Alibi V.28 No.34 • Aug 22-28, 2019

Super Summer Shows

Cool town, evening in the city

By August March

Look at all this week’s great shows!

Best of Burque Restaurants Nominations are wide open until Aug. 28, 2019

Finalists square off starting Sept. 4

The venerable Best of Burque Restaurants returns yet again in 2019 to take the measure of the many and varied bistros, dives, hideaways, nooks, barns, big boxes, small boxes, coffee houses and food trucks. Albuquerque continues to evolve as a restaurant-based life form, a portion of its cells dying back to make room for healthy new growth. Some of last year’s faves have gone the way of the dodo. All of this year’s faves have yet to be made manifest. That’s your job! The nominations phase runs now through Wednesday, August 28, 2019 and you can nominate your favorites once each day. (Think of it as an applause-o-meter and get cracking!)

news

Mayor Tim Keller and first responders meet with the press.

A Project Called Guardian

Keller, city leaders plan a response to violence

By August March

City leaders—including high-ranking representatives from the Albuquerque Police Department, Albuquerque Fire Rescue, the administration of Mayor Tim Keller and a local FBI agent—converged to provide more details about Project Guardian, the umbrella term describing the city’s response to domestic terrorism and public shootings.

En El Norte, Parte Segundo

As one vanishes another appears

By August March

Here’s a look at the remaining candidates for US Congress in District 3 in New Mexico.

By Joshua Lee

State leaders met to outline ways to protect residents from domestic terrorism; APS hired 446 teachers but still needs more; DoJ is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by New Mexico over program that offers assistance to migrant asylum seekers.

Odds & Ends

By Joshua Lee

Funny because TV donations happen to someone else.

Corporate Environmentalists

The readers write about Trump.

It’s Like Coming Home

Casa Rondeñas kitchen is a bold new direction for the winery

By Dan Pennington

Casa Rondeña wasn’t always a winery; it used to be a home. There are a lot of places that have a homey-like decor or a home-style menu, but have they ever felt like dinner with your family?

Here We Go Again

By Dan Pennington

Another week, another set of specials. Not specials in the form you’re thinking of. Special events, so to speak. Specials that give pause for occasion and celebration. Specials that make us take a minute to appreciate the city we live in. Specials that make us grow and expand as people.

“Why couldn’t we have played Pokémon Go?”

Ready or Not

Devilish black comedy is a real killer

By Devin D. O’Leary

With its mix of old and new, familiar and unexpected, silly and shocking, Ready or Not ends up as an audaciously unconventional exercise in genre cinema that plays out like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as penned by Agatha Christie.

By Devin D. O'Leary

See The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tortilla Soup paired with a menu of incredible food items, another food pairing but with an unspecified movie and “Raúl Juliá: The World’s Stage”.

Cash From Chaos

“On Becoming a God in Central Florida” on Showtime

By Devin D. O’Leary

Occasionally uncomfortably close-to-home, but consistently, energetically nerve-jangling, “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” is right on the money.

Week in Sloth

Highlights from around the dial. Except no one has dials anymore.

Sonic Reducer

By August March

We review new releases by TAHNZZ and pOly-gOne.

Shining a Light on a Black Hole

An Interview with Barbara Grothus

By Clarke Condé

We spoke with Black Hole/Atomic City (State of Decay) curator Barbara Grothus about the nuclear business, nuclear disarmament and the stories that aren’t being told about our nuclear history here in New Mexico.

A Thought Beyond Oblivion

Reyes Padilla’s Ascension

By Clarke Condé

Here is the problem for Reyes Padilla: How do you monetize a site-specific installation in an art museum?

Check out an Artist Talk with Noel Anderson, Dr. Judith Grisel book signing and lecture, Harvey, First Flower Friday and the reception for To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults.

Strangers in a Strange Land

Battle continues over non-resident MMJ applications

By Joshua Lee

Ruling about medical cannabis card not requiring New Mexico ID is not the court's final decision; Working Group On Cannabis Legalization tours medical dispensaries; Larry OG is a great strain for relieving pain and tension and amazing at improving mood.

Wacky World of Weed Law

Confusion abounds in post-hemp legalization

By Joshua Lee

Some states that legalized hemp have law enforcement which can't measure THC; court rules New Mexico ID is not required for medical cannabis card; Orange Apricot OG is recommended for those suffering from fatigue, stress or sleeplessness.

Education Reform in New Mexico

The past and the future come together at school

By August March

Last summer, a judge ruled public school funding was inadequate and so violated provisions in the New Mexico State Constitution. To come into compliance, the legislature and the governor have appropriated money to address state education shortfalls.

“Baby, we were born to … do whatever this is.”

Blinded by the Light

Springsteen-inspired “musical” tries to mix realism and romance

By Devin D. O’Leary

If you’re predisposed to the music of Bruce Springsteen or have a weakness for feel-good movies about scrappy Brits lifted out of their socioeconomic stresses by a little song and dance, Blinded by the Light will have you singing along in no time.

By Devin D. O'Leary

See “sensory friendly” Superpower Dogs, New Mexico Women in Film's first Happy Hour, Labyrinth and She Done Him Wrong in the mountains.

Mental Hopscotch

“This Way Up” on Hulu

By Devin D. O’Leary

"This Way Up" contains a lot of very British in-jokes, so a previous appreciation of UK comedy helps. Nonetheless, the show’s edgy humor, empathetic storyline and appealing star do a lot to broaden its reach beyond the British Isles.

Comic Expo Explodes

Inaugural con lures pop culture icons

By Devin D. O’Leary

The inaugural New Mexico Comic Expo kicks off this weekend (Aug. 16 through 18) at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Week in Sloth

Highlights from around the dial. Except no one has dials anymore.

Youth Building a Future Outside

A Conversation with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps’ Janus Herrera

By Clarke Condé

We talk with Janus Herrera of the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps about working with New Mexico youth on conservation, preservation and recreation projects that build skills and develop job readiness.

Barbara Rockman Situates Poems in Place

By Wendy Bustamante

The collection of poems in to cleave: poems by local teacher Barbara Rockman takes on the subject of domestic family life.

By Clarke Condé

This week there's Chrysalis - The Art of Sarah Cummings, Counterculture in New Mexico, Insects of Albuquerque's Open Space: Pollinators and their Predators, Seed: Climate Change Resilience and Neighborhood Codices.

Dum-dums for Dummies

Fragmenting bullets worsen gun violence issue

By Winston Spencer

Much of the ammunition sold to American civilians is actually considered too inhumane for our own military to use on enemy soldiers.

En El Norte

District 3 Congressional race heats up

By August March

10 Democrats and 1 Republican are vying to take Ben Ray Lujan's place in the House for District 3.

By Joshua Lee

New Mexico denied federal immigration authorities' requests for the entire state's employment-records database; feds grant $6 million to state programs to battle opioid problem; diverse group met to discuss teacher evaluation system.

By Joshua Lee

Funny because it happens to someone else.

The Legend of Jimmy Stallings

Singer-songwriter chats with Barnes and March

By August March

We chat with Jimmy Stallings and Jeremy Barnes about tuneage, musical mythology, the ever-blossoming future and the always present past.

Autumn, school, music

By August March

Face it: Everyone will like you so much better when you’ve learned to play a musical instrument, and the end of summer, just as fall approaches, is a perfect time to learn.

Ain’t No Land Like Poland

Red Rock Deli makes Poland proud

By Dan Pennington

Red Rock Deli has some of the most consistent and solid food in this city. It’s not some elaborate show of presentation and crazy creation; it's tradition and love, and it’s simply sublime.

When Looking for Tail, TD’s Succeeds

TD’s Showclub manages a surprisingly good surf and turf

By Dan Pennington

If you are going out for the night with friends, need a solid place to kick off your Friday night and want to eat something good, give TD’s a shot.

Comfort Food In Comfort Zone

By Dan Pennington

Nothing is quite as enjoyable as having a whole meal from a decent place delivered to the comfort of home. Here are some recommendations for non-traditional delivery restaurants via app ordering for the nights you’re just not feeling it.

Border Concerns Continue

Immigration, violence and their local effects

By August March

Weekly Alibi reports on events in El Paso, the immigrant and refugee office in Burque and recent changes to border policy that affect New Mexicans.

District One Update

Haaland meets with citizens

By August March

Democratic Congresswoman Deb Haaland returned to Burque this weekend and met with supporters, the press and the general public this past Saturday at a number of local events.

By Joshua Lee

Former New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department Secretary Demesia Padilla is facing two more felony counts; a lawsuit has been filed against BLM over oil and gas lease sales near Chaco Canyon; Border Patrol says it apprehended 225 migrants attempting to illegally cross the border near the Antelope Wells Port of Entry.

By Joshua Lee

Funny because being mistaken for a green iguana happens to someone else.

The Art Found in Beetle Galleries

Bunny Bowen’s Beetle-Killed Trees

By Clarke Condé

It was discovering the beauty of the intricate patterns left by insect infestations that have ravaged Southwestern forests that both inspired and saddened Bunny Bowen.

Can’t We All Just Eat Some Cake?

Aux Dog’s The Cake Takes on Half-Baked Bigotry

By Clarke Condé

The Cake is a modern, comedic take on modern issues that are routed in timeless dilemmas, inspired by an incident that led to a Supreme Court case.

By Clarke Condé

Tour the Sasebo Japanese Garden, launch the Cuckoo Beest project, hear to cleave: poems and celebrate and dedicate the Orpheum Community Hub mural.

The Art of Not Choking

Artichoke Cafe maintains excellence for 30 years

By Dan Pennington

Artichoke Café pricing isn’t so exorbitant that you couldn’t manage to pull off a nice date night there once in a while, and the lunch pricing alone is very fair, in terms of comparability with other spaces around town versus quality. Maybe if someone has been around for 30 years, you should check out what they’re doing right.

A Nonobjective Green Chile Discussion

Okay maybe it’s a little one-sided

By Dan Pennington

What are the actual differences between Pueblo and Hatch chiles?

Share Your Secrets

By Dan Pennington

Is there a dish you love to make that requires something unique or different from the store that people don’t expect? Here’s how Dan Pennington cooks steak.

Them That Follow

Backwoods melodrama slithers along slowly

By Devin D. O’Leary

Them That Follow's script feels generally underwritten, giving slight motivation to the various changes in character and ticking off the story beats in the rote manner of a cautionary after-school melodrama.

By Devin D. O'Leary

Filmmakers of the present and future should go to the New Mexico Film Office’s open house event and the New Mexico Film & Media Industry Conference. And the Native Cinema Showcase begins next Wednesday.

TV News

Tidbits from around the dial

By Devin D. O’Leary

A little mermaid and the civil rights movement are coming to TV, and interdimensional travel both comes and goes.

Week in Sloth

Highlights from around the dial. Except no one has dials anymore.

It’s Festival Eclectica!

Woman-fronted fest takes over Angel Fire

By August March

Wondering what you can do to beat the heat? Head northeast about 154 miles to Angel Fire for Festival Eclectica.

By August March

We review new releases by Sweet Nothin and Lady Uranium, as well as a compilation called WEEDIAN Volume 2.

Too Cool For School

Districts struggle with new rule

By Joshua Lee

School districts are bucking a rule that allows students enrolled in the state's Medical Cannabis Program to receive doses of marijuana while on campus; Democratic candidates for president thrust skewers at one other over cannabis legalization.

Weekly Alibi Presents the 3rd Annual Hempfiesta Saturday, August 10 from noon to 8pm

By Samantha Anne Carrillo

Weekly Alibi’s third annual Hempfiesta happens Saturday, Aug. 10, from noon to 8pm, at Balloon Fiesta Park with bands, speakers, vendors, beer, food trucks and activities for the kiddos. (Also, learn all about the ruling that opens the N.M. medical marijuana door to out-of-state residents.)