The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has authorized an insurance plan nearing $1 million during their July 30th board of commissioners meeting. This decision comes as questions still surround the organization’s financial status.
MATA recommended the global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for their plan starting through August 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025. Officials said the premium is an excess of $992,000. They said this is reasonable “based on today’s market” and is “very important for the company.”
“It’s an expense that MATA incurs every year,” an official said. “Obviously the amount differs each year. In view of MATA’s current cash flow circumstances, this is a very significant expenditure — just as any expenditure close to $1 million would be.”
Board chairman Michael Fulton expressed his concern with a policy totaling almost $1 million given the agency’s $60 million deficit.
Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC, MATA’s external CFO, said as recently as Tuesday, he consulted with the city of Memphis and said MATA expected to raise an invoice against the city to “draw down against the operational grant funding” up to $1 million to cover the plan.
Shortly after gaining approval for the insurance plan, the agency informed its board that they are preparing to present one of its “most consequential budgets of MATA’s history.”
Officials decided to forego a traditional finance report as their finance team is working on the year-end closeout which they plan to present in August. They said this will show how the organization fared for the year.
The board of commissioners were presented with a draft of the budget, but it was not available to the public for review.
“We felt as though it would be important to put a draft of this budget in front of you,” interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin said to the organization’s board of commissioners. “We’re not going to discuss it in any detail today because we plan to have a very robust finance committee meeting, and we want to make sure you are armed with as much information as possible going into that process.”
Mauldin said they have the opportunity to balance their budget for the first time in a “considerable” amount of years. She said she is honoring her commitment to present a balanced budget to the board.
In June, the city of Memphis allocated $30 million to the organization for FY25. Shelby County gave MATA $1.2 million, which Mauldin previously said was “consistent with where they’ve been for the past few years.”
At the end of budget season, Davidson told commissioners that he would present a timetable that addresses the current and future state of their budget.
Agricenter International will host its 10th annual Feast on the Farm Gala this Saturday, August 3rd, at 6 p.m. The organization’s largest fundraiser of the year will feature live music by Kevin and Bethany Paige, silent and live auctions, and a diverse selection of small plates that highlight the best of Memphis’ culinary scene.
Dishes and drinks will be from The Butcher Shop Steakhouse, Grazin’ Tables Charcuterie & Eatery, Memphis Made Brewing Company, Off the Square Catering, Shipley Do-Nuts, Sufi’s Mediterranean Grill & Bar, Villa Castrioti, and more.
“We expect over 600 people,” says Agricenter president John Butler. “We’re very thrilled to have so many members of the community come out and celebrate with us. All the funds that we raise — 100 percent — go back to support our education efforts. We invest everything back in to support our education, so that team works tirelessly trying to talk about the importance of agriculture, not only in this community, but as it relates back to people’s lives, everything you can think of from sustainability to environmental concerns to health and nutrition.
“More and more our community understands that food is health, so making good choices around nutrition is extremely important, and our educators are out in the community, working. This year, we worked with over 18,000 students through a variety of different STEAM enrichment classes, but we also have a lot of adult programs, and that’s what I think really makes us unique.”
Adult program topics include farm safety, workforce development, introduction to agriculture, drone technology, and more.
Feast on the Farm also coincides with the Agricenter’s 45th anniversary. Since its founding in 1979, Butler says, with the changes in the agriculture industry and the community, the Agricenter, too, has evolved. “Understanding the importance of the agriculture community has probably never been more important than it is today.
“Our whole society started through an agrarian outlook,” Butler says, “and then as we move more and more over time away from the farm and into urban communities, we probably lost a little contact with how we actually grow our own food. And what I’ve seen the last couple years is that there’s a real strategic interest in getting some of those things back. People are taking some of our beginning farmer classes, or some of our new classes around organics and learning more about the industry. We have an equine campus; we have a farmers market. We have a research farm; we have a research park; we help recruit startups. Agricenter is more than just a place. We create a lot of economic and community investment. We have a $524 million annual impact, both direct and indirect activities that we host here. So it’s more than just tourism.”
As Butler looks to the future, he hopes Agricenter continues on its innovative and progressive path. For now, he encourages people to get their tickets to Feast on the Farm fast because they’re sure to sell out.
Couples tickets are $250 and can be purchased here.
At a McDonald’s in Booval, Queensland, Australia, a customer caught an employee using a french fry heat lamp to dry a dirty mop head, Yahoo! News reported on May 20. The customer said the mop had just been used to mop the floors; she heard another employee say, “I don’t think you should be doing that as it could be a safety issue as it can catch on fire,” but the first worker just “laughed it off.” A spokesperson for McDonald’s Australia called it an “isolated incident” and said the staff had undergone “retraining” on food safety procedures. [Yahoo! News, 5/20/2024]
Awesome!
As a 32-year-old man and his 66-year-old father argued on May 28 in Commerce City, Colorado, the father allegedly shot several times at the son, CNN reported. The father was believed to be intoxicated. While his aim was right on, a fluke saved the younger man’s life: A .22-caliber bullet lodged in the 10-millimeter-wide silver chain link necklace he was wearing at his throat. The victim escaped with just a puncture wound; his dad is charged with first-degree attempted murder. [CNN, 6/4/2024]
Weird Science
Scientists in Japan are at it again, Oddity Central reported on May 31. The Japanese tech company Kirin Holdings has released the new Elecispoon, a metal-and-plastic, battery-powered spoon that will improve human taste buds’ perception of salt, thereby allowing them to use less salt in their foods. Overconsumption of salt is a health issue in Japan. The tip of the spoon’s bowl transfers an electric charge to the food it touches and generates an electric field around the tongue, which causes sodium ions to bond together. The spoon, which sells for $128, has four intensity settings. [Oddity Central, 5/31/2024]
Oops!
• The website for the Republican National Convention featured a photo of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the convention was to be held starting on July 15, on each of its pages. At least, it was supposed to. On June 4, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the website section called “News and Updates” highlighted a photo of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam — not Milwaukee. According to an internet archive, the errant photo had been in place on the page since February. The RNC declined to comment. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/5/2024]
• The South China Morning Post reported on May 27 that a 26-year-old man from Naringgul, Indonesia, was hoodwinked into marriage after dating his “wife,” Kanza, 26, for a year. Just 12 days into their union, the man, who goes by AK, became suspicious when his bride continued to wear her headscarf at home and avoided intimacy. After doing a little sleuthing, AK discovered that Kanza was actually a man who had been cross-dressing since 2020. The scoundrel later told authorities that he married AK to steal his family’s assets. He was arrested and could face four years in prison. [South China Morning Post, 5/27/2024]
Um …
Neighbors in Palm Beach Country Estates in Florida are upset about the noise levels they’re enduring from I-95 and the Florida Turnpike, which run side by side through the area, WPTV reported on June 5. Resident Greta Foriere, who lives two houses from the turnpike, said it’s like being tortured 24 hours a day: “You can’t go outside.” She and other neighbors are lobbying for a sound wall to muffle the noise, which she has recorded as reaching 146 decibels. Neighbor Gary Johnson said he wouldn’t have bought his house if he’d known about the noise level. Fun fact: The highways have been in place for 60 years. [WPTV, 6/5/2024]
Crime Report
Six Bricks & Minifigs stores across southern California have been targeted by Lego thieves, the Los Angeles Times reported on June 5. The popular figurines lifted from the Lego resellers amount to about $100,000 worth of merchandise. Katie Leuschner, who owns the store in Whittier, said that on May 3, burglars broke glass to enter the store, then filled trash bags with the booty. “They’re not stealing big box sets,” she said. “They’re stealing minifigures, and those individual guys go for $500 to $600 apiece, so they’re easily stolen and resold for a quick profit.” Other cities have been hit, too, by what one website calls a black market for Lego items. Leuschner and other owners are modifying their storefronts to be less vulnerable to the thieves. [LA Times, 6/5/2024]
“The MANE Event” Kontar “The Great” (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Wrestling fans turned out for 901 Wrestling’s annual Wild Card Rumble, which was held July 20th at Black Lodge.
Anthony Sain, commentator with Kevin Cerrito, describes the event as a “13-man, over-the-top battle royal.”
And, he says, “It’s one of our premier events of the year.”
Tyler “The Lion” LeMasters and Roscoe “The Cajun Catapult” Monroe“Live Wire” Bobby Ford
Describing the event, Sain says, “It starts off with two guys. A new guy comes in every two minutes. … You’ve got to throw guys over the top rope to be eliminated.”
Everybody is eventually eliminated except one. “The True One of One” Kevin Bless was this year’s winner. “It got down to him and one other person and he threw that person over the top rope.”
“The Star of the Show” Andy Mack“The True One of One” Kevin BlessDorian Vain
As Rumble winner, Bless can participate in the 901 Wrestling Championship, the 1819 Championship, or the Tag Team Championship.
The event was in honor of the late 901 Wrestling wrestler Devin “Wild Card” Taylor, who died in a drowning accident.
Bless is “typically a guy that fans don’t get behind, but they were happy to see him win in honor of Devin Taylor. Bless was the last opponent Devin had before he passed away.”
More We Saw You photos at memphisflyer.com.
Norman “The Soviet Saint” Meklakov at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)“The Merc” Chris Evans at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)“The All-American” Ken Dang at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Nighttrain at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Top Shottaz at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)“King of Memphis” Hunter HavocMorgan the Man at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Shane Shoffner at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Sebastian Moon, Joey Hall, Amos Fitzgerald at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Kevin Cerrito and Anthony Sain at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)Connor the Dude at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue)“Baddest Man Alive” Dustin Anthony at 901 Wrestling (Credit: Michael Donahue) We Saw You
“Little of artistic merit was made south of Baltimore,” a curator for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art once wrote in 1949. Despite that quote being from over a half-century ago, and despite the growth of scholarship on Southern art, more art museums in the South, and more exhibitions and publications on Southern artists, this sentiment carries weight — a certain lack of appreciation for Southern arts is evident in the narrative of American art history. But the Dixon Gallery & Gardens’ latest exhibition “Southern/Modern: 1913-1955” seeks to counteract that.
As Julie Pierotti, the Dixon’s Martha R. Robinson curator, says, “This exhibition and the publication that goes along with it are making a really big statement. They are refuting the last 100 years of American art history that has largely helped the mindset that nothing worth looking at has been made in the South, and this exhibition says, actually, yes, there are some really consequential artists that either came from here or came through the South or looked to the South for their subject matter and for their inspiration.”
Organized by The Mint Museum, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the exhibit was 10 years in the making, Pierotti says. “It was narrowed down to 105 objects, but an important thing to know is that there are many Souths and there are many modernisms, from the Atlantic coast to states bordering the Mississippi River, as far west as Arkansas and Louisiana.”
For the show, the pieces are arranged into themes, from art reflecting religion and rituals, to pieces observing Southern landscapes, to works responding to current events and social issues. The exhibit doesn’t shy away from South’s dark side of racism and violence, Pierotti says, but it also includes moments of celebration and community.
“It’s a little bit of everything in the show,” she adds. “There’s a lot to take in. It’s a big story. There’s a lot to learn in the exhibition.”
The show even includes a few local names like Carroll Cloar, Burton Callicott, and Ted Faiers. “So our own history in the Mid-South plays into the larger story of the exhibition, which is really great,” Pierotti says.
That story continues into the present with the Dixon’s complementary exhibit “2023 Wilson Fellowship,” which features work produced out of a partnership between the Arkansas town of Wilson and the Dixon. Wilson, Pierotti explains, has been looking to enhance its arts scene, and so the collaboration brought about a fellowship, through which artists stay in Wilson for 60 days and take inspiration from the town for their art.
The first cohort — Danny Broadway, Claire Hardy, Thad Lee, and John Ruskey — have the fruits of their fellowship on display now at the Dixon. “The works of art that came out of it are just awesome,” Pierotti says. “They really capture the soul of Wilson.”
“Southern/Modern: 1913-1955” and “2023 Wilson Fellowship: Danny Broadway, Claire Hardy, Thad Lee, and John Ruskey,” Dixon Gallery & Gardens, 4339 Park Avenue, On display through September 29.
Lawson Day, Margo Araoz, and Justin Weirich (Photo: Michael Donahue)
Cooper-Young Porchfest 2022 was the catalyst for Macrophonics, which features lead singer Lawson Day, lead guitarist Justin Weirich, and drummer Margo Araoz.
“It was the first Porchfest I’d been to,” Day says. He told Weirich, “We need to play this.”
The two met when they were in the seventh grade at DeSoto Central Middle School in Southaven, Mississippi.
“I think when we really started hanging out more was in 10th grade,” Weirich says. “Physical science class.”
They would “talk about music and movies for an hour,” Day says.
“I wouldn’t really pay much attention in school. I was more focused on learning music and listening to different stuff,” Weirich says.
Weirich was 11 when he bought his Fender Starcaster with leftover birthday money and $300 winnings from a family golf tournament.
Day began singing six years ago. He originally was “too lost in video games and things.” Also, he says, “I was terrified to hear my voice for a long time.”
He didn’t sing in front of an audience until he sang karaoke on a cruise. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to sing karaoke.’ And I did it every night on the cruise.”
“Get Down Tonight” by KC & the Sunshine Band was his first song. “I can remember being pretty nervous the first night. And then, I think, from every night onward, I didn’t really care.”
Araoz, who is from Birmingham, Alabama, joined the drumline in high school when she was about 10 years old. “Half the people in my school were in the band,” she says. “That was what the school was known for. I got to see a drumline play live. It was the first time I got to do this. I remember as a 9-year-old feeling the vibrations in my body. I said, ‘I need to do that. I’m put on this Earth to do that.’”
Araoz stopped playing drums and percussion when she was 14 to focus on her high school studies.
She majored in environmental science at North Carolina State University before moving to Memphis in 2021. She met Weirich when they worked together at Otherlands Coffee Bar. “I didn’t have a drum set when I moved here. I hadn’t played since I was 14. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s behind me. I’m no longer a drummer.’”
But, she says, “Justin encouraged me to buy a drum set and he just got the ball rolling for me to retry it.”
The trio got a practice space at Off the Walls Arts, “all hanging out playing music and having fun with it,” Weirich says.
“It was such a cool experience,” Day says. “It felt like being in some kind of coming-of-age movie.”
Macrophonics at the practice space at Off the Wall Arts (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The name “Macrophonics” was Weirich’s brainchild. “I like the imagery of ‘macro,’ being ‘big,’ and ‘phonics’ — ‘big sound,’” he says.
They’ve described their music as “punk rock,” he says. “More the attitude for us in terms of musicality. We try to make songs that sound aggressive, but still kind of catchy.”
“Some of our songs, while they all have a bit of pop structure, sonically can be different,” Day adds. “They don’t fit what people think of as ’80s punk.’”
Their songs are “just do-it-yourself” with “a little absurdist humor,” Weirich says. “Because humor helps the reality go down smoother.”
They only had two originals when they signed up for their first Porchfest in 2023. Day describes their show as “overwhelming. It was me and Margo’s first show.”
Macrophonics at 2023 Cooper-Young Porchfest (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“I remember being very, very nervous. At that point I was kind of yelling instead of singing. I felt it was a controlled yell. But I was nervous as hell. Freaked out.”
Because it was hot, Day took off his shirt while he sang. He now sings shirtless most shows. “I didn’t want it to be a trademark, but I feel it kind of is.”
Their Porchfest experience was a success. “We wanted to keep doing it: ‘Okay. We’re pretty good at this. We can actually do this. Let’s keep it chugging along.’”
They played shows at Growlers, Hi Tone, Black Lodge, and “a lot of Lamplighter shows,” Weirich says.
Macrophonics is about to have its first EP mastered. They hope to release it “within the next month or so,” Weirich says.
Macrophonics: Justin Weirich, Margo Araoz, and Lawson Day (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Weirich doesn’t like to define their music genre. “I think we like keeping it vague like that. Who wants to be just a punk band? I feel like we have a lot more musical influences to branch into, more things we want to do with the band. For now, it’s more about the ethos of punk than necessarily the direct sound.”
Araoz also makes the band shirts. “I thrift the material for the T-shirts,” she says. “And I carve out my rubber stamps myself. Me and a friend.
“Environmental science shapes how I move through the world in every aspect. I did find a wholesale T-shirt company that uses a closed loop system for fabrics. There’s no waste being produced from any part of the company. They make new T-shirts out of old fibers.
“I wanted to make sure I was producing a product that can be broken down and reused again, not end up in a landfill in Ghana.”
Macrophonics played their second Cooper-Young Porchfest this April with “a lot more confidence going into it,” Day says. “I had a whole year of experience kind of flowing through my body.”
And, Weirich says, “We actually got our first encore. When they asked us, all we had to add on was ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by the Ramones. We played it double time. We played it faster than the Ramones played it.”
Macrophonics: Lawson Day, Margo Araoz, and Justin Weirich (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Nextdoor user Roger Williams asked for name recommendations for the tricky-to-spot dog in the above photo. Some of the top names were “Pebbles,” “Camo,” “Waldo,” and “Rocky.”
Fly Mud Island
Posted to Facebook by Kenneth B Keim
Change has always been in the mix for Mud Island, as proven by a photo shared to the Memphis In Pictures, Places And People Facebook group last week.
As it enters a new phase with the Baron Von Opperbean immersive experience, it’s fun to remember the island was once home to an airstrip. It was used, largely, by business travelers who would land and take a pontoon ferryboat across Wolf River Harbor to Downtown destinations.
Mutants
Posted to Facebook by Memphis Memes 901
Memphis summertime headed back into familiar “excessive heat” territory this week. It also opened up the human buffet for our beloved mosquitos. Let the grousing commence.
Alessandra Daniele and Justin Soffer (Photos: Michael Donahue)
If you haven’t been to Paulette’s Restaurant lately, it’s time to revisit it.
Daniel Clark, Paulette’s food and beverage director, made changes to the menu at the restaurant, located at The River Inn of Harbor Town at 50 Harbor Town Square. But he kept what makes Paulette’s Paulette’s.
A native of Paris, France, Clark has worked in the hospitality business in Europe, South America, and the United States. In Memphis, he’s been with Adam’s Mark, Graceland, and the Marriott. His River Inn position includes Terrace and Tug’s Casual Grill.
He visited Paulette’s when he was asked to take the job last November. “I wanted to see what I was getting involved with,” Clark says.
He was pleased with what he saw. “It is a restaurant that has so much potential. I saw that it was lovely and has a good name in Memphis. And has a feel for the past without being outdated.”
Fine dining has changed in recent years, Clark says. “It’s very different from what it used to be.”
Instead of being elegant but stiff, fine dining restaurants are elegant but also have “a sense of peace.” Not quiet but comfortable, he says.
Clark wants to “keep the tradition and the hospitality” of Paulette’s, which was founded in the mid-’70s by Paulette Fono. It was later bought out by the late co-owner George Falls. “First of all, you cannot replace George Falls. Nobody can replace such a figure. But what we can do is revive the essence of what Paulette’s is.”
And that’s fine dining without being pretentious.
Working with the owners, Clark updated the dinner menu, but kept signature items, including filet Paulette’s, the salmon, shrimp and grits, and redfish with crab meat.
He’s now designed all the Paulette’s menus, including lunch and brunch.
Clark was able to introduce a “more exciting” lunch menu. He based his ideas on the type of lunches served at private clubs, including the old Crescent Club, where he was director of operations. These were places where working people could get an “elegant, quality lunch” even if they only had an hour to eat.
Paulette’s owners allowed Clark to “put some personal ideas and a little bit of his French influence” in his menus. “But Paulette’s is not a French restaurant, although it sounds like one.”
The restaurant is “American/continental.”
Fono, who came up with the original concept for Paulette’s when it was on Madison Avenue, is Hungarian, Clark says. They served a lot of crêpe dishes, including ham palacsinta, a ham crêpe. “Over the years it became fine dining.”
Paulette’s, which moved to Harbor Town in 2011, still features crêpes, including a chicken, asparagus, and spinach crêpe at lunch and crêpes Suzette at dinner.
New dinner items include a blackened barramundi and seafood angel hair pasta; veal chop Normandy, a dish made with a bone-in veal chop, wild mushrooms, and Calvados cream sauce; and pistachio-encrusted rack of lamb served with a pesto instead of “the traditional mint.”
Alessandra Daniele and Justin Soffer try new menu entrees at Paulette’s. (Credit: Michael Donahue),
Clark kept Paulette’s famous popovers with strawberry butter as well as the signature Kahlúa pie, a “monument of chocolate, coffee ice cream, and Kahlúa.”
Justin Soffer and Alessandra Daniele try Paulette’s iconic popovers with strawberry butter. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
His son, Jeremy, surprised him when he told him he loved to eat at Paulette’s. “My son is in his 30s. He has long hair and tattoos. But he’s very current. He’s a nice young man. Stable.”
Jeremy, who also celebrated his wedding anniversary at Paulette’s, told Clark it was the type of place where he and his wife could have a nice conversation.
Clark thought if a 30-year-old thinks that way about Paulette’s, which is kind of a classic fine dining place, so will his friends. “Going after these folks is my new goal. To be able to attract these young people.”
He thought, “How do we make Paulette’s a place they will think of for a special occasion?”
Clark wants Paulette’s to pop up in their minds when they think, “Where could I have a nice, quiet, elegant, romantic dinner?”
Daniel Clark prepares crepes Suzette table side for Alessandra Daniele and Justin Soffer at Paulette’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The “wow moment” is what Clark says he’s going for. And sometimes that means old-school. He’s serving crêpes Suzette table side, the way restaurants did back in the day, along with bananas Foster and cherries jubilee.
Clark also is revamping Paulette’s wine list. “I’m a very different wine person than most. I’m not going to throw some fine, exquisite language at you on how to differentiate the aromas of nectarines and blueberries. That’s not me.”
He wants to bring back the old Paulette’s wine dinners, but they’re not going to be “driven by a winemaker.” Clark doesn’t want wine reps who are going to push wines from their wineries. Paulette’s wine dinners will be more like classes on the “general knowledge of wine.”
Alessandra Daniele and Justin Soffer at Paulette’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Justin Soffer, 29, and Alessandra Daniele, 24, recently tried some of Paulette’s new menu items, including the barramundi, lamb, and filet. They also had the crêpes Suzette, which Daniele described as “incredible.”
“We had such a good experience at Paulette’s and would definitely recommend it if you were looking to do something different, romantic, and slightly outside of the city,” Daniele says.
And, Soffer says, “Paulette’s was an exceptional experience for all of the senses.”
Clark wants guests to “have an exquisite dinner at Paulette’s, a nice conversation, have some smiles, and leave with the impression that they want to come back.”
He adds, “Food should be the reason they come. They leave with a total experience. Not just the food.”
Alessandra Daniele and Justin Soffer at Paulette’s (Credit: Michael Donahue)
“Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail.”
That was Speaker of the House (and cosplaying Christian) Mike Johnson responding to the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony, which featured drag queens and maybe a naked Jesus? I dunno. To be outraged, you really had to be paying close attention, and I wasn’t. But Johnson wasn’t alone in his outrage. Here is a sampling of the reactions on X from folks proclaiming themselves Christians:
“A complete mockery of Christianity. This was by far the most satanic and disgusting ceremony I have ever seen. Do not defy Jesus Christ.”
“The radical left is a greater threat than Iran, China, or Russia will ever be to the United States.”
“A serious POTUS would send our athletes home.”
It went on for two or three days. Elon Musk (who is a Christian now?) unfollowed the Olympics account on X. That will show them.
But here’s my favorite reaction: “France literally gathered its planners and made a list of EVERYTHING that would get under the skin of conservatives and said, ‘Let’s open with ALL of it!’”
To be fair, this last guy was actually onto something. As someone who is married to a French woman and who has spent a lot of time with her family and friends, I can say, without fear of contradiction, that that is precisely how the French would have approached this project. They love pissing off the unsophisticated, tightly wound knobs of the world, i.e. MAGA-Americans.
Don’t believe me? Here’s the artistic director of the opening festivities, Thomas Jolly: “We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that,” he said. “In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are a republic; we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.”
And it makes the joke even funnier when those who are outraged are, well, just ignorant fools. The opening ceremony had nothing to do with Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper but was intended to be a (very) loose recreation of The Feast of the Gods, a 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Jan Hermansz van Bijlert that hangs in the Magnin Museum, in Dijon, France. The painting depicts an assembly of Greek gods, including Dionysus, on Mount Olympus for a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. So no Jesus, no blasphemy, unless you think dressing in drag is satanic, in which case, well, I can’t help you.
But let’s be clear: There is no war on Christianity. You’re not a victim. You are a member of the U.S.’s largest religious denomination, many times over. It’s also the largest denomination in France. You’re going to be fine. It’s all a matter of perspective: You’re outraged that children were involved in the opening ceremonies. The French, conversely, are outraged that guns are the number-one killer of children in America.
You’re appalled by a headless Marie Antoinette, Lady Gaga, and Celine Dion. The French (and a lot of Americans) were appalled by the appearances of Kid Rock, Amber Rose, Hulk Hogan, and other creeps at the GOP convention two weeks ago.
You’re upset because you refuse to believe that the French weren’t intentionally blaspheming Jesus Christ and the Last Supper. Yet I’m seeing no outrage from MAGA types over the countless images circulating of Donald Trump being held from behind by a loving blonde Jesus, or even the one that came from a campaign source via email yesterday, of Donald Trump literally hanging on the cross. His loin cloth is an American flag, and Melania is kneeling at his feet. It’s worth a google to see it, if only just to show that blasphemy, like art, is in the eye of the beholder.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): One meaning of the word “palette” is a flat board on which painters place a variety of pigments to apply to their canvas. What would be a metaphorical equivalent to a palette in your life? Maybe it’s a diary or journal where you lay out the feelings and ideas you use to craft your fate. Perhaps it’s an inner sanctuary where you retreat to organize your thoughts and meditate on upcoming decisions. Or it could be a group of allies with whom you commune and collaborate to enhance each other’s destinies. However you define your palette, Aries, I believe the time is right to enlarge its size and increase the range of pigments you can choose from.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The star that Westerners call Arcturus has a different name among indigenous Australians: Marpeankurrk. In their part of the world, it begins to rise before dawn in August. For the Boorong people of Northwest Victoria, this was once a sign to hunt for the larvae of wood ants, which comprised a staple food for months. I bring this up, Taurus, because heavenly omens are telling me you should be on the lookout for new sources of sustenance and fuel. What’s your metaphorical equivalent of wood ant larvae?
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Seventy percent of the world’s macadamia nuts have a single ancestor: a particular tree in Queensland, Australia. In 1896, two Hawaiian brothers took seeds from this tree and brought them back to their homestead in Oahu. From that small beginning, Hawaiian macadamia nuts have come to dominate the world’s production. I foresee you soon having resemblances to that original tree, Gemini. What you launch in the coming weeks and months could have tremendous staying power and reach far beyond its original inspiration.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ketchup flows at about 0.03 miles per hour. In 35 hours, it could travel about a mile. I think you should move at a similar speed in the coming days. The slower you go, the better you will feel. The more deeply focused you are on each event, and the more you allow the rich details to unfold in their own sweet time, the more successful you will be at the art of living. Your words of power will be incremental, gradual, and cumulative.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Astrologer Chris Zydel says every sign has superpowers. In honor of your birthday season, I’ll tell you about those she attributes to you Leos. When you are at your best, you are a beacon of “joyful magnetism” who naturally exudes “irrepressible charisma.” You “shine like a thousand suns” and “strut your stuff with unabashed audacity.” All who are lucky enough to be in your sphere benefit from your “radiant spontaneity, bold, dramatic play, and whoo-hoo celebration of your creative genius.” I will add that of course you can’t always be a perfect embodiment of all these superpowers. But I suspect you are cruising through a phase when you are the next best thing to perfect.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo-born Friedrich August Kekulé (1829–1896) transformed organic chemistry with his crucial discovery of the structure of carbon-based compounds. He had studied the problem for years. But his breakthrough realization didn’t arrive until he had a key dream while dozing. There’s not enough room here to describe it at length, but the image that solved the riddle was a snake biting its own tail. I bring this story to your attention, Virgo, because I suspect you could have practical and revelatory dreams yourself in the coming weeks. Daydream visions, too. Pay attention! What might be your equivalent to a snake biting its own tail?
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Please don’t succumb to numbness or apathy in the coming weeks. It’s crucial that you don’t. You should also take extreme measures to avoid boredom and cynicism. At the particular juncture in your amazing life, you need to feel deeply and care profoundly. You must find ways to be excited about as many things as possible, and you must vividly remember why your magnificent goals are so magnificent. Have you ruminated recently about which influences provide you with the spiritual and emotional riches that sustain you? I encourage you to become even more intimately interwoven with them. It’s time for you to be epic, mythic, even heroic.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Historically, August has brought many outbreaks of empowerment. In August 1920, American women gained the right to vote. In August 1947, India and Pakistan wrested their independence from the British Empire’s long oppression. In August 1789, French revolutionaries issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document that dramatically influenced the development of democracy and liberty in the Western world. In 1994, the United Nations established August 9 as the time to celebrate International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. In 2024, I am officially naming August to be Scorpio Power Spot Month. It will be an excellent time to claim and/or boost your command of the niche that will nurture your authority and confidence for years to come.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): August is Save Our Stereotypes Month for you Sagittarians. I hope you will celebrate by rising up strong and bold to defend our precious natural treasures. Remember that without cliches, platitudes, pigeonholes, conventional wisdom, and hackneyed ideas, life would be nearly impossible. JUST KIDDING! Everything I just said was a dirty lie. Here’s the truth. August is Scour Away Stereotypes Month for you Sagittarians. Please be an agent of original thinking and fertile freshness. Wage a brazen crusade against cliches, platitudes, pigeonholes, conventional wisdom, and hackneyed ideas.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re never too old or wise or jaded to jump up in the air with glee when offered a free gift. Right? So I hope you won’t be so bent on maintaining your dignity and composure that you remain poker-faced when given the chance to grab the equivalent of a free gift. I confess I am worried you might be unreceptive to the sweet, rich things coming your way. I’m concerned you might be closed to unexpected possibilities. I will ask you, therefore, to pry open your attitude so you will be alert to the looming blessings, even when they are in disguise.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A friend of a friend told me this story: One summer day, a guy woke up at 5 a.m., meditated for a while, and made breakfast. As he gazed out his kitchen window, enjoying his coffee, he became alarmed. In the distance, at the top of a hill, a brush fire was burning. He called emergency services to alert firefighters. A few minutes later, though, he realized he had made an error. The brush fire was in fact the rising sun lighting up the horizon with its fiery rays. Use this as a teaching story in the coming days, Aquarius. Double-check your initial impressions to make sure they are true. Most importantly, be aware that you may initially respond with worry to events that are actually wonderful or interesting.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): At least a million ships lie at the bottom of the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some crashed because of storms, and others due to battles, collisions, or human error. A shipwreck hunter named Sean Fisher estimates that those remains hold over $60 billion worth of treasure. Among the most valuable are the old Spanish vessels that sank while carrying gold, silver, and other loot plundered from the Americas. If you have the slightest inkling to launch adventures in search of those riches, I predict the coming months will be an excellent tine. Alternately, you are likely to generate good fortune for yourself through any version of diving into the depths in quest of wealth in all of its many forms.
