It’s a typical week at the cinema with half a dozen films opening, and that’s not counting special events like QFest or the Sidewalk Cinema, a video installation at the corner of Main Street and Dallas funded by the Houston Downtown Management District and Aurora Picture Show. This week some noted directors are getting their just desserts, including vets like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Kathryn Bigelow as well as relative newcomer David Leitch. Jodorowsky remains one of the supreme surrealists working in film, however, his latest film, Endless Poetry, is easily his most accessible to mainstream audiences. While there are surreal moments in the film, there’s nothing like the imagery we’ve come to expect from the director of such films as El Topo or Santa Sangre. Specifically, just like in his previous autobiographical film The Dance of Reality (2013), Jodorowsky mines his youth for story elements. When his mother talks, the words come out like a diva singing opera phrases. In the film, Jodorowsky uses his sons to play his father and himself as a young man. It’s brilliant, really, when you think about how many films you see where the parents and progeny are played by movie stars who look totally unrelated by blood. In one of Endless Poetry’s few fourth-wall breaking moments, Alejandro himself shows up behind the actor playing his son (Adan Jodorowsky) as if to conjure up the metaphor of a person looking back at his own life. Another son of Alejandro, Brontis Jodorowsky, plays his father, Jamie, not just a stern paterfamilias but rather a bit of a fascist. Young Alejandro distances himself from his family, who are aghast that he wants to be a poet. Eventually finding a like-minded group of outcasts, Alejandro develops what is to become his singular style of story telling. Other young characters portrayed in Endless Poetry, like Enrique Lihn, Stella Diaz Varín and Nicanor Parra, went on to be renowned artists in their own right. As in his other films, Jodorowsky never capitulates to normalcy, especially in the father/son dynamics. Young Alejandro’s romance with Stella ends on a sad note. Yet Endless Poetry follows through with its narrative in such a linear manner that it sits among the best family dramas ever made. The cinematographer of the film is Christopher Doyle.
Endless Poetry unwinds exclusively at the Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park starting today.
David Leitch may not be a household name, but you’ve seen films he’s worked on mainly as a stunt choreographer or stunt double (for instance, Brad Pitt in Fight Club). Leitch was the uncredited director for John Wick (think Ron Howard on the Han Solo film). His upcoming 2018 film is the sequel Deadpool 2, but his current film is what people will be talking about. Atomic Blonde operates on so many levels you may be challenged as whether to describe it as a hard boiled spy film, a nostalgic trip through 1980 new wave music cues, or the latest film to celebrate female empowerment. Charlize Theron (no stranger to bad ass distaff roles) plays secret agent Lorraine Broghton, a no-nonsense MI6 operative who’s about to tear up Berlin on the eve of the collapse of the Wall. James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger and Sofia Boutella co-star. Leitch lays down a soundtrack of that could be the definitive mix tape of late-80s progressive songs: “99 Luftballons,” “I Ran,” “London Calling,” “Der Kommissar,” “Major Tom” and “Blue Monday.” That’s leaving out several titles. To accompany the music, Leitch escalates the violence of rapid-cut Bourne films to stage massive fight sequences that last for minutes, seemingly without cuts. Whether Leitch uses invisible digital editing doesn’t matter, the action flows, regardless of the technique, like a continuous means to an end. For the film, Theron trained so hard she cracked her teeth, requiring dental surgery before principal photography. And when it comes time for her world-weary agent of change to find romance, it’s in the arms of another femme. Which is just as well, as the other available guys are probably double agents anyway.
Atomic Blond opens wide today at area theaters.
Kathryn Bigelow, first woman to win an Academy Award as Best Director (for The Hurt Locker), places her latest film during the Detroit race riots of 1967. Detroit is really about the Algiers Motel altercation, ann incident that saw police kill three black men while also beating seven other men and two white women during an impromptu interrogation that occupies much of the film’s running time. Detroit is anything but black and white. Some of the police are shown having an upstanding moral conscience, while others use their badge to literally get away with murder. Likewise, the victims display flaws that make them less than perfect, although certainly not deserving of the abuse thrown their way. Bigelow starts out the film with a series of art panels by Jacob Lawrence depicting African-American migration in the United States that play over the opening credits. The origins of the riots started with the police busting an illegal after-hours club in the middle of the night. Events snowball from there when martial law is declared and the city has regions cordoned off by the National Guard, the State Patrol, and local Detroit Police. Remember in The Deer Hunter (1978) when the wedding sequence at the end of the second act seemed to go on forever? There’s a similar scene in Detroit that could be its own movie. On July 25, 1967 the Algiers Motel came under scrutiny when shots were fired from a window towards a National Guard unit across the street. The gun was actually a starter pistol shooting blanks. Eventually, some bad cops take over the situation and line up a dozen or so suspects in a dank hallway and Detroit becomes a film within a film. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd gives Detroit a grainy period look. Considering how much time the characters are being photographed against dark wood hues, the film still retains a sense of the character’s fear, despite the close quarters. The aftermath comes together quickly. The officers on trial are found not guilty and the world keeps spinning, although the axis has been changed. Detroit may be hard for some audiences to sit through because the truth can really be a bitch.
Detroit opens exclusively at the Edwards Grand Palace today, opening wide on Aug. 4. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/atomic-blonde-detroit-and-endless-poetry/
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Sneaky Like A Villain, Photo: Courtesy of Artist
There have been some killer acts in Houston that have either stopped performing and faded away or perform so rarely that it feels like they just disappeared. In some cases, these were bands that everyone should know of because what they did was so very intriguing, so engaging, and so Houston in that they were either too far ahead of the curve or in a loop that was far from everything else here. The latter is kind of where you would place Houston’s Spain Colored Orange. Full of psych influence, and sounding like a wet dream from the mind of Brian Wilson, the six-piece band didn’t really dissolve, but they really just started becoming more and more focused on when they would play rather than the Houston norm of playing regularly. It’s been eight years since their second album, 2009’s Sneaky Like A Villain, was released, but it’s still one of the strongest records you’ll hear to come from this city in the past ten years. While I’m not a fan of looking back in time, the band’s upcoming show at Rockefeller’s on Aug. 19 had me wondering if anyone remembered the band or this amazing album that was ahead of a lot of what we’re hearing today.
The album begins with the catchy and very Sgt. Pepper’s-influenced sounds of “The Radio’s On Again.” With soft keys that seem to dance in the background, covered with the saturated vocals of the track’s title, it’s a good lead up to the following track, “Who Am I,” that sounds like that of a song you’d hear at a Vegas wedding coming from a lounge act. That’s not to knock the song, as the saccharine-soaked lyrics that emanate from singer Gilbert Alfaro’s voice are greeted with hooks that seem to go on for days. Brass and guitars meet the keys with such psych-heavy precision that the song feels like it could easily have dropped in the late ’60s from a band set to open for Herb Alpert. The electro-pop opening to the third track, “Hide,” is about as robotic as the song will get. The softly sung and endearing melodies that pace the song out are like a lullaby you’d use to sing a child to sleep. The hooks are so heavy here that the slower stride of the song just feels like a slow Summer jam more than the syrupy pop jam that it is. Alfaro is definitely channeling his inner Van Dyke Parks here in how the organs are utilized like any other band would have simply used guitar. The track sticks with you long after the first listen and adds to the charm that the band creates.
The fourth song,“Cheap Trills,” possibly the catchiest of the album, is like if Big Star and Wings got together to cover the music of John Cale. Full of brass in the vein of a New Orleans street parade, and with key use that feels like something that Ben Folds wishes he’d released, the song takes plenty of turns without losing your attention, with the band cohesively performing one of the sweetest songs you might hear. There’s a build that happens that almost feels like it could go on forever, though capping it off at under three and a half minutes really just makes you wish for more of it. The dissonant opening of “Music Box,” complete with plucky synths, wandering and twangy guitar, effect-laced vocals, and meandering horns, is a great example of a band hitting their stride on a track that feels almost like a free-form jam. The blown-out sound of the drums is a nice touch before the strings come in and create a whole new element that you feel like would make the perfect track for a rapper to utilize on a mixtape. The R&B and hip hop elements of the song are on a level that doesn’t really seem to exist much from bands on this level today. The same sentiment could be said of the ninth track, “One Million Reasons,” where the band seems to take on a level of instrumentation that seems to be missing from music in many circles today. The song follows an offbeat pace, and the stirring horns and key use seem to dance around the song while Alfaro belts out the vocals, which almost seem buried in the mix on purpose. It’s a tricky gamble that pays off, as the song has a very terse and stark sound that would make any current psych band take notice enough to attempt to copy it for themselves.
The following song, “You Think You Know,” is the closest to a mix of ’70s electro pop and arena rock. There’s a disco influence here that you can’t place your finger on, but it’s definitely familiar. In this track, the band seems to offer up another catchy jam that you want to hear more of. Closing things out with another memorable tune on “Birds And The Bees,” the band sounds closest to a mix of Polyphonic Spree and Calexico, and the child chorus on the song makes you love it that much more. If the rumors of this album being written in two weeks are true, it only makes you wonder what the band could have done if they’d taken longer to write it. The breakdown at the end, complete with Pete Townshend guitar riffs, should seal the deal on behalf of anyone wanting something a little more fierce from the pop-heavy sextet. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/you-might-have-missed-spain-colored-orange/
I never wanted to compare Bill Murray to Johnny Depp. After all, these are two different talents with two different trajectories. However, both actors have played Hunter S. Thompson in three different films. Certainly Depp has the inside track, having been a personal friend of Thompson. And he certainly nailed down Thompson’s mannerisms and manner of speaking in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Rum Diary (2011). But Murray seems to get to the spine of Thompson in what was his follow up to Meatballs, Where the Buffalo Roam, which was released to little fanfare in 1980. And that’s a shame because Where the Buffalo Roam stands the test of time, all while revealing the activist slant of a previous time to a new generation. Like Fear and Loathing, WTBR also has Thompson’s lawyer and spiritual advisor, Lazlo, portrayed as a character in the plot. Peter Boyle brings the special magic that made him the go-to supporting actor for unusual roles in the years leading up to Where the Buffalo Roam. And that’s not to take anything away from Benicio Del Toro’s take on the same person (although called Dr. Gonzo in that incarnation). Long story short, Where the Buffalo Roam displays Murray operating on all cylinders, and it’s a preview of his movie-stealing prowess in films to come, like Stripes (1981), Tootsie (1982), and Ghostbusters (1984). Frankly, as funny as Where the Buffalo Roam is, it’s hard to fathom that it totally bombed upon initial release. Murray as Thompson deals with demands from his Rolling Stone magazine editor (homage in Almost Famous) while he also covers the Nixon 1972 campaign. Even when Thompson is kicked off the Presidential jetliner and onto the second-tier journalist airplane, he still finds avenues of anarchy. Perhaps not oddly, Murray’s career after Ghostbusters saw him try straight leading man roles (The Razor’s Edge) and eventually co-starring roles working with renowned directors like Tim Burton in 1994’s Ed Wood. Murray’s biggest films of the ‘90s would be Groundhog Day, followed by 1998’s Rushmore, which took years to find its deserved cult status. Back to Where the Buffalo Roam. Seldom has there been a marriage of absurdity and physical comedy the likes of which when we see Murray firing his trusty side arm into his fax machine. Murray’s dalliance with a nurse ranks amongst his best scenes. Peter Boyle also delivers the goods. A featurette has WTBR screenwriter John Kaye laying bare the existential dilemma of being paid to be creative and yet hanging out with the ultimate enabler (Thompson). At one point Thompson had used his salary as seed money for a large cocaine deal and ended up doing most of it with Kaye and a few select others. When the dealers became threatening, Thompson tried to get producer/director Art Linson to advance him a high five-figure amount and got shot down. The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson: Johnny and Friends Featuring Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy sums up this three-disc set with its lengthy title. Every episode unwinds in its entirety, including commercials. Each disc has three shows with Martin, Williams and Murphy each. Martin’s appearances range from the mid-’70s to the early ’90s and include other guest stars like Jimmy Stewart, and in another episode, Sylvester Stallone. Williams also appears with Jonathan Winters in one episode from 1991. There’s little doubt that Williams was influenced by Winters. Most telling are the Murphy guest slots, his first three times on The Tonight Show and all during 1982. Murphy had literally launched into the stratosphere as a leading actor that year in 48 Hours, and his three appearances capture him before, during, and after his instant stardom. On one episode Murphy leads the entire audience on a N-word chant that would just be so out of place in todays super heated politically correct environment.
Dario Argento literally burst onto the scene with his debut feature, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, an Italian “giallo” genre thriller. It only takes one glance to realize that this film not only made advancements in its particular genre but also inspired such films as De Palma’s Dressed to Kill. An American living in Italy (Tony Musante, quite convincing) witnesses an assault and becomes involved in the mystery. The local police pull his passport so he has no choice but to stay and comply. Eventually Musante is drawn into the killer’s complex web of deceit. While Argento may have been a freshman director, he had previously worked as a writer on Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time in the West. Argento’s artistic vision, along with his twists and turns, can only be overshadowed by such collaborators, also early in their respective careers, such as composer Ennio Morricone and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. At times the tension becomes unbearable, as Musante constantly puts off having sex with his girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) so he can obsess over his eyewitness experience. The Blu-ray restoration at 4K helps define the mood with varied textures of interior darkness. Great extras include new interviews with Argento; Gildo De Marco, a dude with an odd face (who appeared in a couple of three Argento films); a brand new audio commentary by expert on Italian giallo film, Troy Howarth; a thick sixty-page booklet on the film and genre; and “The Power of Perception,” a visual essay that takes the viewer up to date on Argento’s cinematic output. A Quiet Passion unwinds with the unique pedigree of English art film director Terence Davies helming a story on the life of poet Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886). Dickinson wrote almost 1,800 poems, however, only a handful were published in her lifetime. In other words, how many poets are mentioned in Simon and Garfunkel songs?
In the film, Davies introduces us to young Emily and her family. After a first act that displays Emily’s complete rejection of established paternal religion, we morph into the mature versions of the Dickinson family: Cynthia Nixon as Emily Dickinson; Jennifer Ehle as her sister; and Keith Carradine as her father. Emily asks her father permission to write in the middle of the night and he consents, but later in the film a supposedly friendly femme companion admonishes bachelorette-verging-on-spinster, Emily, for doing something that no wife would ever dream of. The arrival of the Civil War allows Davies to display his directorial chops, and the story allows Nixon to paint a complete portrait of a conflicted character. One great extra has Nixon and Davies and two other members of the cast at a Q&A after the film’s NYC premiere at Lincoln Center. Another lengthy featurette has Nixon as a guest on a LGBT friendly radio talk show.
from http://www.freepresshouston.com/film-in-focus-where-the-buffalo-roam-and-more/
Reincarnated recipe from the past. Back in May I was at my sister’s house in Missouri and one night she made a cheese ball. Ohhh, cheese balls, I use to love them. A couple of months ago I bought a ready made one at the grocery and thought it was awful and maybe that’s why I quit making them. But the cheese ball my sister made was so tasty, creamy and one of those food things you can’t just take one bite. Even my grandson, Thomas, ate it and wanted more. This cheese ball (spread) is a recipe I’m [...]
from http://houstonfoodblog.com/houstonfood/houston-food-blogs/beefy-roasted-red-pepper-spread/
Smothered pork chops were the special on Thursday at Mama Frances Soul Kitchen. The pork chop plate comes with a mound of homemade mashed potatoes and savory brown gravy plus two sides. I went for some very porky tasting mixed collard and mustard greens and the creamy black-eyed peas. The five-table restaurant’s slogan is “The Small Place with the Big Taste.” It’s located on Vauthier St. in La Marque. From the Vauthier exit on I-45, drive a mile or so east until you see the La Marque High School buildings on the left–Mama Frances is right across the street in tiny shopping center. The restaurant is open Monday to Friday 11 am to 6 pm. The place is named after Shirley’s mother, who never actually worked there, but who provides inspiration from afar. Mama Frances is a home cook in the small town in South Carolina where Shirley grew up. When Shirley was a child, Mama Frances started a catering service. Her food became so famous that patrons would pack her soul food dinners and holiday cakes in dry ice and fly them all over the country. Mama retired recently on reaching her 80th birthday. But Shirley is betting she will reopen temporarily over the holidays. Mama Frances just can’t stay out of the kitchen. It seems like a family obsession. Shirley’s daughter Kirsten is a buyer for Whole Foods and also runs a popular muffin and cupcake bakery in Katy called Glorified Muffins. We were the first customers for lunch at Mama Frances Soul Kitchen at 11:30 am on Thursday. Our meal began with a square of crumbly, hot out-of-the-oven cornbread and butter. I also sampled Shirley’s spectacular gumbo, made with fresh crabs, shrimp, fish, chicken and sausage. The soup owes its depth of flavor to stock made with lots of seafood and a walnut brown roux. The gumbo isn’t always on the menu, but if its available, give it a try. My dining companion had the succulent baked chicken with rice and peppery chicken gravy. Rice and gravy fans will love this rendition. Her sides were cheddar-rich mac n’ cheese and some unremarkable green beans. She washed these down with a cold A&W root beer. Dessert was pear cobbler which looked glorious, but I was too full to eat it. So I ordered it to go. There was also a peach cobbler in the oven, Shirley told me, and while I was tempted to wait, I decided the chance to sample more desserts would give me an excuse to return soon. “On Fridays, we put out a whole spread of desserts,” Shirley said. I highly recommend Mama Frances Soul Kitchen. See you there next Friday.
from http://houstonfoodblog.com/houstonfood/houston-food-blogs/review-mama-frances-soul-kitchen/ Still from “Hello Again,” screening at QFest’s opening night on Thursday at MATCH
This week brings in QFest Houston, a film festival dedicated to promoting the LGBTQ community, as well as several arts tours and the Summer Series Art Stroll and Sale at Sawyer Yards.
Ongoing
Film — QFest Houston From July 27 to 31, the Aurora Picture Show is sponsoring QFest Houston, a festival dedicated to promoting artistic expression centering around the the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer community. This year’s festival features a dozen screenings at locations around the city, including Rice Media Center, Asia Society Texas Center and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. At 7:30 pm on Thursday, the opening night at MATCH will feature a screening of the 2017 release “Hello Again,” an adaptation of composer Michael John LaChiusa’s 1994 musical that brings together an all-star cast for a “time-traveling gender-bending musical celebrating a century’s worth of unbound sexuality and unrequited love in the heart of The Big Apple.” Tickets to the various screenings (other than opening night) are $10 and available online.
Thursday, July 27
Gallery Tour — Homelands and Histories: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston At 2 pm, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1001 Bissonnet) presents a gallery tour of Homelands and Histories: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh, which celebrates the museum’s major acquisition of 75 photographs spanning the artist’s career. Sheikh has traveled the globe, capturing images of the displaced and marginalized in countries such as Afghanistan, Africa, Brazil, Cuba, India, Israel, Pakistan, and Palestine. The 45-minute tour, which is free with museum admission, explores the exhibition and encourages visitors to experience the artwork together. An additional tour will take place on Saturday at 3 pm.
The Big Slide Show at Lawndale Art Center At 6 pm, join Lawndale Art Center (4912 Main) for a series of presentations by more than a dozen artists who are featured in the institution’s annual juried exhibition, The Big Show. Each artist will give a brief, informal presentation about their work, providing additional insight into their creative practices. This will be the second evening of three featuring artist talks, with additional artists presenting on August 3.
Friday, July 28
Summer Series Art Stroll and Sale at the Sawyer Yards From 5 to 9 pm, the Studios on Sawyer — including Silver Street Studios, Summer Street Studios, Winter Street Studios, and the Silos on Sawyer — will host the Summer Art Series and Sale, which gives patrons the opportunity to view and potentially purchase works from the studios of hundreds of artists. In addition to being able to meet new artists and shop an array of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, glass works, mosaics, photographs, mixed media works and jewelry, the event will also feature live music, food trucks and summer cocktails.
Saturday, July 29
“Public Trust” by Paul Ramírez Jonas at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston From 1 to 5 pm, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (5216 Montrose) will present “Public Trust,” an interactive artwork by Paul Ramírez Jonas. The piece asks museum visitors to examine the value of a word by declaring a promise, the words of which are recorded in a drawing that is shared with them and posted on a marquee board alongside similar pronouncements made by notable figures from the week’s headline news. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/hello-again-the-hidden-agenda/
from http://houstonfoodblog.com/houstonfood/houston-food-blogs/diamonds-in-the-rough-koto-japanese-restaurant-sushi-bar/ Photo: Caitlin Childs
Texas is in the national news yet again for attempting discriminatory legislation, this time in the form of a controversial “bathroom bill” that would limit access to public bathrooms for transgender people. Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican state legislators pushing this bill – along with many other discriminatory policies – have a long history of embarrassing the more liberal portions of the Texas electorate. One of their more egregious efforts, Senate Bill 3859, has unfortunately dropped out of the news cycle since Gov. Abbott signed it into law in June of 2017. The new law, which takes effect September 1, prevents the state or courts from taking “adverse action” against faith-based foster care, adoption, and other child welfare services that refuse a placement or refer youths for services based on a “deeply held religious belief.” The bill’s sponsor, Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) claims that faith-based service providers might exit the industry if they fear litigation is possible and that the purpose of the bill is to prevent that outcome, rather than to discriminate against anyone. This concept of a “deeply held religious belief” has been a discrimination dog-whistle for years – a polite way to indicate to those in favor of such laws that they can discriminate against whoever they like as long as the discriminatory act is cloaked in the guise of religious freedom.
These laws are always odious, but especially so when they directly impact children’s well-being, as critics have insisted this bill will. It is no secret that the Texas child welfare system is fundamentally broken, yet the legislature has done nothing except uphold the status quo. There are roughly 30,000 children in the state’s care at any given time, almost all of whom have experienced some form of abuse or neglect in the past. Each caseworker is estimated to work 60 to 70 cases at any given time, far in excess of the 12 to 15 cases recommended by the Child Welfare League. The emotional demands of this work and the low pay it garners results in high turnover, with most caseworkers leaving the field after only a year or two. The predictable end result of this institutional under-staffing and under-funding is that thousands of Texas children have been placed in dangerous environments in which they are often exposed to further abuse and neglect – sometimes even death. A 2015 study revealed that in the previous 4 years, at least 144 children in foster care died while their foster family was already under CPS investigation. Later that same year, Texas Federal Judge Janis Graham Jack issued an over 250 page ruling declaring that the Texas foster care system was in violation of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which decrees that citizens have the inalienable right to be reasonably free from harm while in state custody. Judge Jack appointed Special Masters Kevin Ryan and Francis McGovern to investigate and present recommendations to reform the child welfare system. These efforts have been actively resisted by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who complained the recommendations were “over-broad” and argued that these measures were not proven to be effective.
While Gov. Abbott did sign a few reforms into law this summer, such as increased monthly stipends to families caring for abused and neglected children they are related to, and increasing funding (Texas still spends less than half of what other states spend on child welfare services), other reforms have child advocates deeply concerned. The Texas legislature’s proposed solution is not to overhaul the system of subcontracted agencies that experts point to as a key factor in these poor placements, but to double down on the policy. Senate Bill 11 is being called a “community care model” by supporters, but critics are calling it a further privatization of child welfare services. This bill extends the power of contracted non-profits to oversee children in foster care and adoptive homes. Combined with Senate Bill 3859, this legislation could be disastrous for Texas youths. The Republican solution was to sign a bill into law that permits foster and adoption subcontractors to discriminate against potential families, and then they voted to increase the power of these contractors. For decades, the majority of adoption and foster care service providers were trained by the Department of Family Services. Today, 95 percent work with and are trained by subcontractors. Of these contractors, 31 percent are explicitly faith-based Christian organizations, and most others elude to Christianity in their marketing materials. Only two of these contractors include support for LGBTQ families in their literature. The new child welfare law asks that services with a religious objection to a placement refer the family to another agency, but in the current system, an alternative, LGBTQ-friendly agency may be quite difficult to find.
The language of the law is so vague that an agency could refuse to place a child for essentially any reason. Defenders of the bill claim that it applies to all religious faiths. Opponents claim that in practice, the law will be primarily used by Christian organizations to subtly — or even brazenly — discriminate against families of other faiths and LGBTQ families. With so many young Texans in need of safe and loving permanent homes, refusing a potential home because of the family’s religious beliefs or sexuality makes no sense. Human Rights Watch posted a letter from several national adoption agencies in response to the law pointing out decades of social science research that indicates children raised by a same sex couples do just as well in life as those raised by opposite sex couples. It takes a special kind of willful ignorance of science and facts to believe that a same-sex couple is not as prepared or successful in parenting, or that placing a child with a same sex couple would adversely affect him or her.
Research has also shown that, sadly, LGBTQ children are over-represented in the foster care system. They also tend to be placed in more foster homes, are more likely to live in a group home than their heterosexual peers, and are more likely to report poor treatment in the system. A New York-based study found that “78 percent of LGBTQ youth were removed or ran away from foster placements as a result of hostility towards their sexual orientation or gender identity. 100 percent… in group homes reported verbal harassment, [and] 70 percent… reported physical violence in group homes.” Laws such as this not only increase the likelihood that these youth will end up in a home hostile to their sexuality or gender identity, they also award the agency or family significant control over the child’s education and health care. Children could also be forced to attend religious schools of a different faith, over their own objections. An amendment to the bill, put forth by Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D–Houston) that would allow children over the age of 12 to object to such education, was unsuccessful. An agency in custody of an LGBTQ child could also legally obligate the child to attend “conversion therapy,” a debunked pseudoscience that purports to “fix” LGBTQ kids. Similarly, other fraught topics such as vaccinations, sexual education, contraception, abortion, gender confirmation, invasive surgeries, blood transfusions, and mental illness all become fair game and open to new interpretations under the thin veneer of “religious belief.” Texas lawmakers have decided that the religious notions of faceless child welfare contractors uniformly override the religious freedom of the living, breathing Texas youths in the child welfare system, who are among the least able to protect themselves.
In addition to the risk we are subjecting Texas children to, there are also negative economic consequences to consider. California has already banned the use of its taxpayer dollars for travel to Texas because of the adoption law. Other states and corporations are likely to follow. In recent years, North Carolina, Georgia, and Missouri all attempted to pass legislation legalizing discrimination against the LGBTQ community and were met with boycotts or threats of boycotts by major businesses and even sports franchises. North Carolina ultimately amended its bill to prevent the NCAA from boycotting the state. Currently, as the Texas legislature considers its “bathroom bill,” business groups have estimated that Texas “has already lost $66 million in conventions just over the prospect of the bill becoming law.” An NFL spokesman implied that such discriminatory legislation may impact where the next NFL Draft will be held, as it is currently slated to occur in Dallas.
This law hurts families, it hurts the children that need us the most, and it hurts Texas. The only thing that this law protects is the status quo of the Texas foster care and adoption system – one that is fundamentally broken. Fortunately, this law has already attracted the attention of civil rights organizations such as the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal, who claim that the law is in violation of the First Amendment, as it will, in practice, violate the Establishment Clause by endorsing a de facto state religion to the direct detriment of others. These same organizations plan to sue after the law takes effect and a plaintiff can be found. Hopefully these discriminatory laws can be struck down, and the path towards meaningful child welfare reform can be opened. Until then, between the “bathroom bill,” this ghoulish adoption legislation, and other discriminatory actions by the Texas legislature, we can count on maintaining Texas’ current national reputation. Despite our national leadership, much of the rest of the nation is moving forward, leaving Texas and the other pro-discrimination states far behind. We should join them in looking to the future: our children, progress, and a world with less hate. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/texas-lgbtq-kids-and-families-under-attack/
All the sound and the fury of the best of modern music is hidden deep within the reaches of YouTube, ready to be fished out and put on display. Let’s see what we caught this week!
5. Lafa Taylor and Aabo, “Already Found” Videos done all in one shot are a gimmick, but they are at least a cool gimmick when pulled off as well as director Lafa Taylor does in “Already Found.” Not only is it a seamless dance and musical experience, the whole thing is also shot backwards and incorporates on-the-fly visual effects to compliment the “Mr. Krinkle”-esque approach to random weirdness. “Already Found” is far more lighthearted and whimsical, though, and a joy to saunter through.
4. Great Grandpa, “No” Now this is one of the odder videos I’ve run across in a while. Lisa Jake delivers a South Park-ian animated adventure where a caterpillar tries to escape an increasingly monstrous set of spiders. Eventually, she morphs into a butterfly superhero with the power to love people hard enough that they fall to their deaths. I’m not sure what the moral of that particular story is, but it’s probably “be careful who you try to eat.” The result is fun as can be.
3. Belle Game, “Spirit” This is a simply incredible short film. Directed by Kheaven Lewandowski and set to Belle Game’s haunting track, it follows Esther Singh, one of the last female death riders in India. You can read more about the Wall of Death here, but I would honestly recommend just checking out the short. Singh is utterly captivating, at once tragic and majestic as she rides her bike through the rough and dirty world of carnival spectacle. It is unforgettable.
2. Steelism, “Eno Nothing” Utilizing the distinctive pop culture collage animation of Ben McLeavy, Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum Jr. go on an interstellar journey in search of meaning and Brian Eno. Along the way they meet killer turtles, Cthulhu, and a helpful Ferengi. It’s a low, groovy experience possibly made slightly better by the fact that I accidentally double dosed on my psych meds before I watched it (it happens), but it’s still a solid collaboration between some very amazing instrumentalists and a rising star in the modern music video art form. It’s well worth checking out.
1. Frankie Rose, “Red Museum” Directed by Genevieve Jacuzzi, “Red Museum” is a flashback piece calling to mind the glory days of late-night MTV, a time when every music video was wet and gay and on fire. The video is a shifting mass of faces and colors, lovingly rendered for maximum delirium. Nothing could possibly be more soothing, and it’s one of those videos that makes me love the art form. from http://www.freepresshouston.com/top-5-music-videos-of-the-week-frankie-rose-belle-game-more/
from http://houstonfoodblog.com/houstonfood/houston-food-blogs/winbern-mess-hall-to-celebrate-grand-union-on-saturday/ |
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April 2019
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