Categories
Film/TV TV Features

True Detective: Night Country

Kali Reis and Jodi Foster star in True Detective: Night Country (Courtesy HBO)

Since its debut on HBO in 2014, True Detective has been a galvanizing show. Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto’s first season featured Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as detectives searching for an occultic serial killer in Louisiana over the course of two decades. It was unique in television, in that Pizzolatto wrote all eight episodes himself, and Cary Joji Fukunaga was the sole credited director. (Normally, TV shows have several writers who collaborate on scripts. The mandatory minimum size of these writer’s rooms was a major issue in last year’s Writer’s Guild of America strike.) 

Each subsequent season of the anthology show has featured a different pair of detectives who can barely stand each other solving weird crimes. For season 2 in 2015, it was Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams; season 3 featured Mahershala Ali and Carmen Ejogo in 2019. Pizzolatto started to develop season 4, but then left HBO in favor of a new deal at FX. Barry Jenkins and Issa López took over as executive producers, and took the show in a new direction — or least to a new locale. 

Season four carries the subtitle Night Country because it is set in the fictional Alaskan town of Ennis, located above the Arctic Circle where the sun doesn’t rise at all during the depths of winter. Jodi Foster stars as Liz Danvers, Ennis’ chief of police. It’s a major casting coup, since Foster hasn’t been a regular in a TV series since the mid-1970s. And it pays off. Foster is one of the best actors of her or any other generation, and the greatest pleasure of Night Country is getting to spend six episodes watching her construct and tear down a complex character.

If I had to describe Capt. Danvers in one word, it would be “harsh.”  She’s hard on everyone, from her stepdaughter Leah (Isabella Star LeBlanc) to protege Pete Prior (Finn Bennett), to her off-and-on lover of twenty years, Capt. Ted Connelly (Christopher Eccleston). But Danver’s harshest of all to her former partner, Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis, a former professional women’s boxing champion.) Navarro and Danvers split after their response to a murder-suicide case fell under scrutiny from their superiors, and led to both being reassigned to the backwater (or should I say “back-ice”) of Ennis. 

Navarro sees ghosts, but that’s apparently not unusual in this town, where the veil between worlds seems thin. The former partners are forced back together when the entire crew of an arctic research station is found dead on the ice, frozen together in what Danvers calls a “corpsicle.” One of the few clues is a severed human tongue left behind in the station which belonged to a Native American woman named Annie Kowtok (Nivi Pedersen), whose murder Navarro has been obsessively investigating for years. How are the two crimes connected, and what do they have to do with the mining company that is polluting the community’s water? 

Foster’s virtuosic performance brings it all together, even as some of the subplots spiral off into the arctic darkness. She’s a manic ball of snarling energy, hinting at the secret pain that causes her to lash out at everyone around her. 

Lopez’s direction on all six episodes is exceptional. She brings elements of Lynchian surrealism (quiet northern town exists in uneasy proximity to an ancient supernatural force) and the John Carpenter horror classic The Thing. She knows how to produce a good jump scare, and how to hint at unknowable horrors lurking just offscreen. Like True Detective’s first season, Night Country benefits greatly from being the product of a singular artistic vision. 

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

Immaculate Conception Cathedral School to Close

Credit: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception via Facebook

Immaculate Conception Cathedral School (ICCS) will close at the end of this current school year, officials announced Wednesday morning. 

The parish could not overcome financial hurdles nor a “constant struggle with enrollment” at the Midtown school, said Father Robert Szczechura, pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The school will work with parents to direct their students to other Catholic schools in the area. 

“We had hoped that our collaboration, promotion, and recruitment efforts for the school, combined with the availability of Tennessee’s Educational Savings Accounts program, would enable our enrollment to grow,” said Kadesha Gordon, ICCS principal “However, it became increasingly clear that our hopes were not sustainable. And, despite everyone’s hard work, the expense of maintaining a school is far beyond what the parish and community were able to support.” 

The school operates classes from preschool through eighth grade. ICCS was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1921, on the corner of Rozelle and Central in the Central Gardens.

“This is a very heartbreaking decision given the rich history of our school,” said Szczechura. “We prayed often, and our school board, parents, and parish leaders met many times to collaborate on all possibilities from several angles to keep the school open. Unfortunately, the ongoing lack of financial stability and our constant struggle with enrollment made it impossible for the parish to continue operating the school.” 

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Paint, Dean Strickland, Tourney Time

Posted to Reddit by u/CUrlymafurly

Memphis on the internet.

Paint

“The paint is coming off!!” wrote u/CUrlymafurly on Reddit last week. Some MEMernet citizens cringe at painted brick in general. But this paint job hit a note for many more.

The mansion was once the stately Nineteenth Century Club. It was being painted in preparation for the new Tekila Modern Mexican restaurant. But owners made an agreement with preservationists and the paint is now being removed.

Dean Strickland

Posted to X by University of Memphis

“Jim Strickland, the 64th mayor of the city of Memphis, was announced today as the next dean of Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law,” the University of Memphis tweeted last week.

Tourney Time

Posted to TikTok by Bleacher Report

Jaylin James, a content creator with Bleacher Report, had fun at the NCAA tournament here last month. He hit Beale, ate Central BBQ, shared some popcorn with a basketball fan, experienced his first buzzer beater, and captured it all in a fun TikTok video.

Categories
Music Music Features

The Return of Misty White

Misty White (Photo: Virginie Benazeth)

It’s a challenge for this reporter to write objectively about an old friend like Misty White, but any time she returns to Memphis is news. The rarity of such occasions contrasts sharply with her ubiquity in the city’s underground culture when she lived here — before moving to Toulouse, France, a decade ago — as noted by none other than Greg Cartwright, a well-known fan of her music who, in a 2022 interview with the Memphis Flyer, noted that he met Alicja Trout through White, back in the ’90s. “That’s how we got to know each other: [me] teaching [Alicja] songs for Misty White’s band. So there you go, Misty White is the Kevin Bacon of Memphis!”

Indeed, at the end of the last century, the characters who orbited around her sprawling rental house on Harbert were a veritable who’s who of Memphis rock auteurs, including Ron Easley, Suzy Hendrix, Tav Falco, Amy LaVere, and Alex Chilton, all drawn to a Bohemian atmosphere there thick enough to cut with a knife (but not before inhaling deeply). Along the way, the onetime Deadhead became a garage auteur herself, writing songs and forming groups that were all sparked by the mischievous twinkle in her eye. Her drumming powered those pioneers of all-female garage rock, the Hellcats, before their breakup around 1990, and then she blossomed as a songwriter, sharpening an approach that might best be termed “campfire rock-and-roll,” reminiscent of Jonathan Richman if he were high.

After resettling in Cooper-Young, she met the love of her life, French musician and indie label owner Phillipe Lombardi, and he became an ardent fan of her music. They married and moved to Toulouse, where she lives as Misti Lombardi to this day, preserving her husband’s memory since his unexpected death in 2016. They recorded her songs together in the years leading up to that tragedy, releasing an EP and her first album on his Bang! Records imprint, and she’s carried on ever since.

Now she’s releasing her third LP on Bang!, Dis-Moi, already out in France, and some of which she’ll perform during the three public appearances she’s making this week. The first will be this Thursday, April 4th, as the Zippin’ Pippins, last active about 15 years ago, take the stage at Bar DKDC.

“The original lineup was me, Kristi [White Witt, Misty’s twin sister], Amy LaVere, Suzy Hendrix, and Diana Powell was on keyboards,” White says. “For this show, we’ll have me, Kristi, Amy, and Suzy,” plus two Hellcats, Su Hartline and Lorette Velvette.

The group sprang from her activist days with Save Libertyland, an alliance of Quixotic citizens bent on dissuading the city fathers from dismantling the beloved amusement park and its vintage roller coaster, The Zippin’ Pippin, which Elvis Presley famously enjoyed. In the end, the citizens were thwarted, as documented in the Mike McCarthy short Destroy Memphis, but the band named after the fair ride lived on somehow.

“One of Kristi’s songs is ‘Mid-South Fair,’ about riding the Ferris wheel and falling in love. So many did at the Mid-South Fair. One couple even got married on the Pippin,” says White.

The band will also feature White’s song “Sex Talk,” written well before the group had formed, though it’s only now being featured on White’s solo album. Yet that LP is primarily marked by its newer material. “With this album, I didn’t have a whole album’s worth of old songs that hadn’t been recorded yet. I wrote songs for the record, and that was really interesting, to not have songs I’d played a million times. But yeah, I can still write songs! That’s what that proved.”

It’s fitting that the Zippin’ Pippins are incorporating some Hellcats in the mix, as that group will also be active in the days to follow. On April 10th, superfan Cartwright will moderate an album event and discussion at the Memphis Listening Lab centered on the Hellcats’ full-length LP, Hoodoo Train, produced at Doug Easley’s backyard studio before he moved into the former Onyx Studio building.

After the listening event, various Hellcats will perform their songs in the round at the Lamplighter Lounge. “They all know the Hellcats in France because we were on New Rose,” White says. “Anybody that was on New Rose is kind of held in a higher light because it was such a great label.”

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

A Virtual White Tablecloth Dinner

Erling Jensen, Jo Anne Fusco, and Jimmy Gentry; (inset) David Krog (Photos: Michael Donahue)

Most people don’t want to return to sheltering in place, keeping their distance, and other things associated with the dark days of the pandemic. But Jo Anne Fusco found one thing from her lockdown days to be pretty cool: her virtual dinner she put together for a Thrive Memphis fundraiser in 2020. Now, she’s reviving it.

“April in Paris, A Virtual Dinner” will be held at 6:30 p.m., April 18th, via Zoom, says Fusco, Thrive’s executive director. The three-course meal will be crafted by chefs Erling Jensen of Erling Jensen: The Restaurant, David Krog of Dory, and Jimmy Gentry of The Lobbyist. So, you get three noted Memphis chefs preparing a dinner you can eat in your pajamas while sipping wine in the comfort of your home.

In other words: a virtual white tablecloth dinner experience.

Thrive Memphis, a nonprofit that provides recreational and social activities for people with intellectual disabilities, is known for food events, thanks to Fusco. She held chili contests for years when the organization was known as “The Exceptional Foundation of West Tennessee.”

Fusco later held farm-to-table dinners at the home of Brad and Dina Martin, Millstone Market, and Avon Acres. Jensen, Gentry, and chef Zach Thomason took part in dinners.

“I had the food donated. But we had to pay the staff. That wasn’t a problem, but we had to rent everything, rent dishes. We had to get wine glasses and silverware. … We made a lot of money, but it ate up a lot of our profits.”

Then Covid happened. “I got this idea: ‘Why don’t we do it virtual?’”

The four-course dinner was held in December 2020 and called “Home for the Holidays.” “We had a beautiful dinner. We packaged it in bags that James Davis donated. And we had the courses: the salad, the rolls, the butter, the entrees.”

Guests picked up the pre-cooked and packaged meals at Dory. “They just had to be heated. Some of the meat was on the rare side; if you wanted it more done, you cooked it a little longer.”

People then turned on Zoom and listened to Krog and Gentry discuss how they prepared each course. A sommelier talked about the wines.

Fusco came up with the theme for this virtual dinner. Since they already had the April date, Fusco said, “Oh, my God. Paris in April. Let’s do a French dinner.”

That also was a good excuse to put “Ooh la la!” on the invitations.

Krog is making salad Nicoise. “I haven’t had an opportunity to make this in a long time,” he says. “I felt it was a classic beginning to this meal.”

The salad is made with arugula, green beans, Nicoise olives, shallots, fingerling potatoes, lemon, olive oil, and hard-cooked egg, Krog says. He’s also making chocolate truffles and his Parker House rolls.

Jensen is making his classic beef bourguignon, which, he says, includes “beef, carrots, shallots, onions, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and red wine.”

For the dessert, Gentry is making Roquefort ganache tarts with tonka bean anglaise. The tarts include heavy cream, vanilla beans, white chocolate, trimoline, butter, dark rum, and cheese. “The anglaise is made the same way except we steep tonka beans in it,” says Gentry, who describes the dessert as “rich, decadent, not overly sweet.”

Taking part in the virtual dinner is easy, Fusco says. “We send out the Zoom link and you just follow.”

The last time they did the dinner “some followed, some watched it and turned off the volume” because they were with guests.

Dinners are to be picked up between 2 and 4 p.m. that afternoon at Dory at 716 West Brookhaven Circle. Zoom begins at 6:30 p.m.

Fusco, who hopes to make the virtual dinner an annual Thrive fundraiser, enjoys the camaraderie. She was in the kitchen with the chefs at the last Zoom dinner, which was in the kitchen at her home, where she held a dinner party.

But, she says, “The dinner is fun and it’s nice to have wonderful donors, but the money really goes to the kids. It doesn’t go to anything else. It goes to our participants.”

For more information on taking part in “April in Paris, A Virtual Dinner,” go to thrivemem.org.

Categories
Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 04/04/24

Saw That Coming

You might have missed the first-ever Florida Man Games in St. Augustine on Feb. 24, but it’s never too early to plan for next year. United Press International reported that hundreds of people paid $55 each for a ticket to watch Floridians compete in a mullet contest and a “Florida sumo” event where competitors tried to spill each other’s beers. Other events included a pork butt eating contest, a race that simulated stealing a bike, and an “evading arrest obstacle course.” One winning team walked away with the $5,000 prize. “We understand that Florida is weird,” said Pete Melfi, organizer of the event. “We embrace it.” [United Press International, 2/26/2024]

News You Can Use

Legend says that if the seven ravens who protect the Tower of London (six, plus one spare, as decreed by King Charles II) ever leave the landmark, the tower will crumble and the Kingdom of England will fall. So it’s no surprise that the tower has a ravenmaster, and 56-year-old Michael “Barney” Chandler has just been installed in the job, the Associated Press reported. Chandler is a former Royal Marine who said, “We don’t know if [the prophecy is] true or not, because we’ve never let the number drop below six — and it’s not going to happen while I’m here.” As the sixth holder of the post, Chandler will be in charge of four other Beefeaters who look after the ravens. “You never know what they’re going to do,” he said. “They’re all totally different, personality-wise.” His favorite is Poppy, who hops up to him to accept a treat of a dead mouse now and again. Spoiler alert: The birds’ feathers are trimmed so they can’t fly away. [AP, 3/1/2024]

Leap Day Fun

• In Rye, New Hampshire, Lillian Edin celebrated her 25th birthday — although she is 100 years old. “I feel 25, until I start trying to walk,” Edin said, according to WMUR-TV. “I can’t believe I’ve lived this age. I really can’t.” She was feted with lunch and cupcakes. [WMUR, 2/29/2024]

• A brother and sister who were both born on Leap Day four years apart are getting to celebrate the unusual birthday for the first time. Omri Demchak, 8, and his sister, Scout, 4, celebrated with more than 50 people at the coffee shop their parents own in Brooklyn, New York. Most years, the family celebrate Omri’s birthday on Feb. 28 and Scout’s on March 1. Mom Lindsay Demchak said neither of the leap kids was due on the special day. “It was truly serendipitous,” she told the New York Post. [NY Post, 2/29/2024]

• Issue 12 of France’s La Bougie du Sapeur (The Sapper’s Candle) has hit the newsstands, the BBC reported — which is kind of a big deal because it is printed only on Feb. 29, every four years. The first edition was in 1980. Editor Jean d’Indy said the 20-page tabloid is “put out by a few pals. We meet in a bar and toss around ideas over drinks. We have a lot of fun, and if the reader does, too, that’s the icing on the cake.” It has a print run of 200,000, costs about 5 euros, and is not available online. [BBC, 2/28/2024]

That’s Sporting

The 2024 Iditarod race in Alaska got off to a messy start, Sporting News reported on March 7. On the first day, musher Jesse Holmes went mano-a-mano with a moose that became aggressive toward his dogs on the trail. Holmes punched the moose in the nose and went on his way. Soon after, Dallas Seavey and his dogs came upon a moose — it’s not clear whether it was the same one — that was “threatening and belligerent.” When the moose got entangled with his dogs, Seavey dispensed with the heroics and shot it. As per the Iditarod’s rules, Seavey then stopped for about 10 minutes to field-dress the moose, but he was later assessed a two-hour penalty at the next checkpoint because “the animal was not sufficiently gutted by the musher.” A third musher, Wally Robinson, ran across the moose carcass in the dark, on a trail curving through woods. Race Marshal Warren Palfrey confirmed that “we are making sure that every attempt is made to utilize and salvage the moose meat.” So there’s that. [Sporting News, 3/7/2024]

Clothing Optional

Looking for something light and airy to do at the end of April? Set your GPS for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Crafton Ingram Lanes, where Balls Out Bowling will return on April 28, according to WTRF-TV. The Pittsburgh Area Naturalists are hosting the event, which requires nudity (except women are allowed to wear bottoms). Participants must be 18 or older, and sexual activity is not permitted; harassment will result in being ejected from the bowling alley. And leave your cellphone at home; no photos or videos allowed. You won’t have anywhere to carry it anyway! [WTRF, 3/4/2024]

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
Opinion The Last Word

Memphis Is My Boyfriend: Being an Adult Child

Game night at Muggin (Photos: Patricia Lockhart)

It’s time for another intentional tween/teen-friendly Memphis weekend! Keep in mind, my kids are 15, 12, 12, and 10 years old. This weekend will really be focused on fun things to do with the kids as well as enjoying some adult libations. Because who wants to be an adult all the time? Enjoy Memphis!

Muggin Coffeehouse

Okay, it’s Thursday, and this has been the Wednesday-est Thursday ever! FYI: Wednesdays and I haven’t gotten along for a few years now. Humpday just drags so slowly and the most ridiculous things always happen on a Wednesday. And that’s how this Thursday was acting. But whenever I feel irritated by having to be an adult, I make sure I take some time to nurture my inner child. So when I heard that the new Uptown Muggin location had game night on Thursday, I was super excited. Hubby conducted the Pick Up Kids from School Tour, which consisted of one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. I finished up a few emails at work and popped over to Muggin! Hubby and I ordered lattes and the kids ordered every pastry possible and frappes. We played chess (I won), Connect Four (I lost), and Jenga, which was also used to create a domino effect. It was such a good time. All of my kids had smiles on their faces. Hubby and I were able to steal a few proud-parent glances at each other from across the cafe. Everyone was happy. All we were missing was more teenagers and teen parents to talk to!

Grind City Brewing Company

Saturday is fun day! Hubby and I woke up feeling 10 years younger. Because this doesn’t happen often, we wanted to take advantage of this new found youth and do the things we used to do in college. Drink beer and play outdoor sports. While the kids can’t enjoy a cold brewski, they can enjoy some sunshine, Arbo’s cheese dip and chips, and soda. So we packed up the Frisbee and yard darts and headed to Grind City Brewery.

The weather was beautiful and the view was absolutely stunning. After grabbing a few cold beers, we hit the open fields. The kids and I enjoyed leisurely throwing the Frisbee and playing yard darts. But then a gentleman approached us and taught us how to play real Frisbee. Well, the horse poop hit the fan (figuratively). Feeling 10 years younger, and invincible due to the beer, I wasn’t about to be outdone by some ragged teenagers. We played hard. I caught a few Frisbees. My son ripped his pants. Grass-stains became the norm. Someone whined because they were losing, and my beer buzz wore off. As we rehydrated and finished off the last of the Arbo’s cheese dip, we high-fived each other for time well spent.

Burgers for kids
Beers at Crosstown Brewery for adults

Farm Burger and Crosstown Brewery

It’s Sunday and all I want to do is chill and read my book. My body aches and my knees are creaking. I’m seriously feeling every millisecond of my age! But as I bask in the soft sunlight peeking in through my bedroom windows, a child knocks on my door. “Mom, have you checked the family Google calendar? I added Farm Burger to it last night. You should have gotten the email, too!” As I lazily close my e-book about Murder Bots, I check my Gmail account. And sure enough, there’s a calendar notification. I ponder. Weigh the pros and cons. Look at the start time of the event. (It’s mid-afternoon.) And I select “Yes.” I hear the kids give shouts of praise through the door and I can only imagine the fist bumps and high-fives they are giving each other.

Later in the afternoon, with my book tucked in my purse, I park at the Crosstown Concourse. The kids announce that they want burgers. So I announced to no one in particular, that I want beer. They will head to Farm Burger, and I will go to Crosstown Brewery. We talk about stranger danger and the importance of sticking together and finding the nearest adult in authority if trouble arises. I also tell them exactly where I will be and remind them to actually answer the phone if I call or text. Soon, we separate. I receive a text from them full of smiles and a table full of food. Great! I continue sipping my stout beer and reading Murder and Mamon. I received another text stating that they’re going to check out the art gallery. Perfect! I continue with my leisure activity. Then I receive a phone call. “Mom, I don’t remember how to use this circular music player?” Huh? Oh, they mean a record player. Yeah, I have work to do!

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend

Categories
Fun Stuff Metaphysical Connection

Metaphysical Connection: The Total Solar Eclipse

Total solar eclipse in 2017 (Photo: Jim Price)

Monday, April 8th, brings us a special celestial event — a total solar eclipse, and one that will be visible in the United States. Some outlets are calling it the Great North American Eclipse because it is the only total solar eclipse in the 21st century that will be visible throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. This will also be the last total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous United States until August 23, 2044. Many people are taking trips to be in the path of totality, which Memphis is just outside of. Eclipses of any kind are interesting events to watch, but they also have special spiritual meanings.

A solar eclipse is often thought of as a time of transformation. The movement of the moon between the Earth and the sun is something that does not happen often and spiritually is thought to catalyze change. The energy of a solar eclipse is believed to accelerate events, bringing to the surface issues that have been simmering and demanding attention and action.

Part of the eclipse’s properties of transformation come from the fact that the usual cycle and movement of the planets is somewhat disrupted. The obscuring of the sun’s light can symbolize a break in routine. Disruptions are often unwanted and sometimes unpleasant, but they are necessary for growth. If you are familiar with tarot, this total solar eclipse might make you think of the Tower card with its disruptions and truth coming to light.

In astrology, a solar eclipse is sometimes viewed as a powerful time for new beginnings. The eclipse is seen as a doorway to significant life changes, offering opportunities to reset, rethink, and start fresh. The blocking of the sun, a symbol of light and clarity, invites introspection and encourages individuals to look inward, reassess their paths, and make substantial changes.

Venus, the planet of love, along with the sun and moon, helps usher in incredibly positive energies during this eclipse. The April 8th total solar eclipse occurs in the sign of Aries, with the asteroid Chiron in Aries as well. Aries is the sign of fresh starts, leadership, innovation, and courage. As such, you can expect this eclipse to have a particularly strong impact on those areas of your personal life.

Chiron symbolizes the “wounded healer,” exposing our deep pain, how we address that pain, and how our own healing powers have the ability to help others. Chiron symbolizes the strength of vulnerability, encouraging us to embrace the dark and thorny spaces of our past and take action. With Chiron in action, this eclipse is also about healing your relationship with yourself. Now is the time to recover from old wounds and explore new opportunities. Luckily, the April 8th eclipse should have an empowering effect in this regard. You could feel like you can take charge of your life in ways you didn’t previously think possible.

A solar eclipse is considered a powerful time for setting new intentions and manifesting goals. The energy of an eclipse can amplify your thoughts and intentions, making it an ideal time to focus on what you truly desire.

This total solar eclipse is also a great time to reflect and release those things that no longer serve you. The darkness of the solar eclipse encourages introspection. It’s a time to pause and reflect on one’s life direction, contemplate deep desires, and acknowledge aspects of life that may need transformation. Meditation or mindfulness practices during this time can lead to deep insights and heightened self-awareness. It is a moment to ponder life’s big questions, reassess your life path, and gain clarity on your personal and spiritual journey. You can use this time to consciously release these old aspects of your life. This could involve a physical decluttering of your space, a symbolic letting go of past grievances, or a commitment to change unhelpful thought patterns.

Even if you aren’t interested in the spiritual meaning of this eclipse, it is a wondrous event to behold and I encourage you to make the most of it.

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
Astrology Fun Stuff

Free Will Astrology: Week of 04/04/24

Dario Bronnimann | Unsplash

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Eric G. Wilson claims, “Darker emotional states — doubt, confusion, alienation, despair — inspire a deeper and more durable experience of the sacred than contentment does.” I disagree. I know for a fact that an exquisite embrace of life’s holiness is equally possible through luminous joy and boisterous triumph and exultant breakthroughs. Propagandists of the supposed potency of misery are stuck in a habit of mind that’s endemic to the part of civilization that’s rotting and dying. In any case, Aries, I’m pleased to tell you that in the coming weeks, you will have abundant opportunities to glide into sacred awareness on the strength of your lust for life and joie de vivre.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Will humans succeed in halting the decimation of the environment? Will we neutralize the power of fundamentalism as it fights to quash our imaginations and limit our freedoms? Will we outflank and outlast the authoritarians that threaten democracy? Sorry I’m asking you to think about sad realities. But now is an excellent time for you to ponder the world we are creating for our descendants — and resolve to do something in loving service to the future. Meditate on the riddle from Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass: “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The genius polymath Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) contributed much treasure to science and engineering. One encyclopedia sums up his legacy: “He was the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.” Unfortunately, many of Galileo’s ideas conflicted with the teachings of Catholicism. The church fathers hounded him for years, even arresting him and putting him on trial. The Vatican eventually apologized, though not until 350 years after Galileo died. I expect that you, too, will generate many new approaches and possibilities in the coming months, Gemini — not Galileo level, of course, but still: sufficiently unprecedented to rouse the resistance of conventional wisdom. I suspect you won’t have to wait long to be vindicated, however.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now would be a perfect time to prove your love. How? You might begin by being extra considerate, sensitive, sweet, and tender. I hope you will add sublime, scintillating touches, too. Maybe you will tell your beloved allies beautiful truths about themselves — revelations that make them feel deeply understood and appreciated. Maybe you will give them gifts or blessings they have wanted for a long time but never managed to get for themselves. It’s possible you will serenade them with their favorite songs, or write a poem or story about them, or buy them a symbol that inspires their spiritual quest. To climax all your kindness, perhaps you will describe the ways they have changed your life for the better.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo naturalist and ornithologist William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) said, “I am not a lover of lawns. Rather would I see daisies in their thousands, ground ivy, hawkweed, and dandelions with splendid flowers and fairy down, than the too-well-tended lawn.” I encourage you to adopt his attitude toward everything in your life for the next few weeks. Always opt for unruly beauty over tidy regimentation. Choose lush vitality over pruned efficiency. Blend your fate with influences that exult in creative expressiveness, genial fertility, and deep feelings. (PS: Cultural critic Michael Pollan says, “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”)

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I praise and celebrate you for your skills at helping other people access their resources and activate their potentials. I hope you are rewarded well for your gorgeous service. If you are not, please figure out how to correct the problem in the coming months. If you are feeling extra bold, consider these two additional assignments: 1. Upgrade your skills at helping yourself access your own resources and activate your own potential. 2. Be forthright and straightforward in asking the people you help to help you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I don’t regard a solar eclipse as a bad omen. On the contrary, I believe it may purge and cleanse stale old karma. On some occasions, I have seen it flush away emotional debts and debris that have been accumulating for years. So how shall we interpret the total solar eclipse that will electrify your astrological house of intimate togetherness in the coming days? I think it’s a favorable time to be brave and daring as you upgrade your best relationships. What habits and patterns are you ready to reinvent and reconfigure? What new approaches are you willing to experiment with?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): At your best, you Scorpios are not invasive manipulators. Rather, you are catalysts. You are instigators of transformation, resurrectors of dead energy, awakeners of numb minds. The people you influence may not be aware that they long to draw on your influence. They may think you are somehow imposing it on them, when, in fact, you are simply being your genuine, intense self, and they are reaching out to absorb your unruly healing. In the coming weeks, please keep in mind what I’ve said here.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In my astrological opinion, it’s prime time for you to shower big wild favors on your beautiful self. Get the fun underway with a period of rigorous self-care: a physical check-up, perhaps, and visits with the dentist, therapist, hairstylist, and acupuncturist. Try new healing agents and seek precise magic that enhances and uplifts your energy. I trust you will also call on luxurious indulgences like a massage, a psychic reading, gourmet meals, an emotionally potent movie, exciting new music, and long, slow love-making. Anything else, Sagittarius? Make a list and carry out these tasks with the same verve and determination you would give to any important task.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coming days will be a favorable time for you to wrestle with an angel or play chess with a devil. You will have extraordinary power in any showdown or collaboration with spiritual forces. Your practical intelligence will serve you well in encounters with nonrational enigmas and supernatural riddles. Here’s a hot tip: Never assume that any being, human or divine, is holier or wiser than you. You will have a special knack for finding compassionate solutions to address even the knottiest dilemmas.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Your featured organ of the month is your nose. This may sound beyond the scope of predictable possibilities, but I’m serious: You will make robust decisions and discriminating choices if you get your sniffer fully involved. So I advise you to favor and explore whatever smells good. Cultivate a nuanced appreciation for what aromas can reveal. If there’s a hint of a stink or an odd tang, go elsewhere. The saying “follow your nose” is especially applicable. (PS: I recommend you take steps to expose yourself to a wide array of scents that energize you and boost your mood.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When is the best time to ask for a raise or an increase in benefits? Can astrology reveal favorable periods for being aggressive about getting more of what you want? In the system I use, the time that’s 30 to 60 days after your birthday is most likely to generate good results. Another phase is 210 to 240 days after your birthday. Keep in mind that these estimates may be partly fanciful and playful and mythical. But then in my philosophy, fanciful and playful and mythical actions have an honored place. Self-fulfilling prophecies are more likely to be fulfilled if you regard them as fun experiments rather than serious, literal rules. 

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Making It Rain

Photo: Julia Sudnitskaya | Dreamstime.com

It is generally understood that one of the rationales for naming former Mayor Jim Strickland the new dean at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law was his demonstrated success in having raised significant sums of money — both from the business community during his mayoral campaigns — $1 million at max — and for helping to pry loose from state government some $350 million for local athletic facilities.

Indeed, Strickland’s fundraising prowess was so notable as to make him an obvious prospect for the role of institutional rainmaker. That’s the time-honored term for an individual blessed with unusual ability to attract investments and contributions from others by dint of their persona, their history, or their contacts, or through a combination of all three.

In 2006, Harold Ford Jr. missed becoming U.S. senator from Tennessee by a relative handful of votes, but the former congressman’s residual clout as a looming national figure was sufficient to land him on Wall Street, where he flourished as a rainmaker for more than one big-time brokerage.

So Strickland’s ability to attract big funding is, all by itself, a huge plus, right? Not everybody thinks so. Among those who don’t is activist Cardell Orrin, currently executive director at Stand for Children Tennessee and former chief information officer at LeMoyne–Owen College.

In a Facebook post written in the wake of Stricklands’ hiring, Orrin mused:

“Imagine if former Mayor Wharton, or better yet Mayor Herenton (even more fun), had given millions of dollars to LeMoyne-Owen College during their tenure. This part is easy … They actually did do this, but to help save the college’s existence, not just for pet projects like tennis courts.

“Now, it gets a bit more difficult … Imagine if either mayor had donated all that money to LeMoyne-Owen College, and then, in the final hours of their administration, rushed a decision to gift a stadium worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the college? …

“Imagine if, within just three months of leaving office, one of these former mayors had secured a leading job at LeMoyne-Owen College, with some yet to be disclosed salary. Can you imagine the reaction from the media and the conservative crowd to even the mere consideration of such a position, let alone actually receiving it?

“Try to envision the newspaper headlines and articles covering this hypothetical. Would some enterprising investigative reporter be opening up a file and making FOIA requests? Would they just basically reprint the college’s press release?

“Whew, it must be nice to live in the world of imaginings …!”

Whew, indeed! Known as a longtime critic of Strickland, Orrin, along with some other like-minded foes of the former mayor, has begun raising this issue and imagining it to be a prima facie scandal. What it amounts to is a suggestion that Strickland bought his job, which, in this reckoning, is not just a reward but an out-and-out payoff!

The fact is that the University of Memphis law school, once renowned for the quality of its teaching and, especially, for the high percentage of its graduates able to pass the state bar and achieve thriving, socially useful careers in the larger community, is widely perceived as having begun to lag in those important regards.

Arguably, what it needs now is a shot in the arm from an administrator known for personal success and for an ability to attract substantial support from the social eco-structure which the university both lives in and is charged with serving.

What it may need is a rainmaker. And a two-term local mayor with prodigious fundraising skills and demonstrated connections both to the local business community and to the state government in Nashville clearly fit the bill for those at the university whose duty was to make the pick.

Credit is due both to those critics like Orrin whose imagination suggests caution in viewing such a choice and to those members of the law faculty — a not insubstantial number — who wanted a more traditional choice, perhaps from within university ranks

But the die has been cast. And optimism should be the motto of the moment.