Solace in So Many Words
Edited by Ellen Wade Beals
(Weighted Words LLC)

In any bookstore one can find inspirational collections of poetry and stories meant to buoy spirits or help people through transformational times. The new collection, Solace in So Many Words, edited by local author Ellen Wade Beals, brings together many talented writers both from Chicago and beyond to highlight the various textures of solace and how we seek it. The poems, essays and short stories in this collection deal with loss, love, sadness, joy, aging, youth and much more. In one of my favorite stories, “Details” by local author Joan Corwin, we watch a husband don a headlamp in order to explore the body of his wife as she sleeps. This exploration becomes a touching appreciation of her body as a map of their history together, tempering his fears of aging. The perspectives in Solace in So Many Words are thoughtful and well-written, bringing both laughter and reflection. A consoling read when life feels hectic and uncertain. —maureen ewing

film

Got the Facts on Milk?
Unleashed Productions and LeTo
Entertainment (Director: Shira Lane)

Inspired by her dairy allergy developed after moving to the U.S., Israeli director Shira Lane starves her way through a cross-country road trip from LA to Washington, D.C., probing into dairy’s health effects, environmental impact and the political road blocks. Lane captures testimonies from patients suffering from milk-induced allergies, arthritis and migraines. “Get off the milk” is the message to Americans. Physicians, researchers, nutritionists and a veterinarian break down simple truths about milk production and conflict of interest between consumer health and dairy marketing. Lane catches up with MD and speaker, John A. McDougall, Cornell University researcher, T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Jennifer K. Reilly, RD, senior nutritionist for The Cancer Project, who claims milk is the greatest cause of Type 2diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer. As for the environment, clearing land for cattle pasture is cited as the primary cause of deforestation. Order the DVD at milkdocumentary.com. —sawyer j. lahr

Detroit Wild City
Ego Productions (Director: Florent Tillon)

The Motor City is gone, but the spiritual search for a new city continues. Detroit Wild City (2010) and Urban Roots (2011) profile urban pioneers, both newcomers and natives, who are reclaiming the city’s barren landscape for farmland. The “wild” city that is Detroit’s natural landscape has taken root again in abandoned lots and crime-infested buildings. A veteran jazz club owner says, “You’re looking at the pyramids—the old factories. They’re gone, but it’s life.” Amongst these monuments to Detroit’s industrial golden age live the bartering residents who now trade goods for services subsisting on urban farms. The film has a decidedly cerebral perspective of a decaying American city. French director Florent Tillon thoroughly investigates the “apocalyptic fascination” with Detroit as if it were Chernobyl or World War II Dresden and Leningrad. See the trailer at thefestivalagency.com, and attend the MindfuLive! Screening of Urban Roots on Sept. 28. —sjl

musiC
101 Things to do in Bongolia
Electric Cowbell Records

Nostalgia is nice, but if your objective is to spread indie music to fresh ears, releasing vinyl- only singles isn’t the brightest option. Fortunately Electric Cowbell founders reworked this tinge of hubris for the digital world. On 101 Things, discerning ears can easily listen to excellent contributions by Superhuman Happiness, one of the many aliases of Antibalas/ TV on the Radio/the Sway Machinery hornman Stuart Bogie. This particular project features Sahr Ngaujah—you’ll nod when realizing him as the man who nailed it playing Fela Kuti in ‘Fela!’ Also featured is Bio Ritmo, one of the hardest working and most danceable salsa projects in America. Boston-based Debo Band has caught fire of late with one of the finest post-Ethiopiques presentations of modern Ethiopian jazz; here they do it twice, first with “Adderech Arada,” followed by a spacious, deep remix by Kidid. With 17 tracks to explore, it would have been a crime to release these singles only on vinyl. As much as I love throwbacks, the future of music lives in a cloud. This collection flies you there first-class. —dereK Beres

José Cónde
José Cónde (Pipiki Records)

For his third recording, Miamiborn Cubanite José Cónde removed his band, Ola Fresca, from the equation to explore the totality of his sound with his own hands. He had help—renowned sessions players from around his current Brooklyn base lent many hands to this fine album. In attempting to escape the trappings of being in a “Latin” band, Cónde tapped into a vibrant scene of funk-inspired Latino musicians, a la Ocote Soul Sounds and Navagente. Ola Fresca always had swing, that crucial requirement of a proper Latin performance. Cónde conjures plenty on his own, setting the rolling bass lines of “Amor y Felicidad” and “Matapalo Matamusa” nicely against a reliable kick and punchy handclaps. Cónde meanders far on these 15 tracks, with a splash of reggae on “El Vestido” while cross-pollinating Calexico with Manu Chao on “El Avion,” making this more of a collection of singles rather than a full album. You won’t find much of an issue here; you’ll be too busy enjoying the singles to notice. —dB