extra fat. To conserve heat, they may huddle together with each other. In the coming weeks, I don’t think you’ll have to do what they do. But I do suspect it will be a good time to engage in behaviors that have a resemblance to hibernation: slowing down your mind and body; thinking deep thoughts and feeling deep feelings; seeking extra hugs and cuddles; getting lots of rich, warm, satisfying food and sleep. What else might appeal to your need to drop out of your fast-paced rhythm and supercharge your psychic batteries? SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When people tell me they don’t have time to read the books I’ve written, I advise them to place the books under their pillows and soak up my words in their dreams. I don’t suggest that they actually eat the pages, although there is historical precedent for that. The Bible describes the prophet Ezekiel as literally chewing and swallowing a book. And there are accounts of 16th-century Austrian soldiers devouring books they acquired during their conquests, hoping to absorb the contents of the texts. But in accordance with current astrological omens, I suggest that in the next four weeks you acquire the wisdom stored in books by actually reading them or listening to them on audio recordings. In my astrological opinion, you really do need, for the sake of your psychospiritual health, to absorb writing that requires extended concentration. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Among the top “how to” search inquiries on Google are “how to buy Bitcoin,” “how to lose belly fat fast,” “how to cook spaghetti in a microwave” and “how to make slime.” While I do think that the coming weeks will be prime time for you to formulate and launch many “how to” investigations, I will encourage you to put more important questions at the top of your priority list. “How to get richer quicker” would be a good one, as would “how to follow through on good beginnings” and “how to enhance your value” and “how to identify what resources and allies will be most important in 2019.” Homework: Write yourself a nice long love letter full of praise and appreciation. Send a copy to me if you like: freewillastrology.com.

Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 877873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

::NEWS OF THE WEIRD ::BY THE EDITORS OF ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Catty Neighbors

hen Victoria Amith, 18, headed to college last fall, she couldn’t take along her beloved cats, Tina and Louise. And her dad, Troy Good, 43, couldn’t keep them at his new apartment in San Jose, Calif. So, rather than abandon them, Good did what any doting daddy would do: He rented them an apartment of their own. Tina and Louise now live in a 400-square-foot studio apartment behind the Willow Glen home of David Callisch, who told The San Jose Mercury News: “They’re very quiet, obviously. The only problem is they stink up the place.” Good pays $1,500 a month rent, and Callisch stops in every day to feed and play with the kitties.

‘Africa’ for the Africans! Namibian artist Max Siedentopf, 27, has placed an installation in the ancient Namib Desert, consisting of six speakers attached to an MP3 player projecting the song “Africa” by Toto—over and over and over, for all eternity. The song, released in 1982, has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity and was one of Spotify’s “Top Throwback Songs” of 2018. Siedentopf told the BBC that solar batteries will keep the song playing forever: “I wanted to pay the song the ultimate homage and physically exhibit ‘Africa’ in Africa, but I’m sure the harsh environment of the desert will devour the installation eventually.”

Don’t Give McDonalds Ideas Around 7 a.m. on Jan. 6, at a McDonalds in San Francisco, a man carried a dead raccoon into the restaurant and laid it on a table, then sat down with it. Restaurant patron Chris Brooks captured the spectacle on Facebook Live, recording as the man stood from his seat and walked around the restaurant, talking with people. Another man, wearing gloves, then picked the raccoon up by its tail and took it outside to a garbage can, trailing blood all over the restaurant’s floor. San Francisco police responded to the restaurant and released the unidentified raccoon owner after speaking with him. McDonalds closed the store immediately and reopened two hours later after sanitizing the dining room. One patron wrote on Twitter: “I’ve had worse than a dead raccoon at McDonalds.”

Arrested Development Was it love at first... arrest? That appears to have been the case for 27-year-old Ashley Keister of Nanticoke, Penn., when she was apprehended by a West Wyoming, Penn., police officer last year. Ever since, Police Chief Curtis Nocera told the Associated Press, Keister had been harassing the officer with sexual messages on social media and would call 911 just to try to reach him. On Jan. 7, police said, Keister took her infatuation a step further, using a large cigarette butt receptacle to break through the door of the West Wyoming police station around 1 a.m., looking for the officer of her affections. Keister was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, burglary and vandalism.

Weird Texas Isaias Garcia, 30, of Garland, Texas, pleaded guilty in a Bridgeport, Conn., courtroom on Jan. 10 to reduced charges stemming from a bizarre kidnapping scheme last April. Garcia had abducted a 21-year-old Fairfield man and was demanding $800 in ransom, the man’s aunt and father reported to police on April 6. Police told the aunt to request a photo to guarantee the young man was still alive, and when the photo arrived by text, ctpost.com reported, it showed the victim lying face down in a bathtub with a three-foot-long alligator on top of him, mouth agape. In a subsequent phone call, the victim told his aunt: “They got (sic) this alligator on me, and they saying (sic) that if no money is given they are gonna have him chewing on me.” Police and the FBI were able to trace the phone calls to a hotel room, where Garcia was apprehended. He faces a year in prison. In Williamson County, Texas, Sheriff Robert Chody has employed a new cadre of deputies to help deter speeding. Interestingly, they all look alike. The cardboard cutouts, which Chody has placed along roads where speeding is common, depict one of the department’s reallife deputies pointing a radar device at the roadway. “It’s a creative way to solve the problem without really working the problem,” he told KTCB-TV. “Slow down, because you never know if it’s the real deal or not,” he warned. The sheriff said he tested the idea in school zones and, “We didn’t get one speeder.” © 2019 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION J A N U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 | 75

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::ARTFORART’SSAKE

Snow Job ::BY ART KUMBALEK

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world, ain’a? And no sooner returned am I from my oneeye cataract-extract ordeal (one down, one to go) than I see everybody and his/her brother/sister declare to run for president on the Democratic side of the fence for the opportunity to run against that flaming fatuous fockstick from the Republican side, the flaming fatuous fockstick who I imagine would have difficulty remembering the phone number for 911 if needed, what the fock. Of course, I’m thinking to throw mine own hat into the ring, so no essay this week ’cause I’ve called for a cocktail conclave of the brain trust I always rely upon to guide me in my grab for higher office; called it for over there by the Uptowner tavern/charm school at the wistfully historic corner of Humboldt & Center. Hey, tag along if you’d like, but you buy the first round. Herbie: No, I do not give a flying rat’s ass who’s in the focking Super Bowl, goddamn it. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times. Those games ten-times-out-of-nine are the most butt-boring ones of the year. Call it the Stupor Bore—a game that goes so on and on and on that by the time it’s over, not only is your kid out of diapers but his voice has changed and his second divorce is almost final. The only thing that could be better than the sound of the final gun is if it’s also pointed at my aching forehead. Little Jimmy Iodine: I liked the commercial they showed in the game the other year that had the monkeys in it. I wish they would’ve said what the commercial was for. Maybe they did, but I don’t remember—except for the monkeys. Julius: There’s science researchers out there who say the chimpan-focking-zees have 99 percent of all the same genetic genes that the human being does. Ninety-nine percent, I shit you not. Ray: That’s even closer to humans than the jackass Republicans in the state Legislature, ain’a? Emil: You got to give those chimps a lot of credit. There’s nobody I’d rather have on my side in a cafeteria food fight than a chimp, I kid you not.

Ray: Speaking of jackasses… Little Jimmy Iodine: Hey, Artie! Over here. Put a load on your keister. Art: Hey gents, what do you hear, what do you know. Julius: What’s with the eye patch, Artie? Art: Had me some cataract surgery, so right now I’ve essentially got two different eyes and I’ve got to cover one so I can see when I put on my old glasses. Ray: I like the pirate look, Artie. Now you need some kind of foul-mouthed support parrot, like for when some jag cuts in front of you at the grocery store check-out lane, the parrot can pipe up and say, “Hey, kiss my green ass, asshole, what the fock.” Ernie: I heard Easter’s late this year, and I remember some Italian atheist guy wants to take a priest to court ’cause the guy says the priest is unlawfully asserting that Jesus Christ existed. Emil: You got to be jerking my beefaroni. Some guy believes that the Babe Ruth of organized religion never swung a rosary? So if he wins the case, what’re they supposed to do—put an asterisk next to Jesus’ name in the Bible and say all his records are a crock? Herbie: Come to think of it, that court’s got a handful in its hands. How you going to technically prove that the Jesus did exist? As far as I know, there’s no photos of the guy, no legal documents like the deed to a three-bedroom Cape Cod or a car-rental contract with his John Hancock on it. He’s like an old school Maﬁa don—didn’t want to leave a traceable trace that the Feds could nail him on. Julius: Yeah, but what about all those paintings, the ones where he looks like a roadie for the Allman Brothers Band? Are you telling me that’s all bullshit? Ray: Speaking of Jesus, I’ve got a little story: So this guy is driving through the city and his car is weaving all over the road for christ sakes. Cop pulls him over and says, “So mister, where are you coming from?” The tipsy driver says he’s on his way home from the tavern. The ofﬁcer says, “Looks to me like you’ve had more than a couple, three, ain’a?” And the drunk says, “Well sir, I did all right for myself, thanks for asking.” “Did you know,” says the cop, standing ramrod straight with arms folded, “that a few intersections back, your wife fell out of your car?” And the drunk says, “Praise the Lord! For a minute there, I thought I’d gone deaf.” Ba-ding! (It’s getting late and I know you got to go, but thanks for letting us bend your ear, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.

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