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Astrology Fun Stuff

Free Will Astrology: Week of 12/05/24

Dario Bronnimann | Unsplash

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Blaming others for our problems is rarely helpful. If we expend emotional energy focusing on how people have offended and hurt us, we diminish our motivation to heal ourselves. We may also get distracted from changing the behavior that ushered us into the mess. So yes, it’s wise to accept responsibility for the part we have played in propagating predicaments. However, I believe it’s also counterproductive to be relentlessly serious about this or any other psychological principle. We all benefit from having mischievous fun as we rebel against tendencies we have to be dogmatic and fanatical. That’s why I am authorizing you to celebrate a good-humored Complaint Fest. For a limited time only, feel free to unleash fantasies in which you uninhibitedly and hilariously castigate everyone who has done you wrong.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): What you are experiencing may not be a major, Earth-shaking rite of passage. But it’s sufficiently challenging and potentially rewarding to qualify as a pivotal breakthrough and turning point. And I’m pleased to say that any suffering you’re enduring will be constructive and educational. You may look back at this transition as a liberating initiation. You will feel deep gratification that you have clambered up to a higher level of mastery through the power of your intelligent love and feisty integrity.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): You are now about halfway between your last birthday and next birthday. In the prophecy industry, we call this your Unbirthday Season. It is usually a time when you receive an abundance of feedback — whether you want it or not. I encourage you to want it! Solicit it. Even pay for it. Not all of it will be true or useful, of course, but the part that is true and useful will be very much so. You could gather a wealth of information that will help you fine-tune your drive for success and joy in the months to come.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Legend tells us that the Buddha achieved enlightenment while meditating beneath the Bodhi Tree in Bihar, India. He was there for many weeks. At one point, a huge storm came and pelted the sacred spot with heavy rain. Just in time, the King of Serpents arrived, a giant cobra with a massive hood. He shielded the Buddha from the onslaught for the duration. Now I am predicting that you, too, will receive an unexpected form of protection and nurturing in the coming weeks. Be ready to open your mind about what help looks and feels like. It may not be entirely familiar.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In written form, the Japanese term oubaitori is comprised of four kanji, or characters. They denote four fruit trees that bloom in the spring: cherry, plum, peach, and apricot. Each tree’s flowers blossom in their own sweet time, exactly when they are ready, neither early nor late. The poetic meaning of oubaitori is that we humans do the same: We grow and ripen at our own unique pace. That’s why it’s senseless to compare our rate of unfoldment to anyone else’s. We each have our own timing, our own rhythm. These ideas are especially apropos for you right now, Leo.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I hope you will hunker down in your bunker. I hope you will junk all defunct versions of your spunky funkiness and seek out fresh forms of spunky funkiness. In other words, Virgo, I believe it’s crucial for you to get as relaxed and grounded as possible. You have a mandate to explore ultimate versions of stability and solidity. Shore up your foundations, please. Grow deeper roots. Dig down as deep as you can to strengthen and tone your relationship with the core of your being.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Every one of us is a hypocrite at least some of the time. Now and then, we all ignore or outrightly violate our own high standards. We may even engage in behavior that we criticize in others. But here’s the good news for you, Libra. In the coming weeks and months, you may be as unhypocritical as you have ever been. According to my analysis of the astrological, omens, you are likely to be consistently faithful to your ideals. Your actual effects on people will closely match your intended effects. The American idiom is, “Do you practice what you preach?” I expect the answer to that question will be yes as it pertains to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author George Orwell advised us that if we don’t analyze and understand the past, we are likely to repeat the mistakes of the past. Alas, few people take heed. Their knowledge of our collective history is meager, as is their grasp of recurring trends in their personal lives. But now here’s the good news, dear Scorpio: In the coming months, you will have exceptional power to avoid replicating past ignorance and errors — IF you meditate regularly on the lessons available through a close study of your life story.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In his song “Voodoo Child,” Sagittarian musician Jimi Hendrix brags, “Well, I stand up next to a mountain / And I chop it down with the edge of my hand.” I encourage you to unleash fantasies like that in the coming days, Sagittarius. Can you shoot lightning bolts from your eyes? Sure, you can. Can you change water into wine? Fly to the moon and back in a magic boat? Win the Nobel Prize for Being Yourself? In your imagination, yes, you can. And these exercises will prime you for an array of more realistic escapades, like smashing a mental block, torching an outmoded fear, and demolishing an unnecessary inhibition or taboo. To supercharge your practical power, intensify your imagination’s audacity.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The name of my column is “Free Will Astrology” because I aspire to nurture, inspire, and liberate your free will. A key component in that effort is to help you build your skills as a critical thinker. That’s why I encourage you to question everything I tell you. Don’t just assume that my counsel is always right and true for you. Likewise, I hope you are discerning in your dealings with all teachers, experts, and leaders — especially in the coming weeks and months. You are in a phase of your cycle when it’s even more crucial than usual to be a good-natured skeptic who poses exuberant, penetrating questions. To serve your soul’s health, refine your practice of the art of creative rebellion.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Be like a beautifully made fountain that people love to visit, Aquarius. Not like a metaphorical geyser or stream or waterfall out in the natural world, but a three-tiered marble fountain. What does that entail? Here are hints: The water of the fountain cascades upward, but not too high or hard, and then it showers down gently into a pool. Its flow is steady and unflagging. Its sound is mellifluous and relaxing. The endless dance of the bubbles and currents is invigorating and calming, exuberant and rejuvenating. Be like a fountain.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Around this time of year, persimmon trees in my neighborhood have shed their leaves but are teeming with dazzling orange fruits. Pomegranate trees are similar. Their leaves have fallen off but their red fruits are ready to eat. I love how these rebels offer their sweet, ripe gifts as our winter season approaches. They remind me of the current state of your destiny, Pisces. Your gorgeous fertility is waxing. The blessings you have to offer are at a peak. I invite you to be extra generous as you share your gifts with those who are worthy of them — and maybe even a few who aren’t entirely worthy. 

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 12/05/24

Great News

Two months after Rayne Beau, a Siamese cat owned by Benny and Susanne Anguiano of Salinas, California, went missing during a trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, the 2-year-old cat was reported found by the Placer SPCA shelter in Roseville, California — some 800 miles from where the cat had gone missing. USA Today reported that the Anguianos had tried for several days to locate Rayne Beau, but were finally forced to leave the cat behind when their reservation ran out on June 8. But on Aug. 3, a voicemail from the shelter claimed that the cat had been located and identified via microchip, and the Anguianos were reunited with Rayne Beau. “He was really little, all skin and bones. He was in starvation mode,” Benny said, but the cat recovered quickly. [USA Today, 9/19/2024]

Great Art?

A work of art at the LAM museum in Lisse, the Netherlands, was mistakenly thrown away by an elevator technician in late September, CNN reported. All the good times we spent together by French artist Alexandre Lavet appears to be two empty beer cans, but, the museum said, it is really “meticulously hand-painted with acrylics, with each detail painstakingly replicated.” The work was displayed in the facility’s glass elevator shaft, and when a technician came in to work on the lift, he helpfully pitched it in the trash. “He was just doing his job in good faith,” said Sietske van Zanten, the museum director. The cans were later recovered, cleaned, and returned to display, albeit in a different location. [CNN, 10/8/2024]

What’s My Fetish?

Jesse Johnson, 28, was arrested on Sept. 24 in Gilbert, Arizona, after three instances in which he allegedly spied on women’s feet as they vacuumed their cars, AZFamily reported. Police said Johnson’s M.O. at the Super Star Car Wash in Gilbert was to park next to a woman’s car at the vacuum station, then slide underneath her car for a few minutes before climbing back out. One victim said she felt “very violated and I’ve been having nightmares.” It’s not the first time Johnson has been caught lusting after feet: Court documents revealed that he had been cited at least four times in Nebraska, and that he had touched a woman’s ankle in a grocery store. He admitted to authorities there that he “is sexually attracted to women’s feet” and “at times, can’t control his sexual desires.” Johnson was charged with three counts of voyeurism and three counts of disorderly conduct and held on $10,000 bond. [AZFamily, 9/26/2024]

Creepy

In late September, Derek Johnson, owner of JVI Secret Gardens in Donelson, Tennessee, was alerted by an employee that someone was walking around the garden center wearing a clown mask, WTVF-TV reported. But Johnson was not about to physically confront the creepy clown, whom he could see on surveillance video. Johnson clicked on his security system’s speaker, but before he could say anything, the clown backed off: “I’m leaving.” He left behind a propane tank and a saw blade that he had picked up to steal. “This is a sweet little garden center,” Johnson said incredulously. Police are investigating. [WTVF, 9/27/2024]

We Regret To Inform You …

Tizi Hodson, 70, of Lincolnshire, England, sent off an application in January 1976, hoping to become a motorcycle stunt rider, the BBC reported on Oct. 5. Recently, the letter was returned to her with a note: “Late delivery by Staines Post Office. Found behind a draw(er). Only about 50 years late.” “How they found me when I’ve moved house 50-odd times, and even moved countries four or five times, is a mystery,” Hodson said. “I was so disappointed because I really, really wanted to be a stunt rider on a motorcycle.” Instead, her life’s work has included being a snake handler, horse whisperer, aerobatic pilot, and flying instructor. “It means so much to me to get it back all this time later,” she said. [BBC, 10/5/2024]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Fun Stuff Metaphysical Connection

Metaphysical Connection: Holiday Temperance

Photo: Vvictori | Dreamstime.com

The ancients certainly seemed to know what they were doing when constructing the zodiac wheel. They placed the mutable, fiery sign of Sagittarius in the middle of the holiday season. Those born under the astrological sign of Sagittarius are thought to be optimistic, adventurous, curious, and independent. And these traits translate well into how many Americans spend their holidays.

As a fire sign, Sagittarius is passionate and drawn to new ideas, philosophies, and travel. Sagittarius is represented by the centaur — a half-human, half-horse creature — often carrying a bow. Also referred to as “The Archer,” Sagittarius uses a trusty bow and arrow to dream big and aim high. 

In tarot, each zodiac sign is associated with a major arcana card. Sagittarius is associated with the Temperance card in tarot, card number 14 of the major arcana. The Temperance card refers to the blending, moderation, and tempering of disparate elements to achieve a balanced whole that is greater and more harmonious than the sum of its parts. The Greek philosophers, beginning with Socrates, spoke of four natural virtues: prudence, or virtuous use of the intellect; temperance, or virtuous regulation of the emotions; fortitude, or virtuous effort of the human will; and justice, the result of the combined virtuous activity of the other three.

Both Sagittarius and the Temperance card are constantly striving for a more enlightened state of being. The angel in the tarot card here demonstrates this by slowly pouring the liquid from one golden cup into another, a culinary process called “tempering.” Similarly, Sagittarius accomplishes this by exploring the far reaches of both the physical and philosophical worlds to expand on or “temper” what is already known. The angel’s red wings represent blood or life, while the triangle on her dress means spirit, but it is also the elemental symbol for fire. 

The angel’s feet are also symbolic of the eternal pilgrimage or spiritual journey. By showing one foot in the water and the other on the shore, we are reminded that our greatest wisdom lies in the art of balancing. The iris flowers are indicative of the Greek goddess Iris who provides the link between the gods and humanity, acting as a messenger and using rainbows to travel. Like Sagittarius, she travels from one end of the world to another, building upon something that is bigger and brighter than herself.

Temperance is the card of acceptance, where the cycle of life and death, passion and division, and all other oppositions find unity for a shared cause. It unites the masculine with the feminine, keeping us in balance when situations require strength and endurance, or tenderness and compassion, depending on the moment. This card speaks of personal and spiritual growth, one that leads us toward the point of self where we understand how inner conflicts and troubles lead to certain reflections and problems in the outer world. Its symbolism is one of the alchemy of life, and it is significant in a reading, for it represents the point where we get answers needed to change the course of fate or influence our life to change what is needed.

As we glide through Sagittarius season, we are reminded of the Temperance card. Temperance is all about striving for balance — which can often mean taking the middle road. To a Sagittarius, the middle road is almost never enticing. Yet it is not always a compromise, but another solution that can combine both extremes. 

As a mutable fire sign, Sagittarius is bold and confident. Fire is not naturally a mutable element, so Sagittarius is already operating in oppositions. It’s through the alchemy of temperance that we can learn about balancing these oppositions. 

Our lesson for this season is to find balance in opposition. How can we learn to accept and mold the outcome into something more desirable? With Mercury in retrograde in the sign of Sagittarius, we may need to be more detailed in our projects and more understanding when things don’t go as planned. Embrace the optimistic energy of Sagittarius and pivot with the challenges. 

Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

How Can We Fight Back?

Alex Hensley, policy chair of Decarcerate Memphis, and members at a February press conference, unveiling the 2024 Driving While BIPOC report and demanding an end to a bill that would have threatened policy accountability in Tennessee. (Photo: Brandon Dill)

In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election, with promises to gut federal programs like the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and further harm marginalized communities, many are left asking: How can we fight back?

We are not powerless. Our local elected officials have a lot more power than we think (or than they’d like us to believe) — even in a red state like Tennessee. I would know, having drafted and led successful local efforts to pass policies for social, economic, and environmental justice during the first Trump administration and under an extremist supermajority legislature.

Now more than ever, local leaders must be bold and imaginative. They need to step up and fill the gaps left by any federal neglect. 

To address the inflation that will likely worsen under Trump’s leadership, local leaders could implement policies like grocery stipends for low-income residents (especially if GOP legislators once again block efforts to end the regressive grocery tax). With the president-elect signaling an end to key healthcare subsidies, local governments can build and protect healthcare safety nets for our community. We can also find creative ways to navigate restrictive state laws. For instance, while we may not be able to mandate living wages or rent control outright, local leaders can offer incentives to businesses and landlords that voluntarily adopt these policies.

This is our moment for decisive, fearless action to improve our economy, safeguard our environment, and protect the rights of Black and LGBTQ residents, women, and immigrants. If we don’t act now, families will face deeper economic insecurity, more children will go without quality education, and entire communities will feel the brunt of healthcare cuts and environmental devastation. The first months of Trump’s new administration could set us back years unless we prepare local defenses now.

I firmly believe we have more tools at our local policy fingertips than we realize; we just need the political will and creativity to make them a reality. We’ve already seen governors Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, and others step up, vowing to sue the federal government if they come after their constituents’ rights, protections, and funding. By the way, these states also have their own agencies to aggressively fight climate change that don’t rely on the whims of federal policy (now there’s an idea).

We need more leadership like Memphis City Council Chairman JB Smiley, who led local efforts to push for common-sense gun control, even as the state threatened to strip local sales tax revenue in retaliation for challenging their inaction on gun violence. Chairman Smiley showed us that we don’t have to accept the status quo or bullying; we can challenge it and win.

Rather than accepting the likely response from local leaders that their hands are tied by this incoming administration and our legislature, we should be asking, “What can you do?” We all can, and should, as Michelle Obama told us, “do something.” I’m not talking flashy or bully pulpit politics; it’s about advancing practical policy that addresses the root causes of poverty, violence, lack of healthcare access, and environmental injustice, no matter where you sit.

For community members deeply concerned about the fate of our future: This is our fight, too. Get involved with local organizations that push for impactful legislation and systemic change. You’ve got organizations all across the spectrum to choose from, like Decarcerate Memphis, Just City, Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, Memphis Community Against Pollution, Memphis For All, Protect Our Aquifer, Stand for Children Tennessee, and the official Black Lives Matter chapter. 

Get to know your local elected leaders, too — what they lead on (or don’t) — and hold them accountable. Show up where decisions are made: city council meetings, public hearings, and town halls. This is where elected power is exercised, and where we can witness if their votes align with their promises. 

But we must go beyond just demanding action — this is the easy part. We also need to work with our leaders to develop thoughtful, actionable solutions. Those closest to the problems are often closest to the solutions, and they know best what their communities need. Now is the time to push for bold, concrete solutions that directly address the challenges facing our communities. 

These local fights matter more than ever. They not only build our capacity for larger-scale work but also set a precedent that can inspire other cities to follow suit. 

We all have a role to play, and nothing will change if we don’t believe it can and act accordingly. As organizer Mariame Kaba reminds us, “Hope is a discipline.” It requires commitment to become the very hope we seek. The moral arc of the universe doesn’t bend towards justice on its own; we have to make it so. 

Alex Hensley has championed 10-plus justice-centered laws as former special assistant to Mayor Lee Harris and policy chair of Decarcerate Memphis. She is the founder of Co•mentum Strategies, a political and advocacy firm, and the creator of the Strategy Studio, a course for emerging policy advocates. Find her on Instagram @alexhensley.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Emily LaForce Has Mastered the Art of Cooking

Emily LaForce (Photo: Michael Donahue)

When Ben Smith, chef/owner of Tsunami, asked Emily LaForce to come cook, she could’ve said, “May LaForce be with you.”

LaForce, 35, who began working at Tsunami in Cooper-Young about two months ago, is also a force of nature. She hasn’t let anything stand in the way of expressing her creativity, whether it’s cooking or painting.

Art was first. She has a picture her mother gave her when she was 3 years old. It’s a “little picture of somebody painting on an easel,” she says. And on it LaForce wrote, “I want to be an ‘ardes.’”

LaForce was about 13 when she began looking at food in a new light. Her mother showed her how to make crème brûlée. “I was like, ‘What is that?’ We grew up with Southern food.” Not long after, LaForce successfully cooked salmon after watching a TV cooking show demonstration.

At 16, LaForce got a job as a dishwasher at New York Pizza Cafe in Bartlett. The owner taught her how to make sauce and dough and how to throw pizzas using a kitchen towel. She later worked at another pizza parlor, but, she says, “This is the only job I was really fired from.

“It was a rainy Sunday. We were bored. One of my managers was like, ‘Do something to make me laugh.’” LaForce made a little sculpture out of dough scraps. “I made it look like Wendy from the Wendy’s restaurant. But then it was R-rated. It involved a sausage and two meatballs.”

She posted a photo of it on Facebook, thinking she shared it on a private group page that included the restaurant’s name. But LaForce accidentally posted it on the restaurant’s corporate page. She was fired from the pizza restaurant and was banned from working at any of the other restaurants in the chain “in America.”

LaForce moved on. She learned how to make hibachi and sushi at the old Rain restaurant. She continued to honing her skills as a student at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee, where she worked at The Grill at school and another pizza parlor. She continued to paint, but her style changed. “I started doing a bunch of acid and it started changing after that.”

“I started doing just whatever people wanted at the time because I needed money. So I would just do commissions and murals. I painted the gas pump at the gas station in McKenzie.”

After graduating with an English degree, LaForce returned to Memphis.

In 2013, she set up a booth with her original paintings and prints at Cooper-Young Festival. Business wasn’t so good until LaForce found a way to get noticed. “This guy dressed as a banana was walking around and handing out condoms to people.” LaForce, who brought a cooler of beer with her, told him, “I’ll give you beer all day long, as much as you want, as long as you stay around my booth.”

“Because he was attracting attention,” she says, “I ended up making double what I was selling it for because of this banana.” 

LaForce also worked for a time on two different pot farms. Her job at one was “keeping the goats from eating the weed.”

She got into cooking big time after moving back to Memphis in 2014 working with chef Kelly English when he was at The 5 Spot at Earnestine & Hazel’s. “It was the first time I really got my eyes opened to different kinds of foods, like a real chef.”

There, she met Majestic Grille owners Patrick and Deni Reilly and eventually landed a job at Majestic Grille — another eye-opener. “I knew basic stuff, but I didn’t know the proper way to do things.”

Two years later, LaForce went to chef/owner José Gutierrez’s River Oaks Restaurant. She was there seven years. “I started as a line cook and left as chef de cuisine.”

LaForce and her wife Ashley ate at Tsunami after Smith offered her a job. When he paid for their dinner, Ashley told Emily, “When a chef does that, that’s a good sign.”

Emily is impressed with Smith. “His flavors are very different from anything I’ve experienced. It’s like a perfect balance.” And, she says, “He’s badass.”

Asked her long-range goal, Emily says, “To be an artist.” Emily, whose murals grace Saltwater Crab and Meddlesome Brewing Company, wants to have an art show titled “Back of House,” which will be “paintings of things you don’t normally see in restaurants. Just in the back of the house. Just the crazy shit that happens. The beautiful things, but also the horrifying things.”

Mostly, Emily says, “I want to show the beauty of it.” 

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

WE SAW YOU: Bourbon & Blues Cocktail Party & Auction

Alli Pierce, Emily Kroeze, and Tyra Taylor (Photos: Michael Donahue)

An autographed jersey from former Memphis Grizzlies player Mike Miller was one of the live auction items at the Bourbon & Blues Cocktail Party & Auction.

Chris and Dana Cathey, Jennifer and Mike Miller

The jersey went for $2,300, says Jim Meeks, who founded the fundraiser with his wife Natalie. “And then Mike matched that. So, it actually brought in $4,600.”

Lauren and Jake Deason
Dillon McCann
Jad Tariq and Wyly Bigger
Jim and Natalie Meeks, Brittany and David Spence

Miller, a sports agent and former University of Memphis men’s basketball team assistant coach, and his wife Jennifer were among the 200 guests at the sold-out event, which also included a live auction of about 100 items. The silent auction featured “about 15 rare bottles of bourbon,” Meeks says.

The event, held November 21st, raised more than $70,000 for the Forrest Spence Fund, which assists with non-medical needs of critical or chronically-ill children and their families, and for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises money for pediatric research.

Haley Hanson and Cameron Kremers
Adrianne and Dylan Haskins

Meeks, a managing partner at Northwestern Mutual, says he and his wife began the fundraiser on a smaller scale three years ago. The first two were held at Ghost River Brewing Co.

The event also included an open bar, a buffet, and music by Wyly Bigger and Jad Tariq. 

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Wicked

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda

Antiheroes are everywhere these days. The concept of the hero who exemplifies the virtues of the society that produced them dates to the dawn of storytelling. Achilles was a strong and brave Greek hoplite whose toxic vanity was part of the package. Red Horn was a model Mississippian sportsman who challenged giants of the underworld to a game of tchung-kee. Luke Skywalker was a farm boy turned fighter pilot who learned to master his emotions and fight for the greater good. 

The antihero, on the other hand, never embodies their society’s virtues, but instead exposes its vices. In Homer’s Iliad, Thersites, the “ugliest man who came to Troy,” calls out Agamemnon’s vainglory and gets beaten to death for his troubles. Don Quixote turns the virtues of the Medieval knight on their heads, changing steadfastness into stubbornness, faith into delusion. If America had universal healthcare, high school chemistry teacher Walter White would never have started cooking meth to pay for cancer treatment. 

One way writers pull off this trick is to retell a story from the villain’s point of view. John Gardner made Beowulf’s enemy into a hero of society’s outcasts in Grendel. In 1995, Gregory Maguire’s Wicked did it with The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West. Maguire gave L. Frank Baum’s antagonist a name, Elphaba, and framed her alleged wickedness as political propaganda. After all, isn’t the fake wizard lording over the land of Oz the real villain of the story? 

Wicked became a Tony-winning Broadway musical in 2003 and has been running constantly ever since. In retrospect, it’s baffling that a film adaptation took so long. After years in development hell, director Jon M. Chu has finally created a worthy big-screen version. 

One element common to antiheroes is that their ambitions are always doomed to failure. We hear of Elphaba before we meet her. She’s already been killed by Dorothy Gale, and the Munchkins are celebrating with a song, “No One Mourns the Wicked.” But for Glinda the Good Witch of the North (Ariana Grande), the celebration is muted. She knew Elphaba from back in the day, when they were roommates at Shiz University. Glinda, who was then Galinda, was the child of privilege studying sorcery for prestige. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) was a wild magic talent who almost didn’t get admitted to the prestigious university at all. She was only there to help her wheelchair-bound younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) when an accidental display of her magic powers brought her to the attention of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). Elphaba and Galinda become the best of frenemies. Elphaba’s green skin marks her as a permanent outsider, and she carries a big chip on her shoulder. Galinda is the apex mean girl, complete with an entourage of sniveling sycophants (Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James, perfectly despicable). Yet both sympathize with, and kind of envy, the other. They compete for the attention of Madame Morrible, but when she’s summoned to see The Wizard, a sublime Jeff Goldblum, Elphaba insists on taking Galinda with her. In this telling, the Wizard is a tyrant, bent on removing Oz’s talking animals from society. Elphaba’s selfish wish was for the Wizard to change her green skin to a more socially acceptable color, but instead she decides to petition Oz the great and powerful on behalf of the oppressed animals. 

Wicked cannot be faulted for its craftsmanship. Chu’s crew has created an Oz that feels vibrant and alive, from Elphaba’s swirly glasses to the Wizard’s massive clockwork train. Erivo is flawless as the long-suffering outsider whose glimpse into the inner workings of the elite radicalizes her to drastic action. Likewise, Grande lends depth to the Good Witch while belting out the Broadway bangers. 

Wicked’s biggest problem is that it’s Hobbit-tized. At 180 minutes, it’s longer than the stage show, but it only tells half the story. Showstopper “Defying Gravity” still leads into the intermission, but in this case, the intermission is going to be a year long. None of the new material feels necessary, but with Erivo and Grande leaving it all on the screen, you probably won’t mind. 

Wicked
Now playing 
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Categories
News News Feature

8 Open Enrollment Mistakes

Photo: Nappy | Unsplash

Welcome to fall, the season of changing leaves, falling temperatures, and, of course, open enrollment for employer benefits. Open enrollment is the period of time when eligible employees can enroll or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits. 

Unless you experience a qualifying life event, such as getting married or having a baby, open enrollment is the only time of year to make changes to your insurance coverage and spending account contributions. That’s why it’s important to carefully review all options and select benefits that make sense for your particular situation. 

Following are eight common open enrollment mistakes to avoid.

1. Failing to review all options

Many employers offer multiple types and levels of health, life, and disability insurance coverage. Be sure to review all options available to you and select coverage levels that make sense for your personal life and financial situation. Your wealth manager can help you evaluate your options and select appropriate levels of coverage. 

2. Overlooking plan changes

Don’t assume this year’s coverage is the same as last year’s. Both employers and insurers can change plan details, such as coverage levels, premiums, in-network providers, and out-of-pocket costs. That’s why it’s important to carefully review all plan documents for updates. 

3. Forgetting to consider how your life has changed

It’s important to reevaluate your benefits in light of any major life events that occurred over the past year, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, etc. Failing to account for these important changes may leave you underinsured or lead to higher-than-necessary costs. 

4. Selecting the wrong type of health insurance coverage

Many health insurance plans offer different levels of coverage. Selecting the wrong level may result in insufficient coverage or require you to pay higher premiums than necessary.

5. Missing out on employer matching contributions

If your employer offers a 401(k) match, make sure you’re contributing enough to take full advantage of this money. 

6. Overlooking the benefits of flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs)

FSAs and HSAs offer a tax-advantaged way to save for qualified medical expenses. Take time to understand how these plans work, the differences between the two plan types, and how you can maximize your contributions. 

7. Failing to update beneficiaries 

If you have employer-sponsored life insurance or retirement accounts, it’s important to regularly review your beneficiary designations to ensure they continue to reflect your wishes as your life evolves over time. 

8. Procrastinating 

Waiting until the last minute to enroll in benefits can lead to rushed decisions and missed opportunities. Begin the open enrollment process as soon as possible, and work with your wealth manager to ensure your benefit elections are in line with your overall financial plan and long-term goals. 

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Marathon Reminder, Good Roads?, and It’s Beginning To …

Posted to Facebook by the Downtown Memphis Commission

Memphis on the internet.

Marathon reminder

Plan ahead for some road closures this weekend as the city makes way for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend. 

It’s looking to be another chilly one. So throw on a hat and gloves and go cheer on the runners. If nothing else, be willing to be patient.  

Good Roads?

Never mind potholes aplenty and Poplar’s perilous far-right lanes, Memphis roads got some actual good reviews in a Reddit thread last week. 

Reddit user u/Jcb0304 started the conversation saying their favorite stretch was Walnut Grove from Union to Germantown Road, calling it “delightful.” Others liked North Parkway, Belvedere, Raleigh Lagrange, Belleair, Cooper, Riverside, and more. 

It’s beginning To …

Posted to Facebook by Novel

It’s happening. Maybe it already happened. The holidays are here, and it’s everywhere you look. Novel kicked off Christmas last weekend with story time, hot chocolate, and a visit with the Grinch.

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Opinion Viewpoint

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency

Elon Musk (Photo: Frédéric Legrand | Dreamstime.com)

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are partnering to create a new U.S. government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Musk underwrote the Trump campaign with $200 million in donations (AP estimate) and his own brand of buying votes.

Supposedly, the acronym comes from Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, the Doge. Whatever. When Heather Cox Richardson says the name of the pending Musk/Ramaswamy agency, she pronounces it doggy. She’s authoritative enough for me. 

So yes, Musk paid for his new appointment, which represent a colossal conflict of interest, as that agency reportedly, avowedly, will shut down many regulations that currently govern aspects of Musk’s enormous U.S. government contracts. Getting his new powers involved corruption — a person really isn’t supposed to pay to acquire powers in the U.S. federal government. Can there be a shred of doubt that corruption won’t feature in nullifying EPA regulations on SpaceX, Tesla, and other Musk holdings?

But that is just toxic foreplay. Musk and Ramaswamy tell Forbes they will cut some $2 trillion in U.S. federal spending (sparing all the contracts with Musk-owned corporations, no doubt). What do they intend to defund?

They will get rid of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which tells us, “We protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and take action against companies that break the law.” Thanks, Elon, for planning to deep-six this one.

Goodbye, Department of Education. Populist demagogues like Trump have railed against such an unwanted department for decades, clearly tired of spending funds on schools that serve marginalized communities 

DOGE will get really vicious with organizations like Planned Parenthood, which averages approximately $50 million a year in federal funding. Reproductive help for women is almost certainly taking that hit.

Musk will make headlines when he and Ramaswamy end the $535 million federal support for public radio and TV. They actually called that “unauthorized spending,” even though Congress authorized it. You may not get public TV — so long, Sesame Street — but you will get a full display of gaslighting. 

The Veterans Administration healthcare funding is targeted by Musk — interesting, a white South African deciding the U.S. military veterans should stop getting healthcare.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund imposed “austerity” measures on some poor countries that were not managing to repay loans and the impacts were severe, with poverty increased and government services decreased, even eliminated. The targeted countries — such as Greece, Kenya, and many more — reacted with cries of extreme pain and many of those harmful punishing policies were curtailed. 

Musk says his DOGE will inflict hardship. Many Americans will lose their jobs, both inside the government and outside. The government contracts with many companies and when DOGE decides those contracts are not going to be honored, the losses will be severe in some quarters. Add to that the rising consumer prices that are widely predicted from Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China (and possibly everyone else), and the American lifestyle may be in for the biggest shock since 1929.

When Trump was desperately seeking votes from retirees and those who love them, he promised not to cut Social Security, and even added that he would stop the practice of the IRS taxing Social Security. We will see if Musk lets him keep that promise. 

It is astonishing that, in a roaring Biden-Harris economy that is benefiting literally every class of Americans, Trump garnered more votes than Harris and will throw wrenches into many of the gears of that economy, if Musk succeeds. 

Dr. Tom H. Hastings is coordinator of conflict resolution BA/BS degree programs and certificates at Portland State University. His views, however, are not those of any institution.