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TAXIDERMY

Taxidermy to the maxidermy. / Raylene Lung

Bursting at the Seams: A Royal Alberta Museum Curator Talks the Business of Taxidermy

T

wo male white-tailed deer are posed in combat in the Royal Alberta Museum’s National History Gallery—the scene depicts a realistic reenactment of male-versusmale competition. Farther over, in the Bug Gallery, pinned specimens with iridescent colours line the walls, while live species populate the rest of the space. Anyone can appreciate the countless displays, but how these species and scenes from the wild are captured, as if in amber, is a matter of trade secrets.

Tyler Cobb—head of life sciences at the museum, a curator of invertebrate zoology, and director at the Alberta’s Biodiversity Monitoring Institute—manages a team of scientists that are responsible for just that. There are five programs within life sciences—ornithology, mammalogy, ichthyology (fish), botany, and entomology (insects and bugs). Each school has a curator of specimens, and a research team associated with it.

Each program uses a variety of curation sources.

“We do that to tell a variety of different stories in the galleries to support different educational goals, to tell stories about particu-

lar ecological aspects or evolutionary aspects,” Cobb says.

The three main methods are collection, commission, and donation.

Collection is done by each of the curatorial programs. Cobb himself will go out and collect bugs from around the province for the invertebrate program. Commission involves partnering with local hunters and trappers and paying them for specimen—Fish and Wildlife often provides specimens through herd management—or else buying them from all over the world.

Otherwise, specimens can be donated to the museum. One other method, particularly prevalent in the bug gallery, involves certain live specimen in the museum getting a second life on display.

“After they expire in the display as a live animal, they become a display specimen and we use those for educational purposes,” Cobb says.

A perfect example of such a specimen is the peacock mantis shrimp, affectionately named Tony Jaa—a large invertebrate who lived in captivity in the old museum, and after expiring, was collected and mounted in the di-

versity display in the bug gallery of the new museum.

“When the specimens expire, they become part of the research collections. Sometimes they go out on display in the gallery,” Cobb says. “Sometimes they go out to educational institutions … so teachers can use them to help people learn about these different groups.”

In addition, specimens can be loaned out to other institutions to preserve representation of a certain species, and protect them.

The way the taxidermy is done varies. Most of the taxidermy displays are done by professional taxidermists that are hired from all over the world, each with their own specialty.

“It’s a network of people who do this kind of work, and there are specialists,” Cobb says. “It is a totally different technique for doing taxidermy on fish than on something large like a bison.”

Other specimens are prepared on site by each programs’ team, using a process called mounting, in the case of invertebrates.

Mounting involves putting a pin through the bug, setting up the

legs and labelling the specimen.

Two specimens in particular— that Cobb himself was involved in mounting—demonstrate the detail and delicacy that is required when mounting bugs. One specimen, a large longhorn beetle, lies in a glass covered frame, looking as alive as ever.

The bug will stay in that position forever—with the exoskeleton drying overtime—and only requires protection from pests. The other specimen, a Goliath birdeater tarantula, has more soft tissue like a mammal, and requires stuffing with a preservative like cotton.

The display of the specimens is just as important as the way they are prepared. The longhorn beetle, in Cobb’s particular display, has its antennae spread out for educational purposes, or for example to highlight the importance of the beetle’s ability to sniff out dying trees. When the beetle is in a collection drawer however, the antennae face straight backwards to preserve space.

In terms of the displays within the galleries, the same thought process applies.

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“I’m looking for a lifelike pose,” Cobb says. “You’ll see that we have done our best to depict lifelike poses in natural habitats to really support the telling of those stories from a particular evolutionary aspect, to talk about their adaptations—or an ecological aspect, or predation, or male-male competition or whatever story we are trying to tell.”

This rings true for not only the taxidermy and mounts, but also for the various methods of depiction within the galleries—whether that be scenes with detailed, painted backgrounds, study skins, live displays, mixed living/taxidermied displays, enlarged photography, interactive games, or specimens where the internal structures are shown.

And while the museum’s focus is mainly on Albertan specimen, there is global representation throughout the galleries, which is once again where the exquisite taxidermy shines.

“We have a lot of cool species right here in Alberta,” Cobb says. “But we also have representation from around the world to show how diverse those groups really are.”

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front 3

queermonton

The Right needs to rethink religious expression

Kerry Diotte and John Carpay Bully Vulnerable Youth Activists, and It’s Hypocritical

M

P Kerry Diotte threatened a 23-year-old Black Muslim activist, Bashir Mohamed, with a defamation lawsuit for calling him a “racist who openly associates with white supremacists such as Faith Goldy.” He also targeted other youth, including 22-year-old Haiqa Cheema of Pakistani descent.

Then there is John Carpay of the United Conservative Party, who has compared the rainbow flag to Nazi and communist symbols. His law firm is also challenging Bill 24 that protects the privacy of school youth who join a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) from their parents.

As a teacher who deals with such youth, I find this unconscionable.

It is true that I am no fan of the social justice warrior phenomenon that seeks conformity through social rebukes. I reject tactics that are rooted in revenge and aggression. I have seen how the narrative of perpetual victimhood and perceived grievances leads some down radical paths.

The youth who joined ISIS for a ‘better world order’ should be a cautionary tale for all.

But it is also true that I am no fan of powerful patriarchs who equal-

ly seek to police the expression of vulnerable minorities. Such leaders are found in both Islamic and Western varieties. Where there are those who peddle draconian Islamic medieval punishments, there are those who generalize Muslims and stigmatize Islam to lead a modern holy war against Muslims and their faith.

Carpay as threatening to Muslim youth, both gay and straight.

I speak with a thick accent, which does not allow me the requisite strength to push back against the encroachment of political conservatives whose actions harm our vulnerable youth. Predominantly, I focus on internal change in Islam,

it’s super important to look within our own communities and address the ways in which we marginalize and quite frankly silence people.

We need to create space for LGTBQ+ Muslims in our social and spiritual circles. Do Better. Be Better.”

She even tagged the Muslims Student Association (MSA) and Alberta Muslim Public Affairs Coun-

“Where there are those who peddle draconian Islamic medieval punishments, there are those who generalize Muslims and stigmatize Islam to lead a modern holy war against Muslims and their faith.”

Bashir is a person of colour.

Haiqa hails from a Pakistani Muslim background. The challenge to Bill 24 will impact vulnerable gay Muslim youth, who may be outed to conservative parents and thereby face forbidding cultural norms.

There is much at stake here. I find myself mirrored in all of them as a gay Muslim and as a person of colour. As such, I deem the stunts of political leaders like Diotte and

as I am more familiar with the language of Islamic law and share common values with other Muslims. However, as an elder, I must speak out to stand by our youth.

I was moved when Haiqa Cheema shared my interview on the Islam and LGBTQ2S+ Muslim Conference with a former student, Nathan Fung, at the University of Alberta student newspaper—The Gateway. She expressed: “I think

cil (AMPAC), as the former has offered me resistance since 2008, and the latter has simply ignored my invitations to meet at the intersections of faith and sexuality.

Muslim youth like Bashir, Haiqa, and the many unnamed LGBTQ2S+ Muslim youth who lead hidden lives face racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia.

These words are not mere academic constructs. They manifest

when such youth are told to go home, when they are called the ‘N-word,’ when their faith is denigrated and their sacred religious personalities caricatured.

Telling them the virtues of freedom of expression even if it is hateful is hypocritical, especially when lawsuits are erected to challenge their freedom of expression. As a teacher, I know to lead by example.

If I want others to respect me, then I must accord them respect as well.

I am not sure what political leaders like Carpay are concerned about. If it is about freedom of religious expression, then they should note that Haiqa Cheema is also a religious person. Her religious values do not stop her from being mindful of other LGBTQ2S+ Muslims. This is something leaders like Carpay can learn from youth like her.

They can also learn from politicians like MLA David Shepherd on what a true leader looks like.

Indeed, he was the only politician to answer my call to affirm the Islam and LGBTQ2S+ Muslim Conference at MacEwan last year.

In essence, I am compelled to come out and stand by Haiqa Cheema and others in this hour.

To this end, I draw upon the masterpiece shikwa (The Complaint) of Muhammad Iqbal, the founding poet of Pakistan. “I am not a flower who will remain silent, Courage! I have the courage to speak up!”

Junaid Jahangir

Dyer straight

The Khashoggi Tapes

Only Justin Trudeau Called out the Saudi Killing of a Turkish Journalist—Will Anything Ever Change?

H

ow odd—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sends an audio recording of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to the governments of all Turkey’s major NATO allies, and the only one that gets it is Canada.

What happened to the copies that President Erdogan sent to the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany? Lost in the mail-room, no doubt, or maybe just lying unopened on somebody’s desk. Or perhaps the Turks just didn’t put enough stamps on the packages.

“We gave them the tapes,” said Erdogan on Saturday. “They’ve also listened to the conversation; they know it.” But, still, not a word out of Washington or London acknowledging that they have heard the recordings, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denied that France has received a copy.

When asked if that meant Erdogan was lying, Le Drian replied: “It means that he has a political game to play in these circumstances.”

Like most Western politicians and diplomats, he is desperate to avoid calling out Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as a murderer.

The French have a highly profit4 front

able commercial relationship with the oil-rich kingdom, mostly selling it arms, and they don’t want to acknowledge the evidence on the recording (which may directly implicate the crown prince) because it could jeopardize that trade.

Erdogan was furious when the French foreign minister issued his denial, and his communications director insisted that a representa-

steps with regard to Saudi Arabia.”

Why did Trudeau come clean?

One popular theory is the nothing-left-to-lose hypothesis. Last August, the tempestuous crown prince killed all future trade deals with Canada, pulled thousands of Saudi Arabian foreign students out of Canadian universities, and generally showered curses on the country after Canadian officials called

the others, but his purpose is clear.

He waited more than three weeks after getting the recording for the “like-minded allies” to agree to a joint policy towards the murderous prince—nobody believes Khashoggi could have been killed without Mohammed bin Salman’s consent— and then he spilled the beans.

Of course all the major NATO governments have the recordings.

“Canada’s bridges to Saudi Arabia have already been burned, according to this theory, so Trudeau felt free to say the truth.” tive of French intelligence had listened to the recording as long ago as Oct. 24. But it was all just ‘he said/she said’ stuff until Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blew the game wide open last Monday.

Yes, Trudeau said, Canadian intelligence has the recording, and he is well aware of what is on it. In fact, Canadian intelligence agencies have been working very closely with Turkey on the murder investigation, and Canada is “in discussions with our like-minded allies as to the next

for the release of detained Saudi campaigners for civil rights and women’s rights.

Canada’s bridges to Saudi Arabia have already been burned, according to this theory, so Trudeau felt free to say the truth. But he’s not really free: Canada still has a $13 billion contract to build armoured vehicles for Saudi Arabia that the Saudis might cancel, and this is a real contract, not one of Trump’s fantasy arms sales.

Maybe Trudeau is just braver than

They have had them for at least three weeks. They were just dithering over what to do about them, and Trudeau decided it was time to give them a push. Good for him, but what exactly can they do about Mohammed bin Salman’s crime?

It almost certainly was MbS (as they call him) who ordered the killing. Since his elderly father, King Salman, gave him free rein to run the country less than three years ago, he has become a one-man re-

VUEWEEKLY.com | nov 22 - nov 28, 2018

gime. Nothing happens without his approval, least of all the murder of a high-profile critic in a foreign country by a 15-strong Saudi hit squad including several members of his personal security team.

No Western leader (except perhaps Donald Trump) will be seen in public with MbS any more, foreign investment in Saudi Arabia this year is the lowest in several decades, and the price of oil is falling again.

So he has to go, if it’s still possible for anybody in Saudi Arabia to remove him from power. But that’s the big question.

The Saudi royal family is no longer a tight, united body that can just decide MbS has to go and make it stick. It’s a sprawling array of people—many of whom scarcely know each other—and without the agreement of King Salman, any smaller group within the family that organized a coup against the crown prince would almost certainly fail.

So he may go on for while, despite the disaster of his military intervention in Yemen, his pointless, fruitless blockade of Qatar, and even this ugly murder. He wouldn’t be the only killer in power. But the bloom is definitely off this particular rose.

Gwynne Dyer

UCP

It’s the legislature, yo. / File photo

PROPOSED UCP LIST OF EXTREMISTS JUST ANOTHER PRIVACY ‘BLACK HOLE’

Soldiers of Odin Don’t Blame the UCP for Potential Blacklisting; Privacy Watchdog Says Every Political Party Is Being Shady with Personal Info; NDP MLA Only Marginally Concerned about Privacy Issue—Same as It Ever Was

J

ason Kenney’s proposed blacklist of Albertans with extremist views raises red flags for a Canadian privacy watchdog organization—however, political parties across the country are already gathering and using untold troves of data about voters and residents, the group says.

Earlier this month, The United Conservative Party (UCP) floated the idea of creating a database of Albertans with radical opinions in an effort to bar them from entering the party.

Two recent scandals prompted the party’s announcement. First, members of the Soldiers of Odin (SoO)— or rather a splinter group that has since rebranded—posed with UCP candidates at a party function in mid-October. Then, more recently, it came to light that a former UCP call centre chief has alleged ties to a store that sells white nationalist memorabilia.

Sharon Polsky—president of the Privacy and Access Council of Canada (PACC) and vice-president of the Rocky Mountain Civil Liberties Association—wonders what qualifies a person to be listed as an extremist by the UCP. Today it’s the Soldiers of Odin, Polsky says, but she asks who the targets of the future will be.

“I can appreciate they may not want to face the harsh glare of attention because of incidents like the Soldiers of Odin [at their event], but in the long run, I think they run

a much greater risk of being seen in the same light as President Trump now, where everyone who disagrees with him is an enemy.”

Gathering data on citizens is hardly a new phenomenon, Polsky says. Political parties across Canada have caches of data about citizens, and no compulsion to disclose the info they’ve gathered.

On a different note, she adds, there’s almost no telling where this information can end up, given

Kenney’s potential registry drew a mixed bag of emotions from Wade Reimer—sergeant-at-arms of the Alberta branch of the SoO. On one hand, like Polsky, he thinks it’s a privacy violation.

“As far as putting us on a red-flag database with no substantiated evidence—I would say that’s probably some sort of human rights [problem],” he says.

But, on the other hand, Reimer doesn’t really blame the UCP for

that the proposed effort—which has been tossed around Alberta politics—would uncover that the SoO is not an extremist hate group.

“We got nothing to hide,” he says.

“There are a couple of rampant articles running around on the internet that really hold no merit or basis. It’s the same as me writing on the internet that Rachel Notley is a pedophile, and saying ‘Well it’s on the internet; it must be true.’”

NDP MLA for Edmonton-Centre

“I can appreciate they may not want to face the harsh glare of attention because of incidents like the Soldiers of Odin [at their event], but in the long run, I think they run a much greater risk of being seen in the same light as President Trump now, where everyone who disagrees with him is an enemy.” the number of databases hosted by non-Canadian companies.

“The political parties in Alberta— pretty much anywhere in Canada except B.C.—are not subject to access legislation, so they can collect whatever information they darn well please from whatever sources—we’ll never know,” Polsky says.

“You can ask all you want—’What information do you hold about me?’

And they have no obligation at all to provide any answers. It’s a black hole.”

considering the registry. The rightwing party has been put in a tough position: being seen in the company of what is thought to be a white-supremacist group—though Reimer denies the label.

“They’re doing damage control. You can’t blame them for that,” he says.

While Reimer isn’t in favour of being put on a black list, he does support the idea of creating a task force to look into the SoO. He is confident

David Shepherd says it’s “refreshing” that Kenney admits the UCP has a problem with extremists— and that it’s a big enough issue to warrant a database.

“It’s been pretty clear that he’s been refusing to vet his own candidates,” he says. “We’ve seen multiple times [that the UCP] has had candidates come up that have racist and homophobic views. He’s only removed the most extreme of those.”

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

Shepherd points to a recent case in which John Carpay, a UCP member and Calgary-based lawyer, compared the rainbow pride flag to a swastika or a communist hammer and sickle—though there are numerous similar cases.

“It’s great that he’s taking this step, but he’s yet to demonstrate that he’s going to define what he considers an extremist anywhere near what he has in his party,” he says.

According to Shepherd, the privacy concerns raised by the UCP’s list is something that the party will need to workout itself—or with the province’s privacy commissioner.

Regarding any wider privacy concerns—like the concern that political parties across the spectrum gather info on citizens—Shepherd says that it’s important to give the issue attention, particularly as direct targeting and social media, which use a good deal of personal data, become more prevalent in elections.

“I can understand why people would want to see a bit more scrutiny in this,” he says.

The UCP responded to Vue’s emails asking for interviews, but so far it only offered that it receives “copious requests and unfortunately cannot respond to all of them.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com front 5

EUROPEAN

Ooo Baby Do You Know what That’s Worth?

Ooo Aarde Is a Word That Means Earth

F

un fact about the new 104th Street restaurant Aarde: its name means Earth in Dutch, and it’s roughly equivalent to Erde, a cognate in German. The name for the planet on which J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth resides is called Arda. Aarde, the place in Edmonton, doesn’t have hobbits—though demands for second breakfasts may occur—but its name is apt nonetheless.

Aarde derives its inspiration, as its name, from Europe and,

104th Street farmers’ market, when it’s open. Aarde makes its own bread and yoghurt inhouse—actually, Singh says, pretty much everything at the restaurant is made from scratch using hyper-local ingredients.

As a product of this, the menu cycles along with the seasons— some produce, for example, isn’t available from Albertan farmers during the winter.

“The whole idea is about using simple ingredients,” Singh

“It’s not any one cuisine we’re focusing on. We have items from Portugal; we have items from Italy.

It’s regional European food, not from any country.” sure enough, the soil from which its somewhat rustic food comes lies near its brick-andmortar operation.

Chef and owner Guru Singh, who owns a few other restaurants, was inspired by his travels across Europe. Over 40 days, he ate in 105 restaurants all across the continent.

“There’s so much diverse food in Europe. We’ve actually picked very old recipes that we can actually work with and make them available in Canada using Canadian ingredients,” Singh says.

Straight from Albertan soil to your bowl. / Supplied

The bulk of the restaurant’s meats and vegetables come from Albertan suppliers, most of whom can be found on the

says, adding that roughly half the menu is vegetarian.

Despite its lofty concept, Aarde is designed to have a more casual feel. The plates are meant to be shared by groups of people—which is becoming more commonplace, Singh says. However, Aarde does a deep dive into Europe, picking and choosing meals from small regions or towns, and adapting them to its sourcing mandate. This is what sets Aarde apart, he adds.

“It’s not any one cuisine we’re focusing on. We have items from Portugal; we have items from Italy,” he says. “It’s regional European food, not from any country.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

KITCHEN TIPS Is It Time for Fried Chicken? You Bet Your Ass It Is

N

ashville hot chicken—it’s the best fried chicken, don’t @me. Hot sauce-brined, beautifully fried chicken, brushed with a cayenne chili oil/powder combo that just takes it to a whole new level. Slightly salty, and spicy enough to make you uncomfortable and feel the need to wash it down with a couple of cold ones, it is, truly, the king of fried chicken.

It also happens to be the primary thing we serve at Northern Chicken. We spice our birds with

6 dish

everything from cayenne pepper all the way up to Carolina Reaper peppers, for those who hate themselves and want to selfpunish. If anyone asks my recommendation, I always—100 percent of the time—say Nashville hot. While this chicken seems to be popping up everywhere nowadays, it’s not a new thing.

As the name says, it is a regional specialty of Nashville Tennessee.

There have been some shops around for years, all closely guarding their recipes—Bolton’s

and Prince’s being the most famous old-school ones. Hattie B’s is probably one of the betterknown new school guys. Each one has their own method, their own spice blend, their own farm for chickens. But the idea remains constant. Here is a basic rundown of how we make ours (without giving you our recipe of course).

We start by breaking down our chickens into nine pieces: split legs, take off wings, cut the breast into three (two ribs, one

kiel). We then brine everything for a minimum of 24 hours in buttermilk, hot sauce and a fairly generous helping of salt. Surprisingly, the salt helps keep the chicken really moist when cooking—not all of it ends up in the bird, so don’t be worried about putting a good helping in. After it’s done brining, we dust it in a flour mix that we season really heavily with cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cajun spice, and too many other spices to list. The key here for us is to

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

let the chicken set on a rack for 30 mins after breading so the flour can soak up the buttermilk and create an awesome batter.

When it’s ready, we fry at 300F for 12 – 15 mins. When it’s done, it gets a brush of chili oil then a dusting of our spice blend. The spice and the oil create a sauce of sorts that coats the chicken in deliciousness. Eat, enjoy, and you’ll never look at fried chicken the same way again.

—Chef Andrew Cowan of Northern Chicken

GROW-OP

FREE FROM PESTS AND THE ELEMENTS The Indoor Eden Garden Hopes to Make Growing Produce Inside a Breeze

Y

ou can grow weed using the Indoor Eden Garden—but its makers would prefer you grow food. But, still, you could grow weed; it says so right on the website. All the same, Hope Innovations, an Edmonton-based startup, is, uh, hoping to commercialize its latest creation, an indoor grow system.

Hope Innovations—founded by Ryan Agrey and his sister and their father—created the system as an easy way for people to grow food indoors without using too much space. The Hope Eden Garden is about the size of a small bookshelf, with its base around two-feet long and eight inches high, and its lights standing around three feet above the plants. It only needs a power outlet to run.

“We’re trying to find a way for people to grow their own food at home really cost-effectively, and really simply,” Agrey says.

The Indoor Eden Garden uses the same method as NASA on the International Space Station, according to a Hope Innovation’s press release. According to Agrey, the product allows people to “cheat nature” in that it creates the most idealized growing conditions: all the water and nutrients a plant could want, plus hours of ‘sunlight.’

Lettuce takes around nine weeks in a garden; and only five using the Hope Eden Garden, he says. It also circulates water until it’s all used up, reducing waste.

The concept came from a video game, oddly enough. In the game, the player makes an automatic farm underground. It was a bit of an epiphany, Agrey says.

“It was amazing to see the ben-

efits of growing food where you’re not growing food, in protected, controlled environments, kind of away from—in that case, it was zombies—but in the real world it’s away from pests and the elements,” he says. “It hits me as something that needed to be explored a bit more.”

The family then began dabbling in growing food using hydroponics in their garage, and found the experience to be lacking. Everything was complicated and required specialized knowledge or were, otherwise, very small novelty gardens that came with huge price tags. The Agreys wanted something that anyone could use, and something that would make a sizeable dent in their grocery bills.

According to Agrey, it’s possible to stagger growing lettuce well enough to have four heads of lettuce per week, once everything is up and running.

“You don’t even need to wash it.

It’s been in your house the whole time,” he says. “It’s got nothing on it.”

When the group started developing the system, cannabis was still illegal, so they haven’t tested growing it using Hope Eden Garden extensively, but it should definitely work, Agrey says.

The group began a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the commercialization process of the machine. As of Sunday night it had 69 (nice) backers, and had nearly tripled its $10,000 goal. The business hopes to start selling the products and shipping them out next March.

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

Safe from bugs, but not from cats. / Supplied

“It was amazing to see the benefits of growing food where you’re not growing food, in protected, controlled environments, kind of away from—in that case, it was zombies—but in the real world it’s away from pests and the elements.”

beer makes it better

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

dish 7

Life Is Pretty Rad for Local Artist Grady Wallace VISUAL ART

Some of Grady Wallace’s furrier creations. / Grady Wallace

A

t just 22 years old, local artist Grady Wallace is already making a name for himself. The former oil worker has been a part of the Vignettes Design Series for two years, created numerous murals around town, designed a room at The Crash Hotel, has his own clothing line— RAD Originals—and just launched his first solo show at Udell Xhibitions last week—RAD Life.

Wallace started making a serious go of it as an artist about two years ago, after things in the oil field industry slowed down.

“I was just missing something in life,” he says, “and when the oil economy crashed, and it was like 50 cents a litre … that’s when I got laid off—and honestly I wouldn’t have changed anything, because I wouldn’t have started to do art again.”

Wallace creates incredibly detailed paintings using layered stencils. The complexity of the piece varies, depending on the number of stencils, which can range from four to upwards of 15. He says he first “caught wind of stencils” in 2014.

“I just kind of got obsessed with the details you can get with stencils, and how precise you can be with an X-Acto blade,” he says.

“So one-layer stencils transformed into three layers, and back then I thought a four-layer stencil was

just like mind-blowing, and now I’m up—basically as many colours of paint as I can use.”

One of the pieces in RAD Life was made using 17 different layers, and 17 different shades of grey.

“You get a really cool effect [from] that shading with the spray paint,” he says.

The same piece also incorporates neon, which Wallace first experimented with for his mural at the restaurant Drunken Ox, Sober Cat. “I incorporated neon ox horns into the 10-foot-by-10-foot ox that I did,” he explains.

Because he cuts out each stencil by hand, Wallace’s prep time for each piece can be pretty lengthy, whereas his painting time is relatively quick. His process starts with taking photographs for reference, and then he creates the stencils by computer before cutting them out.

“The cutting can take a very long time depending on the piece,” he says. “It’s hard to say with like animals versus portraits, just because of textures and fur.”

Wallace is probably best known for his bears, but he also does celebrity portraits—including one of the late, great Carrie Fisher.

“She came to Edmonton Comic Con, so I did the painting for that, and I got her to sign it,” he says.

Until Mon., Dec. 3 RAD Life Udell Xhibitions Free admission “Then a month later, she passed away.”

The Star Wars fan adds that the painting will likely stay in his personal collection “for a little while.”

Wallace says RAD Life has a good mixture of portraits and animals. It also includes a piece he created on a motorcycle that he bought with some of the profits from a 50-piece commission he did over the summer. He says it was relatively easy getting the motorcycle down into his studio, but when I met with him a few days before the show opening, he was worried about getting it back up the stairs. He was also still finishing up some pieces for the show and dealing with some preshow nerves.

“Stencils are always super stressful—literally until you put the last layer on—because you could spend hours, and hours, and hours or like weeks cutting a stencil, and you have no idea if it’s going to work out,” he says. “You just have to trust that you know what you’re cutting out—especially with like 10 layers or 11 layers.”

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com

MUSICAL THEATRE

MUSICAL MUSINGS ON MORTALITY Through Song and Dance, Tuck Everlasting Asks What We’re Living For

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Tuck Everlasting is a musical about immortality and death—for the kids! / Supplied

8 arts

f you have the chance to live forever, do you take it? That’s the question posed to Winnie Foster, the protagonist in Natalie Babbbit’s 1975 children’s novel Tuck Everlasting, remounted from Broadway as the musical season opener for St. Albert Children’s Theatre.

As the 11-year-old Winnie contemplates running away from her rural American hometown in the mid 1900s, she encounters the Tuck family and stumbles onto a secret they’ve held for decades: an immortality-granting wellspring. As she fights to keep her new friends’ secret safe, she must eventually decide whether or not to drink the well water.

“The themes are timeless in it,” says Jillian Aisenstat, the 15-yearold actress tasked with bringing Winnie to life. “There’s a lot of fear in the world. There’s a lot of hate in the world, and I think that it’s very important to remember that we’re only here for so long. We need to enjoy it.”

Aisenstat says that directive sometimes clashes with the fluctuating perspective children like Winnie have on death.

“For kids, I think death is such a weird concept, and they don’t re-

ally understand it and it’s really scary,” she says. “Winnie Foster is more thinking about getting to enjoy all those things in life for so long—but she doesn’t realize that you don’t get to really enjoy all those things if life never does end.

“You can’t have living without dying,” she adds.

Jesse Tuck stands as the forever17-year-old counterpoint to that idea. Bob Brown, 17, returns for his fifth St. Albert Children’s Theatre production to play Jesse’s role.

“He’s just such an adventurous guy—very outgoing, very social—and he is probably the one character in the show who loves the immortality the most,” Brown says. “He doesn’t really see any negatives in it, and I kind of like his optimism.”

It’s an optimism that isn’t necessarily shared by all the Tucks.

“The question of would you want to live forever is something I think people have thought about for so long, and actually seeing it implemented in a story is kinda neat,” Brown says. “You get that with stuff like, I guess, Peter Pan, but I think this is just this new story that maybe a lot of people don’t know about. It really adds to the intrigue around it.”

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

Thu., Nov. 22 – Sun., Dec. 2 Tuck Everlasting Arden Theatre stalbert.ca/exp/arden That intrigue will be explored by more than 30 cast members singing the music of Chris Miller and lyrics of Nathan Tyson. Both Brown and Aisenstat say “Partner in Crime” is their favourite song in the show. Near the end of the first act, a duet between their characters opens up into a fullcast dance number including a few hearty interludes.

“It’s a very kind of hoedown theme where we all get down and have a good fun time,” Aisenstat says.

“Then after that whole—probably two, maybe three-minute—dance break we have to do a lot of singing again, which is a challenge, but it’s very rewarding once you finish that song and hit that last button.”

But that’s not all to look forward to, Brown says. Aside from the philosophical musings on mortality and a few standout musical numbers, Brown says Tuck Everlasting’s whole score will leave audiences humming their way home.

“The music in this show is so beautiful,” he says. “It’s not your average musical. It’s different. It’s got kind of a folky vibe to it, and I think it will have people wishing there were more reprises, because the songs are very catchy.”

Kevin Pennyfeather

CRAFT FAIR

MAKIN’ YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE Jenna Herbut, the Woman Behind the Make It Show, Shares Her Entrepreneurial Experience in a New Book

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he entrepreneurial spirit can take root at a young age. Jenna Herbut got her start at age 11, selling handmade bookmarks door to door with her younger brother Chandler. Over the years, the Edmonton siblings had a number of ventures—including selling beer under cost (oops) to golfers at the course behind their house—and eventually went on to start the Make It Show in 2008. Chandler has since sold his share to his sister so he can focus on his clothing business, but Herbut has kept Make It going, and just published a book, Make It Happen!: The Creative Entrepreneur’s Guide to Transforming Your Dreams Into Reality, so that others can benefit from her experience and the experiences of creators who participate in her shows.

traditional craft fairs and I was like, ‘Ugh, my friends don’t totally fit the vibe here. I wonder if I could just do a craft fair,’” Herbut says.

Thus Make It was born—first held at the Bonnie Doon Community Centre in 2008 with 25 exhibitors. Shows now take place in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver—where Herbut moved shortly after starting Make It—and Edmonton is expected to have 175 vendors or ‘Makies’ this year.

The term derives from the name of Make It’s mascot, Makie. Herbut explains that after the little monster was introduced, vendors just started calling themselves by his name, adapting it into a noun.

“It’s so cute; it sounds so friendly.

Also, the whole ‘I’m an exhibitor’ or

“I’ve been able to see how cool the story is for a while, and … there’s my story, of course, with Booty Beltz, but that’s just one thread.”

Herbut started her first allgrown-up business in 2003 while she was a student at the University of Alberta. She designed a product called Booty Beltz for a marketing class, and later started the business for one term of her co-op placement.

“What they were, were just these scarf belts that I had attached a little buckle to, and my logo was the Bs back to back so it created this little butterfly,” she explains.

Herbut once again went door to door, only this time she was knocking on the doors of Whyte Avenue and Jasper Avenue businesses, asking them to carry her belts. At the height of the Booty Beltz business, Herbut had them in 120 stores—including a department store in Japan.

And then a friend invited Herbut to split a booth at the Works Festival, and she discovered that she liked selling her belts to people directly. As she attended more and more craft fairs, she noticed that they weren’t really geared toward people her own age and that sparked an idea.

“Now we take for granted there’s so many cool craft fairs … but back 10 years ago, there really wasn’t— it was very different then—and even social media was just starting to take off … I was doing these

Thu., Nov. 22 – Sun., Nov. 25 Make It Edmonton Expo Centre Tickets $4 at eventbrite. ca/e/make-it-edmonton-nov-22-25-tickets-50465548815?

‘I’m a vendor,’ I felt like it was kind of cold,” she says.

Having met the challenge of running and growing her own craft fair, Herbut set herself the new goal of writing a book.

“I’ve been able to see how cool the story is for a while, and … there’s my story, of course, with Booty Beltz, but that’s just one thread,” she says. “But what’s been really interesting is observing the Makies and how they’ve been able to grow, and transcend from hobbyists … to actually creating these real companies that are very valuable.”

Herbut has had reports of Makies doing seven figures in sales at the shows, including one who reported doing $3 million.

“So to me, that was just super inspiring,” she says.

Herbut attributes the success of Make It, and other local craft shows, to the public’s growing desire to shop local.

“People now are more conscious about buying things made by hand,” she says. “Because when I first started Make It, there was some explaining that needed to happen—people would give me these weird looks like ‘What does that even mean’—but now I’m like ‘a craft fair’—everybody gets it.”

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

arts 9

COMEDY

THE APPEAL OF STAND-UP Erica Rhodes Discusses Failure, and the Transition from Struggling Actress to Thriving Comedian Until Sun., Nov. 25 Erica Rhodes The Comic Strip Tickets and showtimes at wem.thecomicstrip.ca/ shows

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Erica Rhodes made the transition from acting to stand-up comedy. / Ryan West

here is a never-ending dispute about whether or not being funny is something that is learned—or if it’s something that a person just naturally is. For Erica Rhodes, it’s both.

The comedian has been operating on the stand-up scene for a few years now, and is coming into her own as an earnest, direct, and down-to-earth comic. How did she earn this reputation? To put it eloquently—by fucking up.

“It involved lots of failure. Failing on so many levels for so long makes you naturally humble, and it makes you learn,” Rhodes says in her signature high-pitched voice.

Rhodes’s performing career started early—as a child she was in the decades long running radio show A Prairie Home Companion. As the years went on, Rhodes noticed her penchant for the performing arts

and took steps to try and hone her craft, even though at the time she wasn’t certain of what that craft would be.

Dance, music, and acting are all part of Rhodes’s artistic repertoire—yet it wasn’t until she started to notice her knack for humour that she realized that was the path she was supposed to take.

“I honestly don’t think I would’ve found comedy if not for being as stubborn as I am. I stuck with it long enough to get good at it, but it did take me some time after the fact to realize that I’m funny,” Rhodes says.

For her, the appeal of comedy— especially stand up—is how it’s the foil to the performing Hollywood lifestyle she was used to. Gone is the intensity of trying to make it as an actor and all the variables that came with it; in its place is something new, versatile, and something Rhodes found she had control over.

“You don’t have to ask permission or audition in stand up; you don’t have to wait to do the thing you love to do—that’s important— and even with all that, it took me some time to separate acting from stand up,” Rhodes says.

Rhodes’ transition period involved some bumps in the road, as she had to avoid all the pitfalls that most endure while getting into comedy. Self-indulgence, repetition, and jokes that didn’t stick the landing were all things she faced in her comedic infancy.

“The first year I was just reciting jokes, and after a year of bombing, I clued into one fundamental fact—that I just needed to be myself,” Rhodes says.

Since then she has been taking her style of humour on the road and has been dipping her toe back into the world of acting, with appearances on the odd television show. In terms of measuring her own success, she refers back to the Hollywood model she’s used to, where she belives that it takes 10 years on average to reach success.

“I feel like I set my clock back by starting to do stand up from scratch. I’m six years in now, so I feel like in four, things will really take off,” she says with a chuckle.

Judging by her momentum and style, no extra years are needed.

Jake Pesaruk

THEATRE IN THE ROUND

HARROWING PERFORMANCES AND RAW EMOTION What a Young Wife Ought to Know Is a Candid Portrait of Sex, Love, and Womanhood

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Merran Carr-Wiggin and Bobbi Goddard in

What A Young Wife Ought to Know. / Ian Jackson

10 arts

Until Sun., Dec. 2 What a Young Wife Ought to Know Roxy Theatre For tickets and showtimes, visit theatrenetwork.ca

he Theatre Network opens their season with What a Young Wife Ought to Know, a production written by Hannah Moscovitch and loosely inspired by letters written by women in the early 20th Century.

The story is set in the 1920s with a production design that takes you into the home of a working-class family. It’s simplistic with a few wooden pieces of furniture and spot-on costumes hanging on coat hooks. It’s a home brimming with warmth as the story’s young couple, Sophie and Jonny (played by Merran Carr-Wiggin and Cole Humeny), start their lives together and build a family.

While the synopsis of the narrative may seem equally as simplistic, it’s not. It’s multilayered as it discusses classism and womanhood. We see a family at the bottom of the totem pole, living without any middle-class comforts, struggling to live on nothing. The play progresses through this young couple’s relationship from the comical first meetings, the awkward gettingto-know-yous, to falling in love and raising a family. While Jonny wants a big family, Sophie is apprehensive, as she knows that feeding their children will be almost impossible in their economic situation.

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

So begins the narrative, illustrating one of the many struggles that women in the 20th Century faced: The lack of contraception.

Sophie has two choices—1. never have sex with her husband again or 2. give into her sexual urges, but risk another pregnancy. And while she is told that having another baby could threaten her health, she is given no preventative options. The audience sees the raw emotion that Sophie faces as she is trapped in a neverending cycle of pain and misery.

Carr-Wiggin’s and Humeny’s performances are harrowing; portraying such raw emotion towards each other and when faced with adversity. Bobbi Goddard’s performance as Sophie’s sister, Alma, is also an important and poignant one. She’s sassy, she’s cruel, and while she’s not in it for long, her heartbreaking character development is the catalyst for Moscovitch’s story.

The production’s theatre in the round set sucks the audience in and makes them feel as trapped as Sophie feels. Carr-Wiggin narrates the story through her perspective, and directly addresses the audience throughout the performance, asking us questions that make us realize how far we’ve progressed towards equality and women’s right, but equally, how far we have yet to go.

Sara Clements

VISUAL ART

The sculptured vent Natalie Jachyra created for Lakeshore and Dixie. / Ruta Nichol

VUEPICKS

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com

“Yellow Coat.” / Aleksandra

SPATIAL MANIFESTATIONS OF MEMORY Artist Natalie Jachyra Explores the Relationship between Space and Memory in Her New Exhibit, Lakeshore and Dixie

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riginally from Toronto, multimedia artist Natalie Jachyra taps into her memories of the neighbourhood where she grew up for her latest project, Lakeshore and Dixie. The intersection of the same name was the site of a car dealership, and defined her neighbourhood—as did low-income housing, factories, warehouses, and small businesses.

Created during her one-year residency at Harcourt House, Jachyra’s work explores the nature of memory—how it functions, how we retrieve it, and how we make sense of it. In-

connected to the building’s underground parking and exterior views of its laundry room windows. This is complemented by two looping soundtracks that feature the wind, cars, a train, and other sounds that Jachrya recollects from her neighbourhood.

She hopes that, “by placing [these elements] into a gallery setting … the viewer can begin to experience it in a recontextualized way.”

The Harcourt House residency has been invaluable for Jachrya’s conceptualization and creation of her project. She

Until Sat., Dec. 1 Lakeshore and Dixie Harcourt House Free admission textual detail to provide viewers, but eventually decided to leave things open to interpretation.

“Some of them do reminisce on their own childhood, but also the spaces and places that they’ve lived in,” Jachrya says.

“And then there’s other ways that they’ve engaged with it or moments that really resonate with them. I don’t think that I’d

PaymeTHRUart’s One Year Anniversary Showcase—90 // Sat., Nov. 24 (9 pm) Celebrate PaymeTHRUart’s first year anniversary and the 1990s with a night of art. Artists—including Naomi Velado (@artbynay on Instagram), Shane Byron (@thereasonart), and Jennifer Lim (@lotusflo_xix)—will be sharing original work inspired by the decade, and the resident DJ will play hip hop and R&B hits from the era. Attendees are also encouraged to wear their raddest 1990s outfits. (Vignettes Building, 10004 103 Ave, Tickets $16.29 on Eventbrite)

How to Learn Anything Season Two // Starting Wed., Nov. 28 Created locally by Stephen Robinson, How to Learn Anything will teach you some weird stuff. In the series’ first season, Robinson learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube while sky diving, and how to build a cake-baking robot—among other things. This season, Robinson says he’ll take on training a cat to launch a rocket, learn how to hit a homerun off a medieval siege weapon, and how to survive in the wild for five days wearing clown makeup. So… yeah. Watch that. (Telus Optik TV)

Gendelman, Aleksandra, and Sabina // Until Thu., Nov. 29 This exhibit features work from Toronto-based artists Aleksandra and Sabina, and Israel-based artist Irena Gendelman. All three artists share Ukraine as their home country, and all create with vibrant colours and capture the world around them, whether it’s nature or a cityscape. For all that the artists have in common, they each have very different styles, and this exhibit offers an excellent opportunity to compare, contrast, and enjoy their work. (West End Gallery, Free admission)

“Some of them do reminisce on their own childhood, but also the spaces and places that they’ve lived in.” spired by elements particularly memorable to her, the installation provides a multi-sensory experience and exploration of Jachyra’s recollections through sight, sound, touch, and smell.

“What I was most interested in was the way that the people in the space would navigate and interact with that public space,” Jachyra says, reflecting on the grassy public space near her neighbourhood’s apartments.

Her installation includes a square of astroturf, a white rectangular sculpture with a vent, and a looping video projection, through which she evokes the idea of that public space, along with a central vent structure

challenged herself to work with sculpture—a medium unfamiliar to her—and this led her to create the sculptured vent for her installation.

“Having sculpture present in a space really forced me to think about not only how it’s all going to work together, but also how the viewer is going to engage with this structure and think about this space in general,” she says.

The residency environment also contributed to her artistic development as it enabled her to network and share ideas with other resident artists.

While developing her project, Jachrya considered how much con-

want to interrupt their experience of this space because I’ve given them a lot of direction of how they should experience it.”

Jachrya acknowledges that memory is complex.

“It isn’t a concrete set of events that we remember, but rather we are holding from various components of what we remember, of what we understand of that space … I wanted them to all be several pieces that we begin to piece together and understand.”

Indeed, viewers entering her installation are invited to draw their own conclusions about memory and the significance of their experience.

Yang Lim

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

Harcourt House Artist Run Centre in partnership with Jake’s Framing + Art Gallery presents:

Jake's F raming

Christmas ART SALE Fundraiser + Bohemian Extravaganza DECEMBER 7 - 9, 2018. Admission is FREE JAKE’S FRAMING + ART GALLERY 10441-123 Street, Edmonton, AB OPENING RECEPTION - FRIDAY, December 7th 7 pm - 10 pm with wine + nibbles + live jazz by Bill Damur and The White Cats ART Sale continues on Sat / Sun 10 am – 4 pm For more information visit: www.harcourthouse.ab.ca

arts 11

This scene tho. Watch it! / GKIDS

COMIC TURNED ANIME

AN ANIME FOR THESE ‘TROUBLING TIMES’

M*F*K*Z Takes on Global Warming, Nazis, and Corruption with Cursing, Violence, and a Stellar Voice Cast

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ould it be cliché to call M*F*K*Z an instant cult classic? Originally a French-Japanese collaboration, this Englishdubbed anime is hard to describe.

It combines a serious and gory anime style with more cartoonish bits, and the plot and story elements borrow from action films, B movies, and comic books (which makes sense, since it was originally a comic).

Angelino (Kenn Michael), or Lino, lives in Dark Meat City (DMC), an L.A.-inspired shit hole, where he works as a pizza delivery guy, keeps his head down, and tries not to get killed. But then he gets distracted by a pretty girl,

gets in an accident, loses his job, and starts seeing some freaky shit—people on the street, like a priest, a cop, and a generic guy in a suit, have tentacled shadows only Lino can see. If that wasn’t bad enough, mysterious men in black start following him and his friends—Vinz (Vince Staples), who has a flaming skull for a head, and Willy (Dino Andrade), a small, anthropomorphic cat— and then try to kill them.

They escape, but the MiB track Lino and Vinz to their gross, shitty tenement apartment where the hoard of roaches Lino feeds like pets manage to save the day, giving the two friends time to

escape. At this point it also becomes super clear (if you hadn’t guessed already based on the opening sequence) that Lino is not a normal guy, even by this crazy universe’s standards.

M*F*K*Z manages to be somehow predictable in its plot, but incredibly over-the-top and insane. It’s the kind of film that is what it is—to the nth degree—and you will either hate it for being what it is, or have a really good time watching it.

The tricked out English voice cast also includes Giancarlo Esposito and Danny Trejo, and the film’s humour is perfect.

One could argue that the plot lands in a pretty didactic place, but this is where the B-movie camp comes in handy. Even if you have a hard time with the idea that global warming is part of an evil plot to take over the world, it’s okay—the film really isn’t asking you to take anything seriously in the first place. And if the snake-wearing Nazi who lives next door to Lino and Vinz in apartment 666 hits uncomfortably close to home for you, that’s okay too, as M*F*K*Z not only exposes the mire of shit we’re all sinking in, but assures us that with some fucked up super powers, and the help

DR. SEUSS

The Grinch looks like he just watched the movie— unimpressed AF. / Universal Studios

YOU’RE A MEH ONE, MR. GRINCH The Latest Adaptation of ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’ Falls Flat

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25, 25, 25, 25 / 25 days in a month / 25 days ain’t enough where I don’t give a— wait a minute!”

These lines from Tyler, The Creator’s new song “I Am the Grinch”—specially written and recorded for Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios’ new film The Grinch—pretty much seem to sum up the zero fucks given by anyone who contributed to this animated film.

Let’s start with the star of this bland mess, Benedict Cumberbatch, who voices the eponymous char12 film

acter. Cumberbatch is a fine voice actor, but you’ll see no evidence of that here. Instead of a snide, British grouch with a growl, we get a slightly nasal douche with an American accent—essentially a whinier Dr. Strange. It was impossible not to compare Cumberbatch’s portrayal of the character to Jim Carrey’s.

The Canadian-born actor played the Grinch in the 2000 live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas—which, even with its hairy, green warts, still sits as the better adaptation. Carrey did what he do in that film, using both voice and body in an over-the-

top portrayal of an over-the-top character. Cumberbund phoned it in.

Like it’s 2000 counterpart, The Grinch adapted Dr. Seuss’ original tale by building a more substantial plot, starring Cindy Lou Who (voiced by Cameron Seely in this version). The problem is that by, presumably, trying to be neither the 1966 TV adaptation—produced by both Dr. Seuss himself and legendary animator Chuck Jones (Looney Tunes)—nor the 2000 Ron Howard-led film, The Grinch took out too much, without adding much of anything. It wasn’t

Seussian enough and didn’t add enough of an original plot to hold adult interest. Its humour also fell flat, and the children in the theatre—one assumes the core audience—didn’t laugh often or long.

Even the heist—the most important scene in any Grinch film—was only okay. The Grinch has a bag of tricks he uses to quickly nab all the gifts and such, but the scene turns repetitive when the same gizmos get used more than once, and again it lacked that Seussian flare. Both Boris Karloff and Anthony Hopkins

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

Sun., Nov. 25 (9:30 pm); Tue., Nov. 27 (9 pm) M*F*K*Z Directed by Shoujirou Nishimi, Guillaume Renard Metro Cinema  of a team of luchadores, and a cranky old scientist, all things are possible.

Note: Metro will apparently be showing the French, subtitled version, but I was sent a link to the English screener. Whatevs.

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com

The Grinch Directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier Now Playing  narrated the scene in rhyming meter, condemning the yuletide thief in their voice performances. Pharrell Williams showed up to read some non-rhyming words from the script.

(And, I mean, what? What was the point of getting him in the first place?)

Then there’s the soundtrack. Tyler, The Creator’s original songs aren’t bad—no Busta Rhymes/Jim Carrey collabo, but that’s fine—it’s just a question of why this saccharine children’s story, which seems otherwise wholly designed to avoid offending anybody or, for that matter, making them feel any depth of emotion at all, has Tyler, the Creator doing two original songs on the soundtrack. The album also includes 1980s and 1990s hip hop group Run DMC, Nat King Cole, The Supremes, and other such random contributors. Danny Elfman did the score and there’s no complaint there. Likewise, some credit should be given to the animators on the film, because it looks great.

As for original characters, the screaming goat and the Grinch’s would-be-friend Mr. Brickelbaum (Kenan Thompson) were welcome additions, but not enough to make this adaptation worth a second viewing.

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com

THE FUCK?

Fri., Nov. 23 and Sat., Nov. 24 (w/ Greg Sestero), Wed., Nov. 28 Best F(r)iends: Volume 2 Directed by Justin MacGregor Metro Cinema 

TRAIN WRECK, TAKE THREE Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero Are Together Again in Best F(r)iends, Volume 2

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ommy Wiseau’s The Room (2003) brought him 15 minutes of fame for shamelessness— it was a naïvely bad movie that became a cult hit, a target for laughter. But the now-expected Wiseau-ness—kooky, heavily accented, yet unemotional line readings—was unexceptionally matched by the kooky, overwrought, yet flat, story and camerawork of Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 (2017). Written by The Room costar Greg Sestero (so he and Wiseau could work together again, like, y’know, best friends!), BF:V1 also boasted the most tentative, unthrilling, cliffside murder.

Volume 2 is the same vehicle—a David Lynch-ish neo-noir, with a few allusions to Psycho—but “vehicle” here means a slowly pedalled tricycle. Jon (Sestero), still devoid of

any character, and girlfriend Traci (Kristen StephensonPino) head to Colorado with the money that cliffdiving mortician Harvey (Wiseau) owed him—an escape broken up by flashforwards to Harvey, strangely alive and wearing a knight’s helm, holding Jon captive.

Along the way, there’s spelled-out exposition, stilted deliveries, and laboured reactions. Scenes aren’t eerie but airless; and not out there, but drawn-out. Dialogue can range from the clichéd (“I’m not gonna play this stupid game”; “It’s not you, it’s me”) to the lazy. (Jon says Traci could’ve told a nosy cop that the ATM in the back of their minivan’s a “collector’s item or something.”)

The best to be said of Best F(r) iends Volume 2 is that it has a few good aerial shots and one

good dream sequence. Its plot’s about as thoughtful as its trip planning—driving from L.A. to Colorado via Tucson, Arizona?!

A tedious, sluggish connecting of smeared plot points, the story dawdles and dallies. Otherwise, it’s a grab bag: a flash of sadistic threat here, a mysterious shooter behind a laundry room door there, a Clint Eastwood-like tough coot of an uncle (which means a chance to riff on famous lines from Dirty Harry), a misty recollection of the Black Dahlia case.

What this Ambien-like ambling leads to is a hokey last-scene reveal (and one last twist)—if you can stave off the sweet, sweet release of sleep. At least, and at last, Volume 2 puts the ‘end’ back in Best F(r)iends.

Brian Gibson

Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero in Best F(r)iends, Volume 2. / Sestero Pictures

FRI, NOV 23– THUR, NOV 29

SCHOOL COMPETITION DOC

THEY BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE

Science Fair Turns School Competition into a Reality Show BOY ERASED

FREE SOLO

FRI: 7:00 & 9:30PM SAT: 1:00, 7:00 & 9:30PM SUN: 1:00, 3:30, 6:00 & 8:30PM MON TO THURS: 7:00 & 9:15PM

FRI: 9:45PM SAT: 4:00 & 9:45PM SUN: 4:00 & 9:00PM MON TO THURS: 9:30PM

RATED: 14A, SV

RATED: PG

A STAR IS BORN

FRI & MON TO THURS: 6:45PM SAT: 1:15 & 6:45PM SUN: 1:15 & 6:15PM

Fri., Nov. 23 – Tue., Nov. 27 Science Fair Directed by Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster Metro Cinema 

I

t’s time for another entry in the field of (non-sports) school competition documentaries with usually blatant titles. Spellbound (2002) followed letter-listers at the National Spelling Bee; Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) twirled among NYC Grade 5 students training for a dance-off; Brooklyn Castle (2012) checked in on an inner-city junior-high chess club; and STEP (2017) kept pace with a Baltimore high-school girls’ step dance squad.

Now, light years from potato batteries, and baking soda and vinegar volcanoes, there’s Science Fair.

A highly-watchable National Geographic edutainment special on the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), SF hardly warrants a cinematic release. Contestants are made characters, with scant family background or socio-economic context—except when it’s time to tap the tearducts for the one of just two non-American competi-

RATED: 14A, SA, CL

The kids do the science or something. / National Geographic

tors from the developing world, or to hyper the tension even more before a certain winner’s announced.

This reality-TV approach persists: one-track characters (a dopey dude and a tough-as-hangnails teacher whose watchword is “excellence”); a comic interlude—the ISEF dance (a.k.a. geeks get their groove on); The Right Stuff-like slo-mo shots of competitors walking to the convention centre room; watching the seconds until the final judgement is delivered count down.

The first half’s build-up never shows any curiosity or passion.

These are professionalized teens (one, Anjali, is both trying to be restrained and not so humble) gunning for “Best in Fair” with a lasereye to getting into a top-ranked college. It’s scientific inquiry as high performance competition and pitching your project (how apt the big show’s in L.A.). The feel-good

message: the techno-scientific revolution’s gone global, and young, and “these kids are going to change the world because they are the best and brightest.”

But, if we remove the rose-coloured lab goggles, climate change deniers in the White House are just Exhibit A. ISEF is actually Intel ISEF—yet this doc never notes sponsorship, funding, investment, or parental involvement (the Americans come from what look like well-off families and moneyed schools, though). The first national science competition, we’re informed, was in 1942—the winning essay was about “how science can help win the war”; on Dec. 28, 1942, FDR authorized the Manhattan Project; “atomic culture” soon generated public interest in science. So what kinds of knowledge pursuits is Science Fair simplifying and monumentalizing?

Brian Gibson

PRESENTS

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SCIENCE FAIR FRI @ 7:00, SAT @ 7:00 SUN @ 1:00, MON @ 9:30 TUE @ 7:00

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STAFF PICS / 55TH ANNIVERSARY

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film 13

Go off any sick jumps? / Marmot Basin.

S’CUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKY

T

Ski to Live and Live to Ski This Year, My Dudes

his winter marks Marmot Basin’s 55th anniversary of operation, and the ski area is taking a low-key approach and looking to the future as much as the past.

“We’re not planning much to be honest,” says Marmot’s vicepresident of marketing and sales Brian Rode. “It’s also the 30th anniversary of Jasper in January so there are two weeks of extra spe-

cial events planned and the focus of 55th anniversary events will be around Jasper in January.”

Scavenger hunts, fun races, avalanche awareness activities, and a Corona beverage tent at the Caribou Lodge on weekends highlight the on-hill happenings during Jasper in January, with much more taking place in town. While Jasper in January remains the winter’s

signature event for Jasper National Park, the amount of activities taking place at Marmot has been scaled back over the years. Things like the fat-tire bike races are now held in and around the village.

“We’ve found that skiing is the event on the hill,” explains Rode.

“People come to enjoy the great skiing and to have too much else happening can take away from both the skiing and the activities.”

The things that make Marmot unique and special are much the same today as they were 55

very seriously. It has its challenges but it’s one that we embrace.”

Rode points to last year’s addition of the Tres Hombres area at Marmot as an example of the ongoing work with Parks Canada, which has been a trademark of Marmot Basin’s 55 years of operation. As part of an agreement reached with Parks Canada, Marmot gave up its rights to the Whistler Creek area, which was part of its original leasehold, in order to gain permission to open the ex-

quad in the Canadian Rockies was added, aptly named the Canadian Rockies Express, and in 2011 the Paradise Quad Chair was installed.

Both were a result of the “renewed vision” the new shareholders had, explains Rode.

A long range plan to guide Marmot into future decades has been developed with Parks Canada and the opening of Tres Hombres was just the start.

Part of those future plans include the eventual replacement of the Knob Chair, the iconic double

“Working in lock step with Parks Canada we respect where we are operating and take our role as stewards of the environment very seriously. It has its challenges but it’s one that we embrace.”

Thank you to for providing an alternative voice in Edmonton

14 snow zone

years ago when Marmot Basin Ski Lifts Ltd. got its licence to operate from Parks Canada. As a ski area operating in a national park, there is an intense effort to preserve the rustic, natural feel, and respect the spectacular surroundings.

“One of our defining characteristics is that we operate in a national park. Working in lock step with Parks Canada we respect where we are operating and take our role as stewards of the environment

pert terrain of Tres Hombres.

Looking to the future has been a major focus of Marmot since a new group of owners took over in 2003. Prior to that, the same group had operated the ski area since its 1964 opening.

“Things really ramped up at that point (2003). By 2006 we had our first snowmaking put in on the lower mountain and ever since then we haven’t missed a mid-November opening.”

In 2009, the longest high speed

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

lift that takes guests to the highest lift accessed point of the ski area and is home to many of the most challenging runs and terrain.

“Snowmaking on the upper slopes is also part of our future plans but like everything we do here it has to be a win-win-win for Parks Canada, Marmot and the public,” Rode says.

“We look at this anniversary as 55 years of respecting our park and the environment.”

Steve Kenworthy

Stars doesn’t care if it ever comes back from the night. / Shervin Lainez

INDIE POP

The Canadian Indie Pop Outfit Has Been at It for Almost 20 Years and Won’t Surrender Mon., Nov. 26 (7 pm) Stars w/ Dizzy Myer Horowitz Theatre $36 via ticketfly.com

C

anadian pop rock band Stars is the epitome of punk. They may have been making the world dance to catchy pop songs for almost 20 years—but at the end of the day, they are just six friends in a room together making music that represents something.

“I think pop music is a revolutionary tool, and we are a socialist revolutionary band, so that’s what we stand for,” says co-lead singer, Torquil Campbell. “Be a band or don’t be a band, but if you are a band then join the revolution, because that’s what rock ’n’ roll is supposed to be about. We want to cement revolution, and we want to dance while we’re doing it.”

One of the most important

core principles for the band is being punk.

“In other words, being ourselves and doing it our way and not apologizing for who we are, and using our music to cement our politics,” Campbell says.

This sense of wanting to create something meaningful can

from their friends, and the people that they grew up with.

The band’s most recent single, “Are You With Me” is a prime example of this. The song was written after a lonely moment when Campbell sent a text to the late Gord Downie. “Sometimes when I get sad, I send

“He’s a guy who throws a lot of love into whatever he does, gets very involved with people, and it’s just exciting to be in a room with him,” Campbell says.

He further explains that the entire process of making the single “felt very much like the begin-

“Stars is not the dream that I dreamed it would be, but Stars is the dream that I’ve lived. It’s the thing that it’s become and I love it. It’s my destiny.”

— Torquil Campbell of Stars been seen in all of the band’s music. The members’ process is a collaborative effort where everyone comes together, finding inspirations from not just other musicians and records, but from the world around them—

Gord texts cause his phone is still open,” he says.

“Are You With Me” is a melodic ballad charged with powerful emotions. The song was made with Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, another good friend of the band.

ning of what [the band] did when nobody listened to [its] records anymore and [the members] just hung out with each other and did it for [their] own reasons.”

Stars is a collaborative endeavour that has been molded

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

into its current form through its many experiences over the last 18 years. With every new band member, the band has taken a new identity—something that is reflected in its transforming sound as well.

“Stars is not the dream that I dreamed it would be,” Campbell says. “But Stars is the dream that I’ve lived. It’s the thing that it’s become and I love it. It’s my destiny.”

It’s also why Campbell decided the word Stars was the perfect embodiment of a band’s spirit.

The word evokes the most profound questions such as ‘What is space?’ and simultaneously, represents the most trivial and temporal events such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce. “I think that is the essence of pop music,” Campbell says. “The best pop music is both completely throw-away and totally unforgettable. So that’s the kind of music we seek to make.”

Anuska Sarkar

music 15

INDIE ROCK

Zachary Gray of The Zolas Writes Songs about Everyday Life That Happen to Be Political

T

he Zolas’ summer single “Bombs Away” is a catchy middle finger to the current real estate climate in major Canadian cities. Vancouver, the city where the band was bred, has been the centre of attention for sky high rent but lead singer Zachary Gray noticed a trend of high living costs across the city that restricts young adults from settling down in the core of a city.

“To me the song wasn’t designed to whine about it,” Gray explains. “It’s just a feeling every young person in this city has. To continue living in the city they love, it’s going to cost them. You want to live in the city you want to live in or you want to follow your passion, but you can’t do both, unless you’re really lucky.”

It’s not the first time the band has released an energetic pop song to fight the patriarchy.

“The lyrics I write about are about what’s on the top of everyone’s tongue around me,” Gray says. “Every album we make, I want a good cross section of life as a young person in that year. If

people are talking about climate, if people are talking about housing, then that’s something I want to express.”

The Zolas’ other core member, Tom Dobrzanski, and Gray have created three albums and are working with bandmates on their

“Molotov Girls,” the first single off of Swooner, is an ode to women who don’t sit idle and it prefaced the Women’s March, which inspired the Arkells’ “Knocking at the Door,” a song that mixes undertones of politics into a really great pre-game pump up.

They’re the band that we need right now.”

There’s a movement The Zolas are a part of, whether the band realizes it or not. When the group released feminist anthems three years ago they didn’t offend very many people, if any. When bands

“The scariest thing as a band is to be totally uncontroversial ... If you’re making music that everybody loves then you’re not saying anything.”

– Lead Singer of The Zolas, Zachary Gray fourth, due sometime in 2019.

The Zolas are among a number Canadian bands whose members aren’t afraid to speak their minds. The songs can come off a bit political, but Gray explains that they aren’t written in that sense. He never sets out to write about an issue, he’s writing about everyday life that’s affected by the political climate.

“With the wave of kind of populism that’s swelling up all over the world right now, you see that with Trump and you see that with Rob Ford … I feel like the Arkells are just as populist, but they are the empathetic, educated [and] alternative,” Gray says. “The fact that they’ve tapped into the mainstream is a wonderful thing for our country.

make a statement these days, whether it’s the Arkells with its songs of protest, Said the Whale with songs referencing environ-

These guys clearly hit up the thrift shops. / Supplied.

16 music

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

Fri., Nov. 30 (7 pm) Yukon Blonde and The Zolas Station On Jasper SOLD OUT mental issues, or The Zolas, it garners a lot more attention on social media. Keyboard warriors may tell songwriters to “stick to music” or criticize their character, but it’s something Gray is fully willing to take on.

“The scariest thing as a band is to be totally uncontroversial,” Gray says. “I don’t want to make music that everybody loves. If you’re making music that everybody loves then you’re not saying anything. If you’re pissing off people like that then you’re definitely on to something.”

Tamanna Khurana

OLD SCHOOL ROCKABILLY

That guitar looks pretty dirty, but not dirty enough for Bloodshot Bill. / Supplied.

DEAD BODIES, BLOOD, AND ROCKABILLY Death Just Seems to Follow Ol’ Bloodshot Bill

L

ife on the road has been interesting for the rockabilly veteran Bloodshot Bill, and over his 20-year career, he has racked up a number of stories to tell. One summer, while doing a couple tour dates in Winnipeg, Bloodshot Bill encountered not one, but two dead bodies.

He arrived at a hotel and the night before, someone had been murdered in one of the rooms.

“The details were like dismemberment, disembowelment, all that stuff. The room was 309—I remember that,” he says.

The next time he went to Winnipeg, Bloodshot Bill played a show and later learned that a dead body had been found in the wall of the venue. One of the DJs had died there and his body hadn’t been found yet.

To top off the story, Bloodshot Bill returned to Winnipeg for a third time that summer to play the first venue, and they gave him the room that the murder happened in.

“I was excited about getting the room—I don’t think I’m morbid, but it’s fascinating, it’s cool,” he says.

He even ended up taking a bath in the room, which he later learned was where they found the body parts.

The musical veteran has been at it for 20 years now, dodging more encounters with death and playing his personal take on classic rockabilly

and roots music.

“It’s a mix of all the stuff I like from the mid-50s to mid-60s about.

Y’know, the rhythm and blues, hillbilly, rockabilly, rock and roll, doowop—all that fun stuff,” he says.

Thu., Nov. 29 (10 pm) Bloodshot Bill Arcadia Tickets $15 via showpass.com

His love for rockabilly music began as a kid. His best friend’s brother had an extensive rockabilly collection, and even had a cousin who played in a rockabilly band. Bloodshot Bill dug the music and, a little while later, decided to form a band with a few friends from school. Originally, he played the drums.

“We just thought it was fun—it seemed like a fun thing before we all played instruments,” he says. “We all wanted to play guitar, but guitar was too hard, so I got the drums.”

While Bloodshot Bill does still play with a number of bands here and there—including The 5.6.7.8’s and Deke Dickerson—a good number of his shows are now solo acts. He even plays guitar in them.

“I just tried it one day—I tried playing the guitar and the drums together—and it was just fun. I played a show like that and it was fun and I just keep doing it,” he says.

But some days he does miss

the full band shows.

“There are times when I’m somewhere and I feel like I can’t wait to come back there with the band,” he says.

Bloodshot Bill’s favourite tour story, however, takes place in Tucson, Arizona where a few girls started flirting with the band.

“They invited everyone back to their loft across the street—it was some guy’s birthday and they started singing happy birthday to him and I hopped on the drum set and started banging a beat,” he says. “Everybody just got fucking naked and [were] just dancing around and I didn’t stop playing drums for like 20 minutes. I didn’t want this to end. It was awesome.”

Bloodshot Bill has a new album due out February, titled Come Get Your Love Right Now. The album is more acoustic than his previous recordings, but with the same vibe and style.

Like most his albums, it was recorded at home.

Alexander Sorochan

NOVEMBER 24TH

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December 28 & 29 Tickets $34.95 plus gst Some conditions may apply. Promotion subject to change without notice and AGLC approval.

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VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

music 17

VUEPICKS

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

The Celeigh Cardinal Trio are stoked to play for charity. / Supplied

JamJar’s Jam: Homeless Women’s Health and Dignity Fundraising Project // Nov. 28 (6 PM) A night of musical charity for a very good cause, featuring music from Carrie Day, Lara Yule Singh, Amy van Keeken, and the Celeigh Cardinal trio. All proceeds will go to Hope Mission—specifically for their female clients. There will also be a slient auction for some sweet stuff. It’s going to be a night of giving and music. What could be better on your Wednesday night?

Nothing, that’s what. (The Aviary, $30 via yeglive.ca and $35 at doors. Only 120 tickets available.)

Ria Mae w/ RALPH // Thu., Nov. 22 (8 PM) I haven’t actually heard Ria Mae, but I have heard RALPH, a young, upand-coming disco pop artist that is

EVENTS

The Denim Daddies Thinkin’ Self Released

SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON SINGLE MINGLE MIXER w/ YEG.date

NOV 23

PALAYE ROYALE

NOV 24

THE PROJECT MUSIC NIGHT

The Denim Daddies’ follow up to July’s release Drinkin’ is three more country bangers in the new EP, Thinkin’. Moving away from the beer theme of its previous release, Thinkin’ still delivers the same head-bobbing, square dance-inducing country rock present on Drinkin’.

Apparent in its name and the previous EP’s theme, The Denim Daddies have a very tongue-incheek approach to country music.

“Kill The Heart” is a high-energy, radio-friendly instant hit that calls out modern country music’s lack of genuineness and heart, while critiquing the “pseudo-truths and fake grassroots” of the genre.

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Moving away from the fast-paced country rock of “Kill The Heart,” “The Circus” is the most bluesy track with its lap steel guitar and honky tonk piano. Taking it down another notch, the seven-minute track “Rust and Die” is the slowest, moodiest track on the EP, setting

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Drew McDowall w/ Hiro Kone, Static Control, k burwash // Fri., Nov. 23 (9 PM) Drew McDowall is the kind of musician that will be remembered for the validity of his soundscapes.

Being a master sonic tinkerer, McDowall doesn’t produce songs, rather bits of loud psychedelic fiction. Falling in the electronic category, his music is quite easy to zone out to or have an out of body experience to, depending on what state you’re in. (9910, $20)

NEW SOUNDS

UPCOMING

NOV 22

turning the genre on its head. With her take-no-shit attitude, heavy RnB breakdowns, and witty demeanor, RALPH has been picking up accolades by everyone that matters. She can play the girl next door or kick you in the teeth, and both are enjoyable. (Starlite Room, $25)

/

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VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

itself apart from the other tracks with its use of the organ.

Thinkin’ is a great follow up to Drinkin’, and an indicator of The Denim Daddies’ successes to come. Yee-Haw! Ellen Reade

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Saturday, December 8 at 10 AM. 11802-145 Street, Edmonton, Alberta. Over 800 lots - On-line bidding Antique & Modern Firearms. Check website. To consign, call Linda Baggaley 403-597-1095, Brad 780-9408378. www.budhaynesauctions. com; www.wardsauctions.com.

nêhiyawak starlight Arts & Crafts After much anticipation, nêhiyawak will release its debut EP, starlight, this week. Growing quickly in just two years, nêhiyawak has opened for Mudhoney and released a soundtrack to the local film ôtênaw.

While the first release was an ambient, instrumental, soundtrack, starlight’s shoegazey, indie rock soundscapes carry a similar ambiance to (score for the film) ôtênaw.

The new EP has similar sensibilities to the band’s first release while existing in an entirely different gene. nêhiyawak’s self-described “moccasingaze” is characterized by droney, wall-of-sound guitars with jangly leads, and synths that range from dark and bassy to light and twinkly.

Rooted in Cree music and tradition, “moccasingaze” is the intersection of traditional and contemporary sounds. The five-track EP is also influenced by 1980s shoegaze and masters the dreamy, sprawling guitars familiar to the genre, while still defying its tropes. Unlike most shoegaze, starlight has crisp, clear vocal production. This allows for the complex vocal lines

and powerful songwriting to contribute significantly to starlight’s chill-inducing atmosphere. starlight is emotionally evocative in its songwriting and in its instrumentation, telling stories through both. nêhiyawak discuss issues faced by Indigenous people in Canada—song meanings are heavily reflected in the emotivity of the compositions. “page” stands out with its spoken word poetry and trancey, dance floor synth.

The chunky bassline in “copper” drives the song through its soft, spacey sounds.

Heartbeat-like rhythms and deep bassy synths on “open window” make it the most hypnotic track of the five.

Ellen Reade Kaia Kater Gernades Acronym Records Last time we saw Kaia Kater, she was deeply ingraining herself within the minds and ears of Edmonton Folk Festival attendees. Her set was stripped down, featuring Kater’s soft vocals, a worn banjo, and an upright bass—it was folk in every sense of the word. But there was something that set Kater apart

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from all of the other folk crooners—her lyrics. They were filled with contemplative hooks and philosophical musings, and underneath the simple folk rhythm, they were hard to ignore. And they’re hard to ignore again on Kater’s latest release, Gernades, a fuller, more radio-friendly batch of songs.

While the worn banjo is still present, Kater decided to add some slide guitar, backup vocals, drums—basically more production. And it really works. The album opens swith “New Collosus,” a catchy, muted folk pop song that a philosophy major would have trouble deciphering.

Kater’s poetic prose stands out again on songs like “Canyonland,” “Starry Day,” and the protest-title track “Gernades.” Kater has to be the only artist that can mesh lyrics like “Rain heavy like carpet bombs,” with “sweetgrass and lemonade,” so well together. The only criticism of Gernades could be the interlude voice over tracks that break up the album. At first, they come off a little jarring and somewhat repetitive, but they’re so sparse, and obviously important to Kater, that it doesn’t damage the listening experience.

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

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music 19

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VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

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SAVAGELOVE ESCORT RETORT

I’m a recently divorced single mom and full-time student. I’m really beginning to hurt financially and have decided to start working as an escort. I am at a point of great emotional stability, happiness, and confidence— all reasons that led to my decision—and I’m surrounded by people who love me and won’t judge me. (Not that I will be telling most of them.) I’ve been seeing a man who I like, but I’ve made it clear that I am not committed to him and can see him only once a week. I’ve explained that I don’t think I can ever be monogamous, and I do not want a relationship. He has struggled with this and told me early on he was in love with me. We have AMAZING sex, and I think this causes him to have a hard time understanding why I don’t want a relationship. I do not want to tell him I am escorting. I feel the fewer people who know, the better. And I don’t know him that well, as I have been seeing him for only six months. I know he would want to know, and a huge part of me feels that the right thing to do is be honest with him if I am going to continue seeing him. I also know that cutting him loose would hurt and confuse him, especially without being able to give him a reason. How do I handle this?

What is the right thing to do?

My site goes live in three days, and what’s keeping me up at night is not how best to verify clients, it’s what to do about the man in my life who I respect and love, even if I am not in love with him.

NEW TO ESCORTING Let’s set the escorting issue aside for a moment. You don’t want the same things (he wants

Dan Savage

monogamy and a defined relationship, you don’t want any of that shit), you don’t feel for him the way he feels for you (he’s in love, you’re not), and you’re a busy single mom and full-time student—all perfectly valid reasons to end a relationship, NTE. You aren’t obligated to tell him that something you were thinking about doing but haven’t yet done, i.e., escorting, factored into your decision to cut him loose.

While I definitely think people have a right to know if their partners are escorts, I don’t think people have an absolute right to know if their partners were escorts. So if the sex is really good, and you think there’s a chance you could one day feel as strongly for him as he does for you, and you’re planning to escort only until you get your degree, NTE, you could tell him you want to take a break. Explain to him that you don’t have the bandwidth for a boyfriend just now—kid, school, work— but you’re open to dating him after you’re out of school if he’s still single and still interested.

BI BI BIRDIE

I’m a 30-year-old single monogamist and I recently realized I’m bisexual. I feel much happier.

Except I recently crossed a line with a very close friend of mine, a man I’ll admit to having some romantic feelings for. After he broke up with his ex, I started getting random late-night text messages from him. And a couple weeks ago, we hooked up sans penetration. We acknowledged that we both have feelings but neither of us is in a good place. He’s still dealing with the end of his LTR, and I am only just coming out as bisexual. I love this person and our

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friendship is important to me, but I can’t stop thinking of the possibility of us being together.

I’m confused by the timing and I wonder if this is real or just something I’ve allowed to distract me—or both! Also, what would this mean for my bisexuality? I’ve been to this rodeo before—meaning opposite-sex relationships—but what about the part of me I haven’t fully explored?

BETWEEN EVERY THORN SOLITUDE YEARNS You describe yourself as a monogamist—so, yeah, entering into a committed relationship with this man would prevent you from exploring your bisexuality. And the timing feels off: He may be on the rebound, and you’re still coming to terms with your bisexuality. So don’t enter into a committed relationship with him, BETSY, at least not yet. Date him casually and keep hooking up with him, with the understanding—with the explicit and fully verbalized and mutually consented to understanding—that you will be “exploring” your bisexuality, i.e. you’ll be getting out there and eating some pussy.

BUT BUTT?

I’m a 37-year-old woman married for eight years to a wonderful man. We’re happy and GGG to the point where his kinks have become my kinks and vice versa. However, he loves anal sex and I cannot do it. No matter how much lube we use or how slowly we go, it’s not just uncomfortable, it’s red-hot-pokerin-my-ass painful. Can you give me any concrete, practical advice to get to a point where I can enjoy anal?

BEYOND UNCOMFORTABLE TUSHY TRAUMA P.S. Do some women actually enjoy anal? After my experiences, I find that really hard to believe.

If you’re still interested in exploring anal after all those redhot-poker-in-your-ass painful experiences—and you are by no means obligated to explore any further—focus on anal stimulation, BUTT, not anal penetration. Try rimming, try a vibrator pressed against your anus (not shoved into it), try running his lubed-up dick up and down your crack (across your anus, not into your anus), and try all of these things during masturbation, vaginal penetration, and oral sex.

Having a few dozen orgasms— or a few hundred—while your anus’s sensitive nerve endings are pleasurably engaged could create a positive association between anal stimulation and sexual pleasure.

It’s going to take some time to create a positive association powerful enough to supplant the negative association you have now—an association with echoes of regicide (Google “Edward II and red hot poker”)—so your husband shouldn’t expect to get his dick back into your butt anytime soon, if he ever will at all. Some people, for reasons physiological or psychological or both, just can’t experience pleasure during anal intercourse. If you’re one of those people, BUTT, your husband will just have to grieve and move on.

P.S. I find it hard to believe that a woman could possibly enjoy, say, a Donald Trump rally. But some women do, BUTT, and we have video to prove it. The same could be said about anal.

THE ABNORMAL MENU

I am a 30-year-old hetero woman.

Any ideas on how a person can build up to healthy intimate relationships again while recovering from trauma? I’m afraid in normal sexual situations. How can I get to a point where I can have sex for fun and not in a way where I’m triggering my fight-or-flight response? Yes, I am seeing a therapist.

TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE NULLIFYING SEXUAL ENERGY Here’s an idea, TENSE, but please run it by your therapist before giving it a try: Find a guy you like and propose a different kind of friends-with-benefits arrangement. You will be in charge—you will do all the initiating—and while he can say no to anything you ask, he isn’t to ask for or initiate anything himself. You set the menu, you make the rules, you give the orders. He’ll need to be someone you trust, and it’ll help if he’s someone who thinks following orders is sexy—and trust me, TENSE, those guys are out there. You said that normal sexual situations aren’t working for you.

Maybe an abnormal one would?

On the Lovecast, what evangelical Christianity does to women: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org

VUECARES

TREASURE THESE MOMENTS

I HAVE BEEN...

AND ALWAYS SHALL BE...

YOUR FRIEND. .COM VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

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JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

Matt Jones

“Cast of Characters”-all with the help of one person.

Across

1 Celebrity news site 4 “___ the season” 7 Site for some trivia events 10 “So frustrating ...”

13 Sugarloaf Mountain locale 14 Coach Parseghian 15 Make up stuff 16 Mauna ___ (Hawaiian volcano) 17 Character co-created by 63-Across 19 Abbr. on toothpaste boxes 20 ___-Wan Kenobi 21 Sasha’s older sister 22 Character co-created by 63-Across 25 “Here, I’ll get that” 27 Auguries 28 “Canterbury Tales” site 30 Great Lake name 31 Borrow (forever) 32 Starts to drop off 34 Dir. of this clue 35 “Incorrect” 39 Group of characters co-created by 63-Across 40 With “The,” character co-created by 63-Across 42 Character co-created by 63-Across 43 Mexican blanketlike shawl 45 Round fig.

46 Recording 47 Quit being serious 48 Open a little 50 Important 51 Colorado resort town 54 Create cartoons 56 Character co-created by 63-Across 58 Hands out hands 61 He did Solo work 62 Bird bill 63 Late comics maven whose career spanned eight decades 65 “Foucault’s Pendulum” author Umberto 66 Sport ___ (4x4) 67 Cassis-and-white wine cocktail 68 December 31, e.g.

69 Court partition 70 It gets steamrollered 71 Magic 8-Ball response 72 Liquor flavored with juniper

22 at the back

Down

1 Quick haircut 2 Actress Sorvino 3 Ben Stiller character with signature looks 4 Dish served in cornhusks 5 Glass on the radio 6 Sub, e.g.

7 Lean on the horn 8 Assistant 9 Digital data display 10 Mitt 11 ABC host Roberts 12 Train tracks 18 Zero, in rugby 23 Patriotic memorabilia 24 Former Cowboy Smith 26 Emulated Cicero 28 “Need You Tonight” group 29 1890s gold rush city 31 Two-letter pair 33 Moved sinuously 36 Get going 37 “I don’t want that” 38 “The Book of Mormon” co-creator Parker 41 Ballet great Vaslav 44 Pesto ingredient 49 Detection methods 51 Beyond pale 52 First word of a “Star Trek” opener 53 Wine variety 54 “Late Night with Seth Meyers” writer/performer Ruffin 55 Pin in the back 57 EGOT winner Moreno 59 Jeans maker Strauss 60 Noticed 64 Knot up ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords

FREEWILL ASTROLOGY

Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his autobiography On the Move, neurologist Oliver Sacks praised his friend Jerry’s curiosity and knowledge. “Jerry has one of the most spacious, thoughtful minds I have ever encountered, with a vast base of knowledge of every sort,” wrote Sacks, “but it is a base under continual questioning and scrutiny.” So willing was Jerry to question and re-evaluate his own assumptions that Sacks said he had “seen his friend suddenly stop in mid-sentence and say, ‘I no longer believe what I was about to say.’” That’s the gold standard to which I hope you will aspire in the coming weeks, Aries. As bright and articulate as you’ll be, you will have an even higher calling to expand your mind through continual questioning.

of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”

psyche that is magnetic to wealth.

Here they are: 37. 16. 58. 62. 82. 91.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Jharia Coalfield in Eastern India is a 110-square-mile reserve of underground coal. In some places, it’s on fire, and has been burning for over a hundred years. This isn’t a good thing. It’s wasteful and causes pollution. But now I’ll ask you to put aside that scenario, and imagine a more benevolent kind of steadily burning fire: a splendour in your soul that never stops radiating warmth and light; that draws from an inexhaustible source of fuel; that is a constant source of strength and courage and power. I’m happy to tell you that the coming months will be a favourable time to establish and nurture this eternal flame.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “You have two ways to live your life,” writes spiritual teacher Joseph Vitale, “from memory or inspiration.” In other words, you can take your cues about how to live your life from what happened in the past, or else you can make your decisions based on what you’re excited to do and become in the future. According to my analysis, the next 10 months will be an excellent time for you to fully embrace the latter approach. And it all starts now.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In recent years, a few pioneers have gotten microchips implanted under their skin. These technological marvels enable them to open doors and turn on lights with merely a wave of their hands, or receive upto-the-minute readings on what’s transpiring inside their bodies. Now an additional frontier has arisen: people using do-it-yourself kits to experiment on their own DNA. For example, some have tweaked their genes so their bodies create more muscle than is natural. I would love for you to change yourself around in the coming weeks, Taurus, but not in these particular ways. I’d rather see you do subtle psychological and spiritual work. The astrological omens suggest it’s a favourable time for focused selftransformation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Marilyn Monroe, Georgia O’Keeffe, and President Franklin Roosevelt were direct descendants of the pilgrims who sailed from England to the New World on the famous Mayflower ship in 1620. I, on the other hand, am a direct descendant of a nineteenth-century Slovakian coal miner who toiled in the underground darkness. What about you, Virgo? Now would be a rich and provocative time to reconnect with your roots; to remember where your people originated; to explore the heritage that served as the matrix from which you sprouted.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Are you smart enough to take advantage of the fact that your best relationships would benefit from bursts of innovative energy in the coming weeks? Are you brave enough to banish the ghost that still haunts your romantic life?

Do you have the moxie to explore frontiers with collaborators who play fair and know how to have fun? Will you summon the curiosity and initiative to learn new strategies about how to enhance your approach to intimacy? I’ll answer those questions in your behalf: yes, yes, yes, and yes.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Would you agree with me that there are both boring, tiresome problems and fun, interesting problems? If so, read on. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you’re at a fork in your path where you could either get further involved with a boring, tiresome problem or else a fun, interesting one. (I think you’ll have to engage with one or the other.) Of course, I’m rooting for you to proactively wrangle with the fun, interesting one. Here’s timely inspiration from Cancerian author John W. Gardner: “We are continually faced with a series

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to researchers who study animal behaviour at two Italian universities, chickens can do arithmetic. The birds don’t even need to be trained; the skill seems to be innate. (Read details here: tinyurl.com/ChickensDoMath.)

I’m wondering whether chickens born under the sign of Libra might even be able to do algebra in the coming weeks. According to my assessment of the astrological omens, the mental acuity of many Libran creatures will be at a peak.

How will you use your enhanced intelligence?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In March 2005, far more people than usual won big money in a regional Powerball lottery in the U.S. The average for each draw is four winners, but on this special occasion, 110 players were awarded at least $100,000 and as much as $500,000. The reason for the anomaly seemed to have been an oracle that appeared in a number of widely distributed fortune cookies. It provided five of the six winning numbers. Inspired by this crazy stroke of good fortune, and in accordance with the favourable financial omens now coming to bear on you, I hereby offer you six numbers to use as your lucky charms. Will they help you win a game of chance? I can’t be sure.

At the very least, they will titillate and massage the part of your

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’ve always got more help available than you imagine, and that’s especially true these days.

Both people you know and people you don’t know may come to your assistance and offer extra support—especially if you meet two conditions: 1. you sincerely believe you deserve their assistance and support; 2. you clearly ask for their assistance and support. Now here’s more good news about the help that’s available. Whether or not you believe in spiritual beings, they, too, are primed to offer blessings and resources. If you don’t believe in their existence, I invite you to pretend you do and see what happens. If you do believe in them, formulate clear requests for what you’d like them to offer you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In one of his poems, Arthur Rimbaud extolled the exquisite evenings when the mist soaked his face as he strolled, and he sipped that heavenly dew till he was drunk. Was he speaking literally or metaphorically? Probably both, if I know Rimbaud. Anyway, Aquarius, I’d love for you to engage in similar exploits. What are some natural adventures that might intoxicate you? What simple pleasures may alter your consciousness, nudging you free of its habits? Meditate with sweet abandon on how to free yourself through the power of play and the imagination.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It’s illegal to hunt animals in Kenya.

But members of the Dorobo tribe circumvent the law to provide food for their families. As three or more Dorobo men wander out on the Savanna, they wait for hungry lions to kill a wildebeest or other creature. Then they stride toward the feasting beasts in a calm show of force until the predators run away in confusion.

The brave scavengers swoop in and swiftly remove a portion of the wildebeest, then coolly walk away, leaving plenty for the lions when they return to their meal. I bring this scene to your attention, Pisces, because I suspect that in the coming weeks you will have similar levels of courage and poise as you go after what you want.

CURTIS HAUSER

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018

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SOUTH EDMONTON

COMMON 24 penultimate partings

VUEWEEKLY.com | NOV 22 - NOV 28, 2018