The Comet June - 2022

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE

everything will be fine

THIS issue

editor: Ron Evans

contributors: Sarah Sims, Holly Thorpe, Cory Calhoun, Skylar Hansford, Lance Reese, Lindsay Breidenthal, Bill Griffith, Christopher F. Hart, JessicaDawn.Co, Anna Spencer, Dan McConnell

crossword..................................PAGE 7

modern english.......................PAGE 10

write on the river.............. .....PAGE 12

jessica da costa........................ PAGE 14

porn toons.................................PAGE 18

Movie Easter eggs....................PAGE 20

wenatchee pride........ ............. PAGE 24

events............................................PAGE 29

dear moxie................................page 32

killer joe..................................PAGE 34

funny pages..............................PAGE 36

star bitch..................................PAGE 38

issue #44 - june 2022

VISITTHEMUSEUM

Jessica de Costa and one of her otherworldly creations. Page 14

COMET HEADQUARTERS

Greetings,

I was recently engaged in a surprisingly heated discussion about “fanciness.” Ok, maybe heated is the wrong word - but spirited as fuck, you gotta know that. All kinds of fancy, too. Wardrobe, cuisine, bars, etc. I don’t recall how the topic even came up but it turned into a larger group message thread and it soon became clear that many people want to be fancier but don’t know how. Or what that even means.

Does it mean little sammiches with the crust sliced off? Never got that one. Crust is neat, and far more exclusive than the stuff inside it, simply from a standpoint of ratio. Maybe fancy means sipping champagne as opposed to beer or wine? I love beer and wine but I personally find champagne to taste of unkempt butt. DM me for that full story…

Anyway, you get my point. Fanciness is a pretty vague, relative and totally personal concept. Which is why this chat was so spirited. It’s still pinging my phone as I type this. And the only reason I bring it up here is because something just occurred to the group all at once. Fanciness could be summed up with one word. Escapism. And I thought that was a useful realization.

On occasion, I have been called “fancy” because I wear hats, vests and shirts only men who died 40 years ago would be proud to don. But don’t get too close - the illusion falls apart when you can see the butter stain from The Great Breakfast Incident of 2002, hair from 4 different cats and mystery holes that I wouldn’t go askin’ about. But I suppose dressing up a bit does give me a sense of escape. Cleaning up a substantial cat barf in a three-piece suit makes it all just a little more…elegant. And somehow sad. And also somehow funny. Ultimately, I’m just wearing a costume if you really break it down. And any cosplayer will tell you one of the most appealing aspects of the hobby is the element of fantasy and escape. Just a quick little trip outside the mundane.

Fancy entertaining came up as well - “why don’t people have fancy parties more often?” Again we had to define fancy. Surf ‘n Turf, hors d’oeuvres, craft cocktails and a rousing discush about Gravity’s Rainbow? Bring your own records, bourbon and cigars?

- PLEASE SOMEONE DO THIS AND INVITE ME. Dress up like animals and get FREAKY like animals while listening to The Animals?

Anyway - the people seem to want more fancy in their lives. Read: escapism. So plan a fancy party and invite your pals, co-workers, enemies and definitely that couple down the street that you just KNOW is into some weird shit. Try some new stuff. Meet some new folks. And experience the cathartic buzz of stepping outside the utilitarian humdrum ways of normal life. Because fanciness isn’t about money or status, it’s about reminding ourselves that we are more than just bills, chores, unkempt butt-related doctor visits and taxes.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear a cat yakkin’ in the other room. TAKES OFF VEST. LOOSENS TIE. FANCY CRIES.

FANCYTHAT

Happy Trails, Ron Evans Editor of The Comet

Semi-impressive literature, uncool pipe, scratchy old shit on the Victrola and cat hair. FANCY AF.

ACROSS

1. 1970s-80s Canadian sketch comedy show

5. "And how!"

8. Desert illusion

14. Movie previews

16. Tickled pink

17. * L. Frank Baum character

18. Domestication

19. Treat an icy sidewalk again

20. "Uh-huh"

22. Tina of 30 Rock

23. Physics calculation

Puzz e Corner

" J INX ! "

50. See 28-Across

51. Salon sound

52. What Sweden and Finland applied to join inMay 2022

54. "So that's your game!"

57. Egg holder

59. Make less rural

63. Opulent

66. * "Oh, just wait!"

68. Means of access

69. 747, e.g.

70. Engaged in swordplay

71. “Don’t talk!” contract: Abbr.

72. Alternative to fries

15. Light purple

21. "All systems go"

24. Pack away 26. Gunk

27. -CIO (labor org.)

28. Iraqi city on the Tigris 29. Acid in proteins 30. "Hurry, hop aboard!" 32. Steamed

fatale

1950s Ford flop

Monopoly purchase

Stained

20-20, e.g.

25.

28. Olympic gymnast Korbut With 50-Across, enchantment or a punny hint for the ends of the 5 starred clues' answers

31. * Catchphrase of 1-Across's

Bob and Doug Mackenzie

36. Gathering clouds, say

37. 2,000 pounds

38. "Holy ___!"

39. Obedience school command

40. * "Well, shucks!"

42. Colo. clock setting

43. A minister, or welding torch

46. Motorhomes, briefly

47. Hook's right hand?

48. * Famed UK Ferris wheel

DOWN

1. Headline

2. Mötley ___

3. Khakis

4. A, B, C, D, E, or K

5. Specifics, informally

6. Bauxite, e.g.

7. "Don't pay this ___ treat!"

8. Arithmetic contest competitors

9. " ___ Little Teapot”

10. Piña colada ingredient

11. "Yeah, right!"

12. Kind of pool

13. Provocative

Six-pointers, for short

A billion years

Like some on-stage singers

Antipollution org.

Moonshiner's device

Lexus alternative

Talking Frozen snowman

Give birth to

Microwave, e.g. 58. The C in CMYK 60. "This joke!” 61. Pedal pushers 62. Gen- (millennials)

Pixar's Monsters,

Go after, in a way 67. What comes after the fact?

COMING NEXT ISSUE: PART 4 OF THE MEGA

Seebelowfortheanswertolast issue'sPart 3. Visit tinyurl.com/2022megametarules

DOUBLE

removed letters (1 per word)

anagrammed words:

PREPPED TAILS

METHYL GALES

word anagrammed from removed letters:

SOLUTIONS TO LAST EDITION'S META CROSSWORD PRIZE CONTEST

The meta answer is THIRD (Hint: Find a 5-letter place associated with metal alloy.) First, that tricky (but fair!) hint: "place" meant "awardranking " not "location." And medals of (a metal alloy) are associated with bit of misdirect, but still an accurate hint. Now, the grid!

thirdplace A bitof a misdirect,butstillanaccuratehint.Now,thegrid!

Thefirst 4 longestanswers(inredatright)beganwith directionalwords UP,LEFT,DOWN,andRIGHT, followed byhomophonesofthenumbers 2 and 4 (TO,FOR,FORE) Thepuzzle'stitle"SeeIntroforInstructions"hintsat the 4 directionalphrases(UP2,LEFT4,DOWN4,RIGHT4) thatformthe "intro"toeachanswer Yes!Instructionsformoving!Butwheretostart?

Thelastlongest answerisEPICENTER(withthe hint "Startingpointfor outwardmovement,often"). Andguesswhat? If you startinthe(epi)center ofthefilledgrid,whichistheletter T, and move per thefirstinstruction "UP 2," youendupontheletter H Keep moving per therestoftheinstructions likethat,andyou'llfindthelettersintheword THIRD, (highlightedyellow, atright) whichisthepuzzle'smetaanswer. Congratulations tothewinner ofMay'smetacrosswordprizecontest,TJ Farrell!

SOLUTIONS TO LAST EDITION'S ANACROSTIC CHALLENGE

ANSWERS: Lemmy, issued, zip, "Zits," omni- QUOTE: I'm not "plus-sized." I'm my size.

QUOTE'S AUTHOR: LIZZO (spelledoutbytheanswers'firstletters)

I CRAVE FEEDBACK! Thoughts? Suggestions? Lemme have it. CSCXWORDS@GMAIL.COM

CORY "DAMN YOU" CALHOUN'S

CROSSWORDS & MORE MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE COMET

FEATURING:@lisa.lachnielsen Visual artist from Copenhagen, Denmark

by Ron evans

This Monday night (June 6) new wave/post-punk pioneers Modern English will kick off their American Pacific Northwest tour right here in Wenatchee with a show at Numerica Performing Arts Center.

Musical categories are always a bit scattershot if not outright arbitrary, but Modern English has found devotees in the post-punk world as well as goth, dance and pop. One word we can likely all agree on - influential. Pulling from a career spanning over four decades, this tour will be offering everything die hard and casual Modern English fans alike could hope for. The show will feature a com-

plete performance of their second album After The Snow (1982). The album featured their seemingly immortal mega-hit “I Melt With You” which you’d have to make your life’s quest to not hear being played somewhere at least once a week. Fans can also expect a string of other favorites as well and a slim (but visible) chance of something brand new. More on that in a bit. I spoke with bassist/songwriter Mick Conroy (who wrote “I Melt With You” when he was 18!) to learn more about this long-running band,

We kind of started off as this punk rock band who couldn’t really play our instruments, but the thing that kind of got us going and has kept us going is the energy that you put into trying to make music.

weathering the changes in the music industry and what it’s like to see a hit song take on a life of its own.

Is the band all currently together?

We are all making our way - we are sorta scattered all over at the moment. But we will begin rehearsing and going over things this week.

This is the second leg of your American tour - is this tour picking up where the band left off pre-covid? Well we hadn’t quite started touring

yet but we were just about to when we saw the way things were going. And of course, everything stopped. We had no idea it would be three years before getting back. I mean, it was just so surreal. Robbie (lead vocalist) lives about 18 miles away from me - I live in Suffolk in England with my partner who is also our tour manager. We’d been living on a little houseboat preparing for the tour and we ended up being isolated there for ten months. That’s when we decided to do the new recording of “I Melt With You.”

Yeah, you did a Zoom version of it. It’s great, and it seems to have been popular (over 1,000,000 views so far), were there any new works or performances during the lockdown?

Mick Conroy, Robbie Grey, Steve Walker & Gary McDowell - photo by Michelle Peters

Well, we had this idea (of touring) for the 40th anniversary of After The Snow and so we did a live recording of it at the O2 in London and we released that as a live album which was great. We also did a great bit of writing for a new LP that we will be working on soon. Apart from being locked up we all stayed pretty busy. And of course you know… all of those books that you promised yourself you were going to read if you ever got the chance and then you just end up watching The Crown or Breaking Bad.

So there is a new LP in the works - can we expect any music from those writing sessions at Wenatchee’s show on Monday?

I’ll say probably not, but you never know. For this tour we really wanted to focus on After The Snow mostly. But we’re also doing a couple of songs from our first LP (Mesh & Lace), a couple from the third (Ricochet Days) and about two songs from the last album (Take Me to the Trees).

This tour features the original lineup of Modern English. Talk about the history of the band a bit - was there always a group trucking along or were there any breaks along the way?

We’ve had a couple of extended breaks over the 40 odd years. Yeah. You know, we still love playing music and there’s nothing else that we really enjoy doing so much together - we’ve known each other for so long.

We kind of started off as this punk rock band who couldn’t really play our instruments, but the thing that kind of got us going and has kept us going is the energy that you put into trying to make music. With this new album, what we’ve got so far is quite noisy, quite energetic. And it’s really just all of us trying to have a good time at the same time - like we always had and that’s what we liked about all these other bands around in those early days. We didn’t know at the time but I guess it was called post-punk.

There’s been a huge resurgence of interest in post-punk in recent years. Both from the perspective of falling in love with these early bands that were pioneering it but also new bands following closely in the footsteps of that sound. Are you able to hear that in some of the newer bands?

Oh yeah, and I’m so old I swear I can even guess which albums they’ve got in

their record collection. There’s a band called Actors from Vancouver who I really like. And a Portland band called Soft Kill who I would bet grew up listening to the Chameleons. They are great and becoming more popular. They’re currently on tour in England actually.

As a band that has endured this long, you have seen many changes in the landscape of the music industry. Talk a little about your experiences in navigating those murky waters. Well, when we started it was a tiny bit like how it is now for a lot of bands - completely DIY, you do it yourself. In 1980 we made our first singles on our own label. And then we signed to this brand new label called 4AD who went on to become kind of like, an epic company with the Pixies, the Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance and now it’s almost a major label in itself. But at the beginning of 1980, the only person that would play you on the radio was John Peel on the BBC Radio late night show in England and that got you coverage in Melody Maker and various other music papers. No money, so we just had to go out and tour and hope people came to see. Or hope they saw your record in a record shop, and they liked the cover and if it was in the right section in the 45 or the album section, people would buy it. But when we were licensed to Warner Brothers in America, with “I Melt With You” after our second album came out, suddenly it was a completely different world. And there were press people you know - every town that we went to do a concert, there was a local Warner Brothers rep who was driving us around to radio stations and that sort of thing. And there were some stations that played top 40 and other stations that played you know, college radio, in places like Boston and all that was really helpful for us, right? Whereas now since Napster came along, and you know…Spotify and all of that - it’s back to DIY. I’m originally the bass player in Modern English, but I’m also The Chief Executive Officer of Social Media for Modern English. I’m also the studio engineer for Modern English, and Robbie’s the singer and the rehearsal coordinator.

I bet Jimmy Page would suck at being Chief Executive Officer of Social Media.

Right! But you have to know these things now. You have to do it all again just like the very early days. When we tour we have this lovely lady, Ramona, who does

our social media. And we have a manager, the long-suffering Josh, who we’ve worked with for over 40 odd years. But, you know, we’ve finally got our publishing rights back, and we have our own physical masters back as well. So we now own everything.

That’s incredibly rare for a band of that era.

Yes. It took us a while and we had to do a lot of ‘ducking and diving’ as we say in England.

I’m friends with Danbert Nobacon from Chumbawamba who actually lives fairly close to Wenatchee. Really? That’s fantastic!

He (and the rest of the band) refers to their massive hit “Tubthumping” as The Big One and I always love talking to him about the strangeness of having such an anthemic hit song under your belt. Forever. “I Melt With You” is one such mega-hit and I’m curious how you all feel about that. Is it a two edged sword? Or do you just enjoy the success of it and ride it out?

Wow. Well…first I can tell you that I had no idea, I mean of course I wouldn’t have any idea - I was 18 years old when I wrote “I Melt With You.” It was one song and there were loads of others. But to this day people will know the words to “I Melt With You” more than they know of Modern English. And it’s like…well we do have other songs, but at the same time I’m truly happy that people really like the song.

It’s funny, we recorded that in Wales and I took a cassette of it to Ivo (WattsRussell), our guy over at 4AD. I played it for him and he said “You guys turned into The Byrds.” Our LP before After The Snow was kind of dark and gloomy and he was kind of confused by this new one. But the brilliant thing about 4AD was they let us put out what we wanted, we had creative freedom. So that’s what we came up with.

Movies, TV, radio, viral videos. I even heard it in a Burger King commercial years back. What are some of the strangest places you have seen it pop up?

About 20 odd years ago a really old friend of mine rang me up and played this piece of music that was quite mellow, but in a kind of bossa nova thing and said, “Do you recognize this?” And I said, no, who

is it? And he said, “it’s you. Someone’s covered your song in a bossa nova. Nouvelle Vague is the name of the band. It was really funny to hear it like that. They also did “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, again in bossa nova.

One day the TV was on and we were watching The Simpsons, and when it went to the commercial break I went out to go and make a cup of tea. And as I was walking out of the room, I heard the beginning notes from Melt and I thought, what is going on? And I turned around and it was a T-Mobile advert. I thought, “Oh great. Now we’re selling T-Mobile phones.” But from time to time I get people ringing me up to tell me they heard it somewhere. I guess it’s in “The Lincoln Lawyer” on Netflix which I haven’t seen.

But you know, we just never realized that in the future, you’ll be playing this song on something called a mobile telephone. My friend Jesse (Quinn - bassist for Keane) said they were on tour in South America recently and they looked up the downloads to their own music on Spotify to see what songs were most popular in that part of the world and that’s what they used to create their setlist for the show which is fantastic.

But yeah, the success of that song is just…one of those things that just kind of happened you know?

I’m sure Wenatchee will be on their feet this Monday and singing along at the PAC, and I’ll be one of them. Great! We are really looking forward to playing Wenatchee. I hear you guys are known as the Apple Capital of The World.

We were at one point, the influx of apartments and condos where some of the orchards once were may have changed that, I’m not too sure - but I will say we certainly have the best apples you can get. Oh good, I’m gonna have to get me some apple pie when I’m there. I love pie.

Don’t miss your chance to see this iconic band on the local stage. Seattle’s Julian Blair will be opening the show, so get there early and grab a drink or three.

Monday, June 6, 2022 | 7:30pm | $29-$59 Get your tickets while you still can at numericapac.org

WOTR announces 2022 Writers Competition winners

By Holly Thorpe

Write on the River has announced the winners of the 2022 Write On The River Writers Competition. Six winners, three from each genre, were chosen and will share $1,200 in cash prizes.

The annual contest, now in its fifteenth year, is open to anyone in eastern Washington. Entries of fiction or nonfiction must be previously unpublished original work, under 1000 words.

This year, when the two teams of judges turned in their top picks from a very competitive selection, the top fiction writer was also the top nonfiction writer. That coincidence is both an unprecedented surprise for competition organizers and a well-deserved compliment to the writer.

Here are the 2022 Writers’ Contest winners:

Nick Hershenow (Twisp)

First place fiction: “Sucesos”

First place nonfiction: “Little Chicken”

His first novel, “The Road Builder,” earned an award in 2000 and some atten-

tion but, he said, few readers. But Nick Hershenow has kept writing, mostly working and re-working “I Followed Fire,” the unpublished book that grew out of his life experiences. He worked for the Forest Service in central Idaho, then lived with his family at an orphanage in Honduras and later, with his wife, worked on the back roads, backwoods villages and badlands of southern Ecuador. Since 2016 Nick has taught pre-school in the Methow Valley.

Denise Ottosen (Spokane)

Second place fiction: “The Rules”

Denise Ottosen has been writing in one form or another since she had her first poem published in a children’s magazine at age eight. She is an author of flash fiction and personal essays and is currently in the process of completing a self-help book based on her experience as a clinical psychotherapist. A Washington native currently living in Spokane, she is a lover of chocolate chip cookies, forests and historical architecture. She does her best writing in places where she can indulge in all three.

Michele Peters (East Wenatchee)

Third place fiction: “Bombshell”

Michele Peters carefully balances her twenty-five years in the information tech-

nology field with an artistic home life, seeking beauty in the world and people around her. She has been published in The Good Life magazine and most recently auditioned for Listen to Your Mother—a nationally licensed production about motherhood, mothering, and being mothered.

Rebekah Jensen (Twisp)

Second place nonfiction:

“First Miles of the After”

Rebekah Jensen found her love for writing shortly after she learned her letters, publishing her early work on the family typewriter. She earned a degree in creative nonfiction writing before pivoting to wildlife biology. Her writing as an ecological consultant has been mostly technical, with occasional right-brained forays into song lyrics and short memoirs.

First an Army brat and then a wandering adult, Rebekah found her home in 2018 up the Twisp River, where she enjoys hiking, skiing, using her tiny chainsaw, and playing addictive daily word games.

Ashley Lodato (Winthrop)

Third place nonfiction:

“The Best Time of Our Lives”

Raised on Wenatchee Heights, Ashley Lodato grew up hiking and camping. With a degree in English and Italian lit-

erature from Stanford, she taught at the Ojai Valley School in California. As a writer, she is interested in other peoples’ personalities and stories: the journeys that lead to business ventures, the passions that create athletes, and especially the essence of those moments, sometimes profound and magical, created by surrendering ourselves to outdoor experiences. Ashley is a stringer for the Methow Valley News and has written diverse magazine articles.

To read the winning entries visit writeontheriver.org.

In partnership with NCW Libraries, WOTR also announced the winners of the 11th Annual Teen Short Fiction Competition. Librarians from around the region and members of the Teen Library Council judged the competitive entries and chose these three students to share the $200 cash award for their original fiction writing. Winners are listed on the Write on the River website.

To learn more about Write on the River, become a member, or register for events, visit writeontheriver.org. Membership is $35 per year, and offers free or discounted access to all WOTR events. Questions? Contact info@writeontheriver.org. C

Nick Hershenow

Denise Ottosen Michele Peters

Rebekah Jensen

Ashley Lodato

JESSICA da COSTA THE COPPER MAIDEN

By Ron Evans

Born and raised in Washington State, Jessica Grace da Costa became an artist and lover of nature at an early age. Mentored by her artist grandmother who worked in several mediums including oil-painting, da Costa became a lifelong learner of various mediums.

Later on, she reacquainted herself with her love of sculpture after moving to Portland, Oregon in 1994. She also exhibited paintings in Newport RI while earning her Cosmetology degree - she then learned the art of copper weathervanes by apprenticing in New England in the mid-1990’s. Her passion for researching, sketching, and building each piece of her own sculptural copper art has remained constant. Her signature nature and myth inspired art continues to capture the attention of collectors nationwide.

After a few other pit stops, da Costa landed in Wenatchee four years ago. We reached out for a QnA with the artist to chat about her inspirations, processes and logistics of creatively working with metal.

How did you get into metal work? And

tell us about the techniques/tools you are using to create your pieces. Surprisingly, though I’ve created art my entire life, I didn’t get into metal work until my early twenties when I was looking for an artistic side job to supplement my career as a stylist. I answered an ad in the local paper for metal shop help and worked my way into a paid apprenticeship under a Master Craftsman in the art of sculptured copper weathervanes.

I learned traditional metal working techniques such as embossing, chasing and repousse. I sculpted countless custom weathervanes at the small New England gallery and shop where I made them alongside other working gallery artists.

Using a paper design I pencil the outline of a finished composition onto a soft copper sheet. After the design is transferred to the sheet I cut it out using hand shears and from there I use various hand tools, mainly hammers to punch the outline

Embossing and raising the surrounding area of detail lines by cold forging. This makes the bodied copper sheet 3-dimensional and at the same time it becomes work-hardened and no longer soft. Once

each side of a piece is bodied I decide if I will use additional pieces to create the desired 3-D effect. Whether or not I use added pieces, it is at this time I solder each piece together.

This is done primarily using an industrial size iron solder, and Flux. This process leaves some unwanted residue that is washed and/or sanded off the finished piece. Once the work is clean, a natural patina can be used or metal leaf applied - although I love to see the copper years later after it naturally oxidizes and colors to a soft verdigri ( green ). I try to work as close as possible to the metal’s plasticity limit and in doing this, the laws of nature sometimes present themselves in the form of a mistake. When this occurs, opportunities or changes to deepen my understanding of this metal arise. I can turn a small unintentional mark into a multitude of matching marks that give interesting texture to the piece. So in making mistakes, discoveries are made as well and this adds to my mental library of stories.

As I work I make up stories that connect me to the metal in more than a physical way and this keeps me energized with knowledge that there is always something

new to learn. I can honestly say I’m never bored.

Metal is a much needed commodity of course. Does the price of materials you work with fluctuate often?

Yes, it is a much needed commodity and I laugh sometimes at the side-eyed question of ‘where do you get your copper?’ I think it comes from the same place that the copper from your computer, your refrigerator or any other necessity from modern day life comes from. So I never know how to answer that, but yes it’s very expensive and it just seems to get more expensive every year.

Elements of nature mingle with fantasy and whimsical, dream-like shapes in many of your works. Talk about the style and themes you mostly enjoy working with.

My interest lies in sharing nature’s predictable repetitiveness and in changing unpredictable forms. I hope to capture that mysterious element of nature that lives and to hold it fixed in copper so that even years later it can be looked upon with fresh eyes that breathe life back to its form.

It’s all about stories and dreams and the

“It’s all about stories and dreams...”

connective world of both. You can’t have one without the other and often dreams are tellers of pasts, presents and futures which most definitely guide the direction of my art - as well as the life of the soul who creates it. Also you may glimpse work that reflects my past experiences with the art of tattoos, beauty and symbolism. More often now I’m bringing my intuition into it, with regard to what’s most important - which dream to tell and also what the material needs to say.

For example I’m working with some gorgeous panels that were gifted to me to repurpose and the natural patina is so colorful, it’s just pure joy that I get to morph them into art for my upcoming gallery exhibits. These repurposed panels will be up at the Confluence Gallery in Twisp for my show, Ancient Elementals. I hope people come out to the opening on June 18th.

Do you take on many commissions?

The short answer is no. I would have answered yes just a few months back because at exactly this time last year I was booked with commissions all the way through early this year. I just finished a giant shorteared owl for a naturalist photographer who took the reference photo for it. It was a total of 8’ tall which is officially the *biggest sculpture* that I have created to date.

What kind of weight and balance logistics are necessary to keep in mind with these kinds of works?

When creating the giant sculptured owl the attachment to the backing was super important, mainly just making sure the connecting point of the sculptured bird to the flat textured copper sheet could safely hang on a wall in the client’s dining room (cathedral ceilings) there just had to be a frame and back piece to hold it on that point in the frame. The client has a history of professional woodworking skills so it was great to have his interest and expertise to create an extra special frame.

Weathervanes are an interest of yours and I’m curious if there are unique design considerations you have to take when creating something that’s not just art but also utilitarian? Especially something that will often be seen in silhouette.

For a fully functioning weathervane, the weight balance logistics that are necessary to keep in mind have to do with the location of access point for where the spindle meets the inside bearing, creating the axis where the weathervane rotates. This is in a specific location on the weathervane figure and it’s where this mechanism and design process is a huge factor. Because each weathervane has a back end and a

front end of the “arrow”, the back has the greater mass/area and therefore acts as the tail or fin of a weathervane, which is the part that the wind “catches” and moves telling the viewer which direction the wind is coming from. This is always a challenge design-wise when you’re dealing with a piece that is not inherently bigger on its tail end or has a balanced nature as a silhouette. So you have to get creative with the design and figure regarding the balance. For the almost 5’ dragon that I built earlier last year, I had to put a little extra weight into the spear which was the arrowhead part because there was way more mass than needed on the back end or “tail” end so to speak.

Is your aim mostly to sell directly to the open market or have you worked with galleries or other fine art entities as well?

As a full time professional national artist I have my work out in the world in all the ways. Before covid I traveled with my art to many art fairs - I booked eight in that last year. I won an emerging artist award for Best of the Northwest Seattle in 2017 and from there I took it on as a full time gig. But after covid my online sales went through the roof - as I said I was booked with commissions for a full year starting in the Spring of that year. Including a UK sale. But way back I was selling at farmer’s markets and to the local galleries and even before then I started in the weathervane gallery studio where we made hundreds of vanes every week. This year it’s all galleries and I’m switching to my actual website instead of Etsy with their horrendous fees for selling the weathervanes. I am remodeling the website and trying to get much of my new work up and refashion my store. So hopefully by the end of the year it will be a brand new site.

As I mentioned before, Confluence Gallery kicks off my first little studio solo show called Ancient Elementals in June. I’ve also had a few works accepted into Ghost Gallery in downtown Seattle and I’m very excited about that. I really love this gallery. Then I will at some point be showing some work at Lemolo for Wenatchee

First Friday Art Walk either late summer or fall - still trying to nail down the exact date on that one. But my solo exhibition at the Whippersnapper Gallery in Seattle this November will culminate in a giant new body of work for my first solo show in a few decades.

Do you spend much time dabbling in other mediums?

I’ve been so busy in the last few years between art fairs and commissions I have had no time to establish new work of my

own. But this year it’s all about new mediums or revisiting old mediums, namely painting. So yes I’m super excited about that and also possibly more (non-copper) sculpture.

What is your planning/sketching process when working with metal? Do things tend to morph and develop along the way or do you have a pretty tight blueprint before you even start? These new sculptural paintings I’m creating are more freeing for me and less technical.

Working in copper and creating weathervanes can oftentimes be a little limiting in design and technique. Not to mention the material is very expensive and if things are not thought out very clearly in the design phase then you could have a useless piece of expensive, non-functioning ‘who knows what’ on your hands. And at this point I can’t afford to do that!

Are you creating all the time or do you have bursts of creativity then some downtime?

I’m creating all the time even when I’m in downtime mode. I feel like most of the time when I’m doing one of my other favorite things, usually outdoors in nature, I feel at home and super creative. I usually have a journal or sketchbook with me and I can jot down a few lines or words.

I’ve also been interested in writing since childhood. I was interested in creative writing and wrote short stories, (little known fact) I will be writing more often as soon as I have a little downtime. So even during downtime when I’m doing absolutely nothing I feel like I’m just a creative creature and it’s always therapeutic. It’s self care all the way. The way you move through life is art.

Do you have a dream project if money and logistics were not an issue?

Absolutely 100% - all of them include collaboration with other artists. In a dream-like world we would be creating meaningful (and sometimes strange, unusual and nonsensical) worlds of art and pretty much nothing else!

But in all seriousness, at some point I will have an actual art center that focuses on art as therapy because I do believe that art can save us all from so much that is sad and wrong in the world.

Are you active on social media? How do people see the bulk of your art?

Yes I am mostly active via newsletter (website) coppermaiden.com.

IG: @jessicadacostaart

Facebook: jessicadacostaart

I also have a Patreon site: patreon.com/JessicadaCosta Etsy: etsy.com/shop/CopperMaidenArt

Also looking towards next year for a few solo shows or group shows and hopefully much more collaborating.

THE COMET 8

Favorite Music: BJORK if I had to list one because she nails it on so many levels. Then there’s David Bowie who I actually saw play on the East Coast with NIN.

Favorite Book: Women Who Run

With the Wolves (Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype) by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. This could be read over and over again. So many layers of wisdom and discovery.

Favorite Quote: “One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul.”

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Item You Can’t Live Without: Journal/notebook - I have one in every corner of the house and when I travel but usually when traveling I get so wrapped up in the journey I forget to journal till later. At home it’s ideas, dreams, sketches scribbles for days.

Favorite Artist: Constantly changing for me but if I had to pick one, Leonardo da Vinci is a favorite.

Favorite movie: Legend

Dream Collaboration: Neil Gaiman, Tori Amos and Banksy

Favorite Destination: New Zealand because I’ve been there and I’m going again and I feel like I could live there no problem! But I also love traveling even if it’s in my own backyard I always discover something super exciting I didn’t know existed. I dig up stuff - I’m also an archeologist nerd ya know, a collector of things just collecting gems/rocks, books, antiques, tarot decks...if you came to my house you might see evidence everywhere of my visits to the little gems of the earth where like the fairies who are always leaving there dust behind I leave treasures ;)

NAMING THE BAND

Sam Albright

FILIPPO BALBI’S TESTA ANATOMICA (1854)

Of all the objects of daily sixteenth-century life — fruit, flora, fish and more — from which the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo made faces appear, the human body itself was not seemingly among them. The Pompidou houses a pair of late Rennaisance works in which the heads of Adam and Eve are formed from a wriggle of youths, but it is attributed to Arcimboldo’s studio rather than the master himself. It’s not until Arcimboldo-esque works of the nineteenth century that we see the human figure used frequently in composite heads, and perhaps nowhere so strikingly as in fellow Italian artist Filippo Balbi’s Testa Anatomica (1854). If the tussle of youthful bodies that form the Pompidou’s Edenic duo points somehow to an innocence lost, in Balbi’s tortuous arrangement of older figures we can see, perhaps, the mortal effects of

the Fall bear fruit. While these strained, almost écorché figures could be seen as the best vehicle to display anatomy, they might also writhe with the feelings of a man, soon to be fifty, entering the latter half of life. It’s an interpretation that emerges more forcefully after viewing Balbi’s self-portrait from some twenty years later — the artist posing, grey beard to his breast, with Testa Anatomica to one side and to the other a skull.

This article was originally published in The Public Domain Review under a Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike 3.0. If you wish to reuse it please see: publicdomainreview.org/legal/ C

IS EASTER EGG HUNTING KILLING THE MOVIES?

By DOUG and Kayla Nunn

Iconsidermyself a movie fanatic. Honestly that may have been an understatement: I was raised on movies, they are a huge part of my life and who I am as a person. Being born in the late 80’s and raised in the early 90’s I feel like I’ve lived through a golden age of movies. My mom definitely helped shape my love for movies by watching some of the classic 80’s Stephen King titles like “Pet Semetary” and “The Langoliers”…thanks mom! I can still remember the day she came home with a copy of “Jurassic Park” on VHS. Lately, I have been experiencing conflicting emotions of both pity and envy for the casual movie-goer. Between the backlog knowledge you need to truly understand the films and the extensive deep dives that YouTubers and articles can go into, so much can be missed when casually viewing movies.

I recently attended the film “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” at Regal Cinemas in downtown Seattle. Full disclosure, I’m a fan of all things Marvel: comics, tv shows, limited series, movies, novelizations and video games. I have over 20 films-worth of knowledge from the last 14 years, dating back to the release of “Iron Man” in 2008. Just recently, with “SpiderMan: No Way Home,” which required knowledge of events going back to 2002 when the Spider-Man series directed by

Sam Raimi featuring Tobey Maguire began. While “Dr. Strange” was a great film, if a viewer hadn’t seen any of the previous films or television shows, specifically Disney’s “WandaVision,” the lay viewer would be lost. Why do these characters feel the way they do? What’s on the line for them? What led to these decisions?

Sam Raimi also directed “Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness” as well as the “Evil Dead” horror franchise and placed moments from that series, completely unrelated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, into the film.

The Star Wars franchise is another that suffers here. The novels and comics labeled “Legend” are now considered canon. Before I watched “The Mandalorian,’’ I watched all of “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” animated series, knowing that characters would be introduced and story lines would be important. Is this a service to dedicated fans or a marketing ploy to get more viewership on old content?

Movies that are tied to video games display these issues as well. Adam Sandler’s “Pixels”, the recent release of “Uncharted,” and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One”. “Pixels” is a fun movie on its own. Without a deep dive, “Uncharted” is a fantastic adventure. But “Ready Player One” nods back to so many classic movies and pop culture moments that its integral to the story line. Its built into the characters and their motives. But the companies are paying people to

do the work and put these nods in them. Is our duty as viewers to see their dedication and appreciate their art? Will there be a point when seeing a movie takes as much work as visiting the louvre and dissecting the deepest and most expressive arts of the masters, their entire life history to interpret and appreciate the paintings?

Horror films are beginning to take this route. The most recent “Scream” and the “Jurassic Park” reboot in “Jurassic World.” Maybe this is all the consequence of an entire generation being raised on media, films, tv and books. There is so much in nostalgia to be banked on.

Remember, this is all coming from the perspective of someone who has seen all the films required to appreciate the nuances. Is there such a thing as a casual movie goer? Are they actually getting true excitement and enjoyment and creating their own interpretation of the movie? Are they going back and rewatching hoping to get another experience upon rewatch. Continuing the experience as a learned movie goer? Maybe the production companies are specifically marketing to the consumers who watch YouTube videos and make the content in such a way that you must be fully invested in this world to move forward. In writing this piece, a meme came through my Facebook feed. The image was Shia LaBeouf looking distraught at a movie theater and the text read “New MCU fans from 2056 having to watch 182 movies and 35 TV shows just to properly

understand the new movie.” Or perhaps, this is the comic book industries way of surviving. They are taking advantage of our fear of missing out. Everyone experiences movies differently but we all are going for the same reason: to consume art and hear stories and maybe escape reality. Maybe what this requires is an exercise in moderation.

Don’t get it twisted folks, I will still be tuning in to New Rockstars YouTube channel and listening to Erik Voss breakdown every single frame of the next “Thor: Love and Thunder” movie trailer, I will still watch all the behind the scenes footage and purchase digital, dvd, blu-ray and 4K versions of all these movies, I will still be spending all my time and money on this Marvel and Star Wars content. I love it, and I’m not alone in that. I will still read the comics and novels, before and after releases to compare and contrast and see the visions that the actors, directors, and special effects teams bring to the medium. Even though going to the movies is becoming more of a job, I’m still employee of the month.

Doug and Kayla Nunn are owners and operators of The Time Capsule, a retro media hub that celebrates all things nostalgic and pop culture related.

Find them: @retromediaman | 23 Orondo Avenue, Wenatchee and at timecapsulecollectibles.com C

After a couple years on hiatus during the pandemic, Wenatchee Pride is back June 18th with its annual celebration event. Wenatchee Pride board President Lincoln Nere shares some thoughts on this event and about the movement behind Wenatchee Pride.

My name is Lincoln Nere, I’m 26 and Trans! My partner and I moved here from Oklahoma about three years ago. We had some trouble finding other like-minded queer individuals - mostly because we didn’t know the area very well. Someone suggested that I apply to be a part of Wenatchee Pride. I joined in March of 2021, and within a short period of time I became President, which is my current position. Wenatchee Pride was started by a group of queer individuals who lived in the valley and wanted to see a Pride Celebration. The first celebration was in 2018, and it was at Pybus Market. A handful of organizations tabled, and a few hundred members of the community showed up to support. Within one year, It went from a few hundred attendees to around 1100 at Lincoln Park. That was the last celebration we’ve had, due to COVID. Since the beginning of Wenatchee Pride, we’ve expanded our outreach, opportunities, and voices. Rather than only an annual event, we’ve been hosting monthly Teen and Adult LGBTQIA+ hangouts, tabling at public events, and working with GSA/QSAs within NCW to offer support for their missions. Pride isn’t only during June, it’s 12 months a year, 365 days, and it’s important for the queer people in our community to have safe spaces to be their

authentic selves no matter what time of the year.

Talk about some of the challenges/rewards of working for LGBTQ+ rights in a town like Wenatchee. And nationally, for that matter.

A lot of the challenges we face in the valley is about community outreach. A lot of NCW doesn’t even know we exist, but we’re working diligently to fix that with our outreach programs. Specifically within Wenatchee, we’re a smaller town and unfortunately small towns still live by the old ways and we receive more pushback than our neighbors such as Seattle, Yakima and Spokane. Every time we show up at a public event to table with resources, people of all ages come up and show their excitement that this organization exists. That’s definitely one of the rewards, giving these people hope, love, support and the knowledge that there are others in the area who are doing everything in their power to ensure that they are not alone. That their identity, or sexual identity, is valid.

What are some of your favorite experiences concerning past Pride events? Local or otherwise.

My favorite experience from a Pride event was when I was tabling at the Apple Pie Jamboree in Pateros, WA. This younger kid came up to the table and was looking at the progressive Pride flag waving behind our canopy. And they were just crying because they had never seen anything like us, our representation, anywhere near Pateros. And they were happy tears. Happy to see queer people, successfully living

adult lives. They thanked me so much for showing up, it just choked me up. Every time I see a group of queer people getting together to celebrate, it brings a warmth to my hear that I can’t explain. It’s resilience in a physical form.

Tell us about this upcoming Wenatchee Pride celebration.

2022 Pride Festival is our first festival in two years. We’re so excited to see this celebration happening after the past few years we’ve had. We have over 50 vendors signed on to be at this festival. There are all kinds of activities for people of all ages to enjoy. Axe throwing, beer garden, chalk art, cornhole, and not to mention the impeccable list of entertainment for the entire day. With an event of this size, there’s no way we could have pulled it off without the community backing it, and our sponsors, Confluence Health, Molina Healthcare, GESA, and CVCH. We can’t wait to celebrate PRIDE with everyone this month.

Sometimes people are set in their ways come hell or high water, but many are a bit more neutral and open minded. When trying to bridge the gap between LGBTQ+ causes and straight folks, how do you navigate the roadblocks?

A lack of understanding seems to be the biggest roadblock when it comes to trying to bridge that gap. I always try to educate before anything else, and start most of my conversations with letting them know that if questions are sincere, and with the correct intentions of educating yourself, that they are welcome to ask. Educating people

on the issues we’re facing, the causes that we fight for and WHY we’re fighting for them, is the best that we can do.

If you could have a one on one conversation with every non-ally, what’s one thing you would ask/say?

I would tell every non-ally that I hope that whatever hatred they have living in their heart, for whatever reason it is, is healed so that they may love and respect everyone the way they would like to be loved and respected.

How can people support or get involved with Wenatchee Pride?

We’re always looking for support in all kinds of ways. Volunteering is always welcome, and not just during Pride Month. We have multiple events throughout the year that we would love to have people be involved in. As this board is all voluntarily run, we’re always looking for new members to join us on our path to celebrating, educating, and creating a safe environment for the LGBTQIA+ in NCW. If you don’t have time, but you have the financial means to donate, we rely heavily on community support to keep this nonprofit running and every dollar counts.

Social Media Links

wenatcheepride.org

FB: WenatcheePride

IG: WenatcheePride

Wenatchee Pride Festival

June 18, 11am-7pm at Memorial Park in Wenatchee.

BANGING AROUND THE HARBOR

BY LANCE REESE

1990 something and I’m kicked back on the deck of a 27 foot Vega, wind pushing the sails out of Anacortes. This is my first of two times sailing. The second time on a sailboat I snapped a mast racing a 21’ Hobie Cat off the coast of South Carolina. One minute ripping along with the slap of the trap over the waves, then bang and the sticks in the drink – got to try and save it before it sinks – can’t get dragged under by the rigging – then spend the rest of the day drifting down the coast before shipwrecked on a abandoned beach. This is also my first trip to Anacortes. I won’t return second a time for another twenty years when I wind up at the Oyster Run bike rally. Oyster run my ass – more like bar hop from town to town, riding just long enough to get sober, then into the next hole for more booze. But those later experiences are stories for a later day, and today I’m cruising the San Juan Islands for the weekend.

I’m with my buddy JR. We sling cof-

fee at a local café and think we’re hot shit and people let us get away with it. JR’s solid. He’s always late and never has any money but he’s bailed me out of jail when no one else would answer the phone, so take whatever flaws he has and view them through that kaleidoscope.

We’ve got a regular at the café, a guy named Jerry. He comes in every day and sits by the window and reads a book. He’s got some brain injury from a car wreck a few years ago, hit some black ice coming from Ellensburg to Yakima late one night, flipped his Datsun 300Z a bazillion times. He’s retired, or close to it, maybe on disability from the accident. His wife still works but she never came in with him. But he’s been coming into the café for a while and talking about his sailboat and at some point a plan was hatched that we should all take a weekend and check out the islands.

It’s a quick trip; boat leaves the dock early Saturday morning. No way JR’s up before the sun so he and I cut out after work Friday, crash at his sister’s in Seattle, then an easy I-5 drive in the morning.

We’ve got our supplies, cooler of sand-

wich stuff and beer. Also on the list, one bag of fish heads and guts from the Deep Sea Deli. I thought they’d look at me funny when I went to place the order, but nope, just “How much you want?” and they slop that shit in a bag.

The boat we’re on isn’t big, I can’t stand up straight in the cabin without banging my head, and I’m not tall. The boats narrow too, but the top deck is roomy enough that three dudes can lounge without getting in each other’s space. There’s a ton of traffic between the islands as we set out, boats everywhere, all kinds including ferries, sea kayaks and whale watching tour boats. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Cram a bunch of people on a cattle boat and go harass some wildlife. God, they’re so fucking excited about it too, all packed against each other looking over the railing. Looking at what? A whale? Nope. A fucking herring ball. Better get a picture of that so you can relive that exceptional memory. “Oh honey! Look at this picture! Remember when we went on the whale watching cruise in the San Juans? Here’s the picture of the herring ball we saw. Do you remember?”

“Oh yes, I remember that herring ball. Then you got sea sick and vomited all over the side boat. What a magical trip. Aren’t we so cultured and sophisticated?”

That was before digital so every shot was a commitment on your $2.99 disposable Kodak. Crank the little black dial around ratch-ratch-ratch, then CLICK. Not anymore, now there’d be 400 pictures of that fucking herring ball, just rapid fire that shit on the iPhone and hope you don’t drop it while every jackass beside you elbow-jockeys for the perfect shot.

It’s pretty clear when we pull into Roche Harbor that we’re out of our element. Yachts here have lifeboats bigger than what we just sailed in on. This is a money resort. I’m pretty sure JR’s flat broke, and I’m not far behind. After supplies and the trip to get here I’m well under $100 cash in my pocket - stashed away tip money from the week, and there’s no such thing as credit. Our captain, Jerry is not from money either but he’s been running these islands for years and been here enough that he doesn’t care, probably remembers before everything got all hoity toity. We

stop in Friday Harbor the next day and it’s way more down to earth, civilized. Roche Harbor is the party. I mean, every night at sunset they lower the flag on the edge of the dock and fire off a fucking cannon. “Look Honey! Here’s the picture of when we went to Roche Harbor and they took the flag down at sunset. Wasn’t that magical?” “Oh yes honey, just magical. And do you remember after that they fired off a cannon?” “Oh yes. The cannon!” “So magical…. Then remember how you drank so much gin and tonic you vomited all over your white boat pants? Weren’t we adventurous?”

Jerry gets things squared away with whoever on the dock handles money and parking, and while he’s at it JR and I prep a rubber raft to go catch dinner. The plan is to row across the harbor and around the backside of a nearby island and trap some crab. We load up a cooler of beer and the salmon guts and start across the harbor. Jerry’s doing his sailboat thing so it’s just JR and I and it’s a healthy row, we trade off to lighten the work out. We’ve got a hand drawn map of where to go; we’re well out of sight of the harbor at this point. We’ve got a list of crab catching rules, can’t keep ‘em if they’re male, can’t keep them if they’re female, if they’re too small or too big. They didn’t make sense then so I sure as shit don’t remember them now. The trap was pretty straight forward; a trapezoidal frame with netting around it, a whole in the top crabs could enter but couldn’t get out. We load up the dead salmon bait and lower it to the bottom. It really is an amazing spot. Full on sunshine, no wind and the water’s flat and still when no boats go by. Not a cloud in the sky - cooler full of beer. We have to wait for the bait to work and attract the crab so we’re into the beer and it’s good, and the conversation is good and we’re lying back watching the sun move through the sky.

A few afternoon beers and we’re both passed out. A ker-SPLASH and suddenly I’m awake. I see something coming through the air and another ker-SPLASH. Shit! “We’re under fire” I think. It’s coming from a boat nearby – they’re throwing things at us. “What the hell!” I yell. “BEER!” they yell back with a chorus of whoops and another can is flying through the air. Ker-Splash and I’m on this one. “CHEERS,” I yell cracking the top, can pushed into the air and I get a chorus of whoops in return. “What the fuck?” JR laughs. “You fall asleep too?” “Yeah. How long were we out?” He checks his watch, must have been well over an hour

probably a few since we set the trap down. We pull it up and it’s loaded with crab and they don’t appear to be happy.

“Reach in and grab one,” I say. “Fuck you!” You reach in and grab one.” We come to an arrangement and it’s my go, so my hand’s in the trap. The trick is to grab the crab from behind which isn’t so bad but there’s at least a dozen other angry crab in there as well. I get him out then there’s some measuring we’re suppose to do, the whole not too big or too small thing, but I’m trying to turn him and he’s all pinching at me and he slips out of my hand. Sideways fast across the boat at JR and I’m pretty sure there’s shrieking like a school girl and there’s the click clicking of the pinchers. We finally pull it together and decide he’s a keeper. The rest is a rush job, but we get them sorted and have enough for dinner.

We row back to the harbor. Captain Jerry’s been into the sauce and he’s managed to dump the charcoal grill that was supposed to cook dinner over the side and into the water. No way to retrieve it, we’re going to have to eat at the restaurant at the resort. JR pulls me aside, as usual he’s flat broke, but I’ve got enough, barely, to cover so I tell him we’re all good. We’re proud to show off our fisherman’s bounty but Jerry yells at us, something about they’re all illegal. He mutters his way down into the cabin. Not sure if they were illegal why he didn’t throw them back.

There are showers on the docks. I didn’t pack to go out to eat; lucky I brought a change of clothes at all. I look in the mirror to comb my hair and my skin is fried. Hours under the sun on the water has me crisp, probably the second worst sunburn I’ve ever had. (The worst sunburn I ever got was while spending 14 hours working on a metal roof in Kansas City. Got heat stroke from that one. Weird dreams when you have heat stroke, real fucking weird. Took an ice bath to pull my body temp down. A week later dead skin peeled of my shoulders in sheets.

So I’m burnt, JR too – bad. But we’re cleaned up and we head to dinner. Tight budget for this one but there’s Mac & Jacks on tap and I’ve never had one so I order. The waiter looks at me, I’m underage but I’ve got a healthy beard and after a pause he moves around the table. Following my lead JR orders a beer too. One look at his baby face and the servers asking him for ID. He’s 21 so no problem there. I spend half my money settling our dinner tab; I’m watching my dollars now for sure. It’s sunset on the docks and the flags are coming down. Everyone in the

harbor’s out to watch and they fire off that damn cannon.

Jerry’s spent and turns in for the night. I napped all afternoon, now that the suns down I’m ready to go so we head back to the bar at the restaurant. It’s already on by the time we get there, a band’s playing, people are dancing. The bouncers stop us at the door. A look at my beard and I’m through the door and baby faced JR is pulling out his ID. “Twice now.” He says as we go inside. It’s worth it. These are beautiful people and they came to party and now we’ve stumbled into the middle of it. $3 pints and I keep that African Amber flowing as long as I can. JR’s onto a pair of twenty somethings. He’s smooth and women swoon over him, always buying him shit to keep his affection. Tonight he’s on point and ready to work it, and hell, I’m game to ride on this one. We’re both at least a little drunk and perhaps far too cocky, but he’s bringing his A-Game and laying magic at these two. Clearly amused, they’re acting unimpressed and the game ends when they speak French. We can’t respond. Charm denied by a language barrier. He’s faltered and they’ve moved on, but he had a good eye and it was worth the shot. Another round and I’m down to just enough for a tank of gas for the trip home the next day.

We leave the bar and head toward the dock. Standing there are our French girls. They engage now, cruised down from Victoria I gather, but they’re playing hard, I figured they know exactly what we’re saying but they never break character, nothing but French from hear on out and I’m telling her stories, she’s cooing back. We’re locked in now.

“I need to use the bathroom,” JR tells me. We walk down the docks; there are restrooms by the showers we used earlier. Thinking he may need to dialogue I follow him in. He’s talking but right into a stall. Really does need the bathroom. What a time to need to shit.

I’m waiting, decide to wash my hands, all sticky from beer, wash my face too, then grab some paper towels to dry off. The dispenser’s shiny metal. Reflecting in it’s my ugly mug, smirking back at me. I make a face and my reflection sneers back. “You fucker!” I think and make another face. I’ll be god dammed if my reflection didn’t just smirk right back at me. “That’s it,” I say, close my fist and pop a quick jab up the middle. Not hard, just an attention getter. It lands against the metal, loud. And that reflection just laughs back at me, sunburn and all. I crack it again, this time a one, two; jab snapped straight off

the shoulder and an immediate right down the pipe that land with a crack, CRACK!

“That’ll teach him,” and I sit down on a bench in the middle of the room. Soon as I’m seated two security guards come rushing in.

“WHAT”S THAT BANGING???”

“What Banging,” I snark back. These two clowns, their black slacks and white polos. They’re older than me, but not by much. They’re bigger than me, but not by much. They’re scurrying around, trying to find some damage. Luckily that towel dispenser’s real steel not some cheap pot metal shit, and honestly those punches were quick rabbit punches; I didn’t even turn into them.

They’re still searching around, “What the hell are you doing in here?” he’s close and barking down on me now. I’m all cool now, dock guards got nothing and I dare him to start something, pretty sure if it goes down I got this. “I said, what are you doing here?”

“Waiting for my buddy,”

“Where’s he?”

“In that stall over there.” – I motion to the stall.

“What’s he doing in there?” He barks some more.

“Taking a shit.”

“So what are you doing then?” He’s getting frustrated.

“Waiting for him to get done taking his shit.” I say and guard number two is at JR’s stall. The door open. “No problem here bro,” JR puts his hands up and pushes past. Guard two’s in the stall checking for damage. Except for skid marks there isn’t any, so I’m back on my feet. “What’s that banging?” we laugh and mock them back and forth as we leave the bathroom.

Outside our French girls are perched on the dock rail waiting for us and at least a little impressed that we were causing a ruckus with the guards.

I lean against the rail and she slides down and leans next to me, pulls out a metal cigarette case, takes one out then offers me one. I don’t smoke, never have, but I accept and offer to light. The guards are out now, crackling on the radios. They’re glaring, know we don’t belong here but the girls do and they know they can’t touch us now.

And there’s that French cooing in my ear again, she’s pressed up tight. I can’t understand a single word but I know exactly what she’s saying. As the guards glare from the shadows we stroll down the dock and disappear into the night. C

Over the years at the Wenatchee Valley Museum, there have been some odd and strange things that have been donated to the collection. While some get displayed on exhibit, the majority of our collection is housed in our archives for historical preservation. For example, our prehistoric ground sloth fragments that use to be on display but now sit in a collection’s preservation room behind locked doors.

In July of 1998, the skull of a female prehistoric ground sloth was accidentally discovered on a farm in the Ancient Lakes area west of Quincy and east of the Columbia River. The animal was identified as a Megalonyx Jeffersoni Sloth (Lady Jeffery as we like to call her) by archaeologists and was radio-carbon dated to 12,000-14,000 years old. She was about the size of a large grizzly bear and was a browsing animal of the Pleistocene taiga/tundra environment.

LADY JEFFERY

Curated and written by Anna SpencerCollections Coordinator at Wenatchee Valley Museum And Cultural Center wenatcheevalleymuseum.org

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022 AT 8 PM – 9:30 PM Tipsy Talk: Trans-cending the Binary Bushel & Bee Taproom

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022 AT 5 PM – 7 PM Bowl With Pride Eastmont Lanes

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022 AT 7 PM – 9 PM Mama Mags Band @ LOGE Leavenworth

LOGE Camps

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022 AT 9 PM Mister Blank, Past Tense of Draw, One Solution

Wally’s House of Booze

SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2022 AT 8:30 PM The Toasters, The Kings and Not All There

Wally’s House of Booze

SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2022 AT 8 PM – 9:30 PM “Summer Kickoff” Comedy Show

w/ Gabriel Rutledge Sigillo Cellars Chelan

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2022 AT 7 PM – 8:30 PM “Summer Kickoff” Comedy Show

w/ Gabriel Rutledge Sigillo Cellars Chelan

Wanna plug your kickass event? Send it our way at thecometmagazine@gmail.com

ARTBEAT

“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”

Stacia Tauscher, dancer and artist

Hello, you cellular symphonies, humming around in harmony and discord!

Have you heard? The Comet will have a centerfold pull-out - 80% guaranteed to be effective 100% of the time! That’s right, starting in July, the Art Beat will be printed to stand separately as a mini mag with a featured show and commentary, First Friday Artwalk map, and opportunity highlights for the month. The NCW Arts Alliance is helping to put this together and invites you to sign up for their newsletter to get the full list of events, opportunities, and arts advocacy happening throughout the month.

We’re moving into a new phase of growth that will benefit the creative networks in our area and support art where it starts!

Please reach out if you are curious about the NCW Arts Alliance, have news & skills to share or with any requests: Email us at arts@ncwarts

FIRST FRIDAY

Collapse Gallery - It’s a THREE - FER! Tiffany Patterson (Spokane), Joseph Brooks (Tacoma), Ryan Harris (Coos Bay, Or), 4-9pm

Mela Coffee Roasters - Carma Arington, 4-8pm

Lemolo Cafe -Dan McConnell, and live music with Seth Garrido, 6-8pm

Ye Olde Bookshoppe - Yeti Chocolates, Tarot by Sage, 5-8pm

Tumbleweed -Heirloom Designs from Shelby Jo Campbell, 4-7pm

Pickle Papers - Charcoal & oil originals and prints by Sammy Vincent, 4-7pm

Two Rivers Art Gallery - Rebecca Bassett with live music by Patric Thompson & Glen Isaacson, 5-8pm

MAC Gallery - Lead Pencil Studio: Shadow Aperture, 5-7pm

Wenatchee Valley Museum - Timothy Connor photography, Sharon Sternes on Pipe organ, starting at 7pm

Class with a Glass - Live music with Rylei Franks, student works on display, 5:30-7:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS

1 - Life Drawing Session at Collapse Gallery, 5:30-7:30

2,3,4 - Blythe Spirit: PAC theater, 7:30pm, June 4th matinee at 2pm

4 - Kittitas Co. Studio Tour: Ellensburg, Thorp, Kittitas. Info: Gallery One

12 - Cultural Futures: Arts Wa (Wa Arts Commission) PAC theater hosts this information session about new funding and opportunities, 1:00pm

15 - Life Drawing Session at Collapse Gallery, 5:30-7:30

17 - A Dragtastic Event: Wenatchee Valley Museum , 8-10pm

22 - LitFuse Poets Unite!: Tieton Arts Featured reader & open mic series, 7-9pm, Tieton WA

23-26 - Killer Joe: At Riverside Theater, Wenatchee. Over 18 only, 7:30pm. Tickets through PAC theater

29- Life Drawing Session at Collapse Gallery, 5:30-7:30

OPPORTUNITIES & DEADLINES

5 - PUNCH projects’ Barnstorm 2022, exhibition and optional residency!! PUNCH projects

9 - 10X10X10XTIETON Call for entries deadline!!, Tieton Arts

12 - Cultural Futures: Arts Wa (Wa Arts Commission) PAC theater hosts this information session about new funding and opportunities, 1:00pm

SCAN QR CODE TO SIGN UP FOR THE NCW ARTS NEWSLETTER

~

ARTS-CENTERED RESOURCES, OPPORTUNITIES AND EVENTS IN NCW

BY LINDSAY BREIDENTHAL

Joseph Brooks (Collapse Gallery)

Dear Moxie Rose,

How do I bring up needing more foreplay to my partner without criticizing him?

-B.

Hi B.

The wording of this question is interesting to me because when I think of “criticizing” I think of pointing out a perceived wrongdoing, or somewhere where you believe they are falling short, but offering no sort of feedback to help them understand. But the existence of your question shows that you have an interest in that sort of open communication with your partner.

So let me ask you this:

Do you think that the way you bring things up to your partner comes across as criticizing or has your partner been so unreceptive to feedback that they are unable to tell the difference between feedback and criticism?

It’s an important distinction and one that can sometimes make this question hard to answer. Because I don’t know your partner, or you, or what it looks like when you have tried to bring up things like this previously. Now, there is obviously a tonal element to this - you don’t want to just bark at somebody about all the things they are doing wrong (this is about helping each other be better and getting more out of intimacy, not about highlighting their shortcomings).

But if your partner seems to receive any sort of feedback as a form of criticism, likely making them defensive (may even bruise their ego a little bit) – it’s always helpful to remind them that everyone had to learn these things at some point. Nobody has ever just been naturally gifted at all aspects of intimacy, with no prior experience or practice or “hands-on learning” if you will. Wether by feedback or just by watching your partner’s body language during sex, we all learned in one way or another things that worked and things that didn’t. In the case of your partner wanting to give you any sort of feedback, or asking for something specifically, they are quite literally taking the guesswork out of that learning expe-

rience. Most everyone has heard at one point or another that foreplay is an important part of building towards sexual activity. Especially for those with a vagina, as foreplay is necessary for the vaginal canal to lengthen (to accommodate something being inserted in there), it helps with the release of oxytocin (which is instrumental in helping your pelvic floor relax in order to make intimacy more comfortable and pleasurable), and for natural lubrication to kickstart. But not everyone is aware that in order for all of those things to be in full swing, you are looking at anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes of foreplay. Having a talk with your partner about why foreplay is not only fun for you, but can be out right necessary, is definitely a good place to start.

You’re worried about your partner thinking you’re criticizing them… But is your partner worried about the fact that you feel like you can’t give any feedback or ask for anything specific, when it comes to your intimate lives?

of the brain. Those wrinkles are called sulci, and the areas that look like noodles (between the wrinkles) are called gyri. Everybody’s noodle patterns are different (like a fingerprint), but there are certain structures that are uniform across all people. The somatosensory cortex is one of those structures. It’s the main part of your brain that feels physical touch.

Just in case you weren’t feeling lucky enough to just be on your period, you likely will have to deal with constipation… Or the complete and total opposite. And depending on which issue you were dealing with, the culprit can be your progesterone levels or your prostaglandins levels.

Just before your period begins, your body begins to produce more prostaglandinswhich Is what helps stimulate the smooth muscles throughout the uterus in order for it to contract (period cramps), so it can shed its current lining to make way for the new one. This is also why higher levels of prostaglandins can make period cramps worse (higher levels are also the usual cause of period related headaches and Nausea).

This answer can vary a little bit depending on where (globally) you ask this question, how you ask this question when surveying, as well as people’s understanding of fetishes versus kinks (and how that may affect answers). But in general, a foot fetish is considered the most common fetish. To take this a step farther: there is (supposedly) a scientific reason for this!

I say “supposedly” because the full depth of human sexuality is one we are just beginning to scratch the surface on, as far as research goes. So of the studies that have looked into kinks/fetishes/human sexuality and its correlation to the human brain, this is the most conclusive evidence we have. And it all has to do with a part of the brain known as the Somatosensory Homunculus (the sensory map of your brain in your body). Think of it this way: we’re all familiar with the “wrinkles“ that you can see throughout the surface

If you look at a map of the Somatosensory Homunculus, you’ll notice that the feet are immediately adjacent to the genitals. So even though your feet are at one end of your actual body and your genitals are in the middle, as far as your brain is concerned, they’re right next to each other. This close proximity makes it incredibly easy for your brains wires to get crossed, leading to foot fetishes to be one of, if not the, most common fetish.

If you are somebody who happens to produce a much higher amount of prostaglandins, which is incredibly common, the excess will be absorbed into your bloodstream. Once it is absorbed into your bloodstream, it will travel throughout your body Where it will stimulate other smooth muscles to contract as well. Where else can you find the same type of smooth muscles? Your bowels.

Dear Moxie Rose, I know this isn’t exactly sex related and it’s kind of embarrassing to ask but is there a reason why (to put it gently) my trips to the bathroom become much more frequent when I’m on my period? -H.

Hi H.,

Oh the “period shits.” I wish there was a nicer way to put that. And while it may sound gross, maybe even laughable, that phrase will strike a nerve with anyone who has ever had to live with getting periods. But in the interest of anatomy lessons and good old fashion science, let’s explain this one.

This is not helped at all by how our gut responds to a lot of the “junk food” items we crave during our period. Which brings us to progesterone. Progesterone is responsible for many things, but one of those would be the cravings you get during your period. In addition, if you have high levels of progesterone but low levels of prostaglandins, you end up with period related constipation.

Moxie Rose:

(sex and kink advice/education) from For The Love Of It in Wenatchee, WA.

The information provided in this column is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice.

Questions or comments: dearmoxierose@gmail.com c

Dear Moxie Rose, What is the most common fetish?

PHOTO BY ANDREW GUZMAN

A NEW THEATER COMPANY BRINGS A GRITTY TALE TO THE LOCAL STAGE

We here at The Comet always get excited when we see a new creative entity step out into the limelight. We also get excited when we see the words “for mature audiences only,” and when they happen at the same timewell… we just have to see about it.

A new local production company, Speakeasy Theatre, will be taking its inaugural step onto the stage with a performance of Tracy Lett’s dark and explicit play, Killer Joe. The show premieres June 23rd at The Riverside Playhouse in Wenatchee. If sex, violence, nudity and twisted humor attracts you more than it repels - you will want to find yourself in the theater for this show.

Speakeasy founder Jared Morgan is certainly not new to the local theater scene. “I acted in half a dozen shows with Sherry Schreck at WVC in the early 2000s. That’s when I caught the bug. I went on to get

my BA in Theatre Arts at CWU (then had to get a real job, as one does). In the meantime I spent several years doing local shows in Wenatchee and Leavenworth. A traveling medical lab technician job pays the bills but theater’s been my raison d’etre since I was a teenager. I don’t have much time for theater these days so when I do, I go ham.”

That’s a fair statement considering the bold material Morgan chose for the company’s first production. I chatted with him to find out more about this intriguing new company and to seek clues for what we’re all in for as the lights dim on opening night for Killer Joe

First the annoying, cliche but always interesting to read about question - tell us about your influences - on stage or otherwise.

I would say Ives, Durang, Stoppard, Magnier, Beckett. I’m into philosophy deliv-

ered through absurd premises. Also, Tennessee Williams, Lynch, Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers, because I love to laugh at the dark and uncomfortable.

I rewatched the film version of Killer Joe (2011 - starring Matthew McConaughey in the title role) a few years ago. I had the same reaction as the first time I saw it. I felt a little nauseated. This time, however, I saw that it was based on a play. My reaction was “How on Earth do you put this on a stage?” The content is so graphic and so disturbing. I couldn’t picture how one could make it palatable without having the solid fourth wall of a screen to give some separation between the audience and the actors. I bought a copy of the script and became obsessed with that puzzle. It’s technically a dark comedy with incredibly funny parts but sometimes the jokes are happening concurrently with violence that could haunt a person’s dreams. Do you tone down the violence to give the audi-

ence a smoother ride or do you lean into it and really put them through the ringer? I think in the end we made it just about as awful as possible.

Tell us about your new theater company, its inception and what kinds of productions you hope to unleash onto the unsuspecting public.

The content of Killer Joe was the impetus for starting my own company. The author has referred to the play as “X-rated” and indeed, you must be 18+ to attend our production. Knowing the graphic nature of the material I was confident I wouldn’t be able to convince any local theater groups to put it on, so I had to figure out how to do it myself. The result: the inception of Speakeasy Theatre. The company is still in its infancy, but we’re hoping in the future that it can help fulfill the same need that Killer Joe experienced and be surrogate to other shows that might fall outside the norm for Wenatchee theater.

Who is involved with the group? And will you have a home-base theater for your productions?

Speakeasy is really just me at this point. The business end of this whole process has been a learning experience for me. I had to learn about EINs, marketing, and licensing shows. Cynthia Brown is producing Joe and has been walking me through it all. She knows what she’s doing.

Once we have staged a successful production we’ll start looking into giving people official positions and titles. You know, flesh the organization out more. We have no theater to call our own. Music Theater of Wenatchee has been gracious enough to let us rent The Riverside Playhouse for our first endeavor.

Tell us a little about the story of Killer Joe and about your cast and crew. Killer Joe is about Chris, a self-pitying drug dealer in west Texas. When his stash goes missing he has to come up with some fast money before his criminal associates bump him off over his debts. Enter Joe Cooper: hitman for hire and Chris’s only hope to recoup his losses. When Joe takes an interest in Chris’s virginal sister he makes himself at home with Chris’s family until their relationship becomes strained.

I’m thrilled to be working again with Matthew Pippin (Joe Cooper) and Brian Higgins (Ansel Smith, Chris’s dad). This is my first project with Jane Standerford (Dottie Smith, Chris’s little sister), Shannon Jaynes (Sharla Smith, Chris’s stepmom), and the man himself, Caleb Seims (Chris Smith). The cast had instant chem-

istry. I think we all bonded pretty quickly over the uniqueness of the story and the challenges presented by the script.

So one decides to start their own theater group. How the hell does that work? Talk a little about the licensing, logistics and financials that go into something like this.

Currently, I’m paying for the whole thing out of pocket. Again, this show would be difficult to find investors for who want their name on a project like this. I’m not looking to turn a personal profit, though. As soon as I’m back in the black, the rest of the money goes to my actors.

Is there a dream project you have in mind - maybe further down the road?

Somewhere down the road I’d love to do Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead

That one has Marx Brothers level banter. It’s purely cerebral. Quite different from Joe. I dunno, maybe we could make them fight to the death with shovels or something.

Are you looking for others to get involved - if so, how can they reach you? Look us up on FB:/SpeakeasyWenatchee and Instagram: @speakeasy_theatre_productions.

Tickets are on sale now at The PAC at numericapac.showare.com or call 509-663-ARTS or drop by their box office.

Cast pictured left to right: Jane Standerford, Brian Higgins, Matthew Pippin, Caleb Seims, Shannon Jaynes. C

THE FUNNY PAGES COMICS

AN ORIGINAL MAZE DRAWN BY JESSICADAWN.COM

DAD JOKES OF THE MONTH “MAINLY KNOWN FOR”

How many narcissists does it take to screw in a light bulb? One. The narcissist holds the light bulb while the rest of the world revolves around him.

ROBBERS

1) Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell, who is probably most recognizable as the farmer from Babe, made the news this week. James showed up to a Starbucks in NY City, read a prepared statement denouncing Starbucks up-charging customers for Vegan Milk, calling it harmful to the environment and discriminatory toward those who suffer lactose intolerance. He then proceeded to do this:

A) Dumped all the creamer containers onto the floor

B) Locked himself in the bathroom for four hours

C) Superglued himself to the counter

D) Tried to bring a live cow into the Starbucks

2) A 25 year old Georgia man took police on a high speed chase in August last year. He had stolen a vehicle to do this. What was interesting about this story is the vehicle he stole. What did he steal?

A) An ice cream truck

B) A parade float

C) A large fire truck

D) A hearse with a body in it

3) One of the following statements about Abraham Lincoln is true:

A) He was a gifted sculptor and you can still find pieces of his elaborate work at auction

B) He was in an open polyamorous relationship with his then fiance

C) Before he was into politics, he was a wrestler and only lost one match out of 300

D) He made plans to attend circus school as a backup in case politics didn’t work out

4) A tik tok video recently went viral of a young woman named Lex, who desperately wanted to share with her parents that she had been stripping for a while, and loved what she was doing. She decided to tell them in this way:

A) By presenting them with a powerpoint about it complete with a Frequently Asked Questions section

B) By getting the words “I am a stripper” tattooed onto her forearm

C) By popping out of a cake at her dads birthday party and doing her routine

D) By attending a pole dancing class with her mother, only to show her she was already an expert...

5) This musician was notorious for studying the dictionary for hours on end to write more intriguing lyrics for their songs:

A) Zac de la Roca

B) Eddie Money

C) Eminem

D) Blondie

Gemini season is here! PARTY!!! Summer approaches and with summer comes showing some skin and showing off all those sweet tats. Here are your signs as tattoo designs.

Aries - Your own name in old English. That’s how self-involved you are.

Taurus - Classic PNW plants and/or flowers. So earthy.

Gemini - Some form of sacred geometry because you’re just so learned and traveled and interesting.

Cancer - Lower back butterfly. You’s a basic B.

Leo - A lion obvi. It’s cliche and boring. Nothing like you...

Virgo - Don’t bother. You’ll just say you could have drawn it better.

Libra - Metal band style writing or a super tiny heart on your wrist - no in between.

Scorpio - The Chinese character for “hope” to remind your pessimistic ass to have a little occasionally.

Sagittarius - Song lyrics. (How embarrassing).

Capricorn - Face tattoo, straight up. Bold and lacking impulse control.

Aquarius - Between the boobs tattoo. Oh, you’re so quirky! (Let’s be honest though, this is just the new low back tattoo).

Pisces - An anchor because you refuse to sink or some stupid reason like that.

ANSWERS: 1 - C) Superglued himself to the counter. 2- D) A hearse with a body in it. AND

IT FELL OUT during the chase! 3 - C) He was a wrestler and only lost one match out of 300.

4 - A) By presenting them with a powerpoint. 5 - C) Eminem