Words by Shelton Hull Honestly, we could do this month’s entire column about all the weird, wild stuff that related to the life and death of Queen Elizabeth II, and, in fact, we did. (You can read that special edition right now in the October digital entertainment issue.) We now return to your regularly scheduled programming… Aug. 17: Archaeologists in Poland made a disturbing find while excavating a cemetery from the 1700s: a possible vampire. The alleged vampire was even found with a literal sickle wrapped around her neck and nailed into the ground, as well as a padlock around …

It’s season number 73 for the Jacksonville Symphony  Words by Shelton Hull   The Jacksonville Symphony’s opening gala, scheduled for Sept. 30, was postponed because of Hurricane Ian. It’s rare for them to miss a concert, even at the height of the pandemic a couple of years ago. They were among less than a dozen such outfits to work a full season during that period, but remarkably, in that time, there were <zero> COVID-19 cases among the musicians, which seems all but impossible, statistically. That’s been the Symphony’s story for the last three years, though.            …

Words by Shelton Hull   Richard Bruce Borders died in his sleep sometime on Sept. 6, 2022. A wellness check revealed a complete and total absence of wellness, and that was some of the harshest news to come this way in this entire tragic year. Our friends at the Jacksonville Music Experience (a fantastic platform run by WJCT) carried a very nice obituary written by Daniel A. Brown, who in a previous role as <Folio>’s Arts and Entertainment editor also wrote an exceptional cover feature on Borders back in 2017.   Borders (1948-2022) was found dead in bed by our …

Women’s Work Can Lakesha Burton seal the deal? MAYBE! Words by Shelton Hull   With more than 3,000 civilians, corrections officers and sworn officers, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is one of the largest law enforcement organizations in the South, and Lakesha Burton knows the agency, backward and forward. “It’s a massive organization,” the retired JSO assistant chief/zone commander and current candidate for sheriff and one she is ready, willing and able to take on.   The run-off to the special election takes place Nov. 8. It is one of the most contentious contests in a midterm election cycle that is …

  Inner Circle makes the Florida loop   “Honestly, I really don’t remember the first time we played in Florida,” said Roger Lewis, the leader of Inner Circle, speaking remotely from Miami. “We used to do it a long time ago, come up from Pensacola, go up to Tallahassee, that club down there—it’s still there.” Inner Circle is still here, too, a remarkable feat of longevity in an industry that is completely different than it was when they first started or even just a few years ago. “Brevard County,” interjects his younger brother Ian; his thick patois imparts a level …

The year’s weirdest and wildest news story so far was actually not so weird and wild, after all. It speaks to the perpetual perdurability of Queen Elizabeth II (April 21, 1926-September 8, 2022) that a 96 year-old woman who’d just beaten covid in February could die in September, and the entire world was shocked, legit. Lucky for us, the queen did all the prep-work, well in advance, allowing her loved the world at large to just sit back, relax, and play their part in the spectacle of her exit, stage-managed to the finest details.  “London Bridge Is Falling Down” was …

Last month’s column was all about my recommendations for people to vote for in the Aug. 23 Florida primaries with an eye toward our shared goal of continuing to build the state’s medical marijuana industry, hopefully even allowing for full recreational use, eventually. Well, let’s just say that pretty much all those people lost, meaning any ambitions we had along those lines are officially out the door, maybe forever. We had 29% turnout in Duval County, and mostly Republican, in a majority Democratic county, where Dems had much more on the line—utterly disgraceful, but we are pathologically incapable of shame. …

Last month’s column had more stories than usual, and the readers seemed to enjoy the breezy pace, even more than usual, so that will be our default going forward. That’s good news for all of us, because there is plenty of material this month, as always, so let’s jump right in! July 22: Climate change activists picked a silly way to promote their cause when three members of Ultima Generazione (Italian for “last generation,” in case you care) glued their grubby palms to “Primavera,” painted by Sandro Botticelli and currently on display at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Was it …

It’s been a summer of anniversaries, large and small, for people and institutions across Northeast Florida, as you may have noticed. It’s the 200th anniversary of the city itself (which was founded on a Saturday, very on-brand), the 100th anniversary of the Garden Club, the 50th anniversary of WJCT, the 25th for iconic local DJ Wes Reed and so much else. The same is true for Folio, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. This past July 8 marked the 25th anniversary of my own debut in this illustrious local rag, some seven editors and maybe a million words ago. A …

One of the best things about the media these days is that there is no shortage of material, and the news cycle in 2022 has manifested some of the most daffy detritus ever documented by humans living or dead, or both. Here, in this column, we offer you only the choicest AF nubbins of news, and the hardest part of the job is simply deciding what makes the cut. As you can imagine, the workflow of a particular task depends on the nature of the task itself. In this case, as interesting items pop up, I send them to myself …