Worcester Magazine December 17 - 23, 2021

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | CULTURE § ARTS § DINING § VOICES

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MAGAZINE

THE SEARCH FOR DIVERSITY IN COMIC BOOK HEROES HITS HOME. PAGE 12

2 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Worcester Magazine 100 Front St., Fifth Floor Worcester, MA 01608 worcestermag.com Editorial (508) 767.9535 WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com Sales (508) 767.9530 WMSales@gatehousemedia.com VP, Sales & Strategy Andrew Chernoff Executive Editor David Nordman Editor Nancy Campbell Content Editor Victor D. Infante Reporters Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell Sanders, Gari De Ramos, Robert Duguay, Liz Fay, Jason Greenough, Janice Harvey, Barbara Houle, Jim Keogh, Jim Perry, Craig S. Semon, Matthew Tota Multi Media Sales Executives Deirdre Baldwin, Debbie Bilodeau, Kate Carr, Diane Galipeau, Sammi Iacovone, Kathy Puffer, Jody Ryan, Regina Stillings Sales Support Jackie Buck, Yanet Ramirez Senior Operations Manager Gary Barth Operations Manager John Cofske Worcester Magazine is a news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement.

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Featured ..............................................................................4 Screen Time........................................................................6 City Voices ..........................................................................9 Cover Story.......................................................................12 Next Draft .........................................................................17 Artist Spotlight ...............................................................22 Adoption Option.............................................................28 Classifi eds ........................................................................29 Games................................................................................30 Last Call .............................................................................31

On the cover The search for diversity in comic book superheroes hits home. PHOTO COURTESY PETE BEAUDOIN; GETTY IMAGES

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FEATURED

Evanescence, Halestorm ready to rock DCU Center Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Evanescence and Halestorm are two hard rock heavy metal bands fronted respectively by two Queens of Rock, Amy Lee and Lzzy Hale.

It is Lee and Hale’s friendship that is largely responsible for Evanescence and Halestorm going on a U.S. tour together, which started Nov. 5 in Portland.

The tour was scheduled to conclude (with rock singer Lilith Czar also featured) Dec. 18 at the DCU Center in Worcester. However, due due to multiple COVID-19 cases within the touring party, it was announced Monday that the DCU Center show has been postponed to Jan. 20.

Nevertheless, it will be another major rock event for the DCU Center in recent weeks. The progressive rock Trans-Siberian Orchestra played two shows Nov. 27. Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours prior to event entry are required for Jan. 20.

“Awesome. We are having such a good time,” Lee said of the tour during a recent teleconference call with Hale.

The announcement about the postponement was made Dec. 13, fi ve days after the interview. All had seemed well at the time.

The rearranged Jan. 20 show at the DCU Center will be the Evanescence and Halestorm tour’s only New England stop as well as the tour’s conclusion.

“That’s going to be a big day … We should get some confetti or something,” said Lee. “I’ve probably mispronounced your city a couple of times,” Hale said, while getting her “Worcester” correctly. Both Evanescence and Halestorm have played at The Palladium in Worcester before, although not together.

“We’re looking forward to it. Man, it’s just going to be a great time,” Hale said.

Evanescence and Halestorm were both part of the 2012’s “Carnival of Madness” tour and that’s where Lee and Hale met and became friends. They

Evanescence will perform Dec. 18 at the DCU Center in Worcester PHOTO COURTESY KALEY NELSON

have since played on each other’s projects, but the current tour is the fi rst time the two bands have toured together in close to a decade, Lee said.

“It’s kind of funny to think about it,” Hale said. “It feels like six diff erent lifetime since then. The great thing about Amy, we just picked up where we left off .”

Evanescence was co-founded by Lee (vocals, piano) and guitarist Ben Moody (no longer with the band) in Little Rock,

Arkansas. It’s fi rst full-length album, “Fallen,” released in 2003, took off and eventually sold 17 million copies and won Grammy Awards in 2004 for Best Hard Rock Performance (for “Bring Me to Life”) and Best New Artist. The current lineup is Lee, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, lead guitarist Troy McLawhorn, and guitarist and backing vocalist Jen Majura.

Halestorm, formed in Red Lyon, Pennsylvania, consists of lead vocalist

and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her brother, drummer and percussionist Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Its self-titled debut album in 2009 was followed by “The Strange Case Of...” in 2012, and the lead single “Love Bites (So Do I)” won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance in 2013.

Both bands have enjoyed ongoing See CONCERT, Page 8

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 5

Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra resumes holiday tradition at Mechanics Hall After missing last year's Holiday Pops concert because of the pandemic, the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra returned to Mechanics Hall stage Dec. 11 for the 41st annual seasonal celebration before a packed house.

Led by conductor Jorge Soto, the orchestra was joined by a combined college chorus comprising students from Assumption University and Worcester State University, under the direction of Bradford T. Dumont.

Soloists Jane Shivick, soprano, and Christon Carney, tenor, were also on hand.

The Murphy Academy of Irish Dance performed, and, as always, the evening included a singalong and a visit from Santa.

The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra has been performing the Holiday Pops concert annually since 1980, with the exception of 2020. STEVE LANAVA

Conductor Jorge Soto led the performance. STEVE LANAVA

The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra presents The 41st Annual Holiday Pops Concert at Mechanics Hall, Saturday, Dec. 11. STEVE LANAVA

Audience members wait for the concert to begin. STEVE LANAVA

6 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

SCREEN TIME

Remembering the time Anne Rice got a good laugh in Worcester Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Long before Suzanne Collins, Charlaine Harris, E. L. James, Veronica Roth and J. K. Rowling, there was New Orleans novelist Anne Rice, who gave a much needed transfusion to the anemic vampire genre with “The Vampire Chronicles.”

With those books, notably her 1976 breakthrough novel, "Interview with the Vampire," Rice made vampires mysterious, alluring and cool again.

In the early ‘90s, Rice was on a whirlwind book tour for “The Tale of the Body Thief,” the fourth book in her “Vampire Chronicles” series, and she was due to make a stop at Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons in Worcester.

And despite the rudimentary way society used to get celebrity chatter back in those days, Rice was getting plenty of press — not for her latest novel but because her breakthrough work, 1976’s “Interview With the Vampire,” was fi nally being made into a movie.

Rice was thrilled that this was fi nally happening. But she was aghast — like Kristen Dunst’s Claudia being turned into ash by the burning rays of sunlight — at who Hollywood had cast as her blood-sucking antihero Lestat: None other than Reagan-era poster boy Tom Cruise.

In her 1976 novel, Rice made vampires sexy again. He’s not sexy. Tom’s incredibly good looking but not sexy.

Although he has grown into his own as a great actor and has proven himself at least twice that he can play a great villain (as evident in “Magnolia,”

Author Anne Rice died Dec. 11, at the age of 80. JOE SCARNICI/GETTY IMAGES FOR ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

which he was robbed the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, and in “Collateral,” opposite Jamie Foxx), it was hard to see Cruise playing Lestat.

Rice said Cruise was “no more my vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler.” (Then again, “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell allegedly wanted Groucho Marx to play Rhett Butler. No kidding! So what do authors know?)

Rice originally envisioned Lestat to be played by Rutger Hauer, aka Roy Batty, renegade Nexus-6 replicant leader in “Blade Runner.”

Well, when the Hollywood fi nally came around to making “Interview With the Vampire,” Hauer was merely a much old-

er, B-movie actor (who would go on to play a vampire king in the fi lm treatment of “Buff y the Vampire Slayer”) and Cruise was the biggest star in the world.

With this in mind, I had one of my silly ideas.

I took an 8-by-10 black and white publicity still of what I considered to be quintessential Cruise, the “Top Gun” shot that graced the poster of Cruise in his squeaky clean, All-American as apple pie, Maverick glory wearing his bomber jacket and wings with Kelly McGillis leaning on his manly shoulders.

And I took the Ann Rice author shot from one of her book jackets.

Long before Photoshop, I

made various size enlargements of Rice with a Xerox machine at work until I got one that I could cut out with a pair of scissors and secure with a glue stick to seamlessly cover Kelly McGillis’ face.

I typed “What’s wrong with this picture” and placed this on the top of the photo, making it large enough to extend and touch both ends.

And, then I typed in capital, bold letters “INTERVIEW WITH A WIMPIRE” and plastered it diagonally in the center of the photo, just below Cruise and Rice. As anyone who knows me knows, it was in the style of my old poetry and “Clonabration” party fl iers of the '80s and ‘90s.

I went to Tatnuck Bookseller with a framed version of my

cut-and-paste mock-up of the author and the actor and my book to be signed.

From afar, I noticed that Anne was too beautiful to be scary and too petite to be menacing. Except for her jet black mane and her monochromatic wardrobe, Rice was too good looking and had too much healthy color in her face to be considered, on the surface, at least, Goth.

Rice also had a natural sparkle that radiated from her eyes and I was about to fi nd out, a hearty, robust laugh.

It was my turn. As she was signing my book, I slid the RiceCruise composite. She paused from signing the book for a moment, looked at Xerox and started bellowing with laughter. Not only that, she lifted her arms in glee, not unlike the menacing clown that use to greet patrons at The Fun House at the old Whalom Park in Lunenburg.

My mock-up movie fl yer was a hit.

“Oh, I have to have this,” Rice demanded.

“Sure, only if you’ll sign one of my copies,” I said.

Rice agreed and wrote, “To Craig, Thank you for the good laugh, Anne Rice.”

I gave Rice the framed ones plus duplicates.

We briefl y chatted about the movie, which was still in the planning stages, and Anne confessed that director Neil Jordan wasn’t taking her calls anymore.

Not only did she give me a one-of-a-kind keepsake (which I have buried in a box somewhere with other one-ofa-kind keepsakes), Rice reSee RICE, Page 7

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 7

Pop Culture Collectibles show makes return Craig S. Semon Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

NorthEast Comic Con & Collectibles Extravaganza creator Gary Sohmers has one more spectacular up his sleeves before the end of the year.

The Pop Culture Collectibles Extravaganza Show & Sale will be happening this Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Boxboro Regency Hotel, 242 Adams Place, Boxborough.

The Pop Culture Collectibles Extravaganza Show & Sale is perfect one-stop shopping place for that quirky, last-minute holiday gift that harkens back to your childhood. Whether it’s a beloved toy, comic book, movie or TV memorabil-

Rice Continued from Page 6

placed Kurt Vonnegut as my personal favorite author signing encounter that happened roughly a decade earlier.

Vonnegut was giving a lecture at WPI. He had a reception beforehand and under strict orders wasn’t signing books.

ia, video games or vinyl records (and everything in between), chances are you will fi nd something unique for the special someone, even if that special someone is you.

Preview admission from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. is $20. General admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. is $5 in advance, $10 at the door. General admission from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. is $5 at the door, and admission is free after 1 p.m. Parking is also free all day.

Gary Sohmers at the last NorthEast Comic Con & Collectibles Extravaganza before the pandemic, which was November 2019 in Boxboro. PHOTO COURTESY CHERYL ROSEN

That is until I wedged an open copy of his latest novel, "Galápagos," in his chest and he realized I wasn’t leaving before he signed it, which he eventually did.

The next time I saw Vonnegut I was in the White City Cinema, watching the celebrated author being told off by Rodney Dangerfi eld in “Back to School” that he didn’t know the fi rst thing about Vonnegut.

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Tom Cruise stars as Lestat in “Interview With the Vampire.”

COURTESY OF GEFFEN PICTURES

• Dec 16-23 • TheHanoverTheatre.org Worcester Center for Performing Arts is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

8 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Concert Continued from Page 4

success and recognition, although neither had released full-length studio albums in a while.

Evanescence dropped its fi rst new album in a decade, “The Bitter Truth,” in March.

Halestorm is currently putting the fi nishing touches on its upcoming album, but has already released the single “Back from the Dead” which went to No. 1 at rock radio this fall.

“Back from the Dead” screams to life with Hale’s emphatic vocals.

Evanescence’s latest single from “The Bitter Truth” is “Use My Voice,” which begins softly but becomes anthemic.

The “Use My Voice” video features a cameo by Hale, and the song also has Hale on backing vocals for the chorus. Other women in the genre were a part of the song as well, coming together to make a statement for the power of collective voice and action, and the power of women to take a stand for what they believe.

During the pandemic, Lee and Hale said they and their bands put lots of energy into their respective new albums.

Hale said the feeling was that “faced with unknown futures, we need to write in the now. You have to put all your energy into the record. We said we’re gonna put everything into this record, and the record came out awesome.”

“All the distractions were pulled away completely,” Lee said. “I have a 7-year-old, so I guess there was one distraction,” she joked.

However, “As terrible as the time has been, it’s been really good for a lot of creative people. (You say) ‘I want this bad.

I’m gonna do what it takes.’”

The album’s overall message is one of strength and hope — pushing through is better than giving up, and there is a light after the darkness.

“Hope is ahead. Hope pays

Evanescence with Halestorm and Lilith Czar When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 Where: DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester How much: Tickets starting at $35. www.Ticketmaster.com.

Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72-hours prior to event entry are required.

off ,” Lee said.

“The Bitter Truth” has topped the Current Rock charts, as well as the overall iTunes charts in 22 countries.

The single “Better Without You” is the fi fth-most played song all year at Current Rock, and the band’s fi rst top-ten rock single in a decade.

“We’re playing a lot of our new album,” Lee said of Evanescence’s tour set list.

Evanescence’s last major tour was a co-headlining outing with rock violinist Lindsey Stirling in 2018.

Asked if there was any apprehension about touring again, Lee said, “I would have to say yes … Social anxiety. But stepping on stage I was fl oored with joy.”

“It’s been amazing,” Hale said. “You can just feel that everyone’s feeling like that relief.”

“For me it was like this thing — it was time to be really happy for it being out there,” said Lee. “Finally it’s that feeling of ‘Yes, yes.’”

It has been widely noted that the tour is one of the biggest commercial performers of 2021, and it is even more signifi cant because that commercial performance is thanks to two of rock’s two biggest women. And yet at most arenas that the bands are playing nationwide this is the only femalefronted (either a solo woman or female-fronted band) concert happening this year.

Before the tour got under-

way, Rick Franks of Global Touring Live Nation said, “We have two of the most iconic female-fronted bands on the planet working together in North American arenas this fall. The business to date is far exceeding our forecasts and we are adding additional cities to the itinerary based on the very hot demand.”

If there is an under-representation of female artists in the mainstream, Lee and Hale said they don’t see that in the “trenches.”

“When we came on the scene in 2003, I was the only chick for miles. It was just the normal thing. That has changed a ton, whether or not the mainstream world really really wants to acknowledge,” Lee said.

“There’s been a confi dence wave. A lot don’t get the recognition. Amy and I, we’re out in the trenches,” said Hale.

What can put more femalefronted bands into the mainstream?

“I think it’s hard to say. I’m not sure what dictates the mainstream anymore,” Lee said.

Hale said, “I think what we will see — a lot of young women saying, ‘Oh yes, could I do that, too.’ The rules are changing.”

The band PLUSH was on part of the Evanescence and Halestorm tour earlier in the fall. “It’s an all-female rock band, all between the years of 18 and 21, they’re so confi dent,” Lee said. “it’s important for us to feel that there’s a new wave for us that’s not just us.”

Evanescence is looking at some European tour dates next year as part of a “World’s Collide Tour” with Dutch heavy metal band Within Temptation, co-founded by vocalist Sharon den Adel.

Halestorm is also going to Europe in early 2022, but is not scheduled at the time of writing to collide or coincide with Evanescence.

Still, Lee and Hale can see more tours together.

POETRY TOWN

‘West Side Dog Walk’ Alan Ira Gordon Special to Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK People ask me: which is your favorite walking route with your dog?

Is it up our street then right onto Pleasant Street, meandering various sidestreets down the hill in a two-to-three mile loop?

Or perhaps up our street then left a mile out to Tatnuck Square, checking-out the neighborhood westward with a visit to Logan Field?

What about a mile as the crow flies (or a minute car ride) to the University campus, where my husky Lucky is King Of The Campus with everyone he meets?

Then there is our routine Saturday afternoon route, along Park Avenue between Elm Park and Institute Park with a happy side trek (especially in the Fall foliage season) up and about Newton Hill.

Lucky has additional routes, stored like arrows in his metaphorical quiver; he selects one at the start of any particular walk, glancing back over his broad furred shoulder to let me know that he’s made his decision for us.

Then we’re off. Observers repeatedly remark that it’s clear Lucky’s in charge of our walks: You’re not walking him, he’s walking you, they tell me. And they’re right, of course.

But back to the oft-asked question: when I’m asked repeatedly which route is my favorite for our walks? When pressed, I always give the same answer. My favorite route is any route at all. Any of them.

As long as I’m walking with Lucky.

And I know that he feels the same about me.

Alan Ira Gordon is a poet living in the Worcester area.

A person walks their dog at Quinsigamond State Park, amid unmelted snow./CHRISTINE PETERSON/ T&G FILE PHOTO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 9

CITY VOICES LANDGREN NO TIME TO FEED THE METER

FIRST PERSON

Overhearing pine cones’ conversation at junk shop David Macpherson Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I was doing what I usually do, aimlessly wander around a junk shop. I was just window shopping. Really, I am under strict orders from my wife to not bring home any junk shop stray I have absconded with.

So I was just looking at all the lovely bits of refuse. And it appeared that I was also hearing the lovely refuse. I was hearing

a conversation going on in a large wooden bowl. No one was around but me and all the junk. I leaned in close and saw that there were three pine cones in the bowl and they were having a heated conversation. I suppose all conversation between pine cones is always fi ery. They didn’t notice me, so I crouched down underneath the table made from a salvaged door and recorded their conversation on my phone.

First Pine Cone: Come on now, why do you think we are even in this bowl?

Second Pine Cone: Haven’t I told you? Because it is decorative.

First Pine Cone: What do you mean, that we pine cones are decoration?

Second Pine Cone: You are twisting my words one more time. We are not decoration.

We are part of a set of disSee CONES, Page 10

WORCESTERIA

How not to learn you’ve lost a Boston Music Award. Again.

Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

AND THE WINNER ISN’T: Through a series of mishaps and delays, the last of which were an inability to fi nd parking in Allston and a very long line outside the Brighton Music Hall, I was quite a bit late to this year’s Boston Music Awards ceremony Dec. 8, where I was nominated for Music Journalist of the Year.

So, it was with no small degree of irony that the moment I stepped in the door, I heard my name called … and then Vanyaland music editor Victoria Wasylak’s name. “And the winner is,” said the disembodied voice

coming from within the main hall, “Victoria Wasylak!” It was exactly the result I expected — Victoria does excellent work, and is way better known than I am in Boston music scene circles — but I was mildly put out for a moment, probably more because of the timing than anything. It’s one thing to expect to lose, it’s another thing entirely to lose the exact moment the you step in the door!

My mood lasted until I actually made it into the main hall, saw a few friendly faces, ordered a “Purple Rain” from the bar and listened to an amazing set from Boston up-and-comer Senseless Optimism, and then See AWARD, Page 10

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10 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Award Continued from Page 9

later one from the phenomenal Zola Simone. All of these contests are, ultimately, a game, and you can’t let yourself get too worked up about them. The validation is nice, especially in what’s often a thankless profession, but it comes mostly from being nominated at all. All of that said, though, I was wearing my “Wortown Rising” T-shirt underneath my sweater, on the slim chance that I won. It would have made for a heck of a photo! Oh, well, maybe next year.

THE VIEW FROM WORCESTER: There are always a handful of Worcester artists in the mix at the Boston Music Awards, although they rarely take home the trophy.

Joyner Lucas was beat for Best Hip-Hop Artist by BIA, who was also named Artist of the Year. Worcester native Duke Levine, a perpetual nominee for Session Musician of the Year, lost out to the estimable Jonathan Ulman, who also performs with the fantastic Boston hip-hop ensemble, STL GLD. Lastly, Worcester jazz greats the Carlos Odria trio lost out to Lake Street Dive, whom I confess I am unfamiliar with. But

Cones Continued from Page 9

parate parts that are placed together, creating a heightened sense of pleasure for the design.

First Pine Cone: Three pine cones tossed in a 50 year old wooden bowl? That’s a thing of the art of design? But they do.

They place a bowl on table and put in pine cones. Who thought that was a good idea? And did anyone ask us we wanted to participate in such a farce?

Second Pine Cone: We be-

that’s another one of the things I genuinely love about these sorts of awards or “Best of the Year” lists: I’m always introduced to a lot of fantastic artists I don’t know. The complete list of winners can be found online at https://bostonmusicawards.com/bma/boston-music-awards-2021, but the point is: Worcester’s always in the mix in the region’s music scene.

Sometimes, it’s easy to think of the local scene as just a bunch of bar bands playing covers, but there’s a lot more than that happening. We’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader whether the Worcester Music Awards capture that vitality and talent, but it’s there, and it’s worth paying attention to as the postpandemic local music scene slowly comes back to life.

There’s a lot of excitement in the wind about the year to come from local artists, and as I talked to Boston artists at the Brighton Music Hall, it was clear that a lot of them were already looking to spend more time here. Call it the “Worcester Renaissance” or gentrifi cation, there’s a lot of buzz about Worcester outside the city to which we’re sometimes oblivious, locally.

ONE MORE THING: I like Allston. It’s got a bit of the same cool, working-class vibe that I love about Worcester, with

seemingly tons of restaurants and an awesome music scene.

It’s also, however, an abject example of what Worcesterites are talking about when they complain about parking here.

Right now, Worcester doesn’t really have a parking problem, but seeing as I was literally fi ve minutes away from turning around and driving home if I hadn’t found a place to park —

and I was ready and expecting to pay $20 — it’s worth keeping an eye on, because a bad parking situation can sour the experience of the awesome things a city has to off er.

come the symbol of the connection to nature. They are never in a sterile home as long as there is some piece of the forest in a bowl. We become the off ering for a good, natural life.

First Pine Cone: And why us? Because we are cheap and plentiful. No one pays for a pine cone at a craft super store. You just go and pick them up from the ground. We are the road kill of the home décor world. And the homeowner feels good because they made something earthy and homespun and didn’t have to spend any money at Pottery Barn.

Second Pine Cone: Can’t we

be beautiful both in nature and in a nice table display?

First Pine Cone: Nature. We are holders of seeds. We are made to propagate the pine tree, not to be pretty to look at it.

Third Pine Cone: I agree, we aren’t things that should just be looked at and gazed upon. We have the chance to get out of this wooden bowl prison and make a diff erence with kids. We can work together and have the children learn so much.

First Pine Cone: Are you talking about pre-school crafts.

I thought that they stopped doing that to us due to allergies.

Third Pine Cone: You mean the pine cone bird feeders?

What a great activity. Have the children spread peanut butter on our appendages and then cover the peanut butter with bird seed. Hang us on a tree and then watch in amazement as the birds peck at us.

Second Pine Cone: That is so barbaric. We are smeared in peanut butter and set upon by birds? What nightmare world did we awaken in?

First Pine Cone: That nightmare world has a name. It is kindergarten. Hear that word and tremble in fear.

Second Pine Cone: But they

don’t use that way. Not because they are concerned with us, but that peanut butter now causes distress in some children. We are saved due to the sudden infl ux of nut allergies.

Third Pine Cone: First off , there was nothing wrong with being a bird feeder. It’s a useful act. And second, just because we are not that anymore doesn’t mean that we are needed in the STEM based classroom.

First Pine Cone: What, are we STEM teachers now? Does that mean we are in the teach-

Journalist Victor D. Infante is overcome by ennui after his fourth time placing as a runner-up for the Boston Music Awards’ Journalist of the Year. PHOTO COURTESY LEA C. DESCHENES

See CONES, Page 11

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 11

Cones Continued from Page 10

er’s union?

Third Pine Cone: Don’t be ridiculous. We are used in a variety of projects. Because we are cheap and easily found, we are used often. Don’t think of it as being misused, but that our ubiquity has made us essential to the learning process.

First Pine Cone: And how have we done such a thing while stuck in a wooden bowl in a junk shop?

Third Pine Cone: There is so much fun that we can be part of. They can learn so much about nature through us. In one they put three pine cones, like us, in three jars. One is just air.

One has the pine cone in cold water. The third has the pine cone in hot water. The kids get to observe what changes occur.

And do you know what they see?

First Pine Cone: I don’t care what they learn. How can you think about the kids learn when two of our pine cone brethren are drowned in jars of water? That is so barbaric.

Third Pine Cone: OK. So you

don’t like learning science.

How about art? They can paint with us. They can paint us and glue us together to make a wreath. Or with pipe cleaners, we turn into a Halloween spider. Or we can be an owl. It’s amazing what transformation awaits us in the art area of a pre-school class. I feel honored by all the attention.

Second Pine Cone: The attention of turning into something we never were meant to be? No thank you. Just put me in a bowl and let me be beautiful on my own.

First Pine Cone: Just leave me on the ground. Let me part of the forest carpet. Like I was always meant to be.

Third Pine Cone: Where’s the fun in that?

First Pine Cone: I won’t be able to explain it to you if you just don’t get it.

And realizing that the junk shop owner was looking at me sideways, I decided that I didn’t get it either, and left without making a purchase.

David Macpherson is a poet and humorist living in the Worcester area. His book “Gin and Tonics Across Worcester” is available for sale online.

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12 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORY

With great power comes

great responsibility Comic books, Marvel movies and the search for diversity in pop culture Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

When Jorge Santos fi rst saw “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” he felt “it was a kind of an outlier” in Marvel movies, but he hopes it soon won’t be. Pop culture, as illustrated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is making strides toward diversity, both representational and narrative, but there is still a ways to go, according to Santos and other local experts who have watched the trend. h Santos, who is associate professor of English at The College of the Holy Cross, was interviewed by Marvel.com last month for his impressions of the new publication, “Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades.” He teaches classes in American Cultural Studies and societal issues as refl ected in comics and graphic narrative. The fi rst issue of the “Comunidades” series was published on Dec. 8 and the series will turn the spotlight on Latinx heroes and creators from the Marvel Universe.

See DIVERSITY, Page 13 Professor Jorge Santos at That's Entertainment. STEPHEN ALBANO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 13

Simu Liu stars in the Marvel Studios fi lm “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” JASIN BOLAND/MARVEL STUDIOS

Diversity Continued from Page 12

“Shang Chi” is not one of Marvel’s fi rst attempts at diversifi cation, but earlier comics featuring LatinX and Muslim characters, said Santos, were based on stereotypes and poor writing. “I fi nd them to be well intentioned but that’s not enough.” But the MCU off ers a chance to “readapt and redefi ne them — it’s a Marvel tradition.” That impulse to try again

is what’s important to him, and he thinks Marvel can build something out of those old ideas, if they stay committed to them.

The fi rst 10 minutes of “Shang-Chi” are in Mandarin with English subtitles, diff erentiating itself through the use of a non-English language as a vehicle for the plot, and not just casually peppered in for fl avor.

“It was a refreshing change,” said Santos, “usually, they [the characters] use English, but you know they’re not speaking it in the story.” If that were the

case, he reasons, why not just have the characters speak the language they’re supposed to?

Growing up as he did in a mixed language home with Spanish and English, he said it was great to watch an early scene showing an Asian immigrant family switching between Chinese and English at home. “’Shang-Chi’ does a great job of using a diff erent, more nuanced experience, of a diff erent kind of life to texture the story consistently without having to stop everything and make it very clear that these

people are not like white people. All that texture makes worlds thought out and lived in — makes it feel fuller.”

Seeing Yourself Reflected It’s been said that comics books are a true American art form. Often considered quintessential Americana, the impulse to see one’s self refl ected in the art form seems natural.

Santos spent his childhood with cousins in the barrios of Houston and Galveston, fascinated by super heroes. “But, as

Salvadoreans, we had no characters to see ourselves in, so naturally, we gravitated to the ones that anyone could imagine themselves as. So many of our favorites – ‘Transformers,’ ‘Ninja Turtles,’ ‘The Power Rangers’ – either had no racial identity or at least one that was easy to ignore. Basically, anyone could be a turtle, or an Autobot or a Decepticon or the Red Ranger.”

Sorana Gatej of That’s Entertainment, the comic book/ See DIVERSITY, Page 14

14 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Diversity Continued from Page 13

card game/tabletop gaming mecca in Worcester, was clear that comics always refl ect current times — more so than novels. For them, as a store in a pop culture community, Marvel moving toward diversity and inclusion of all minorities has been very positive. “Comics touch on what’s happening now and encompass political, social and all aspects of life that are relevant, and people will identify with that,” she said.

Television shows, according to her, are the only ones that can match that level of commentary because “there’s something for everybody in comics.”

The trend toward diversity has been relatively rapid and more so now than even in the past year, said Gatej. “Folks are feeling comfortable enough to ask about certain sections or books without feeling judged or marginalized. It’s nice to see that they can come here and feel comfortable — it’s a good feeling at the end of the day.”

After all, comics and graphic novels with diverse characters is expanding the readership community and “we can talk about how Batman or how Superman’s son is now gay.”

Commenting on why the trend to diversify in comics and MCU has accelerated, Santos summed it up when he said “Necessity is the mother of invention,” Santos said regarding the trend to diversify. “The biggest complaint about the MCU, outside of representation, is that their movies are so formulaic, so they had to do something.”

Diversity is one option to address that can lead to substantial changes in characters and structure that can shake up the formula. Representational diversity with a diff erent kind of character and narrative diversity with diff erent kinds of stories built on diff erent societies See DIVERSITY, Page 15

can both be employed — and one can often lead to the other.

By way of examples, making a movie set in China or a movie set in a secret African nation can make for new story lines about other walks of life, and both movies led from representational diversity to narrative diversity. Adding diversity to pop culture normalizes “otherness” and refl ects the diversity in society better.

Shaking up the Story Despite being a Marvel superfan, Santos used to joke with his students that if Marvel put out another movie where the hero has to fi ght the dark version of themselves at the end, he was going to stop watching. It seems he wasn’t the only one feeling that way, as Marvel addressed that by bringing in new creators and directors — indie directors and those associated with other types of movies. As a result, both “Shang-Chi” and “The Eternals,” as well as other movies in the “MCU Phase 2” era, are narratively structured very diff erently. Knowing for sure that LatinX creators are at the table is important to Santos because otherwise, he said, he is “always on alert that diversity is only brochure material.”

Ordering comics for That’s Entertainment, Pete Beaudoin has a slightly diff erent take — that the pursuit of diversity should be done carefully. While he admits there has certainly been an attempt to show people of various backgrounds with diff erent levels of success, he feels that readers often feel their favorite characters were sidelined, seemingly for the sake of diversity.

A number of characters such as Captain America, Thor, Hulk and others who starred in the movies, were replaced either with female or non-white versions in the comics, all roughly at the same time.

“Readership struggled and it wasn’t because of bad writing or art, but just the change in characters,” said Beaudoin. A

Sorana Gatej of That’s Entertainment with an issue of Spider-Man featuring Miles Morales.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 15

From left, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Druig (Barry Keoghan) are the immortal superbeings of Marvel’s “Eternals.” MARVEL STUDIOS

Diversity Continued from Page 14

successful change in character can only be judged in terms of sales, he said, a retailer at heart.

“People would so much rather see a new character,” said Beaudoin, though he admits that creating a new character is daunting in any franchise, be it movies or comic books. “That’s why so many movies are remakes and the equivalent in comics is a replacement or spin-off character.” Of the latter two, a spin-off is often better received because it can co-exist with an older beloved character and “nobody gets offended, but with a replacement, all of a sudden, a beloved character is sidelined and replaced with a riff on them.”

Beaudoin suggested that people who are into science fi ction and pop culture tend to be more obsessed with continuity,

the most loved and hated word in comics. They feel that you “can’t make Spider-Man multiethnic because he’s been white since 1962,” but loved the Miles Morales character in “SpiderMan.” This might explain the backlash against the consideration of Donny Glover, a Black man, as Peter Parker in “The Amazing Spider-Man” movies, a role that eventually went to Andrew Garfi eld.

However, even a massive fan backlash over a rumor casting a Black actor as Spider-Man can help make progress toward diversity. Santos said that the controversy was the inspiration for the Black Miles Morales character, who takes on the role of Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker.

Eyeing the Pushback An explanation for the resistance to change among fans, said Beaudoin, is the fact that See DIVERSITY, Page 25

The characters Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan, left) and the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) appear in “Black Panther.” MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY

16 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY LIVING TABLE HOPPIN’

The scoop on Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream at Tatnuck Square Barbara M. Houle

The sweet news for ice cream lovers who want to get their fi x — even in the dead of winter — is the new brick and mortar shop Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream, 1116 Pleasant St., Worcester.

Owner Julia Moriconi leased the space before Thanksgiving, making 12 diff erent ice cream fl avors available in pints and half-pints at weekend pop-ups leading up to the holiday. Her twist on an ice cream sandwich also was available. Moriconi packs a half pint of ice cream chocolate between two cookie dough waffl es. Choose a sandwich with chocolate chips or peanut butter chips. Big hit with kids of all ages.

Last weekend, Moriconi posted new shop hours and welcomed customers throughout the day and early evening.

The place was decked out for the holiday rush, with Santa making a surprise visit.

December promises to be a busy month for Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream. In addition to pickup orders, the shop will be open to walk-ins. Hours: 3 to 7 p.m.

Dec. 17; noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 18; noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 23; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 24; noon to 5 p.m.

Dec. 31. The menu will off er at least 12 diff erent fl avors, said Moriconi. Recently, fl avors on the shop’s website included holiday delights such as spumoni and cranberry, in addition to caramel candied pecan, black raspberry, chocolate chunk, cinnamon, fi or di latte

Julia Moriconi, owner of Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream at 1116 Pleasant Street.

ALLAN JUNG/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

and fruit mascarpone.

The fundraiser fl avor of the month, to benefi t Preservation Worcester, is Trees, Please!, a peppermint ice cream sprinkled with colorful holiday trees.

For more info, visit www.mrsmoriconis.com; telephone (508) 373-2461; or email mrs.moriconis.ltd@gmail.com.

Connect on Facebook and Instagram for updates. Note: Gift boxes and gift certifi cates are available.

Another special day on Moriconi’s calendar will be Jan. 11 when at 12:30 p.m. there will be an offi cial ribbon cutting event at the shop with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. More details will be posted on social media.

Julia Moriconi is not new to the local food scene. Her ice cream was fi rst sold in the summer of 2020 at the Shrewsbury Farmers Market. She has participated in other local farmers

markets, food truck festivals and special events throughout Central Massachusetts. She also has brought her ice cream to local colleges and pop-ups at the Sprinkler Factory in Worcester. As owner and operator of a new retail shop, Moriconi said she probably won’t be as mobile in 2022, but her plan is to stay with the Shrewsbury market next year. “I’ll fi gure out the rest as I go,” she said.

The dish on Julia Moriconi, classically trained pastry chef and ice cream artisan. She was born and raised in Chicago, where for more than 20 years she worked as a fi refi ghter/ paramedic and more than 10 years as a fi rehouse cook. She originally came to New England to attend UConn and study for a master’s degree geared toward homeland security leadership.

She put her education on hold as the result of a serious health crisis.

“At the time I was sick I started to think of what it was that I really wanted to do with the rest of my life,” said Moriconi.

“During recovery, I busted out recipes that belonged to my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Vintage dessert recipes. That was when I reached out to my more creative side and changed direction.”

Moriconi attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City, graduating with honors when she was in her 40s. While at the institute she said she thrived in the frozen dessert portion of the curriculum.

“I had a wonderful experience at the institute leading me to a position as an assistant to Jacques Pepin,” said Moriconi.

The noted chef was fi nishing fi lming his PBS-TV cooking series in San Francisco when Moriconi worked for him.

When she returned to Massachusetts, she worked at EaSee SCOOP, Page 24

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 17

THE NEXT DRAFT

Slow Down Brewing treads unorthodox path Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Telegram & Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK

GRAFTON – Earlier this month, people crowded around a bar for the opening of one of the newest breweries in the state, Slow Down Brewing Co. The four friends who founded Slow Down (www.slowdownbrewing.com/) tried, but failed to quell their nerves.

More people were tasting their beer in one night than in the more than fi ve years of home-

brewing that led them here.

Mostly positive reviews rolled in, though. And their debut beer, “Agent of Chaos,” an opaque IPA brewed with Simcoe and Bru-1 hops, sold out in two hours.

All in all, the night resembled a successful brewery opening in every way save for one: the brewery.

Unlike 99% of new breweries in the state, Slow Down has opened without a taproom or See DRAFT, Page 25

Slow Down Brewing Co. founders, from left, Rich Linehan, David Curini, Bryan Wrenn and Scott Lynch celebrating their fi rst draft account at Reunion Tap & Table in Grafton. Unlike most new breweries these days, Slow Down opened sans a taproom and will grow early on strictly through selling draft beer to restaurants and bars. COURTESY OF SLOW DOWN BREWING CO.

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18 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

LISTEN UP

The Real Chris Kaz off ers little comfort in ‘The Bed I Made’ Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Worcester singer-songwriter The Real Chris Kaz lets you know right upfront that his recent album, “The Bed I Made,” is going to be an unconventional piece of work. Kaz – who will be performing at 6 p.m. Dec. 29 at BirchTree Bread Company – begins the album with “Creation,” a song that is almost a meditative intonation, the words stretching out into infi nity, accompanied by bird song and understated fl ow of notes, eventually giving birth to a sprawling guitar line. There are really very few lyrics here, but there's something magnetic in the tone, something ineff able that invites the listener to sink into the music, and the themes which he's exploring — “creation” and “salvation.” Despite the smoothness of the music, neither are easy, as illustrated by the lyrics of the next song, "Wake Me Up (2.0),” and its opening lines of “Loneliness is when the healing begins.”

Kaz's voice is warm and soulful, and he brings an R&B depth of feeling to everything he sings. “Wake Me Up” is a plaintive and wounded song, and he never disguises that fact, even as the album escalates and threatens to overtake his voice. It never quite happens, and the feeling of neardrowning it creates is bracing.

Much of the album's power comes from its tight orchestration, and the mix by Aaron Bellamy. The band – which includes Kaz on vocals and guitar, Christian "Catman" Tremblay on keyboard, Bellamy on bass and Ben Silverman on drums – creates a soundscape that falls on the listener like fog, each moment charged with emotion, especially in a song such as “Into the Blue,” where every note serves to accentuate the

The Real Chris Kaz’s most recent album is “The Bed I Made.”

PROMOTIONAL PHOTO

feel of Kaz's vocals.

When the album moves on to the next song, “Seal it Off ,” with its tempo changes and its classic soul-styled vocal modulations, that sense of accentuation is broken deliberately at the bridge, the guitar overtaking everything in a manic explosion, before the melody reasserts itself, fading into a low drone. There's a beat of silence, and then the fi rst tentative falls of percussion as “Catch My Breath” begins.

In a lot of ways, this is a slightly more conventional love

song, albeit one tinted with the rest of the album's sense of loneliness. “I've got nothing left,” sings Kaz, “Will you leave me now?” The question resonates with both hope and fear, which informs the next song, “Long for Love.” Kaz's vocals stretch into falsetto without losing any of their depth, which is impressive, and the eff ect is an absolutely heartbreaking wail, an ache that leaks into the more low-key, “Ojai.” For a song that's pretty much a slow burn from start to fi nish, there's something inexplicably jazzy

about both the bassline and the vocals. It's not something that draws attention to itself, more of a subtle detail as the album's fl ow continues.

Indeed, that sense of fl ow is what carries the listener from song to song. It commands a certain sense of surrender, letting the current take the the listener to wherever it goes, in this case, a triptych of songs which lead the listener through the persona's sense of despair and loneliness, through the songs “Heart Punch,” “Rose Colored Eyes” and, fi nally, emerging

into “You Remind Me to Love.”

The sense of love's re-emergence in the latter song is palpable: It's fi lled with a vigor, even as – as the title denotes – the persona realizes that loving isn't a thing that happens. It's a thing that you do. Kaz and company follow this moment up with a cover of Bill Withers' sweet-spirited “Just the Two of Us,” a lovely oasis of unadulterated joy. (Note, this song does not appear on the Bandcamp version of the album.) It's a perfect moment, and naturally, it doesn't last.

There are a few beats of silence before the album's title song, “The Bed I Made,” begins with the lyrics, “I (expletive) up today,” delivered with the gentleness and sense of rich emotion that's permeated the album. The song shows off Kaz's impressive vocal range, with jazz runs and soaring high notes, but none of that obscures the song's unsubtle message: “I Made my bed/I gotta lay in it.”

There's a thematic shift in the penultimate song, “When Will We Get to Live?” Here, Kaz transmutes personal heartache to social and political pain: “He gets to hold, AK-47s/Some put a hold on your credit/Some just hold the world's attention/ Yet,/The moment we step just an inch out of line they defi ne/ The way we get to live.” The song simmers with the anger and pain that's been prevalent in recent years, but it also exudes a sense of exhaustion.

Musically, it's a beautiful song, but there's something about the hurt inherent in it that settles into the listener's bones.

In the end, Kaz leaves the listener on a hopeful note with the stirring “I Can,” a song which feels like light just beginning to break through the fog. It's a short song, but it brings the album to a conclusion that feels both honest and earned.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 19

CONNELL SANDERS

There’s no such thing as a cover-up tattoo at Zaza Ink Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I have a regrettable tattoo on my left foot. Nothing vulgar or off ensive — just a bad decision I made when I was 19 at the urging of a manipulative nitwit.

Every day, when I pull on a fresh pair of socks, I shudder at the sight of the hideous mark.

The tattoo is a constant reminder of a time when I thought of myself as no better than a branded mule. It has taken me decades of my life to learn to love my body in its natural state. I can accept the scars, the wrinkles, and the pimples, but I will never get used to that tattoo.

Last spring, I decided it was the right moment for a permanent change. I emailed a halfdozen tattoo shops and no one got back to me. Blame the pandemic and the “great resignation” — I know everyone is short-staff ed right now. Still, it felt like another roadblock standing in the way of reclaiming my own skin.

This week, I fi nally had a bite. Joe Peterson walked me around Zaza Ink, his West Boylston shop. Peterson went into business in 2000, the same year tattooing became legal in Massachusetts, but he’s been honing his craft for far longer than that. At age 16, he bought tattoo equipment from an ad in the back of a magazine. Soon, he became his own canvas.

Peterson is known for realism and portraiture, although he doesn’t like referring to himself as a specialist. “I don’t necessarily agree with specializing in only one style, because then

you’re telling everybody else you have no interest in their wants and desires,” he told me.

“That’s the standpoint we take here; we all try to work together.”

The team at Zaza Ink is made up of six full-time artists. “I bring on people who don’t tattoo for their own egos,” said Peterson. “We tattoo for our customers and we spend a lot of time advising on the front end.”

“Good,” I thought. “The last thing I need is another man’s ego intruding on my body.”

Peterson explained he would snap a photo of my current tattoo and begin the design process digitally so I could see what the fi nished product would look like. “That old tattoo is never going to go away,” he acknowledged. “The term ‘cover-up’ is wrong. If we just try to cover it up, after a year or two, you’re going to see the old one as clearly as the new one.

What we have to do is take the existing shape and turn it into something else. I think we can be pretty creative.”

I liked the idea of taking ownership over my tattoo and making it my own by transforming a fl aw into a badge of honor.

“We’ll work together until you get to that moment when you say, ‘That’s it; that’ll do it!’”

Peterson promised me. For the fi rst time in 15 years, I looked down at my left foot and smiled.

Zaza Ink is located at 287 West Boylston Street in West Boylston, Massachusetts. Inquire about booking at (508) 835-6559 or by emailing zazainktattoos@gmail.com.

Owner of Zaza Ink, Joe Peterson, surrounded by an eclectic array of gifts from his tattoo customers. PHOTO BY SARAH CONNELL SANDERS

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NEW ON DVD

Two-faced Tom Hardy returns in ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ abouts of those who killed them.

“The Waltons’ Homecoming”: CW movie commemorates the original holiday fi lm that launched “The Waltons” TV show. Starring Logan Shroyer, Bellamy Young and Ben Lawson, with Richard Thomas reprising his role as the adult John Boy and narrator.

“Pond Life”: Coming-of-age drama set in 1994 about a small mining town and the legend of a giant carp.

“The Wolf of Wall Street”: 4K Ultra HD release of the Martin Scorsese fi lm starring Leonardo DiCaprio, featuring a new fi lm transfer supervised by the director.

Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

A superhero sequel starring Tom Hardy in dual roles tops the DVD releases for the week of Dec. 14.

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage”: Hardy reprises his role as San Francisco journalist Eddie Brock, who is also the host body for an alien known as Venom. This time the villain is played by Woody Harrelson, a serial killer on death row transformed into Carnage by a drop of alien blood.

“The sequel doesn’t have that sense of joyful discovery and gleeful mischief that the fi rst fi lm did, because it’s obviously now a comedy on purpose,” writes Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh in her review. “But the Venom/Eddie dynamic remains the best buddy action comedy going these days.”

OUT ON DIGITAL HD DEC. 14

ALSO NEW ON DVD DEC. 14 “The Last Duel”: Ridley Scott’s historical epic, which stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affl eck, recounts the fi nal trial by combat in medieval Europe.

“The Card Counter”: Oscar Isaac plays a pro gambler haunted by his past as a former military interrogator at Abu Ghraib in this thriller written and directed by Paul Schrader.

“American Sicario”: Crime drama about the rise and fall of the fi rst American-born drug kingpin in Mexico.

“Dangerous”: A reformed ex-con breaks parole when head heads to a remote island to investigate his brother’s death in this action thriller.

Tom Hardy plays both Eddie Brock and the high-maintenance Venom in the superhero sequel “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” SONY PICTURES

With Scott Eastwood, Mel Gibson and Tyrese Gibson.

“Holler”: Rust Belt-set drama about a young woman who joins a dangerous scrap metal crew to save up money for college and the chance to make a better life for herself.

“Language Lessons”: Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass star in this drama about a Spanish teacher and student who develop an unexpected bond following a tragedy.

“Manifest: Season 3”: Drama series about the passengers

of a fl ight that reappears fi ve years after going missing. NBC canceled the show earlier this year after Season 3, but Netfl ix has picked it up for a fourth season.

“South of Heaven”: Jason Sudeikis stars as a convicted felon who gets paroled after 12 years in prison and returns to his childhood sweetheart, played by Evangeline Lilly, who is dying of cancer.

“The Auschwitz Report”: Historical drama based on a true story about two Slovakian

Jews who are taken to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942 and manage to escape two years later, but still must return home.

“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”: Netfl ix animated feature about a family road trip that gets derailed by a machine apocalypse that threatens humanity.

“Vengeance Is Mine”: A man unable to move on after his wife and child are murdered fi nds new purpose and clarity after discovering the where-

“The French Dispatch”: Wes Anderson’s latest fi lm, inspired by the New Yorker, is set in a fi ctional 20th-century French village and features vignettes that make up an edition of a fi ctional American magazine.

“The Bridge of San Luis Rey”: 1958 TV movie adaptation of the Thornton Wilder novel about a friar in 18th-century Peru who is tried by the Inquisition starring Judith Anderson and Theodore Bikel.

“Circus Boy”: Documentary about a gay man who tries to reconcile with his mother after he and his husband adopt a boy he’s training for circus school.

“Range Roads”: An actor estranged from her family returns to her rural Canadian hometown after 20 years when her parents are killed in a car accident.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 21

Leicester’s Jared Colby releases debut album with Second Spirit Rob Duguay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Even when you move far away from your hometown, it’s good to recognize your roots. It’s important to hold on to where you can from so you don’t lose your identity within your current surroundings.

Leicester native Jared Colby grew up in Worcester’s hardcore music scene during the turn of the millennium and even though he’s currently in the country music mecca of Nashville he still honors that formative time in his life.

His one-man hardcore project Second Spirit is his way of paying tribute to the area he grew up in. On Dec.17, that tribute will have a physical emblem attached to it with the release of the debut album, "The Weight Of Just Living."

Colby’s project was originally named Bloodsport, but when the owner of the record label discovered a possible confl ict, a name change was in order. Luckily his wife helped him out with a new name that came out of his current relationship with his abided musical style.

“When I turned this album in to the record label and publishing, the owner of Trash Casual Records out of Brooklyn, Aj Tobey, informed me that there was another band called Bloodsport already in the United Kingdom,” Colby says on the name change. “They’re a pop punk band and they’re doing pretty signifi cant numbers, so to avoid any confl ict at all, he suggested I change the name. If I didn’t, it could create a lot of issues on digital streaming platforms where sometimes they don’t know the diff erence between the two bands and one of my songs could end up on the other’s profi le and vice versa.

"It immediately made me think back to the early 2000s where a band called American Nightmare got sued for their band name and basically they were in court forever and it completely used up all their money, their resources and everything so I wanted to skip that altogether," he said. "As far as the name Second Spirit goes, I have actually over the years been hating naming bands and

Jared Colby. SUBMITTED PHOTO

any band I’ve ever been in I’ve left that up to somebody else.

“Since this is a one-man project, I was kind of stressing out that it was going to completely fall on me but luckily my wife stepped in, she was helping me brainstorm for one and she came up with the name Second Spirit,” he adds.

“That has a lot to do with the fact that this is defi nitely my second go-around with hardcore music. Growing up in Worcester that defi nitely was the thing that I did at all times, I basically lived at The Palladium and I was in multiple hardcore and metal bands back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. I haven’t really been in that genre in around a decade so this is kind of my return to it and therefore my spirit for the music and all that it entails has been rejuvenated with this project.”

While at Trapdoor Studios in Leicester, Colby recorded all of the instru-

ments and vocals for the album in completely DIY fashion. Tracks like “Brotherless” and “Pig Farm” highlight amazing intensity, syncopation and audio quality in an undertaking that brought a few obstacles.

“It was a challenge, for sure,” he says about the making of the album. “Back when I did it, it was fun and it was something that I wanted to really do. It was always a goal of mine to play all the instruments on a record and be able to perform all the vocals as well. Naturally, at the time I was working with the resources I had so I recorded it myself because I didn’t really have any money for a producer; it was very much a passion project. I was at the studio doing work every day and in my spare time when I wasn’t working on other people’s records I was working on my own. It was cool but it was one of those things where I didn’t grow up playing drums or any-

thing so when I was writing the songs I was using a program called Reason and basically I just programmed the drums and played the drums on a keyboard.

“Then I had to practice the real drums to be able to get up to a fast enough tempo to be able to play all those songs,” Colby adds. “It was a four-month process of playing the drums for about two to three hours a day every day to be able to get it to where I felt it was good enough to get it onto a record.”

When it comes to living in Nashville, Colby has learned a lot as a musician.

This includes the art of songwriting and honing his skills on guitar.

“I’ve defi nitely learned a ton about other genres of music and I’ve really learned so much about the craft of songwriting,” he says. “That is something that is so important in Nashville, everybody around there says that it always starts with a song. It’s kind of a played out thing to hear, but it’s really true, and I think about applying that to a hardcore band where I know I wrote these songs before I moved there but I’ve always gravitated more towards the type of hardcore that you could really hold on to with some repeating parts and it’s more about the songwriting process. That’s always been a major infl uence, and once I got to Nashville, I started paying way more attention to the craft and the craft of just playing guitar in general. Some of the best guitar players in the world live in the city and you really can’t go out and see a bad musician there.

“You might go to a club and think that a particular band isn’t for you but what they do is still very good,” Colby adds.

“In the 10 years I’ve lived in Nashville, I don’t think I’ve actually seen a band that was horrible, so it’s made me really get serious about playing the guitar in general rather than getting stuck in a box.

There’s no reason to move so far from home if you’re not going to take what you do very seriously and work on it every day. That’s defi nitely what this place has inspired me to do.”

To stream and purchase Second Spirit’s "The Weight Of Just Living" when it’s released, visit secondspirithxc.bandcamp.com.

22 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Michael O’Connor Michael O’Connor is a 28-year-old artist and Worcester native who attended college in the city. He works for the state’s Adult Protective Services program, and lives in the heart of the city. He’s worked in all types of media in the art world since high school. He has an Etsy store (Dark Gemini Creations) and an Instagram account of the same name where he displays mostly digital pieces and, on Etsy, sells stickers and other custom products.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 23

Watching city change each year Turning 65 after a lifetime of living in Worcester Brian Goslow Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

There’s something about living in the same place — the same house, the same neighborhood, the same city — for 65 years (and yes, I still don’t and can’t drive at 65, but thankfully, I have the same amount of curiosity that I had when this picture was taken) that allows you to know where all the dents and breaks in the fences came from, what the vacant lots or more recentlybuilt buildings used to be decades ago, the transition of Old Worcester to New Worcester to Old Worcester to New Worcester being an already twice survived fi lm; remembering helping one of your best friend’s family move their en-

Brian Goslow, circa 1960.

PHOTO COURTESY BRIAN GOSLOW

tire collection of possessions, packed tightly into already broken cardboard boxes, from the up the street when their home was taken for the Elm Park Com-

munity School after one of our classmates accidently burned down the Dix Street Elementary School Annex; the long walk up to the lower part of Grafton Street going past the beloved parts of the downtown of your childhood that had been demolished to make way for the new mall that was going to bring the city into the modern age; the reality that wasn’t going to happen about the same time the classmate from the aforementioned family was charged with murder in another part of the city (and seeing his son ended up in a similar situation about the time rumors of the next version of Worcester was on the way); and wondering how many of the younger kids growing up here today will be affected by the tens of thousands of new residents moving into the city and whether they’ll be a place for them at all.

It was one of my fi rst truly memorable life experiences, though, I tend to think every engagement holds its own

memorable moment and as such, that’s why I appreciate my favorite current places to grab a meal or coff ee – One Love, Theatre Café, The Bean Counter (in the same space that used to house Harry’s Deli when I was in grammar school and the Garden of Delights in my 20s, located across the street from the former home of the Highlander Diner, now site of the Sole Proprietor, which still holds the unique glass corner window from the diner), our various farmers markets and having Maker to Main off ering fresh produce the same way all our local corner stores used to when I was a kid – and Lucky’s Café, which sadly is being forced to close its Northworks location this week with an uncertain future. When you’ve lived somewhere your entire life, every place tends to hold some kind of echo of the past.

Life is made of experiences, and See CHANGE, Page 28

Happy Holidays!

As we approach the end of 2021, we want to take this opportunity to thank all of our valued members and extend our best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

We know that you have many choices for your financial service needs. We appreciate that you’ve chosen Leominster Credit Union.

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24 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Scoop Continued from Page 16

An assortment of doughnuts from Glazy Susan.

COURTESY OF GLAZY SUSAN

taly Boston. In 2018, she enrolled at Penn State University in a year-long program, commuting from Worcester to PSU, where she completed the Food Science and Safety Program with a specialty in Dairy. “The curriculum was diversifi ed, but I chose to specialize in dairy as it covered everything from butter, ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, you name it,” said Moriconi. “The key to great ice cream is fresh dairy.”

Moriconi said she had looked into leasing a store front in the Canal District when the pandemic hit. “That plan fl ew out the window,” she said.

When friends began to ask Moriconi to make ice cream for them she knew she had to have commercial kitchen space. She worked in a Worcester kitchen for a while and also with Goss Farm in Dunstable to manufac-

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ture her ice cream. The Woo Trucks facility in Boylston is where she now spends at least three days developing ice cream fl avors, etc. It’s very professional and everyone there is serious about food and food safety, she said. “The facility is very well-managed,” she added.

Moriconi is involved in every step of making her ice cream.

She recalled the fi rst time at the Dunstable farm when she made 100 pints for the Shrewsbury Farmers market and sold out in less than 90 minutes at the market site. She said sales indicated people really liked locally homemade ice cream. She uses fresh, local dairy from grass fed Jersey cows, and when you buy her ice cream, you help support Massachusetts farms, she said.

Moriconi and her husband, John Moriconi (a musician for more than 30 years), reside in the Tatnuck Square area, not far from the ice cream shop.

“We love the neighborhood and Worcester,” said Moriconi. “I couldn’t be happier with the business location.”

She hired several students enrolled in the hospitality program at Worcester Technical High School to help out at the commercial kitchen and retail shop. “They’re great kids with good work ethics and always show up on time,” said Moriconi about the students. “They’re eager to learn and I’m happy to teach them anything and everything about my business, from recipes to food safety, sales and costs. It’s a win-win situation.”

In the new year, Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream will open Fridays and Saturdays until the owner fi gures out a permanent schedule. She will continue to accept online orders. Check for updates on social media.

The shop also will continue with its monthly fundraiser ice cream fl avor. “It’s our way of giving back to a very supportive community,” said Moriconi, who fi rst made special ice cream to help raise money for the nonprofi t Why Me & Sher-

ry’s House in Worcester. “Ruck March Mash” celebrated the people rucking 100 miles as part of a fundraiser for the organization.

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce recognized Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream with the Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 award.

In November of 2020, The National Ice Cream Retail Association honored Mrs. Moriconi’s vanilla and chocolate ice cream fl avors with ribbon awards, scoring high marks for color, texture, taste and many other factors.

Moriconi is a friendly, enthusiastic and proud entrepreneur whose ice cream is crafted with passion. She says “life breathes into her meeting people.”

Glazy Susan seeks input for Jan. menu Owners Joseph and Susan Skrzek of Glazy Susan doughnuts in Worcester invite fans to “Choose the January Menu!” in celebration of reaching 10k followers on Instagram.

Visit www.glazysusan.com to vote a favorite in these categories: Brioche Ring/Bullseye; Filled Brioche Ring; Vegan; Cake; Mochi.

Worcester’s “fi rst specialty doughnut company” opened in 2018 at the DCU Center.

Scratch-made doughnuts are sold from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The business location is 50 Foster St., Door 15A; email info@glazysusan.com, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

There’s still time to make a beeline straight to Glazy Susan before it goes on holiday break, Dec. 23 through Jan. 5. Mindboggling fl avors, so many toppings and creative styles.

There’s everything you could ever want from a doughnut.

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282.

Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 25

Draft Continued from Page 17

even what you would think of as a typical commercial brewery. The address on their farmer-brewer license leads you to the two-car garage attached to co-founder Bryan Wrenn’s Whitinsville home.

Instead, Slow Down hopes to gradually build buzz for its beer through draft sales at restaurants and bars around the state known for their epic tap lists, with the goal to fi nd a taproom in Central Massachusetts somewhere down the line. For purely selfi sh reasons, I’ve strongly recommended Grafton, my hometown.

It is a risky approach to operating a brewery. Slow Down won’t have a reliable place to sell beer, test batches and introduce itself to new customers. Brewing out of a garage, no matter how big, it might also run into space restrictions as it scales up the brewhouse and nets more draft accounts.

But in a time where new breweries are thriving despite the seemingly never-ending global pandemic, I’m not counting Slow Down out. Its

Diversity Continued from Page 15

the average comic reader is not 15 years old but 35 or 40 years old. Santos agreed that “fan bases are loyal, committed and tend to be — especially in the ‘80s and ‘90s — largely white males.” So the average reader has a long history with comics and people stick with what is familiar. They view comics as their safe space — where they had agency, especially due to the culture Marvel promoted (Stan Lee’s fan letters, taking suggestions) which fostered a feeling of ownership among the fans, especially when comics

founders want to grow in an unorthodox way to be sure.

However, they believe this path protects them from overextending themselves and skirts investors.

“My biggest thing, and these guys all agree, is we decided to go this route so we didn’t owe anybody anything,” said cofounder Dave Curini. “We’re all self-funded. We hope this path will lead to a self-funded taproom, rather than pulling in somebody who’s not as passionate about the beer as us.”

We were sitting at Reunion Tap & Table, Slow Down’s fi rst draft account, drinking, “Panoramic,” the second of the two IPAs from the brewery that the restaurant has had on tap. One could argue that owner Sargon Hanna, childhood friends with a few of Slow Down’s founders, put its beer on his board as a favor. Hanna squashed that notion, however, the minute he ordered another keg.

Curini grew up in Shrewsbury, while the other founders, Wrenn, Rich Linehan and Scott Lynch, are from Grafton. All in their 30s, they’re beer nerds to the highest degree, which means one or all of the following is true: They have traveled north several times solely to

visit breweries, rated a beer on Untappd and frequented The Dive Bar in its heyday.

“When we were all hanging out, we all had the same passion for the same beers,” Linehan said. “We gravitated towards the juicy New England IPAs. We got to the point where, as we continued to homebrew and produce products that we thought were in line with some of the beer we got at restaurants or at breweries we visited, we began to raise the question, ‘What would it look like to do this ourselves?’ How can we pursue this?”

If I’m being honest, it was diffi cult early in the conversation to gauge their commitment to this whole starting a brewery thing. Their passion for the industry poured out as we drained our tulip glasses, and I became more convinced of their conviction.

“When we started six years ago, it was after the fi rst day that Bryan invited us over to brew and we get a text from Dave saying, ‘What are we going to name our brewery?’ Our fi rst brew was just the day before,” Lynch said. “So Bryan responded with, ‘Slow down.’

That’s where the name comes from. We’ve been talking about

this for six years and it got more serious as we went along.”

They tinkered with recipes and tossed out batch after batch to produce an IPA that to their palates tasted as good as those brewed by the best.

Vitamin Sea Brewing in Weymouth has been one of the breweries that has infl uenced Slow Down, in both the quality of its IPAs and how it built its business.

“I remember they (Vitamin Sea) even had a keg at The Hangover Pub in Worcester that sold out in a couple of hours. At that point they didn’t have a taproom,” Wrenn said.

“There was really no way to get their beer at that time. They were able to build a cult following in a grassroots fashion, through draft sales at restaurants, building up hype about their beer.”

Slow Down brews every two weeks, with the founders fi nding time for brew days in between full-time jobs and growing families. They recently invested in a new one-barrel brewing system, which will increase their output.

They hope to land accounts at some of the more wellknown craft beer spots, from The Pint in Worcester, to The

Abbey in Cambridge, to The Specialty Sandwich Co. in Holden. They’re banking on restaurant and bar owners enjoying both the taste and exclusivity of their beer.

“These restaurants and bars are getting beers from all the same place; they’re getting it from the distributors,” Curini said. “From their standpoint, we have a leg up on the other breweries going through distributors, because we’re the local guy. You can’t get it anywhere else. You can only get it here.”

Until then they’ll take advantage of their draft account at Reunion to burnish their reputation.

“Our model is to let the beer speak for itself,” Wrenn said.

“We’re confi dent in our product. We know this is probably a more diffi cult way to go about it. I think that we’ve had the idea that if we get our beer into the right places, we’re confi dent it can succeed.”

Look for Slow Down Brewing Co.’s next beer, a double IPA dryhopped with Barbe Rouge and Belma, on tap soon at Reunion Tap & Table in Grafton. Track the brewery’s progress at https://www.instagram.com/ slowdownbrewco.

were passed on to other writers who were themselves fans.

Santos suggested that, to them, it felt like their space was invaded by political correctness and the popularization of these characters may have frustrated the old school fans.

Marvel may keep an ear to the ground after a rumor and notice if something angers a big part of their fan base but they do go ahead sometimes. An example is Iceman from the “XMen” comics who had been around since 1962 but about 10 years ago, Marvel had him come out as gay, which probably alienated some readers but now it’s accepted.

While it’s great that Marvel is planning to showcase LatinX

voices, they have not always succeeded with the inclusion of people of color in the past. Minorities in general may have some political connotations, such as when Black Panther refers to Black oppression. Santos was open about his frustration, as a fan, that the MCU fi lms have a tendency to either depoliticize these characters or to reduce any troubling politics to one character then kill that character off . So much of the social and political commentary that defi nes these characters is edited because Marvel may want to limit the politics from taking center stage.

For example, Killmonger from “Black Panther,” who is critical of the West and invest-

ed in overthrowing the colonizing powers, met his end in the movie. “All the critical commentary on the West got put in the villain and then they killed him off — it shows the fear of being political.” He also pointed out that the “Civil War” comic storyline was essentially about the Patriot Act, but the movies made the confl ict more personal. While it was still about Iron Man versus Captain America, the 9/11 allegory and politics were toned down.

Gatej refl ected on how the diverse representation of narratives and characters is a refl ection of visitors to the Worcester store of That’s Entertainment, referencing the Pride month display that the

store set up — gay, lesbian, feminist themes are more common in graphic novels and comics. “It brought more folks to our store — allowed folks to feel more comfortable and included here and now we have had an LGBTQ section for little over a year, that we had to expand on because there was an interest.”

She says that the themes run across all platforms, including manga, graphic novels and comics. “Literally, every type of person under the sun can fi nd a theme, and I love that our store is so diverse that we can all get together and talk about pop culture and geek out.”

26 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

5 THINGS TO DO

NELLIE MCKAY, ‘A CHRISTMAS CELTIC SOJOURN’ AND MORE ...

Richard Duckett and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

‘Baroque & Beyond’

Elaine Daiber.

The New England Symphony Orchestra will join with the Worcester Children’s Chorus and soprano soloist Elaine Daiber for “Festive Baroque & Beyond” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 in Mechanics Hall. The program features selections by some of the great composers of the Baroque period, including J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Phillip Telemann. A new work by Mechanics Hall composer in residence Leonardo Ciampa is inspired by the music of the Baroque and will feature the chorus and soloist along with the orchestra. Masks required. Mechanics Hall COVID guidelines at www.mechanicshall.org/covid19 (RD)

PROVIDED BY NEW ENGLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

What: “Festive Baroque & Beyond” — New England Symphony Orchestra When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester How much: $42 floor, $35 balcony; seniors $40 (floor); students $12. www.newenglandsymphony.org

Seasonal Favorites The Worcester Youth Orchestras return to Mechanics Hall for its Annual Holiday Pops concert at 4 p.m. Dec. 19. Timeless classics such as “White Christmas,” “Christmas Festival,” “Let it Snow!”, “The Nutcracker” and other seasonal gems are on the program, as is a special guest appearance from Santa. The concert will feature talented student performers from: WY Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Brennand, music director; WY Philharmonic & String Orchestras, Jack Corbett, director; WY Wind Ensemble, Lucy Colwell, director; and WY Jazz Ensemble, Dan Gabel, director of Jazz Program. Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required. (RD)

What: Worcester Youth Orchestras — Holiday Pops concert When: 4 p.m. Dec. 19 (doors open 3:15 p.m.)

Where: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester How much: $10 to $27.

Tickets will not be sold at the door. All ticket purchases must be made in advance online using the WYO Box Office. www.worcesteryouthorchestras.org

Worcester Youth Orchestra artistic director Jonathan Brennand.

PAUL CONNOR/ T&G FILE PHOTO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 27

Virtually the Holidays “GBH Presents A Christmas Celtic Sojourn with Brian O’Donovan” will be virtual and in-person this year, but won’t include its popular visit to one of its traditional pre-pandemic stops at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester. The in-person schedule called for two shows (which sold out) at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport earlier this week, and five shows at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston on the weekend of Dec. 17, 18, and 19. However, the virtual edition promises to be a highly produced stream from the Cutler Majestic Theatre with O’Donovan hosting singers, musicians, dancers and story-tellers celebrating the season’s Celtic, Pagan and Christian traditions. Artists include Seamus Egan (co-music Director and multi instrumentalist), Maeve Gilchrist (Celtic harp and piano and co-music director), Owen Marshall (guitar, bouzouki and harmonium), Jenna Moynihan (fiddle), Moira Smiley (singer), Yann Falquet (guitar/accordion/jaws harp), Katie McNally and Neil Pearlman (fiddle and piano), Chico Huff (bass), Windborne (fourpart harmony singers) and Ashley Smith-Wallace (dance director). (RD)

Brian O’Donovan. SUBMITTED

What: A Virtual Christmas Celtic Sojourn with Brian O’Donovan When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; 3 p.m. Dec. 19, 25 and 26. Your ticket will get you access to the stream on the date chosen and video on demand from that date through Jan. 2.

How much: $40. For more information including a link to tickets, go to www.christmasceltic.com.

In like a ‘Lamb’ In “Lamb,” a much talked about horror/drama/mystery film from Iceland, a childless couple, María and Ingvar, discover a mysterious newborn on their farm. The unexpected prospect of family life brings them much joy, but forces are also work to destroy them. This striking debut feature from director Valdimar Jóhannsson will be shown locally by cinema-worcester Dec. 17 at the Park View Room, 230 Park Ave. Meanwhile, Cinema 320 at WCUW Radio, 910 Main St., will screen “The Rescue” for two shows Dec. 18.

The documentary chronicles the enthralling, against-allodds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. (RD)

Nellie McKay will perform Dec. 17 at Nick's Bar & Restaurant. FILE

‘Engaging and irresistible’ Nellie McKay is a fascinating singer-songwriter, one who brings jazzy vocals and a Broadway sense of theatricality to songs that have a pop flair. “David,” probably her most well-known song, is deftly crafted and extremely catchy: “David don’t you hear me at all,” she sings plaintively on the chorus, “David won’t you give me a call/Waitin’ here not makin’ a sound/David come around.” It’s a serious earworm, but even quirkier songs such as “The Dog Song” or her take on standards such as the frank Sinatra-popularized “How About You?” are engaging and irresistible.

(VDI) What: Nellie McKay When: 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Where: Nick’s Bar and Restaurant, 124 Millbury St., Worcester How much: $30, tickets available on Eventbrite.com

Noomi Rapace stars in “Lamb.” PROMOTIONAL IMAGE

What: “Lamb” — presented by cinema-worcester When: 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Where: Park View Room, 230 Park Ave., Worcester How much: $10; $8.50 students and seniors. Tickets: www.cinema-worcester.com What: “The Rescue” - presented by Cinema 320 When: 1 and 3 p.m. Dec. 18 Where: Cinema 320 at WCUW Radio, 910 Main St., Worcester How much: $9; $7seniors and WCUW members. WCUW members with their cards can bring a guest with 2-for-1 admission

28 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

ADOPTION OPTION

Meet Georgia Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes. WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

Meet GEORGIA. Georgia was adopted from WARL as a very cute kitten, however she grew up to not like the other cats in the house so was returned. Georgia is very sweet with people. She is aff ectionate, outgoing and curious.

Georgia just wants to be the only pet in a quiet home where her family will admire and worship her. Georgia will do well with older kids or teenagers but we would not recommend her with small children as they may be overwhelming for her. If you would like to meet this beauty, please contact the shelter at cats@worcesterarl.org or (508) 853-0030.

WARL COVID-19 Procedures As of Nov. 9, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we want to share with you some changes we have implemented so that we can continue to serve the

pets and people of our community while keeping our team protected. h ADOPTIONS: At this time, adoptions are being held BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. If you are interested in adoption, please visit our website worcesterarl.org/ adopt/ to learn more about our available animals then call us at (508) 853-0030 ext.0 or email us at info@worcesterarl. org to schedule an appointment. h CASUAL VISITS TO THE SHELTER are prohibited. We will strictly enforce this in order to keep our animal care team protected while still maintaining the most essential function of our operation ... fi nding homes for animals in need. h ANIMAL SURRENDERS: Our business practice for surrendering a pet remains the same. All pet owners must contact WARL in advance of sur-

Georgia is available for adoption from the Worcester Animal Rescue League.

PHOTO COURTESY STEVE GEORGON

rendering a pet. Please call (508) 853-0030. h SPAY/NEUTER CLINICS: All scheduled appointments will be honored. If you have a scheduled appointment, we will be contacting you to discuss changes to our drop off / pick up procedures. h DONATIONS ACCEPTED except for open bags of food. h Pet food, cat litter, and other shelter supplies will be essential in continuing to provide for our animals and to as-

sist community members in need. To avoid unnecessary travel and exposure, items can be purchased online from our Amazon Wishlist — https:// www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3AX342JIL73M0. h Weekly training classes are going on for adopters. h The WARL Volunteer Program is temporarily suspended. All regular volunteer shifts are on hold. We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as we can. We have many

animals in our care who depend on us to stay healthy and well. The above measures help to protect our staff and community from the spread of COVID - 19 by minimizing face-toface interactions while continuing to operate only core essential services. Please continue to follow our Facebook page for additional updates.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the shelter at (508) 853-0030 or info@ worcesterarl.org.

Change

ing. Sometimes, they grow into regular friendships (though, one of the magic elements of the Internet age is many of those one-off s are allowed to grow into close friendships through the sharing of passions and experiences and photographs and stories and memories online). Wherever you stand amongst this crowd, I’m thankful for each one of you for continuing to stay in touch over the months and the years and

the decades (and even, some of you, from last century)! You’re all cherished more than you may realize and I hope we all can continue to share life’s experiences together both here and in-person life for many years to come. Love and thanks to all!

Brian Goslow is currently managing editor of Artscope Magazine; with this story, he has contributed to Worcester Magazine in four decades.

Continued from Page 23

more importantly, moments, which, as a journalist (or a punk rock radio DJ) might mean interviewing or hanging out with someone just once but that experience being so memorable that it’s always remembered as having contained that spark that makes life worth liv-

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 29

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J O N E S I N’

Enjoy Fun By The Numbers puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

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Across 1 One of 11 for RuPaul 5 100-meter race 9 Telegram break 13 Rowed vessel 14 “It is not ___ am crazy ... it is ___ am mad!” (“Ren and Stimpy” quote) 15 Believer in spiritual unity 16 What happened when the wedding party gained an extra foot?

18 Elicit 19 TV series divs.

20 “Try the ___!” (comedian’s cliché) 21 Signs of snoring 22 Hallowed place to learn to count in French?

27 Without assistance 28 ___ squared (formula for the area of a circle) 29 2014 U.S. Open champ Michelle 30 Pinafore designation 33 Done at the table 35 Words from a ghost clock?

37 Perform really well at freestyle rap 39 Belarus, in prev. days 40 . follower 41 Bit of duplicity 42 “Who ___ thinks that’s a good idea?”

46 Chef’s complaint about a lack of sauce base?

52 Oldman’s villain role in “The Fifth Element” 53 “Up in the Air” Oscar nominee Farmiga 54 “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” airer 55 Elevator selection 57 Allows just a pair?

59 Full of dryer fluff 60 Blue-gray shark 61 “Now, more ___ ever ...”

62 Beehive State athletes 63 Part of MS-DOS 64 Janitor’s ringful Down 1 Field formerly home to the Brooklyn Dodgers 2 Vivid blue butterfly type

“Dr. Livingston, I Pre-Zoo?”--it’s the same outcome.

by Matt Jones

3 “The Marvelous Mrs. ___” 4 “Jan. 1 to now” column 5 Honey Smacks frog mascot introduced in 1972 6 “That’s ___!” (director’s shout) 7 Beach souvenir 8 “___ goes it?”

9 Hit Ctrl-S 10 First words of some proverbs 11 Furniture wood 12 Pecan, for one 15 Smoker contents, maybe 17 “All About ___” (Bette Davis movie) 21 Shaggy’s catchphrase 23 “I’m going ___ the hay ...”

24 Huge retelling 25 180-degree turn, slangily 26 Signed very simply 31 Fast food dessert inspiring the search question “Is the spoon a straw?”

32 Downhill event 33 Quaint cry of disgust 34 More bent out of shape?

35 Mountain, for example 36 Early Palm smartphone 37 Ecol. or econ.

38 PBS documentary film series since 1988 43 Want no part of

44 Franchise with recent legal questions about its tuna 45 They’ve been out for a while 47 1976 literary bestseller 48 Bit of light that’s harmful to the skin 49 Durable woods 50 “Believe It ___” 51 Queen’s “___ Bottomed Girls” 55 Reason for a fall shot 56 Burning 57 Ball club VIPs 58 Wall St. cert.

Last week's solution

©2021 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #1071

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | 31

LAST CALL

Anya Geist, student and author of ‘Born on the First of Two’ Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Anya Geist, Worcester high school sophomore, just published her fi rst novel, “Born on the First of Two.” Having written poetry for both Stone Soup and Worcester Magazine, Geist drafted her debut book during the quarantine of last year as part of Stone Soup’s 2020 Book Contest. The manuscript was chosen as Editor’s Choice and sent to publishers. The story tells of a young girl born on Earth, but raised in an alternate magical reality who must fulfi ll her destiny and learn her place in the world. Geist sat down with Last Call to discuss her book, the writing process and what she hopes readers will take away from the story.

Where did the idea come from?

I think it came from a lot of places — I always have a bunch of ideas in my head, infl uenced by the books that I’m currently reading and the things that are happening in my life. When COVID hit and school shut down and all of my activities and sports were closed, I learned about this contest and decided to go for it. Also, I was reading “Lord of the Rings” at the time so the idea of prophecies was defi nitely fl uttering through my head.

Will this also be a trilogy also?

No, I don’t have any plans for any further books — it’s a stand alone.

How long have you been working on the book?

The fi rst draft took me about a month and a half — from sometime in April to June.

The book cover for “Born on the First of Two.” COURTESY OF STONE SOUP

Anya Geist, author of “Born on the First of Two.” COURTESY OF STONE SOUP

Then I let it sit for a few weeks, then I went back to it. I had family and friends read it to give me some feedback, then I submitted it in late summer.

Once it was chosen as Editor’s Choice and I found out it was going to be published, I worked with the editor at Stone Soup throughout last spring to get it ready for publication.

How did it change from when you drafted to publishing?

Not much of the plot changed except for clarifying certain parts to help them fl ow, working on how best to express character’s emotions, how to make valuable perspectives, and just generally help characters be the best they could be.

What was your favorite

part about the process?

Getting to invent this whole set of characters in this world, getting to describe it and make it real. It was a very fun and very cool experience to use my words to describe these ideas that I had in my head.

Would you say this is a character-driven story?

Yes, I wanted to focus a lot on the development of my main character, Maya, but also pay a lot of attention to the setting as well. It’s rich in both those aspects but defi nitely a lot of it is character driven.

What kind of other fi ction do you like to write?

Well, I started writing novellas when I was like nine so it didn’t really go anywhere [chuckles]. I defi nitely like

writing vignettes and shorter pieces actually, as opposed to long fi ction. I really do like to focus on the setting and characters specifi cally as opposed to an overall plot so this was quite a challenge in that way, but it was great fun to come up with the plot.

So this was a departure from your usual work. What was your process of plotting a story?

I defi nitely did outline it a lot. Started with an idea of how I wanted it to go, even if certain details changed along the way. I would say the most diffi cult part was fi guring out exactly how it was all going to end and bringing it all together. I was working on how the climax was going to go all through writing the story, then deciding where the characters would go after the climax and how their emotional arcs would be resolved.

Were the characters based on anyone you know?

Not really, they just came out of my head but mostly a combination of my own characteristics and subconsciously based on people in my life. I know I can be very stubborn at times like my main character.

In general, I wanted to create a character that wasn’t always likable but she had a good heart, even if she did have a lot of confl ict in her character.

What did you learn from writing a novel?

I think I learned that it is a large task — a very concentrated period of time when I was writing it. To really create a world, characters and plot, you have to delve into it, like I was submerging myself into it.

What I really liked about the book and describing it, is that I could describe Earth, more than creating a whole new world for them to live in. It made it more grounded.

Do you think you’ll try and publish some of your short stories now?

Maybe but right now I’m focused on writing for fun.

Is there something in particular that you hope readers will take away from this?

I hope that kids especially will take away the idea that really anything is possible if you set your mind to it. All throughout, this was a pretty daunting task, but I did it and I’m very proud of what I’ve written and I think that now the idea of writing another piece of long fi ction is not as intimidating as it was before. This has opened a gateway for me, in terms of being confi dent about myself and I hope that it can bring confi dence to other kids about exploring things that seem intimidating.

32 | DECEMBER 17 - 23, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM