Tucson Weekly 02/02/2023

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ADMINISTRATION

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EDITORIAL

Christina Fuoco-Karasinski, Executive Editor, christina@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Hope Peters, Staff Reporter, hpeter@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Katya Mendoza, Staff Reporter, kmendoza@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Karen Schaffner, Staff Reporter, kschaffner@tucsonlocalmedia.com

Contributors: Rob Brezsny, Tom Danehy, Connor Dziawura, Veronica Kuffel, Laura Latzko, Andy Mosier, Dan Perkins, Linda Ray, Will Shortz, Jen Sorensen

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DANEHY

A COUNTRY LOSING ITS SOUL

By Tom Danehy Tucson Weekly Columnist

One of the enduring memories of my long-dead father was of him reading the Los Angeles Times newspaper every morning. (We actually couldn’t afford the newspaper, but thanks to a special deal with the Disabled Veterans of America, we got it for free.) He was a troubled man, nearly crippled by horrible injuries suffered in World War II and further diminished by lifelong addictions to smoke and drink. Still, having only a high-school education, he was a very smart man.

From the time I was little, he would have me read selected articles in the paper to help me develop a perspective on America and the world. I remember his being enthralled by the detailed dispatches coming out of the Middle East during the Six-Day War in 1967. Beset on all sides, Israel, in less than a week, quadrupled in area, seized the holy city

of Jerusalem, and demonstrated its military superiority to the entire world. (For history buffs, I highly recommend the book “Six Days of War: 1967 And the Making of the Modern Middle East.”)

In the first few hours of the war, Israel completely wiped out the entire Egyptian Air Force, destroying nearly 500 planes, most of them on the ground. It was undeniably clear: Israel was a badass, a tiny country surrounded by haters but blessed with a populace that had a collective laser focus on surviving. They couldn’t say things like “You can’t win ‘em all.” They had to win ‘em all or there would be no Israel.

I remember a joke that was going around then. A young Israeli man asked a woman if she would like to go on a date and have dinner that night. The woman said, “We can’t go on a date! There’s a war on.”

The man said, “Well, how about to-

morrow night?”

At the time, I was years away from being drafted, but still troubled by America’s involvement in the quagmire in Southeast Asia. I was at the age where everything was black or white, right or wrong. Israel showed me that there was such a thing as a just war. Six years later, after being caught off-guard in what would be known as the Yom Kippur War, Israel devised and implemented a brilliant strategy akin to a chess master trading queens and basically starved the Egyptian Army into submission.

Israel was to be admired, to be respected, to be prayed for. That Israel, I fear, is in danger of blinking out of existence.

In recent years, the United States and then Brazil both veered off course with a substantial portion (but never a majority) of their respective populations being lured by the false sense of security being offered by slick-talking autocrats. The fever has broken in the Americas, but for some ungodly reason, Israel has chosen to barrel full-speed down a oneway, dead-end street.

Using the always-messy Parliamentary system of government, Israel elected (again with a decided minority) their own Trumpian nightmare, Benjamin Netanyahu. But because his party, Likud, didn’t have enough seats in the

Knesset to form a majority, he had to sell his grimy speck of a soul to members of parties that are even more crackpot right-wing than his own. He probably felt that he had to because he is facing criminal charges that, if he were convicted, would likely result in his spending the rest of his pathetic life in prison. Netanyahu wants to destroy the entire judicial system of Israel just so that the criminal case(s) against him cannot proceed. In order for that to happen, he has made deals with people who are now part of his government and want to:

• Make it a crime to be gay;

• Make it illegal for men and women to swim at the same time at public swimming areas;

• See to it that anything passed by the 61-59 coalition majority in the Knesset becomes law and cannot be appealed to whatever is left of the judiciary.

For the crazy ideas to become law, they must first eviscerate the judiciary so that their crackpot “laws” can’t be challenged. The Netanyahu government is planning on doing that very thing, perhaps as early as April. This has sparked massive protests throughout the country (more than 100,000 people

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GALLEGO LAUNCHES SENATE 2024 CAMPAIGN IN TUCSON

By Veronica Kuffel Tucson Weekly Contributing Writer

Rep. Ruben Gallego kicked off his campaign for senate with a launch event at Hotel Congress, gathering support for his race against incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Amid controversy over her party switch from Democrat to independent, Gallego’s campaign took aim at her “lack of consistency” with everyday Arizonans.

“The problem with Kyrsten Sinema is not that she left the Democratic party. It’s that she abandoned Arizona altogether,” Gallego said.

“She broke her promise to the people

of Arizona. She broke her bond with us.”

On Jan. 28, Tucson supporters gathered to hear his plan to bring what friend and fellow Marine Corps veteran John Bailon called, “trust and ferocity to the position.” The Democratic representative said he was using both in his roles as state legislator and congressman, and potentially, as the chosen senator in next year’s election.

A line of speakers introduced the candidate, including State Rep. and the Rev. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton and Rep. Raúl Grijalva.

“Much will be said on this campaign

about where you end up on the spectrum of political thought,” Grijalva said. “This isn’t about tacking in different directions. This is about consistency.

After a final note from Bailon, Gallego discussed his upbringing as the son of a single, immigrant mother. He detailed his time at Harvard University and with the Marines, polishing it off with his work and accomplishments on the House floor. Gallego also touched on the recent tragedy of Tyre Nichols and demanded justice against police brutality across the nation.

Additionally, the representative addressed his position on the Democratic

party’s dilemma with Sinema. Gallego was a supporter of the incumbent senator, lobbying door to door in Phoenix for her campaign in 2018.

With election year around the corner, Gallego said he will unveil the faults in Sinema’s time as an Arizona senator.

“The rich and the powerful do not need any more advocates in Washington, D.C.,” Gallego said. “If you’re spending more time meeting with the powerful than the powerless, you’re doing this job incorrectly.”

Sinema changed her affiliation from

SEE GALLEGO PAGE 7

took to the streets of Tel Aviv recently), with many fearing for their beloved country’s very existence.

Before I wrote this, I contacted a couple friends who happen to be Jewish. Both are members of the Diaspora and lifelong supporters of Israel. One of them I know through sports and I have no idea about his politics. When I asked him about what’s going on in Israel, he just shook his head and said, “It’s insane.”

The other, whom I have known for

decades and with whom I used to be quite friendly before he went Full Frontal Trump during The Madness, tossed me the throwaway line of “You’re not Jewish; you wouldn’t understand.”

Isaac Herzog is the president of Israel, a mostly ceremonial position. Just last week, he said ominously, “During the reigns of the House of David and the Hasmoneans, Jewish states were established in the land of Israel, and twice they collapsed before reaching their 80th anniversary.”

Israel is coming up on its 80th birthday in just a few years.

DANEHY FROM PAGE 4

REP. RUBEN GALLEGO, CENTER, MEETS WITH TUCSON SUPPORTERS AFTER HIS SPEECH ANNOUNCING HIS CANDIDACY FOR SENATE. (VERONICA KUFFEL/CONTRIBUTOR)

Democrat to independent last year, although she is still considered in the party’s 51-seat majority. Democrats were also frustrated with Sinema’s rejection of key issues in their agenda, although she made headway with legislation such as the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act.

Gallego commented on Sinema’s recent actions or lack thereof that have contributed to her low approval rating. The senator voted down the $15 minimum wage, protected tax loopholes that benefit the rich and supported the efforts of big pharmaceutical companies.

But the worst of her errors, Gallego said, is her disconnect with Arizonans.

“We don’t know what she’s thinking. We don’t know her motivations,” Gallego said. “She won’t talk to Arizonans. She hasn’t held one town hall in three years.”

Comparatively, Gallego has worked in Arizona legislation for almost 13 years. He started as a member of Arizona’s House of Representatives in

2010 and became the assistant minority leader. Gallego was then elected as a Democrat representative in Congress and has held the position since 2015. In his seat, he’s worked with committees like the House Natural Resources Committee and House Committee on Veterans Affairs to consistently further the Democratic party’s agenda. Gallego highlighted one of his major victories of securing in-state tuition for Arizona veterans.

Gallego has also worked as a vice chair of the LGBT Caucus and a former chairman of the Subcommittee of Indigenous peoples, citing full support for the minorities of Arizona and the United States.

“When I was growing up, as bad as things were, I always felt like I had opportunity,” Gallego said. “Now, people feel like the American dream is slipping away from them. People aren’t working to get ahead—they’re working just to survive.”

Gallego is the only politician thus far to announce his race, and even the Republican party has yet to present a candidate for the Senate.

CURRENTS

TUCSON’S ONLY WILDLIFE REHAB CENTER HOSTS 11TH FUNDRAISER

By Hope Peters Tucson Weekly Staff

As Tucson Wildlife Center’s development coordinator, Hubert Parker says he feels blessed.

He is grateful for the community, which covers Tucson Wildlife Center’s $900,000 annual operating costs through grants, donations and fundraisers.

“We are blessed with good support around us,” Parker said. “It says a lot about the heart of this town.”

The nonprofit will once again rely on the community to help as it hosts its 11th annual fundraiser Sunday, March 12, at the Westin LA Paloma. It begins with cocktails and a silent auction at 4:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m., followed by a live auction.

The live auction lists trips to the Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field Rooftop Experience; a day with a K-9 unit; a private dinner for 12 prepared by Tucson’s renowned chef Janos Wilder; two tickets and accommodations for the Country Music Awards and a personal tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame; and the naming opportunity for the center’s orphaned bobcat facility.

Silent auction items include outstanding art, jewelry and gift certificates.

Tickets are $225 at tucsonwildlife.com. The benefit contributes approximately 35% to the funds needed to maintain the wildlife center.

The Tucson Wildlife Center, which rescues injured and orphaned wild animals, receives no state or federal aid and relies on grants, donations and monies raised at its fundraising events.

Most other wildlife rehabilitation centers in Southern Arizona have closed their doors, leaving the 25-year-old Tucson Wildlife Center as the area’s only full-service hospital and rehabilitation center.

“We are the only one and people be-

lieve in it,” Parker said. “We run on donations and some grants. We are financially sound.”

Lisa Bates and Peter Lininger founded Tucson Wildlife Center in 1998 on 3 acres of land near her home. Now it sits on 15 acres on Speedway Boulevard, about 3.5 miles east of Houghton Road.

“She didn’t have an idea she would be opening up a center like this,” said board

secretary Jack Herring. “She had two injured racoons and went around to different vets, and none of the vets would take wildlife…that’s when she realized there was a real need for the larger (wildlife) mammals, for someone to take care of them when they’re injured.”

Parker said it costs about $2,000 a day to run and someone is always on call.

With 20 employees and 40 to 50 volunteers, the center has a hospital, triage and surgery room. Of those workers, eight are veterinarians who donate their time and services.

“They come here, or we go to them, depending on what the situation is,” Herring said about the vets. “We have some who come in and do surgery here, some just come in and inspect the animals, and do immediate triaging sometimes.”

The triage area is the first stop for a

HUBERT PARKER, LEFT, DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR FOR TUCSON WILDLIFE CENTER, AND BOARD SECRETARY JACK HERRING DISCUSS THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. (HOPE PETERS/STAFF)

wild animal who has been rescued or found. One such wild animal, a baby javelina, was brought in recently to triage. Once triaged and treated, animals are placed into enclosed rooms in the hospital for observation and care. Once the animals are on the mend, they move out to the various outside buildings, pens, and cages on the grounds.

Herring, who has been with the wildlife center for eight years, said animals must be sick, injured or orphaned to receive care.

“But anything else in the Sonoran Desert wildlife, they pass through here,” Herring said. “From a horned toad to coyotes to bobcats to javelina.”

Tucson Wildlife Center cared for more than 5,000 animals in 2020, but it averages 4,000 to 5,000 animals a year. The most treated wildlife includes hawks, vultures, great horned and barn owls.

“But in sheer numbers, it’s probably dove and quail in the summer,” said Parker, who has been with the center for about two years. “The quails come in orphaned a lot.”

It does not take in deer, mountain lions or bears. They are treated by Arizona Game and Fish, Herring said.

Depending on the animal’s injuries, Herring said it could take several weeks, at least, for it to be rehabilitated and released to its natural habitat.

“It just depends. It could be like if a hawk or an owl has a wing injury,” Parker said. “You have to wait then for them to molt and get new feathers…it could be six months.”

Tucson Wildlife Center also has a foster program for animals who cannot be released back to the wild.

“We are a Global Federation of Animals Sanctuaries (facility) …we are the only one of those recognized in Arizona,” Parker said.

A foster mother is caring for bobcat babies, Parker said of its current residents.

The public is asked to call the Tucson Wildlife Center at 520-290-WILD (9453) if they find an animal that is sick, starving, injured or in need of rescue.

Winter is the facility’s slow time, as not many animals are brought in for treatment. The spring and early summer months are its busiest time, attracting 180 to 190 volunteers. Many are college students who intern or volunteer for credit.

“We are not the Desert Museum…we don’t have crowds.” Parker said. “Our whole goal is to release them back to the wild…that’s how we judge our success.”

Tucson Wildlife Center Fundraiser

WHEN: 4:30 p.m. cocktails and silent auction; 6:30 p.m. dinner followed by live auction on Sunday, March 12

WHERE: The Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Drive, Tucson COST: $225

INFO: 520-290-WILD (9453), tucsonwildlife.com

A NEWBORN JAVELINA WAS TRIAGED JAN. 20.

SENIOR PRIDE TOUR:

“CECILIA VICUÑA: SONORAN QUIPU”

MOCA and Southern Arizona Senior Pride host a free tour of the museum’s new exhibit, “Cecilia Vicuña: Sonoran Quipu,” featuring abstract interpretations of 3D space defying lines by interacting with frayed edges of fiber. The tour also includes the popular continuing exhibits, “Kenneth Tam: Silent Spikes” and “Plein Air.” MOCA Education Manager Harrison Orr will be the guide. 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), 265 S. Church Avenue, moca-tucson.org, free, registration required

“HAND PUPPETS FOR THE STAGE:” WORKSHOP FOR AGES 8 TO 18

Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre Company presents a workshop series to introduce young imaginations to materials and techniques for creating creatures large and small. The group also will compose a script, create a score and learn to voice their creations. Taught by Lisa Sturz of Red Herring puppets, the course runs from Feb. 11 to March 25 and concludes in a performance. Sturz is a career puppet master, having worked with Walt Disney Imagineering, Jim Henson, PBS and Lucasfilm.

10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Saturdays, Feb. 11 through March 25, The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Avenue, Suite 131, scoundrelandscamp.org, $180 plus $15 materials fee

44TH ANNUAL AJO OLD TIME FIDDLERS SHOW AND CONTEST

Road trip! There will be jamming, dancing, food, contests, a gospel sing and lots of shared fun in Ajo this weekend. Make it a day trip or take your RV, but by all means take your fiddle. If you don’t play a fiddle a mandolin will probably do fine, but why not just take any acoustic string instrument? You might even get away with a wooden drum or hand-held percussion. This music will be more righteous hillbilly than hippie hill, but if jam is your jam, see info below on the Gem & Jam Festival.

7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, to Sunday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. fiddle show and dance, days and times for other activities vary, Ajo Golf Course, 77 Mead Road, Ajo, ajochamber.com, $8 for show and dance, $8 entry fee, dry RV parking available for a fee

by Linda Ray

AND THEY’RE OFF!

Quarter horse racing is back for another season where it started, at the 80-year-old Rillito Park Racetrack. Opened in 1943, Rillito Racetrack is considered the birthplace of modern, formalized quarter horse racing. It was also home to the innovations of chutes and photo finishes. Find the details at rillitoparkfoundation.org/history. Find the ponies at the track, from now through April 2. 11 a.m. admission, 1 p.m. post time, every Saturday and Sunday from Saturday, Feb. 4, to Sunday, April 2, Rillito Park Racetrack, 4502 N. First Avenue, rillitoracetrack.com, $6, $5 parking

“THE HAPPY SHOW”

Oracle’s “Art Ranch,” the Triangle L Ranch, has for decades made space for art that doesn’t fit in elsewhere. Their annual, “Glow” experience, for example, displays large-scale light sculptures. The Sculpture Park is a year-round attraction, and the Adobe Barn Gallery features a revolving selection of local artists. The current exhibit highlights work we almost never see. It’s a selection of art, in a range of media, intended to make us laugh, think silly things and, yes, be happy. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, Adobe Barn Gallery, Triangle L Ranch, 2805 N. Triangle L Ranch Road, Oracle, trianglelranch.com, free

“DANCES OF A PAINTED WARRIOR”

Presented by Amerind in Tucson, this special event features members of the Duncan family. Tony Duncan, a dancer and flautist, shares traditions from his heritage, San Carlos Apache and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Violet Duncan is Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation.

A former “Miss Indian World,” she writes children’s books representing native children. They’re published by Penguin. A champion hoop dancer, Tony Duncan has performed at The National Museum of the American Indian, the White House and The Tonight Show. The family’s performance tells stories of native warriors through both traditional and modern set to a wide range of music.

2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, foxtucson. com, $35

“THE GLASS MENAGERIE”

Family. It’s amazing that anyone writes plays about anything else. Or it’s amazing anyone has tried to write about families since Tennessee Williams’ sublime rendering of their complex dy-

stories. Chanel Bragg directs. Various times and days through Saturday, Feb. 11, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Avenue, atc.org, ticket prices start at $25

REGGAE SUNDAYS

After a four-year hiatus, Tucson’s only Jamaican Reggae night returns Sunday with music by DJ Jahmar and special guests. Get your dance on and make some new friends. You don’t want to be out of shape for the Steel Pulse concert coming to the Rialto Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 19.

9 p.m. Sundays starting Feb. 5, DLux Lounge, 1901 S. Fourth Avenue, free admission and weekly drink specials

15TH ANNUAL GEM & JAM FESTIVAL

Tie dye? Wear it if you got it. Pima County Fairgrounds will be chock-ablock with jam bands for days. Literally, three days. You may need reading glasses for the complete roster, but the only band that plays more than once is the one that tops the bill: String Cheese Incident, with The Floozies and emancipator. Besides music, there will be loads of food and craft vendors plus drumming sounds workshops and healing practitioners including acupuncture, yoga therapy, massage therapy and a Hanna Somatic educator.

Friday, Feb. 3 to Sunday, Feb. 5, Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road, gemandjamfestival. com, single-day tickets start at $75, car camping options are available at extra cost.

FST LIVE! THE RETURN OF FEMALE* STORYTELLERS (FST)

namics in “The Glass Menagerie.” Productions notes from Arizona Theatre Company promise original staging to amp up that tension and intimacy. It could give us a fresh perspective on how Williams changed the way we tell

“Swipe Left” is the theme, and Valentine’s Day (gone bad?) is the inspiration when FST returns to live performance in a new location, The Rock. Proceeds for this month’s event benefit the Women’s Foundation. Since 2012, FST has offered a way for female and female-identifying story tellers to share their voices. A new prompt is chosen each month and storytellers submit their 10- to 15-minute monologues two weeks ahead. The prompt for March is “If Only . . .” Find guidelines on the website.

7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, The Rock, 136 N. Park Avenue, fstorytellers.com, $10, age 21 and older

LAUGHING STOCK

TAKE A STAB AT WRITING A BROADWAY SONG

By Linda Ray Tucson Weekly Columnist

What if you wrote a Broadway hit song? A good song title would be a great start. Audience members for the improvised play, “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical” can suggest song titles to win a “Phony” in the show.

Dream up a fabulous, fanciful, family-friendly song title and drop it in the bowl as you enter the Fox Tucson Theatre lobby. Your song title could become a one-night-only, improvised-on-thespot, Broadway-worthy musical, including songs, sets and costumes. It’s magical, and you could be a winner.

“Really step out of your comfort zone and make it up,” said cast member Deb Rabbai, who is also a co-producer and co-artistic director of “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical.” “Our aim is to be enjoyable for all audiences,” she said. “We need the audience suggestions. Without you, we’re just us.”

Audience participation starts building from the moment the emcee walks onstage for an opening chat. With much fanfare, four of the audience’s title suggestions are drawn from the bowl. Inspired by each title, the cast improvises the title song, including music, lyrics and stylings. It’s all made up on the spot.

And the fun is just getting started.

“The conceit of the show is — you’re familiar with the Tony Awards? This is the Phony Awards,” Rabbai explained.

“The first half of the show is exactly like an award ceremony. We’re dressed in our finest gowns and tuxedos, and we present each nominated song. Obviously, it’s never really been nominated because it’s being made up on the spot.”

For each song, a different cast member creates a name for the Broadway musical in which it’s featured. Then they invent the whole story of the musical and, engaging other cast members, they improvise the scene in which that song appears. After each song and its context are revealed, the audience votes by applause to determine which song will win The Phony Award.

But, wait. Then, incredibly, according to Rabbai, “We go off stage for about 5 minutes just to change out of our formal wear. Then (the whole cast) comes back and we improvise that entire musical, from start to finish, including the winning song. We reprise that winning song!

“The very last thing we do is reprise the finale (of the whole musical), and we have the audience sing the chorus

along with us. Then we just wave at them as we walk off stage.’

There is one more thing, though. If you provide your email address, the company will send you a recording of the finale for the show you watched. Nowhere else will that song, or any of the music you have just seen, be performed again.

Now co-directing with fellow improv veteran Rob Schiffmann, Rabbai has been in the leadership of this iteration of “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical” for nearly 12 years, touring all over the world. Hard-to-impress New York Theater critics have piled praise on the show, which, when not on the road, makes its

home in NYC’s Tony Award-winning cabaret club, 54 Below.

Rabbai noted the advantages of travel for the company’s “theater of imagination.” “One of the wonderful things about an improv show, or at least ours, is we don’t have any sets that need to be constructed. We construct things using our words and imagination to help the audience see where we are. We can kind of be anywhere. We recently performed in a stadium that’s been used for bull riding, and we’ve performed in gorgeous old theaters.”

Rabbai was all but born to this work. She grew up in New York City, where al-

LIVE MUSIC CALENDAR

By Connor Dziawura Tucson Weekly

FEBRUARY 9

Pamela York

The Century Room, 7 p.m., $10-$15

FEBRUARY 10

Greg Morton and Jim Stanley

LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free

Mario Aguilar

Fox Tucson Theatre, 8:30 p.m., $35-$90

FEBRUARY 11

Heather Sullivan and Ivan Pecel

DesertView Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $30

Jason Hainesworth Quartet

The Century Room, 7 p.m., $20-$25

Lizzie No

Hotel Congress Plaza, 7:30 p.m., $20-$25

Matt Andersen

191 Toole, 8 p.m., $20

FEBRUARY 12

Los Esplifs

Club Congress, 8:30 p.m., $12-$15

Mik and the Funky Brunch

LaCo Tucson, 11 a.m., free

FEBRUARY 13

Century Room Jazz Orchestra

The Century Room, 7 p.m., $0-$10

J Boog

191 Toole, 8 p.m., $28

FEBRUARY 14

Bass Drum of Death

191 Toole, 8 p.m., $20

Caifanes

Rialto Theatre, 8 p.m., $65-$87

Liz Cracchiolo

The Century Room, 7 p.m., $25-$35

Miss Lana Rebel and Kevin Michael Mayfield

LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free

FEBRUARY 15

Bat Popular and The Cult of Chunk Club Congress, 8:30 p.m., $10

Dmitri Matheny

The Century Room, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $25-$35

Oscar Fuentes

LaCo Tucson, 5:30 p.m., free

Ultimate Chicago

DesertView Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $30

CLASS LIVE

MUSIC DIRTWIRE BRINGS THE WORLD OF MUSIC TO GEM & JAM

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Tucson Weekly Staff

Mark Reveley expects big things at the 15th annual Gem & Jam Festival.

As Dirtwire, he, David Satori and Evan Fraser are bringing new music and video elements to the Pima County Fairground. The festival runs Friday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, Feb. 5, with Dirtwire hitting the stage Sunday, Feb. 5, just before friends, The String Cheese Incident.

“We’re going to have some improv, just mixing it up,” Reveley said. Dirtwire blends traditional instrumentation with modern technology, which they call a mix of ethnomusicol-

ogy and the psychedelic trance state.

The sound is informed by Dirtwire’s travels and performances around the globe. From the favelas in Brazil, Femi Kuti’s Shrine in Lagos, Tokyo’s bluegrass clubs, Ayahuasca ceremonies in Central America, Gamelan performances in Bali, desert festivals in the Australian Outback, and the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s modernized new capital Astana, the band spreads its message by building bridges across musical cultures.

The trio plays an array of instruments ancient and modern, including West African kamale ngonis, jaw harps, space

fiddles, whamola basses, Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitars, bowed banjos and mouth harps from around the globe, all interwoven into modern laptop beat creation.

Dirtwire considers itself at the forefront of experimental electronic music production mixing in their wide array of world instruments with sampled beats and 808s.

The crisscrossing genres attracts a variety of folks to their shows, Fraser said.

“That’s been cool,” he said. “Sometimes there will be a kid in the audience and I wonder how they got in there. I’m glad they’re in the front row enjoying it, don’t get me wrong.

ments of the band — electronic music, blues, country and world music,” he said. “We mashed those up at an early point and kept working together in various guises in different bands and learned how to combine those three things.”

Reveley said he feels the band is very influenced by the Southwest in a lot of ways.

“We grew up on the west coast,” he said. “For us, in some ways, the west represents the frontier for a lot of people. The southwest represents the frontier to us. I’m from the northwest. It’s (the southwest) an exotic part of our own backyard. It’s been a lot of fun for us to discover it and make connections there.”

The songwriting process is simple. They start with a beat, lyric or riff and expand on that, according to Fraser.

“We have a loop that gets it started and we start adding things to support that idea,” he said. “We pass it back and forth. It unfolds as we follow our inspiration.”

“Their mom must have figured out how to get him in there. We’re drawing so much on music from my parents’ generation—old blues stuff. Mark’s done cool music research into delta blues and that stuff comes out in our production. Genre-wise, we’re all over the map— same with different eras. That’s definitely part of the fun. We love showing how the music is made and the instruments we’re using. There are a lot of interesting instruments we’ve collected. We have to figure out how to travel with them.”

The three musicians met at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, where they studied world music in various forms.

“We were exposed to the core ele-

Gem & Jam

WHEN: Various times Friday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, Feb. 5

WHERE: Pima County Fairgrounds, 11300 S. Houghton Road, Tucson

COST: Tickets start at $75 INFO: gemandjamfestival.com

DIRTWIRE PERFORMS SUNDAY, FEB. 5, JUST BEFORE THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT’S TWO SETS ON SUNDAY FEB. 5. (DIRTWIRE/SUBMITTED)

ARTS

BIALAC COLLECTION SHARES NATIVE LIFESTYLES

By Laura Latzko Tucson Weekly Contributor

James T. Bialac collected indigenous artwork throughout his life, and now the Tucson Museum of Art is sharing his pieces. Running through Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, “Enduring Legacies: The James T. Bialac Indigenous Art Collection” features paintings and works on paper from indigenous artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Several vibrantly colored yarn paintings in his collection were created by artists from the Huichol community. The pieces of art give further insight into the cultural traditions, histories, everyday experiences and artistic styles of regional artists from Arizona and other parts of the Southwest.

Tribal groups from Arizona, including the Hopi, Tohono O’odham and the Pascua Yaqui, are represented in the exhibit.

Christine Brindza, senior curator/ Glasser curator of Art of the American West, said the title of the exhibition “Enduring Legacies” has several meanings.

“It’s the enduring legacies of these artists and the communities they come from, but it’s also the enduring legacies of him and his collection,” Brindza said.

“Bialac is woven throughout, but it’s not singularly on him. It’s looking at the artists and what they created.”

The exhibit fits in with the museum’s larger focus of highlighting diverse artists and cultures.

“It has been something we have been working on for the past few years through our IDEA Plan, which is our inclusion, diversity, equity and access plan, where we are trying to diversify our shows and our collections,” she said.

“We are trying to look at our communities more broadly and make sure that we have something for everyone.”

got to know artists on a personal level.

“He was a very prolific collector over 70 years,” Brindza said.

“He was a lawyer who lived in Scottsdale and really made it his life’s work to collect Native art and bring more attention to it, support these artists and be friends with them. We had all of these things in mind as we are putting this show together. It’s a lot about relationships, friendships, the way that collectors and artists are with one another, a lot of these underlying themes.”

The museum recently received Bialac’s collection of around 400 works. The exhibit will be the debut of a portion of the collection.

“He helped to really double the indigenous arts collection that we have. Over the past few years, that has been a larger priority for TMA is to look at our holdings of indigenous art,” Brindza said. Brindza said there are plans to use other pieces from his collection in future exhibitions and in the museum’s rotation.

As a collector, Bialac often

Bialac also represented artists as a lawyer. The exhibit also looks at the relationships between the artists. Two of the artists featured in the exhibition— mother Pablita Velarde and daughter Helen Hardin—were adversaries in the art world, even though they shared a similar family legacy and artistic traditions.

There are also cousins and sisters and brothers in the show.

The exhibition spotlights prominent Native American artists, including expressionist painter Fritz Scholder.

Museum staff worked with a committee of indigenous scholars, who helped choose the exhibit’s pieces and themes.

“This wasn’t just one single curator deciding. It was a collaborative effort,” Brindza said.

“We did it last year for the opening of our indigenous arts gallery. We are building on what we are learning from

DAVID BRADLEY (B. 1954), CHIPPEWA, “ANOTHER MINNESOTA FOLK LEGEND,” 1987, OIL ON CANVAS. 25 X 20 IN.

(ABOVE) HYRUM JOE (B.1980), DINÉ, TITLE UNKNOWN, OIL ON CANVAS. 17 X 20 IN. (COLLECTION OF THE TUCSON MUSEUM OF ART. GIFT OF JAMES T. BIALAC) (BELOW) STEPHEN MOPOPE (1898-1974), KIOWA, “BUFFALO DANCER,” WATERCOLOR. 16 X 11.5 IN.

MUSIC LE TREBUCHET PLAYS BEYOND ROCK’S BORDERS

By Laura Latzko Tucson Weekly Contributor

The Flagstaff group Le Trebuchet calls its music “cage-free rock ‘n’ roll.”

Each member brings his own influences and styles, leading to its varied sound. Le Trebuchet will perform at Club Congress — along with Ultraviolet Communication, Lady Captain and Rolling Dusk — on Friday, Feb. 3.

Established in 2012, the group features guitarists Jeff Nickell and Jay Meyer, bass player Alec Tippett and drummer Alec Mayes. All four serve as singers. Nickell and Meyer, a Bisbee-based biologist, met through a mutual friend while busking in Flagstaff. Mayes and Tippett — who live in Durango, Colorado, and Flagstaff, respectively — joined in 2015.

“We all do bring different things to the table. That makes us unique and able to keep going. It’s the sum of all of our parts is greater than us individually,” said Nickell, a Flagstaff resident who works as a river guide.

The Club Congress performance is part of a release tour supporting the group’s new EP “Without Warning,” which hits stores in April. It was recorded following a tour right before the height of COVID-19.

“We had honed those songs on that tour in a lot of ways and recorded them at the end,” Meyer said.

A week after the show in Tucson, the group is going to Jerome, where they will record six to eight songs.

Prior to the EP release, the group has been putting out singles. In January, they released the song “Highway,” which was written about one of Meyer’s former bands.

“Things got pretty rough, and I decided to leave, which was a hard decision to make and a hard decision to settle with afterward,” he said.

“It was a big time in my life. I put a lot

of energy into making that tour happen, and it just didn’t go that well. It was just realizing how fragile and how difficult it is, why it’s so rare that good bands stay together.”

Live, the song “Highway” is generally paired with “Proper Home” and “Out to the Country.”

“They are all in the same key, and they just fit together well,” Nickell said.

FLAGSTAFF GROUP LE TREBUCHET HEADLINES THE FRIDAY, FEB. 3 SHOW AT CLUB CONGRESS. (LE TREBUCHET/SUBMITTED)

Nickell and Meyer share songwriting duties, although the whole band collaborates on the arrangements.

“It will usually be one of us who writes the songs,” Nickell said.

“When we get together, we will present it to the band. It will be in a real basic form, and once we start playing, everyone has different ideas for it.”

As a songwriter, Meyer tends to write about women and his experiences on the road, while Nickell’s songs focus on traveling, women and psychedelic subject matter.

Sometimes Nickell will write while he is out on the river. Meyer said the songs he and Nickell write often have varying sounds.

“His and my writing styles are fairly different,” Meyer said. “Mine is more mellow and has big dynamic contrasts a lot of the time, and Jeff will write really chordy songs with lots of different parts, whereas mine are simpler.”

With its music, the group spans rock genres. Meyer describes the song “Stonehouse,” which is on their new EP, as having a George Thorogood vibe.

Their new song “Little White Collared Crimes,” which will be recorded in Jerome, is reminiscent of The Who and Huey Lewis and the News.

During the upcoming Tucson perfor-

mance, the group will perform a variety of songs from the “Without Warning” and the batch they’ll record in Jerome.

For one song called “Damn Ass,” which has a Weezer-inspired sound, Nickell improvises the lyrics based on audience suggestions. The name of the song was inspired by a video of two skater kids.

Meyer said that this song highlights the band’s approach of being more light-hearted during performances.

“We definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously, and I think that’s become one of our strong points as a band,” Meyer said.

“I think people are relaxed because we’re pretty laidback. We’re goofing around a lot of the time and making jokes with each other and the audience.”

The group has performed throughout Arizona at events such as the Sidepony Express Music Festival and Flagstaff Hullabaloo.

On several occasions, they have participated in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, which tasks artists with creating a video behind a desk of their choosing.

Their 2016 Tiny Desk Contest video “Sage-Filled Cigarette” was made at the Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff.

In 2020, the group submitted the vid.

eo “Whackadoodle,” which was recorded in a border town in Sonora, Mexico.

“We spent three days down in this little border town called Naco,” Meyer said. “We ended up playing two shows in the middle of the day…We met a local dude that helped us to get to know the town and navigate it. It was a really cool experience.”

The song comments on the American political structure of the time.

Although the band isn’t politically charged, they do respond to world events.

This year, the group plans to do a video for the social/political song “Little White Collared Crimes” for the Tiny Desk Contest.

“There’s a lot of wild stuff going on out there. We have opinions about it. It feels good to have something to say and to take a stand on some of that stuff,” Meyer said.

The group took a hiatus from 2017 to 2019, when everyone was busy with their jobs. For a while, they weren’t sure if they were just pausing or ending the band.

When they got together to do shows in 2020, they were also uncertain of

whether it was a one-off thing or a restart of the band.

“We had a group call about doing a tour,” Nickell said.

“It seemed like we were in places in life where if it didn’t happen soon, it would never happen, so it was more of a reunion for us to have fun, and then we had a good enough time on that tour that we decided to keep pursuing it.

“At the very end of that tour is when COVID lockdown started to happen. It actually worked out really well for us because with COVID lockdown, it meant we couldn’t play, but there also wasn’t a whole lot to do, so there were times where Jay was able to come into town, and Alec M. would come into Flagstaff, and we could just set up in one of our houses for a few days and play. There wasn’t a pressure to make money, tour or release stuff. We were getting together more often than we had in a long time and making content or writing songs. It’s great to get out and be able to play, but we were able to go back to basics and reset our foundation.”

The group tends to take breaks in the summer because they’re busy with their jobs.

Nickell said with Le Trebuchet, he and his bandmates can really just enjoy playing and making music together.

“It’s mostly about getting to hang out with some close friends that we are still able to play with and hopefully get as many people as we can to listen to what we’ve made over time,” Nickell said.

“No one is getting rich off of Spotify or YouTube algorithms, so at this point we do it for the love of the art and the friendships we have made over the years.”

most every school teaches acting, and her father was, for years, first clarinetist for the Metropolitan Opera, a pinnacle of classical musicianship.

She was 16 when she fell in love with improv. “I went with my high school acting class to an improvised show called Chicago City Limits.” Although New York based, CCL had been founded in 1977 by actors in a workshop program of The Second City in Chicago.

“They were a short-form show,” she said. “There was no ‘Whose Line is it Anyway’ at the time. There was no improv on TV. There were only two improv companies in New York City, and this (CCL) was one of them. I was completely addicted, so I just kept going back every weekend to see the show.

“And I just thought, ‘My God, they seem so confident and intelligent and funny and, you know, comfortable on stage. If I could be one tenth of that, I’d be made in the shade for the rest of my life.

“So I started taking classes there, and I took five classes a week for three years. After high school, when I was going to acting school, I joined every improv company that would have me.

She played with Theater Sports New York for 10 years as that company grew and evolved into improvisational innovations. “We would do things like a two act . . . improvised Tennessee Williams or Shakespearean play. The audience could choose if it was a history, a tragedy, a comedy . . . . And we rehearsed. We didn’t

just go ‘Hey, let’s just do a spoof of this.’ We did our best to learn the language and (patois). So that’s where I started experimenting with musical improvisation.”

She said the cast of Broadway’s Next Hit Musical continues to experiment with musical improvisation as the character of Broadway’s actual hit musicals have evolved.

“The scope of Broadway has changed,” Rabbai said. “The stylings of the music in general have changed. You’ve got ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ versus a ‘Phantom of the Opera’ versus ‘Hamilton’—musical styles that at another time in our lives would not immediately have been thought of as a Broadway musical style.”

There is one thing that never changes, Rabbai said. “We usually go out and talk to people after the show and sometimes people are, like, ‘How many times did you do that show?’ I take that as a compliment. That’s where our joy comes from, finding something new, creating something new — that’s our wheelhouse. That’s what we love.”

OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK

El Jefe Cat Lounge, 3025 N. Campbell Avenue, Suite 141, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, eljefecatlounge.com, reservations $18. hosted by Lady Ha Ha Comedy, 21+, BYOB and snacks, lineup includes Precious, Kath O’Lick, Meow Urban, Purrsilla Furnandez, Tamale Chairman Meow, Nicole Cat-astrophie Risk, Morgan “Cat-Holic” Kuehn

these experiences. It’s a better way to reach out to our communities and get feedback and input that we need.”

Other prominent themes within the exhibit include nature, wildlife and animals, storytelling traditions, endurance and healing and ceremonial or celebratory dance forms.

Brindza said the artworks give viewers a glimpse into the artists’ personalities.

“It tells some really interesting stories and perspectives of these artists,” Brindza said.

Enduring Legacies: The James T. Bialac

Indigenous Art Collection

WHEN: Various times through Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024

WHERE: John K. Goodman Pavilion, Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Avenue, Tucson

COST: $12 adults; $10 for seniors 65 and older; $7 for college students and youth 13 to 17; free for children 12 and younger, members, veterans and active military

INFO: 520-624-2333, tucsonmuseumofart.org

The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress Street, 7 and 9 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, screeningroomdowntown/lady-bits, $10, 7 p.m. lineup is Morgan Kuehn, Zo Thomas, Allana Lopez, Loca Lola, Jen Blanco hosts, Rebecca Fox headlines; 9 p.m. lineup is Nic, Nice, Jen Blanco Roxxy Merari, Allana Lopez hosts, Phyllis Voren headlines.

Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, and 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, laffstucson.com, $15, $20 preferred seating, Patrick Deguire jokes about, among other things, the obstacles of relationships and raising four children. Seen on Comedy Central and Telemundo, he’s toured with George Lopez and Paul Rodriguez.

Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, tucsonimprov.com, $7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam and open mic. Thursday, Feb. 2, TBD. Friday, Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m. Improv Jam; 7:30pm, “The Soapbox”; 9 p.m. Stand Up Showcase. Saturday, Feb. 4, 11 a.m. Kids Show, 7:30 p.m. “Como Se Dice” (en español) and “LOL and Order”; 9 p.m. “The Dating Scene.”

Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, “From the Top improvised Musical; Saturday, Feb. 4, 7:30 p.m., Family Friendly Improv; 9 p.m. The Backyard Improv Playground (pay what you will admission, Monday, Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m. Improv Drop-ins, in person and online, free.

BIALAC FROM PAGE 13

KICK OFF THE SUPER BOWL ON A HIGH NOTE

By Hope Peters Tucson Weekly Sta

The Super Bowl is all about sharing — opinions, snacks and, now that it’s legal, cannabis products. Dispensaries have come together to recommend cannabis bud, prerolls, vapes and edibles for game-day fun.

Kickoff for Super Bowl LVII is 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. It’s televised on Fox.

TRULIEVE

Bring these special edition Co2lors vapes and score a touchdown at any

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White Cherry-Hybrid 300 mg has an all-natural sweet melon taste, mixed with the pure effects of pharmaceutical grade CO2-extracted oil. It is a smooth toke with a robust draw that highlights the flavor profile and potency.

The third is Wild Berry-Hybrid 1000 mg. It boasts a perfectly balanced blend

of berries. For added game-day flare, each vape has a Super Bowl-related wrap around them.

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White Cherry and Cosmic Apple

GRÖN RECOMMENDS

Celebrate the Super Bowl champs with Grön’s Peach Prosecco Sugar-Coated Pearls-Hybrid 100 mg THC, 100 mg CBD. Grön describes these edibles as a peachy sweet, bubbly crisp fla-

SEE WEEDLY PAGE 19

WEEDLY FROM PAGE 18

VERANO

vor. With 10 mg of CBD and THC, these pearls of wisdom are a go-to Super Bowl sweet treat.

Earth’s Healing-South 2075 E. Benson Highway, 520-373-5779.

Earth’s Healing-North 78 W. River Road, 520-253-7198.

Swift Lifts-Indica 2.5 g preroll packs of five. These joints are perfect for reaching the optimum high for any Super Bowl get-together. Share with friends and fellow football game enthusiasts. Verano says these preroll goodies are ready to smoke, and are a convenient and effective way to consume cannabis.

Nature Med 5390 W. Ina Road, 520-620-9123

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• Individual and Group Counseling provided by licensed drug & alcohol counselor.

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TUCSON AREA DISPENSARIES

BLOOM TUCSON

4695 N. Oracle Road, Suite 117 520-293-3315; bloomdispensary.com

Open: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

BOTANICA

6205 N. Travel Center Drive 520-395-0230; botanica.us

Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

DESERT BLOOM RE-LEAF CENTER

8060 E. 22nd Street, Suite 108 520-886-1760; dbloomtucson.com

Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily Offering delivery

Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

EARTH’S HEALING

Two locations:

North: 78 W. River Road 520-253-7198

South: 2075 E. Benson Highway 520-373-5779 earthshealing.org

Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays; Offering delivery

GREEN MED WELLNESS CENTER

6464 E. Tanque Verde Road 520-886-2484, greenmedwellness.com

Open: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

HARVEST OF TUCSON 2734 E. Grant Road 520-314-9420; askme@harvestinc.com; harvestofaz.com

Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

NATURE MED

5390 W. Ina Road 520-620-9123; naturemedaz.com

Open: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

THE PRIME LEAF

Two locations: • 4220 E. Speedway Boulevard

DOWNTOWN DISPENSARY

221 E. Sixth Street, Suite 105 520-838-0492; thedowntowndispensary.com

Open: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

THE GREEN HALO

• 1525 N. Park Avenue 520-44-PRIME; theprimeleaf.com

Open: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays

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D2 DISPENSARY

7710 S. Wilmot Road 520-664-2251; thegreenhalo.org

Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

TUCSON SAINTS

Behavioral Awareness Center Incorporated 2002 West Anklam Road, Tucson, Arizona 85745 (520) 629-9126 ž Fax: (520)629-9282 BACmethadone.com

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Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.,

112 S. Kolb Road 520-886-1003; medicalmarijuanaoftucson.com

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HANA GREEN VALLEY 1732 W. Duval Commerce Point Place 520-289-8030

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY HOROSCOPE 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 $1.99 per minute. 18 and over. Touchtone phone required.

ARIES

(MARCH 21-APRIL 19)

Theoretically, you could offer to help a person who doesn’t like you. You could bring a gourmet vegan meal to a meat-eater or pay a compliment to a bigot. I suppose you could even sing beautiful love songs to annoyed passersby or recite passages from great literature to an eight-year-old immersed in his video game. But there are better ways to express your talents and dispense your gifts—especially now, when it’s crucial for your long-term mental health that you offer your blessings to recipients who will use them best and appreciate them most.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20)

In esoteric astrology, Taurus rules the third eye. Poetically speaking, this is a subtle organ of perception, a sixth sense that sees through mere appearances and discerns the secret or hidden nature of things. Some people are surprised to learn about this theory. Doesn’t traditional astrology say that you Bulls are sober and well-grounded? Here’s the bigger view: The penetrating vision of an evolved Taurus is potent because it peels away superficial truths and uncovers deeper truths. Would you like to tap into more of this potential superpower? The coming weeks will be a good time to do so.

GEMINI

(MAY 21-JUNE 20)

The ingredient you would need to fulfill the next stage of a fun dream is behind door No. 1. Behind door No. 2 is a vision of a creative twist you could do but haven’t managed yet. Behind door No. 3 is a clue that might help you achieve more disciplined freedom than you’ve known before. Do you think I’m exaggerating? I’m not. Here’s the catch: You may be able to open only one door before the magic spell wears off — unless you enlist the services of a consultant, ally, witch, or guardian angel to help you bargain with fate to provide even more of the luck that may be available.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)

I trust you are mostly ready for the educational adventures and experiments

that are possible. The uncertainties that accompany them, whether real or imagined, will bring out the best in you. For optimal results, you should apply your nighttime thinking to daytime activities, and vice versa. Wiggle free of responsibilities unless they teach you noble truths. And finally, summon the intuitive powers that will sustain you and guide you through the brilliant shadow initiations. (PS: Take the wildest rides you dare as long as they are safe.)

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22)

Fate has decreed, “Leos must be wanderers for a while.” You are under no obligation to obey this mandate, of course. Theoretically, you could resist it. But if you do indeed rebel, be sure your willpower is very strong. You will get away with outsmarting or revising fate only if your discipline is fierce and your determination is intense. OK? So let’s imagine that you will indeed bend fate’s decree to suit your needs. What would that look like? Here’s one possibility: The “wandering” you undertake can be done in the name of focused exploration rather than aimless meandering.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22)

I wish I could help you understand and manage a situation that has confused you. I’d love to bolster your strength to deal with substitutes that have been dissipating your commitment to the Real Things. In a perfect world, I could emancipate you from yearnings that are out of sync with your highest good. And maybe I’d be able to teach you to dissolve a habit that has weakened your willpower. And why can’t I be of full service to you in these ways? Because, according to my assessment, you have not completely acknowledged your need for this help. So neither I nor anyone else can provide it. But now that you’ve read this horoscope, I’m hoping you will make yourself more receptive to the necessary support and favors and relief.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22)

I can’t definitively predict you will receive an influx of cash in the next three weeks. It’s possible, though. And I’m not able to guarantee you’ll be the beneficiary of free lunches and unexpected gifts. But who knows? They could very well appear. Torrents of praise and appreciation may flow, too, though trickles are more likely. And there is a small chance of solicitous gestures coming your way from sexy angels and cute maestros. What I can promise you for sure, however, are fresh eruptions of savvy in your brain and sagacity in your heart. Here’s your keynote, as expressed by the Queen of Sheba 700 years ago: “Wisdom is sweeter than honey, brings more joy than wine, illumines more than the sun, is more precious than jewels.”

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21)

Your assignment, Scorpio, is to cultivate a closer relationship with the cells that comprise your body. They are alive! Speak to them as you would to a beloved child or animal. In your meditations and fantasies, bless them with tender wishes. Let them know how grateful you are for the grand collaboration you have going, and affectionately urge them to do what’s best for all concerned. For you Scorpios, February is Love and Care for Your Inner Creatures Month.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21)

Revamped and refurbished things are coming back for another look. Retreads and redemption-seekers are headed in your direction. I think you should consider giving them an audience. They are likely to be more fun or interesting or useful during their second time around. Dear Sagittarius, I suspect that the imminent future may also invite you to consider the possibility of accepting stand-ins and substitutes and imitators. They may turn out to be better than the so-called real things they replace. In conclusion, be receptive to Plan Bs, second choices, and alternate routes. They could lead you to the exact opportunities you didn’t know you needed.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19)

Author Neil Gaiman declared, “I’ve never known anyone who was what he or

she seemed.” While that may be generally accurate, it will be far less true about you Capricorns in the coming weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you will be very close to what you seem to be. The harmony between your deep inner self and your outer persona will be at record-breaking levels. No one will have to wonder if they must be wary of hidden agendas lurking below your surface. Everyone can be confident that what they see in you is what they will get from you. This is an amazing accomplishment! Congrats!

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18)

“I want to raise up the magic world all round me and live strongly and quietly there,” wrote Aquarian author Virginia Woolf in her diary. What do you think she meant by “raise up the magic world all round me”? More importantly, how would you raise up the magic world around you? Meditate fiercely and generously on that tantalizing project. The coming weeks will be an ideal time to attend to such a wondrous possibility. You now have extra power to conjure up healing, protection, inspiration, and mojo for yourself.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20)

Before going to sleep, I asked my subconscious mind to bring a dream that would be helpful for you. Here’s what it gave me: In my dream, I was reading a comic book titled Zoe Stardust Quells Her Demon. On the first page, Zoe was facing a purple monster whose body was beastly but whose face looked a bit like hers. On page two, the monster chased Zoe down the street, but Zoe escaped. In the third scene, the monster was alone, licking its fur. In the fourth scene, Zoe sneaked up behind the monster and shot it with a blow dart that delivered a sedative, knocking it unconscious. In the final panel, Zoe had arranged for the monster to be transported to a lush uninhabited island where it could enjoy its life without bothering her. Now here’s my dream interpretation, Pisces: Don’t directly confront your inner foe or nagging demon. Approach stealthily and render it inert. Then banish it from your sphere, preferably forever.

Edited by Will Shortz

ACROSS

1 Word with top or tin

4 Hopeless

9 Actor Siriboe of “Queen Sugar”

13 De ___ manera (elsewise: Sp.)

15 Get to

16 Where polo was invented

25 Grammywinning actress Carrere

feeling bad?

51 Pamper to a fault, with “on”

52 “Uh … in a way …”

53 Course, in college-speak

26 Lines on a map: Abbr.

27 Toss-up?

54 Supergirl, e.g.

55 Some budget graphics

56 Just awful, with “the”

47 Not willing to stoop to 49 “Travel” for someone who’s feeling bad?

57 Present, for one

29 Sci. class for accelerated H.S. students

58 Many a population fig.

DOWN

31 Desser t ser ved in a boat

21 LED component?

22 Small role in a superhero movie?

17 “Oh, I’m on next!”

1 Conflict with fighting

51 Pamper to a fault, with “on” 52 “Uh in a way …”

2 Within reach

3 Political pamphlets

34 Time when it helps to be flexible

23 Big ___ (Red Sox nickname)

19 Unionizes?

25 Grammy-winning actress Carrere

20 Southwestern city that produces most of the U.S.’s Snickers bars

26 Lines on a map: Abbr.

27 Toss-up?

4 Refuse to squeal

5 Variety of agate

35 Platform for a modern job inter view

29 Sci. class for accelerated H.S. students

53 Course, in college -speak 54 Supergirl, e.g.

6 Pop open, perhaps 7 “Minnesota March” composer

55 Some budget graphics

8 Common symbol in a rebus

36 Hernandez of Team USA g ymnastics

31 Dessert served in a boat

21 LED component?

34 Time when it helps to be flexible

22 Small role in a superhero movie?

56 Just awful, with “the”

9 Fuzzy fruit that’s technically a berry

57 Present, for one

10 Certain cookie spinoff

11 Juice cleanse, e.g.

37 “What else …?”

12 Line of jeans?

38 Hollywood’s Ryan 41 [!!!]

14 Small matter

35 Platform for a modern job interview

36 Hernandez of Team USA gymnastics

23 Big ___ (Red Sox nickname)

37 “What else …?”

38 Hollywood’s Ryan 41 [!!!]

42 Peter or Paul, but not Mary

45 Lose one’s posse

47 Not willing to stoop to

49 “Travel” for someone who’s

18 One growing up in a cave?

21 “Ice Cream of the Future”

42 Peter or Paul, but not Mary 45 Lose one’s posse

24 It’s left on a major highway 28 Headquarters 30 Apt shoe for a plumber? 31 Loutish one

58 Many a population fig. DOWN 1 Conflict with fighting 2 Within reach 3 Political pamphlets 4 Refuse to squeal

Previously 33 Dog in “The Thin Man” 34 “Correct!” 35 It resurfaces after 20 minutes

36 Fill, as a moving van

Line of jeans?

38 Title subject of a best-selling 1997 memoir 39 High-level classes

Small matter

One growing up in a cave?

Exceed 43 Like most athletes

“Ice Cream of the Future”

Encounter 46 “You’re doing it all wrong!” 48 Does a background check on 50 November 13, e.g. 52 “Krazy ___” (comic strip that influenced “Calvin and Hobbes”)

It’s left on a major highway

Headquar ters

Apt shoe for a plumber?

Loutish one

Previously

Dog in “The Thin Man”

PUZZLE BY BILLY BRATTON