SFR Picks—Week of October 23

Boo!

Author and folklorist Benjamin Radford gives us the creeps

So it's the time of the year when we're all more likely to open our minds and hearts to the concept of ghosts and monsters being very real things, and when it comes to New Mexico's entries into the world of ghostly tales, there might be no better archivist and investigator than author and skeptic Benjamin Radford.

"I'm a skeptic, and that's not a negative word," Radford tells SFR. "It's normal and natural. That's how we find out about the world, right?"

Radford has written 10 books on ghosts, monsters and folklore, from
local haunts like Albuquerque's Kimo Theater and the Santa Fe courthouse to the dark and horrifying arroyos purportedly stalked by La Llorona herself. This
Monday, Radford presents some of his findings and stories during his talk, Ghosts of New Mexico, at the LaFarge branch of the public library.

"In the approach that I take, I'm trying to do two different things," Radford explains. "I approach from the point of view of a folklorist looking at the legends, the stories, the rumors, the tall tales—all these stories New Mexico is rich with—but, at the same time, I'm trying to answer the questions 'Is it real? Did it
really happen?'"

Radford says he's studied stories from around the world, and that while he's still open to the things that go bump in the night being real, he's yet to find
compelling enough evidence to say for sure. One supposedly haunted house in Buffalo, New York, for example, seemed promising, but turned out to be a case of restless leg syndrome. Still, Radford's talk is bound to be fun and enlightening and full of that Samhain spirit. It's appropriate for kids, too. (Alex De Vore)

Ghosts of New Mexico:
6-7:30 pm Monday Oct. 28.
Santa Fe Public Library LaFarge Branch,
1730 Llano St.,
955-4860

Yeah, Bitch

Fresh off a national tour with none other than Built to Spill, Albuquerque indie rock/post-punk/punk-punk/art-rock group Prism Bitch returns to Santa Fe to show the denizens of town why it might be the most important band in the state right now. Prism Bitch gets points on so many fronts. Catchy? Check. Hard-rocking? Check. Color-coordinated tracksuits? Check. Incredibly fun live show? Double check. See, this is a band to experience, one that brings the energy, the riffs, the kickass keys and so much more. In fact, with all due respect to the wonderful touring act Cherry Glazerr from Los Angeles (who slayed the Railyard last summer), people who don't get hip to Prism Bitch are really missing out on something special. Catch 'em before they're huge, we say. (ADV)

Prism Bitch and Cherry Glazerr:
8 pm Wedensday Oct. 23. $24.50-$26.50.
Meow Wolf,
1352 Rufina Circle,
395-6369.

Writing from Reality

Despite the struggles still ahead, our society plods towards racial equity at an unbeknownst pace, and it's crucial that narratives which were once suppressed are brought to light and developed with attention. Darryl Lorenzo Wellington, a 20-year journalist, playwright and poet (among other things) leads a workshop to help writers think about and write on race and racism, whether they are crafting with their own perspectives or writing fictional characters from a racial background different from their own. Budding literary geniuses are invited to bring a brief piece of writing to workshop, and we seriously hope to see some of you submit to the SFR writing contest before Nov. 8. (Cole Rehbein)

Writing on Race and Racism: 
5:30-7 pm Thursday, Oct. 24. Free.
Santa Fe Higher Education Center,
1950 Siringo Road,
428-1725.

Another Little Piece

The Vietnam War was the first war broadcast on television, and we learned first-hand how hellish it was for the soldiers. A little-known perspective that often wasn't shown on the nightly news: it was hell for women overseas, too, and the New Mexico School for the Arts is producing a play to platform exactly those stories. A Piece of My Heart follows six such women, five nurses and a touring musician, to show the dangers they faced, from drunken, misogynistic soldiers to permanent disabilities from exposure to Agent Orange. This play is heavy and due to content is suitable only for a mature audience, but the retrospective it offers on the war's legacy is invaluable. (CR)

A Piece of My Heart:
7 pm Thursday-Saturday Oct. 24-26. $5-$10.
Warehouse 21,
1614 Paseo de Peralta,
988-1579