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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Plans for tonight: What are you doing on New Year's Eve?

The big New Year's Eve event in Salt Lake City is First Night, centered at the Gallivan Center (239 S. Main St.) with DJ Rebel, Mana Poly All-Stars, Rumba Libre, Band of Annuals and Afro Omega (pictured at right) performing. The event also stretches to Temple Square, The Gateway and The Leonardo. Admission is $10 for all venues. TRAX is running until 1 a.m., and your First Night button gets you on the train free.

Here's what else is on tap for New Year's Eve:

- Legends New Year’s Eve 2008 with DJ Keoki, Mars & Mystere and DJ Hardware, starting at 7 at Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, Magna. Tickets are $35, at the door and 24Tix.

- NYE 2007 Black & White Masquerade Ball, featuring DJ Sky Nellor, is at Harry O’s, 427 Main St., Park City. Doors open at 8:30. Tickets are $60, at the door and 24Tix.

- Swing-revival band Royal Crown Revue (pictured at left) plays The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are $35, or $60 per couple, at the door.

- The Newphoria New Year's Eve Dance, with performances by David Archuleta and V-Factory and an appearance by actress Ashley Tisdale (of "High School Musical" fame, pictured at right), starting at 9:30 at the McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. Tickets are $12.75, at SmithsTix. (Before the Newphoria show, starting at 7, Rockapella and Osmonds 2nd Generation perform a concert at the McKay Events Center; tickets are $20, at SmithsTix.)

- "The Downtown Affair" New Year’s Eve - with DJ Sayo, DJ Jello. DJ Juggy, DJ Latu - bounces through three Salt Lake City clubs (The Hotel at 155 W. 200 South, Elevate at 149 W. 200 South and Lumpy’s Downtown at 145 W. Pierpont Ave.), starting at 9. Tickets are $30, at the door and 24Tix.

- The Black & Blue Fetish Ball, starting at 10 at In the Venue, 579 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10, at the door.

Labels: David Archuleta, High School Musical, Tonight's schedule

2009: The year of pinching pennies

Frugal living will be all the rage in 2009 - in part because most of us won't have any choice.

The struggling economy (actually, the economy's not struggling so much as we are struggling with it) will mean spending less will become fashionable, according to comments by several experts and prognosticators I compiled in this article for Thursday's dead-tree Tribune.

People will spend less on travel, entertainment, dining and even exercise. Those who can afford to spend more will actually pay lots of money to look like they're not spending money - because it will seem tacky to look indulgent.

Labels: economy, fashion

So much for that idea

Don't count out Utah private clubs - and their annoying and antiquated rules of membership fees and wink-wink sponsorships - just yet.

Despite efforts by Gov. Jon Huntsman and the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control to reform the rules, Republicans in the Utah Senate want to keep the idiotic laws exactly as they are.

"Unless we find something better that protects our children and protects us from drunken drivers, we want no change in private club memberships," Senate President-elect Michael Waddoups told the Tribune's Dawn House. "Someday we may find a better solution, but it hasn't even been suggested at this point."

The problem is Utah's liquor laws don't protect children and motorists. They just irritate those who drink and remind them they are an oppressed minority in this predominantly Mormon state.

Sometimes, the laws cooked up by Utah's control-freak legislators do more harm than good.

Take, for example, this year's legislation to ban flavored malt beverages - a k a "alcopops" - from Utah's supermarkets. The idea was to keep underage customers from sneaking a six-pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade past an unsuspecting grocery clerk (something that could not happen, since the scanners at checkout flag alcohol purchases, no matter how well disguised the product).

Did the law keep these "cheerleader beers" out of young drinkers' hands? No. Here's what happened: Instead of having an older brother or frat brother go to Albertson's to buy 3.2 drinks, that older person now goes into a state liquor store and buys "alcopops" with a 5 percent alcoholic content - thus ensuring the drinker gets drunk faster.

Here's the early clue that "protecting children" wasn't really the drive for the "alcopops" ban: When the law went into effect in October, supermarkets had to destroy their remaining inventory - while the state liquor stores were allowed to sell off what they had in stock.

When the Utah Legislature starts talking about "protecting children," they really mean they're protecting the state's monopoly on liquor sales.

Labels: alcohol, alcohol laws, LDS, politics

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Plans for tonight: Dancing shoes

- The "Dancing With the Stars" tour - featuring competitors such as Lance Bass, Marlee Matlin (pictured with partner Fabian Sanchez), Maurice Green and Toni Braxton and several of the show's pro dancers, including Utah's own Derek Hough - starts at 7:30 at the E Center in West Valley City. Tickets, from $52.50 to $195, available at TicketMaster.

- After the E Center show, Hough and fellow dancer Mark Ballas (who's sitting out the dance performance, because of a groin injury Saturday) perform with their band, The Ballas Hough Band, at 10:30 at the Murray Theater, 4969 State St., Murray. Tickets are $12, at 24Tix.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

2008: The Year in Vulture

In today's print version of Culture Vulture, I looked back at the oddball Vulture-worthy stories of 2008 - from David Archuleta to the "Dark Knight Dad." Enjoy the quick nostalgia trip!

Debating Prop. 8 - or not

A Utah businessman's plan to run a full-page ad Sunday in Salt Lake City's two major newspapers - The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News - criticizing the LDS Church's stance on California's Prop. 8 was stopped when the papers pulled the ad, according to the blog Gay Rights Watch.

Bruce Palenske's full-page ad (which you can see here in a pdf file) criticized the LDS Church's role in funding the Prop. 8 campaign, and included a form for people wishing to complain to the IRS about the church violating its tax-exempt status.

"We have a signed contract, and the newspapers had already accepted payment for the ad when it was pulled literally 5 minutes before the production deadline," Palenske told Gay Rights Watch. "This is clearly political. ... I can’t help but think that the LDS came in and put the brakes on this."

Labels: journalism, LDS, politics

Monday, December 29, 2008

Plans for tonight: A quiet night

It's a quiet night on the Salt Lake cultural front - everybody recovering from Christmas and/or gearing up for New Year's Eve, I suppose.

- The Utah Jazz play the Philadelphia 76ers, 7 at EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. South Temple. Tickets, from $10 to $180, available at TicketMaster.

- Babylon Down presents Roots & Culture Night, 9 at the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets available at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Archuleta, a man at last

David Archuleta - "American Idol" runner-up, the pride of Murray, Utah, and now a bonafide pop star - turned 18 years old on Sunday.

That means all you 30-something and 40-something fans can feel a little bit less dirty about loving him so much.

Labels: American Idol, David Archuleta

Rated "W" for Web?

Here's an idea going nowhere - the sort of idea that only gets major news attention when, a) it's said by a supposedly important government official and, b) when it's a slow news day (like the weekend after Christmas):

Britain's culture secretary, Andy Burnham (that's him on the right), is floating the idea of launching an international ratings system for web sites - something similar to what is now done with movie and TV ratings - to keep offensive material away from children.

"This is not a campaign against free speech, far from it," Burnham told The Daily Telegraph (and you know when a politician has to say an idea isn't against free speech, then it's against free speech). "It is simply there is a wider public interest at stake when it involves harm to other people. We have got to get better at defining where the public interest lies and being clear about it."

OK, here's the crux of what's wrong with Burnham's idea: Who decides what the ratings will be?

Should web sites rate themselves, as American TV networks do (leading to the confusing alphabet soup of TV-G, TV-Y7 and so on)?
Should an industry-selected group get the assignment, like the MPAA does with U.S. movies (and look at the double-standards and hypocrisy there)?
Should the government do it? And how loud will the howls of "censorship!" be then?
Should a system be based on complaints from viewers (think about the FCC's current system for complaints, hijacked by lobbying busybodies like the Parents Television Council)?
Who would have the time or resources to monitor millions of web sites - especially the ones (most of them, really) whose content changes daily?

Once again, the only good solution is the simplest one: Parents watching out for their own children, so nobody else has to do the job.

Labels: government, internet

Friday, December 26, 2008

Plans for the weekend: Post-Christmas partying

- The " 'Twas the Night After Xmas Local Showcase" - with local bands Jayme, Cade, Ex Machina, Rocketworld (pictured), Belly of the Whale and Avenue - starts tonight at 6:30 at the Avalon Theater, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake. Tickets are $10 at Ktix, or at the door.

- Welcome the Utah Jazz back from their annual pre-Christmas road swing, as they take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at 7 at EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets, from $10 to $180, available at TicketMaster.

- Utah comedian Scotty Lee (pictured) brings his "Am I Wrong" tour - with opening performers Melissa Merlot, Tyler Douglas and Chris Boise - Saturday at 9 p.m. at 5 Monkeys, 7 E. 4800 South, Murray. Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 on the day of show, at 24Tix.

Labels: weekend schedule

Facing the music

A Utah County musician is facing four felony counts, after being arrested for allegedly stealing guitars from an Orem store.

As KSL reported on Christmas Eve, Drew Douglas Richmond was arrested Monday night after being caught by employees of the Best in Music store - and tossed to the ground and sat on by a store clerk, who then called 911.

Employees tell KSL they saw Richmond's M.O. on the store surveillance video. He would walk into the store carrying an empty guitar case, slip a guitar into the case, pretend to browse for a while, and then casually walk away. Store owners say he got away with five high-end guitars worth $16,000 - and would have had No. 6 if he hadn't been caught on Monday.

Labels: Stupid Criminals Division

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

'As they shouted out with glee...'

It may be a foggy and stormy Christmas Eve along the Wasatch Front, so this little guy may get pressed into service.

Hope you all have an enjoyable holiday. The Culture Vulture will be back on Friday.

Plans for tonight: 1 day 'til Christmas

- Are you kidding? There are only two things on the agenda tonight: Going to bed before Santa arrives (for those 10 and under) or pulling an all-nighter of gift-wrapping while watching the continuous tape loop of "A Christmas Story" on TBS - and then getting to bed before Santa arrives.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

'Wonderful' Christmas Eve

Looking for a head start on your Christmas Eve celebrations?

Get over to the Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. 300 South in Salt Lake City, today at 2:30 p.m. for a free screening of Frank Capra's 1946 classic "It's a Wonderful Life!"

The screening is part of the Salt Lake Film Society's annual holiday program, Waffles and Wassail.

If you're too busy today (and, frankly, who isn't?), the Broadway will screen it again tomorrow - Christmas night - at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Plans for tonight: 2 days 'til Christmas

Since you're going to be too busy on Christmas eve, tonight may be the last chance before Santa's arrival to get in a holiday-themed show. Such as these:

"Miracle on 42nd Street," at 6, 7 and 8:30 at Desert Star Theatre, 4861 S. State St., Murray. Tickets, from $15.95 to $19.95 ($8.95 for children), at the door.
Ballet West’s "The Nutcracker" (pictured), at 7 at Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets, from $17 to $71, at ArtTix.
"Plaid Tidings," at 7:30 at SCERA Theatre, 745 S. State St., Orem. Tickets are $12, or $10 for children, students and seniors, at SCERA's web site.
"A Christmas Carol" at 8 at Hale Center Theater, 225 W. 400 North, Orem. Tickets are $15.50 to $19.50 ($2 off for children), at the door.

- Three Salt Lake City bands - Palace of Buddies, Birthquake and Limehouse Tiger - play the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets available at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Christmas downers

The ink-on-paper version of Culture Vulture asks the age-old holiday question: Why are Christmas stories - from "A Christmas Carol" to "It's a Wonderful Life!," from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to "Die Hard" - usually based on such sad, depressing premises?

Any thoughts? Please share them.

Labels: Christmas

"Waiting" for British TV

Big news for Utah filmmaker (and, until two weeks ago, Salt Lake Tribune arts writer) Julie Checkoway: Her documentary "Waiting for Hockney" - about Baltimore graphic artist Billy Pappas (at right), trying to get validation for his painstaking portrait of Marilyn Monroe - is debuting on British TV tonight.

The movie airs at 10 p.m. London time on More4. The Times of London gave the movie a nice little write-up here.

Labels: television

Monday, December 22, 2008

Plans for tonight: 3 days 'til Christmas

- Jazz singer-songwriter Anna Wilson (pictured) delivers her "Yule Swing" Christmas concert at 7 at the Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St., Park City. Tickets are $30, or $10 for children, at ; 7 p.m.; $30, $10 for children, at the Egyptian box office (or call 435-649-9371).

- Salt Lake City musical stalwart Peter Breinholt gives the second of his two Christmas concerts, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $15 to $22, at ArtTix.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Monkeywrencher with a paddle

Tim DeChristopher woke up Friday morning as just another University of Utah student. He went to bed an accused felon and the environmental movement's newest hero.

As reported by the Tribune's Patty Henetz, DeChristopher snuck his way into the Bureau of Land Management's auction of oil and gas leases on southern Utah wilderness, and drove up the bidding. He won some parcels, and drove up the price on others by hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is, of course, illegal, and DeChristopher could face jail time for it.

On a post on the environmental blog OneUtah, DeChristopher defended his actions: "When faced with the opportunity to seriously disrupt the auction of some of our most beautiful lands in Utah to oil and gas developers, I could not ethically turn my back on that opportunity. By making bids for land that was supposed to be protected for the interests of all Americans, I tried to resist the Bush administration’s attempt to defraud the American people."

So far, OneUtah is raising money for DeChristopher's legal defense. Meanwhile, his posting got DeChristopher national exposure (an interview on Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now!") and a good lawyer: Former BLM director Patrick A. Shea.

Panic, at 140 characters

It may be the "tweet" to end all: "Holy f---ing s--- I was just in a plane crash!"

So texted one Mike Wilson on his Twitter account, providing a real-time account of what happened Saturday night - when a Continental Airlines 737 slid off the runway at Denver International Airport and into a ravine, bursting into flames and prompting a rapid evacuation.

Wilson's "tweets" chronicle the crash, the heat of the fire, the passengers' escape, and the interminable wait in Continental's Presidents Club - where they were not serving drinks to passengers who, it could be argued, needed them like nobody ever needed a drink before.

(Aerial photo: Helen H. Richardson | The Denver Post)

Labels: Twitter

Friday, December 19, 2008

Plans for the weekend: I am, I said

- Refugee-turned-rapper Daddy Saj performs tonight at 6 at West High School, 241 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City. Admission is a $5 donation (West High students get in free), with proceeds going to build a bakery in Saj's home country, Sierra Leone.

- I don't know what's stranger - that a band names itself I Set My Friends on Fire, or that it's "more commonly known as ISMFOF" (as my colleague David Burger wrote in today's paper). In any event this post-hardcore duo plays tonight at 6 at Studio 600, 26 E. 600 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $12, at the door.

- Altogether now: "Sweet Caroline - BOMP-BOMP-BAA!" Yep, Neil Diamond plays tonight at 8 at EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. South Temple. Tickets, from $53 to $120, available at TicketMaster.

- The Utah Symphony (conducted by David Cho) and children's choir group Choral Edition perform the "Here Comes Santa Claus" program - with a certain red-suited guest from the North Pole in the lobby - Saturday at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $11, $6 for students, available at ArtTix.

- The Cathedral Church of St. Mark hosts its annual Winter Solstice celebration, featuring jazz music by the Larry Jackstien Group and singers Joslyn Petty and Jack Wood, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the church, 231 E. 100 South, Salt Lake City. Free, donations accepted.

Labels: City Weekly

Goodbye to "Deep Throat"

A half-century ago, Mark Felt was protecting and serving the good people of Utah as the FBI's special agent in charge in Salt Lake City, gathering information on the Mafia's ties to Las Vegas and Reno gambling.

But Felt's greatest service to his country occurred in a Washington, D.C., parking garage - and well outside the FBI's procedures.

Felt, 95, who died Thursday in Santa Rosa, Calif., acknowledged in 2005 that he was "Deep Throat," the informant who gave The Washington Post's Bob Woodward the inside information that helped crack the Watergate story.

Redford: "No" to actors' strike

Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford has joined the list of actors who have signed a petition against a possible strike by the Screen Actors Guild, according to a report in Daily Variety.

Redford joins more than 800 actors who have signed the "No SAG Strike" petition started by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman.

"We support our union and we support the issues we're fighting for, but we do not believe in all good conscience that now is the time to be putting people out of work," the petition says in part.

The "yes" side has its own web site, which now boasts 2,300 signatories.

Labels: Robert Redford

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Plans for tonight: 7 days 'til Christmas

- Author Stephen Trimble holds a special signing and discussion of his book, Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America, at 7 at the Jewish Community Center, 2 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City. Free.

- It's the "All Post Rock Show" - with local bands Vinyl Williams, Behold the Moon, Discourse, I Hear Sirens and Coup de Grace - starting at 7 at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Tickets are $6, at the door.

- The singing group Eclipse starts a three-night Christmas run at 7:30 at the Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Tickets are $8, $12 and $15 - though for tonight's show, SLCC students and staff (with ID) get in free, and other students pay $5 - at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Backhanded compliment

If gays and lesbians can't fight the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with protests, then maybe they can use withering irony.

Editors of QSaltLake, an alt-weekly for Utah's LGBT community, chose the paper's "Person of the Year": LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson - the man who with a single letter mobilized a church-wide campaign to support California's Prop. 8, stamping out the civil rights of gays and lesbians to marry legally.

Here's the rationale:

"As strange as it may seem, we at QSaltLake believe that Monson and the Mormon Church are somewhat responsible for this resurgence in U.S. gay rights activism now known as 'Stonewall 2.0.' ... Because of one ill-advised letter, we may one day look back on Proposition 8 as not only an unfortunate chapter in U.S. history, but a chapter that also allied gay people and Mormons in the ongoing fight for social justice."

Anyone want to lay down odds on Monson showing up to receive his award? Anyone?

(Hat tip to Holly Mullen, at City Weekly.)

Labels: LDS, politics

Redford takes on the BLM

Robert Redford has put his considerable celebrity behind a federal lawsuit to stop the lame-duck Bush administration from selling off oil and gas leases near Utah's red-rock national parks.

As reported by Matt Canham, one of The Salt Lake Tribune's Washington correspondents, the lawsuit - announced in a D.C. press conference Wednesday - challenges 80 leases that go up for sale Friday.

Redford - participating in the press conference via satellite from L.A. - called the Bush administration "morally criminal" for announcing the sale on Election Day, a day Americans voted to reject Bush policies.

"No place on earth can speak to the balance of beauty and nature like these areas," Redford said.

Labels: BLM, environment, George W. Bush, Robert Redford

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Plans for tonight: 8 days 'til Christmas

- The singing-cowboy group Bar J Wranglers leave their perch in Jackson Hole for a 7:30 show at the McKay Events Center, 800 University Parkway, Orem. Tickets, from $12 to $17, are available at SmithsTix.

- Three bands for the price of one - Bad Apples, Broken Silence and Green Leafs - starting at 9 at the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets available at the door.

- Jamaican reggae star Don Carlos performs at 9 at the Star Bar, 268 Main St., Park City. Tickets are $20, at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Farewell to a musical titan

For decades, Jay Welch and singing were an inseparable combination.

Welch - who died Monday at the age of 83 - was assistant conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1957 to 1974, when he served six months as the choir's conductor but quit due to illness. One of his first accomplishments as assistant conductor was to form the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus.

Welch also founded the Jay Welch Chorale and the Salt Lake Repertory Orchestra, and was a professor at the University of Utah for 39 years.

"He was one of the greatest men I ever knew," Doreen Maxfield Payne, who for 11 years was assistant conductor of the Jay Welch Chorale (now called the Salt Lake Choral Artists), told the Tribune's David Burger. "I can't give you enough superlatives."

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Plans for tonight: 9 days 'til Christmas

- New rockers InnerPartySystem play at 6:30 at The Avalon, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake; 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 at the door.

- Folk singer Rosalie Sorrels will celebrate the release of her new CD, "Strangers in Another Country" (a tribute album to the late Utah Phillips), with a performance at 7 at Ken Sanders Rare Books, 268 S. 200 East, Salt Lake City. Free.

- The Dirty Heads, feel-good rockers from the O.C., play (with opening acts B Foundation, Iration, and the Daniel Weasly Band) starting at 9 at Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Another stereotype smashed

Bad news, bluenoses - the rest of the country is starting to figure out that Utah isn't as monolithic as advertised.

From The Birmingham (Ala.) News comes this news flash that not all Utahns are Mormons.

This, according to the article, is good news to New Orleans bars and restaurants, expecting an influx of Utahns for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2 - when the Utah Utes face the Crimson Tide of Alabama.

To quote from the article:

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Mormons made up 62 percent of the state's population in 2004, a figure that is shrinking. In Salt Lake City, where the university is located, it is less than 50 percent.

Private drinking clubs dot Salt Lake City, and there are plenty of non-Mormons to frequent them. Figure some of the same people will enjoy New Orleans' bars.

A note to Alabama residents: Many of these "private drinking clubs" also have indoor plumbing, and most have planks covering the dirt floors. Y'all come visit sometime.

Labels: alcohol, LDS

Sing that 'Wicked' music

A word from composer Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked," "Godspell") to all you Mormons out there: Homophobia is bad, bad, bad - but he's not going to punish your student singing groups over it.

Schwartz (pictured) told The Salt Lake Tribune's Peggy Fletcher Stack, via e-mail, that he has no plans to withhold the license of his songs from Utah or LDS-related singing groups.

An ex-Mormon blogger recently launched a drive to get composers to deny their songs to LDS-related groups - because of the Mormon Church's support of California's Prop. 8, the ban on same-sex marriage.

"I have not withdrawn the use of my songs by the BYU Young Ambassadors and do not intend to do so," Schwartz wrote. "They are a student singing group."

Schwartz urged all "fair-minded Mormons to reconsider their position and come to support the right of homosexuals to marry the person they love. … I continue to believe that the most important tenet of any religion is 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' "

Labels: LDS, politics

Kids go nuts for 'Nutcracker'

Any chance to expose your children to culture - whether it's a tour of a museum or tickets to a symphony concert - is worthwhile.

So I jumped at the opportunity last week to escort my son's third-grade class to Ballet West's "The Nutcracker" at the Capitol Theatre. The experience reinforced my belief that anyone can appreciate art - and that art helps our children be more complete human beings.

For more about our trip to the Capitol Theatre, read today's Culture Vulture column.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Plans for tonight: 10 days 'til Christmas

- Larry H. Miller hosts the 24th annual Christmas Carol Sing-Along at 7 at EnergySolutions Arena, 301 E. South Temple. Free

- The Oratorio Society of Utah performs Handel's "Messiah," at 7 at Libby Gardner Concert Hall, 1375 E. Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10, at the Kingsbury Hall web site.

- Babylon Down presents Roots & Culture Night, starting at 9 at Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Tickets are available at the door.

- Oh, and forget about The Cheetah Girls tonight at the E Center. The show's canceled.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

The man and the mountain

Last Wednesday marked the 100th birthday of Olivier Messiaen, the French avant-garde composer who died in 1992.

"His was a fusion of intellectual rigor and spiritual sincerity, of musical sophistication and an almost primitively mystical sensuality," the Boston Globe's Jeremy Eichler wrote in an appreciation this weekend.

So why does Messiaen matter to those of us in Utah. In 1974, Messiaen premiered a major orchestral work, "Des canyons aux étoiles... (From the Canyons to the Stars...)," which was inspired by a 1972 tour of southern Utah.

According to a web site devoted to Messiaen, maintained at Boston University, some of the work's movements bore such titles as "Cedar Breaks et le don de crainte (Cedar Breaks and the gift of awe)," "Bryce Canyon et les rochers rouge-orange (Bryce Canyon and the orange-red rocks)" and the finale, "Zion Park et la cité céleste (Zion Park and the celestial city)."

Utah returned the favor, renaming the White Cliffs (near Bryce Canyon) Mount Messiaen in 1978.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Berkes blasts back

If I were Howard Berkes, I'd be mad enough to spit nails.

Berkes, the rural affairs correspondent for National Public Radio and based out of Salt Lake City, this week had to deal with layoffs at NPR (he's the union steward for the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists) - and with a false blog posting that said he was one of those losing a job.

"I have not been laid off," Berkes told the Tribune's Vince Horiuchi on Thursday. "There was a blog posting that had no basis in fact."

That blog posting was on Gawker.com, which also put veterans Linda Wertheimer and Noah Adams on the chopping block - only to take their names off the "laid off" list later. Berkes called the blog posting "a distraction we don't need."

Labels: NPR, recession

Plans for the weekend: The hills are alive

- The Salt Lake Film Society celebrates the holiday with a sing-along version of "The Sound of Music" - complete with treats and a costume contest - tonight at 6 and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Tower Theatre, 876 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $15, at the Tower or Broadway (111 E. 300 South) box offices.

- X96 marks the holiday with the second annual "Nightmare Before Xmas" concert - with Hoobastank, Anberlin, The Brobecks and The Market - tonight starting at 7 at Saltair, 12408 West Saltair Dr., Magna. Tickets are $9.60, available at the door or at Ktix or any Graywhale store.

- Utah's own Kurt Bestor marks the 20th anniversary of his Christmas concerts, with performances tonight at 8 and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. at Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets, from $17.50 to $37.50, are available at the door (the ArtTix web site is shut down, overloaded by all the "Wicked" traffic).

- Rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is back on the road - after member Flesh-n-Bone was released from an 8-year prison sentence for assault with a deadly weapon and violating parole - with a concert Saturday at the Murray Theater, 4916 S. State St., Murray. Opening acts are Ta Smallz, LDT, Stew Deez, Felicia and Big Sloan. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $27, at SmithsTix.

Labels: weekend schedule

Moroccan meets Mormon

Thursday night's episode of "The Office," titled "Moroccan Christmas," took a strange turn when Meredith (Kate Flannery) got drunk at the Dunder Mifflin Christmas party - and Michael (Steve Carell) decided to turn it into an intervention:

MICHAEL (reading off a list): Meredith, have you ever used alcohol to alter your mood or deliberately change your state of mind?

MEREDITH: Sure.

MICHAEL: Do you sometimes have a drink to celebrate a special occasion or mark a holiday?

MEREDITH: Obviously.

MICHAEL: Have you ever, under the influence of alcohol, questioned the teachings of the Mormon Church?

OSCAR: Where did you get this?

MICHAEL: I got it on a web site. That's not important.

It starts at the 8:45 mark. Enjoy!

Labels: alcohol, LDS, television

Recession: Random indicators

Every day we see signs, both large and small, of how bad the recession is.

Consider these indicators, many of them from today's Salt Lake Tribune:

KraftMaid Cabinetry will close its West Jordan factory on Dec. 23 - putting between 300 and 500 people out of work just before Christmas.
Bally's Total Fitness abruptly closed its two gyms in Utah on Wednesday, leaving 8,000 customers scrambling to get refunds and find a new place to sweat.
Office Depot will close 110 stores in North America in the next three months. Two of those are in Utah, at the Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City and in Murray.
You may have noticed that those little Circus Animal cookies aren't in stock anymore. That's because Mother's Cookies, the company that makes them, shut down in October.
Salt Lake City's franchise of the ritzy Ruth's Chris Steak House chain is shutting down Jan. 10 - as the restaurant's local owner, Gene Kwon, is being sued by his creditors.
And the erotic bakery across the street from The Gateway has cut back its in-store hours to Friday and Saturday only. (Phone orders still will be taken Tuesday-Saturday.)

What's the sign you've seen of how hard times are? Send it to me, either in the comments or at my e-mail, vulture@sltrib.com.

Labels: recession

Something 'Wicked' this way comes

The line from the Capitol Theatre this morning stretched down the block and around the corner.

What's the attraction? Tickets to the touring production of the Broadway show "Wicked," playing from April 8 to May 3 at the Capitol.

And forget about buying your tickets online - the ArtTix website was not working after 10 a.m., when online sales were set to start.

UPDATE: Now ArtTix is reporting the entire run of "Wicked" is sold out.

Labels: Capitol Theatre

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Plans for tonight: 14 days 'til Christmas

- The Salt Lake Symphony presents a "Ghost of Christmases Past" program at 7:30 at Libby Gardner Concert Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $10, or $5 for students and seniors, via the Kingsbury Hall website.

- The Detonators play this week's Park City Winter Concert Series event, at 8 at Harry O's, 427 Main St., Park City. Free.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

It pays to advertise

For years, it was illegal to advertise hard liquor in Utah.

Bars couldn't even hang a "Budweiser" sign in the window. Port o' Call had the word "Ghosts" in its sign, because it couldn't use the word "spirits."

A convenience store on North Temple for years displayed a large sign that read "Cold Beer Nuts" (though the word "Nuts" was in much smaller print) on one side, and "Cold Bee? - Welcome to Utah" on the other. The store kept a case of Beer Nuts and a small plush-toy bee in the freezer, lest it be accused of false advertising.

The law against liquor ads was struck down by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, following a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a similar Rhode Island law.

Now, quietly, the state of Utah has taken the position of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

As the Tribune's Dawn House reports today, the state has started running ads - one of them in last week's Salt Lake City Weekly - touting discounts at the state's liquor stores.

The ads "have been long overdue in coming," said City Weekly Publisher Jim Rizzi.

(Photo: Paul Fraughton/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Labels: alcohol, alcohol laws, City Weekly

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Hobnobbing

From Tuesday night's open house at the Governor's mansion:

That's Gov. Jon Huntsman and his wife Mary Kaye on the left, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert and his wife Jeanette on the right, and yours truly in the middle (and dressed a bit too casually for the occasion).

Labels: government, Jon Huntsman

Plans for tonight: 15 days 'til Christmas

- The Salt Lake Film Society and the Salt Lake City Film Center kick off the annual "Waffles and Wassail" holiday movie program - with the documentary "What Would Jesus Buy?," which follows the street performer Rev. Billy and his efforts to remove consumer pressures from Christmas - at 7 at the Sorenson Unity Center, 1383 S. 900 West, Salt Lake City. Free.

- A celebration of Flemish music (that means it's from the Flanders portion of Belgium, not that it induces phlegm) with the Utah Philharmonia and the Wind Ensemble and special guests Eddy Vanoosthuyse performing the world premiere of Van der Roost’s new clarinet concerto, is set for 7:30 at Libby Gardner Concert Hall, 1375 E. Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City. Free.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Can I get a drink, Senator?

Imagine if the mayor of Washington, D.C., decided when Salt Lake City's bars could serve customers. We'd scream bloody murder that politicians outside our city were writing our laws.

If you live in Washington, D.C., you don't have to imagine such a scenario, because the opposite is happening.

The Council of the District of Columbia - the city council of our nation's capital - recently approved an emergency law to allow D.C. bars and nightclubs to stay open all night during the week of Barack Obama's inauguration.

But, according to The Washington Post, two U.S. senators - Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. - have written to the D.C. Council objecting to the plan, saying it "could seriously strain law enforcement resources that need to be focused on the large crowds and security requirements of the Inaugural."

One councilmember, Mary M. Cheh, pooh-poohed such worries - noting that bars in Minneapolis and St. Paul stayed open until 4 a.m. during the Republican National Convention without any major security problems.

"I respect their view, but we should be the best judge of what happens locally," Cheh said.

That's the thing about Washington. Thanks to the 1973 Home Rule Act, Congress - yes, folks from Utah and Maine and Kansas, not the people elected by the citizens of the city - has the final say over D.C. matters.

Labels: Barack Obama, Robert Bennett

In "The People's House"

Before last night, I had only set foot in the old Kearns Mansion - the official residence of Utah's governor - once, and that was in the midst of the house's restoration after the 1993 Christmas tree fire that gutted the Grand Hall and nearly destroyed the dome over the three-story staircase.

Last night, Gov. Jon Huntsman - in a holiday tradition going back longer than my tenure in Utah - opened up the mansion for invited guests, including pretty much every reporter in the state. (There's an old joke, unfortunately true, about how they call it a free press because we always show up for the free food.)

Seeing the mansion dolled up in its Christmas finery was a treat, though. I counted four Christmas trees on the first floor alone, with the biggest one (pictured) in the Grand Hall - decorated with badges from police and fire departments from across Utah, as well as a Utah Highway Patrolman's hat, a dalmatian plush toy and other symbols of first responders.

The mansion staff conducts free public tours - but there's only one left before Christmas, on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. The mansion is at 603 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City.

Labels: government, Jon Huntsman

A dramatic job cut

Times are tough all over, and theater groups are no different.

Salt Lake Acting Company, one of Utah's more dynamic and challenging theater groups (when it's not raking in the bucks in the summer with the tried-and-true "Saturday's Voyeur"), announced that it is laying off four of its top employees as a "precautionary measure."

The four losing their jobs are:

David Kirk Chambers, managing director
Mike Dorrell, dramaturg
David Mong, literary manager and press spokesman
Mary Cranney, marketing director

Nancy Borgenicht, "Saturday Voyeur's" co-creator, will return as interim executive producer until a new boss is chosen.

Anne Stewart Mark, president of SLAC's board of trustees, said ticket sales are not down. She called the layoffs an effort to "streamlined staff by mutual agreement to restructure our organization with a reduction of the work force."

Labels: Salt Lake Acting Company, theater

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Plans for tonight: 16 days 'til Christmas

- Dave Wakeling (pictured) again fronts '80s ska pioneers The English Beat - purveyors of "Mirror in the Bathroom" and other hits - perform at The Depot, 400 W. South Temple. Outlaw Nation is the opening act. Show starts at 7. Tickets are $17, at the door.

- Oops - I originally had this on Monday's list, but it's happening tonight: The Utah Chamber Artists present their holiday concert - with soprano Celena Shafer and conductor Barlow Bradford leading a program of Bach, Rutter, Howells and Bradford - at 7 at First Presbyterian Church, 12 C St., Salt Lake City. Tickets, at $10 and $15, are available at UCA's web site.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Calling in gay

If one of your coworkers is gay or lesbian, there's a chance you won't see him or her in the office Wednesday.

The web-mobilized activist group Join the Impact is organizing "Day Without a Gay," encouraging gays and lesbians across the country to "call in gay" to work. The idea is to demonstrate, in the wake of attacks on gay civil rights such as California's Prop. 8, the economic clout of American's LGBT community.

Gays and lesbians who take Wednesday off are further encouraged to volunteer their suddenly free time to service groups. (There are at least four such drives in Utah, according to this web site.)

Labels: politics

Dialing in from Deer Valley

Did the most monumental decision in television since, oh, say Thursday, get made on the slopes of Deer Valley? It's a possibility.

TV mavens - such as my colleague Vince Horiuchi, writing on his Village Vidiot blog - are abuzz about the news that Jay Leno will score a primetime gig on NBC after he bequeaths his seat on "The Tonight Show" to Conan O'Brien in 2009.

Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment (who, presumably, would have a substantial role in this move), was in Utah over the weekend, taking part in the Deer Valley Celebrity Skifest.

One imagines Silverman racking up the wireless minutes brokering this deal on the slopes. One also wonders why, with NBC circling the drain and firing executives, Silverman is wasting his time in Utah.

Labels: Deer Valley, skiing

Monday, December 8, 2008

Plans for tonight: 17 days 'til Christmas

- Pixar co-founder Edwin E. Catmull (pictured at right) - now president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, and an alum of Granite High School and the University of Utah - will deliver the U.'s School of Computing's annual Organick Lecture, this one titled "The Creative Process and Risk: Ten Films Later and We Are Still Trying to Figure It Out," at 6:30 at the Warnock Engineering Building, 72 S. Central Campus Drive (on the U. of Utah campus), Salt Lake City. Free.

- Dresden Dolls frontwoman Amanda Palmer (pictured at left) performs at 7 at the Avalon Theatre, 3601 S. State St., South Salt Lake. Tickets are $22, at SmithsTix.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Going to the chapel

Just two months ago, she was head cheerleader at East High. Now Salt Lake City-raised actress KayCee Stroh - who plays the bouncy Martha Cox in the "High School Musical" films - is planning her wedding.

Stroh, 24, is marrying producer Ben Higginson in January, back home in Salt Lake City. On this blog, she details all the wedding plans - the cake, the bridesmaid dresses, the photographer, the flowers, the invitations - and stresses the importance of a good wedding planner.

"Think of it as 'the Thelma to your Louise' or 'Your partner in crime,' " Stroh wrote of her wedding planner.

Labels: High School Musical

Speidi alert! Hide the children!

No, that looming sense of doom you felt over the Wasatch Mountains this weekend wasn't the apocalypse - it was Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.

The villainous couple of MTV's "The Hills" (a show I have never seen, but receive weekly updates from watching "The Soup" on E!) was skiing and "canoodling" (as they say in the tabloids) at Deer Valley over the weekend.

Apparently, nothing this just-married couple does happens outside of camera range, as evidenced by the numerous photos (posted here) for which they posed.

Labels: Reality show

Friday, December 5, 2008

Plans for the weekend: Christmas is coming

- Does someone on your Christmas list want some art? (Maybe a Picasso or a Garfunkel.) The holiday edition of the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll is tonight, 6 to 9 p.m., at participating galleries in downtown Salt Lake City. Go to the stroll's web page for details.

- The "Literary Luminaries" program - with visiting authors and artists, a used-book sale, and a screening of "Sami MacBeth" (an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Scottish play" in the Lapland language of Sami, Saturday at 4 p.m.) - starts tonight at 6 the City Library, 210 E. 400 South, and runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a complete schedule, go to the library's web site.

- Ballet West's holiday tradition, "The Nutcracker," debuts tonight at 7 at the Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City. Performances run through Dec. 27. Tickets, ranging from $18 to $66, are available at ArtTix.

- The Utah Symphony, with guest conductor Pietari Innkinen, will perform Mozart's Requieum - backed by the Utah Symphony Chorus - tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple. Tickets, from $16 to $60, are available at ArtTix.

- Country-rocker Ryan Bingham performs tonight at 7:30 at the Eccles Center, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City. Tickets, from $18-$65, at Park City Tickets.

- California ska superheroes The Aquabats deliver their "Hooray for the Holidays" performance - with supporting acts Suburban Legends, DJ Lance (from Nickelodeon's "Yo Gabba Gabba") and Super Hero - Saturday at 6 p.m. at In the Venue, 219 S. 600 West, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $17 in advance, $19 day of show, at SmithsTix.

- Aiden - a Seattle post-hardcore band named for the little boy in "The Ring" - plays its last concert of the year, Sunday at the Avalon Theater, 3605 S. State St., South Salt Lake. Civet and God Or Julie share the bill. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12, at SmithsTix.

Labels: weekend schedule

Salt Lake, meet "The Real World"

MTV's "The Real World" is back in January - and two Salt Lakers are among the roommates.

And, according to their official MTV bios (posted on the blog Real Television), they couldn't be any more different:

Baya, 21 – Salt Lake City, UT
Raised by hippie parents, Baya’s laid-back granola vibe hides a deep passion for the hip-hop culture, especially when it comes to dancing. A very friendly and positive person, she continually feels like a fish out of water, which stems from growing up as a non-Mormon in a predominately Mormon Salt Lake City society. Baya, who is a DJ, aspires to be a professional hip-hop dancer and is determined not to allow her severe panic attacks to stand in her way as she searches for the best place to develop her craft. When she is not sweating to funky grooves or spinning music, Baya is dedicating her time and energy to social and environmental causes.

Chet, 23 – Salt Lake City, UT
Chet is not the typical punk rock party boy. Despite his tight jeans and affinity for neon clothing, this University of Utah frat boy is one of ten children in a devoted Mormon family. Recently single, Chet’s flamboyant style and energetic personality always make him the life of the party. However, this doesn’t mean that he will compromise his firm beliefs – no alcohol and no premarital sex. Chet may not chug beer with his fraternity brothers, but he will take care of them when they get drunk – and sometimes play a prank or two. A strong conservative Republican, he is not one to shy away from voicing his opinions or standing up for what he believes. Chet’s goal is to become a television host.

The new season, set in Brooklyn, starts Jan. 7.

Labels: MTV's The Real World, Reality show

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Plans for tonight: 21 days 'til Christmas

- Aunt Dracula, Burnt Orange and Double or Nothing share the bill, starting at 7 at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Tickets are $6, at the door.

- Pour yourself a Corona and lime: Malibu-based rapper Shwayze (pictured at left) plays the Murray Theater, 4916 S. State St., Murray, at 7:30. Tickets are $15, at the door.

- The Puddle Mountain Ramblers play the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City, with Jinga Boa and La Farsa opening. Show starts at 9. Tickets are available at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Prop. 8: The musical version

This is too good to pass up, courtesy of Will Ferrell's FunnyOrDie.com:

Your eyes aren't fooling you - this boasts an all-star cast: Jack Black as Jesus, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke ("Scrubs"), Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, Allison Janney, Rashida Jones, Jenifer Lewis, Kathy Najimy, John C. Reilly, Andy Richter, Craig Robinson ("The Office") and Maya Rudolph. The number is song by Mark Shaiman ("Hairspray").

Labels: LDS, politics

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Plans for tonight: 22 days until Christmas

- The Festival of Trees, the annual gala fund-raiser for Primary Children’s Medical Center, runs today through Saturday at the South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State St., Sandy. Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. each day. Admission at the door is $4, $3 for kids 2-11, $3 for seniors and students, $14 for families up to six members.

- Ogden acoustic folkie Josaleigh Pollett - sharing the bill with Samson & Goliath, Marcie Thorne and Stacy at the Zoo - plays at 7 at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Tickets are $6, at the door.

- That holiday chestnut, Michael McLean's Christmas musical "The Forgotten Carols," will be performed at 7:30 at the McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. Tickets are $13 to $21, at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Donny on gay marriage

The world's most famous Mormon, Donny Osmond, has weighed in on his opinion of gay marriage.

Unsurprisingly, he's against it.

In answer to a fan's question on his website, Donny.com, Osmond quotes the LDS Church's 1995 statement "The Family - A Proclamation To The World," which says, "marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

He then trots out the "some of my best friends are gay" line, adding that "I do support our Church leaders who say that we can accept those with gay tendencies in our church as long as they do not act upon their temptations."

Of course, the issue of Mormons and gay marriage has been all the talk since California voters passed Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage, after a bruising campaign that was in large part bankrolled by Mormons following the wishes of the LDS Church leadership. As a result, gay activists have picketed LDS temples nationwide and urged a boycott of Mormon-owned businesses and the entire state of Utah.

Labels: LDS, Osmond

Buttars is "the Worst"

Oh, goody - more free publicity for Utah, courtesy of our own Chris Buttars.

The state senator from West Jordan was named "Worst Person in the World" Tuesday by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on his "Countdown" show, for his idea to introduce a resolution in the Utah Legislature encouraging retailers to say "Merry Christmas" instead of the more generic "Happy Holidays."

Here's the video:

Now, even discounting the fact that Olbermann is attacking Buttars in part because the senator is playing into the "War on Christmas" horse-manure championed by Olbermann's arch-nemesis Bill O'Reilly, the "World's Worst" honor still doesn't make Buttars - or Utah - look good.

Labels: government, politics, religion

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Plans for tonight: 23 days until Christmas

- DIY modern folkie Emily Lacy (pictured at right) plays at Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), Salt Lake City. Blanket is the opening act. Show starts at 7. Tickets are $6, at the door.

- The University Wind Ensemble performs at Libby Gardner Concert Hall, 1375 E. Presidents Circle (on the U. of Utah campus), Salt Lake City, at 7:30. Tickets are $7 ($3 for students), available at the door.

- Tom's Stash plays Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City. Elephante and CPA are also on the bill. Show starts at 9. Tickets are available at the door.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

Another foot soldier against the "War on Christmas"

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars is at it again, this time catching up to that old right-wing conspiracy theory, "The War on Christmas."

Buttars (R-The Paleolithic Era) is sponsoring a resolution in the Utah Legislature to encourage retailers to stop saying "Happy Holidays" or other generic secular phrases - and instead say "Merry Christmas."

"I'm sick of the Christmas wars - we're a Christian nation and ought to use the word," Buttars (pictured here, doing his impression of Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life") told the Tribune's Cathy McKitrick.

Right-wing blowhards, Bill O'Reilly chief among them, have been trumping up the so-called "War on Christmas" for a few years now. They see isolated incidents of political correctness run amok (fights over public religious displays, stores putting up generic "holiday" slogans, etc.) as a concentrated effort to drive religion - specifically the Christian religion - from the public square.

It's all bullpucky, as Salon's Michelle Goldberg wrote in this 2005 article. Besides showing how the "War on Christmas" is nothing new (the whack-job John Birch Society talked about it in the '50s, and Henry Ford railed against it in his anti-Semitic screeds in the '20s), Goldberg dissected the current mania to declare war on "The War on Christmas":

In fact, there is no war on Christmas. What there is, rather, is a burgeoning myth of a war on Christmas, assembled out of old reactionary tropes, urban legends, exaggerated anecdotes and increasingly organized hostility to the American Civil Liberties Union. It's a myth that can be self-fulfilling, as school board members and local politicians believe the false conservative claim that they can't celebrate Christmas without getting sued by the ACLU and thus jettison beloved traditions, enraging citizens and perpetuating a potent culture-war meme. This in turn furthers the myth of an anti-Christmas conspiracy.

If nothing else, Buttars' proposal again proves that Utah is late picking up on everything - even "The War on Christmas."

Labels: government, politics, religion

"Prohibition Is Dead! Mormons Killed It!"

It's only three days until Repeal Day - so everyone prepare to hoist a drink in celebration.

Repeal Day marks the 75th anniversary of the day the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified - ending Prohibition and again allowing the sale of alcohol.

Here's the punchline: The 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, the one that put the repeal over the top, was tee-totalling Utah.

The place of the Prohibition movement in Utah's history is a fascinating one. Thanks to Prohibition, the state government now holds an iron-fisted monopoly over liquor sales in Utah. But, in the drive to repeal Prohibition, the anti-alcohol leadership of the LDS Church proved itself not always in control of the will of Utah voters.

Read all about it in this story in today's ink-and-paper Tribune.

(Photo: Utah Liquor Company store window, 1914, by Harry Shipler, courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society)

Labels: alcohol, alcohol laws, LDS

Monday, December 1, 2008

Plans for tonight: 24 days 'til Christmas

- Sandy City turns on the lights at City Hall, 10000 S. Centennial Parkway, with Mayor Tom Dolan and Santa Claus (finally proving to some Salt Lake County developers that they're not the same person) and a performance by the One Voice Children's Choir, at 6. It's free.

- The Spanish drama "Carol's Journey" - about a 12-year-old Spanish-American girl from New York who travels with her mother to Spain in 1938, at the height of the Spanish Civil War - screens at 7 at the City Library auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. Free.

- The Jeff Hamilton Trio (pictured at right) - led by JazzSLC favorite, drummer Jeff Hamilton - plays at 7:30 at the Sheraton, 150 W. 500 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $25, at the door or at 24Tix.

Labels: Tonight's schedule

27 years and counting

Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of a disease that is still spreading - in spite of all efforts to eradicate it and to treat those infected by the virus.

The Tribune's Lisa Rosetta wrote this compelling story (page one in today's dead-tree edition) about how HIV/AIDS has transformed - with treatment and prevention - from a death sentence to a manageable illness. Unfortunately, that transformation has also brought complacency from those in the groups at risk of contracting it.

"Older gay men are actually really upset about it because they lived through everyone dying and losing all of their friends," said Kristen Ries, director of HIV Clinical Services at the University of Utah School of Medicine. "They don't understand the young people who think, 'Oh, you just take a pill? No problem.' "

A Christmas visitor

Fans of the Osmonds 2nd Generation got a surprise at the group's Christmas concert Saturday at Salt Lake City's Capitol Theatre: A visit from one of Santa's elves.

Oh, wait, that's not an elf - that's David Archuleta.

The "American Idol" also-ran from Murray joined Alan Osmond's brood for three songs: "O Holy Night," "Mary Did You Know" and "Amazing Grace."

Archuleta certainly gets around. He put in his SLC cameo just two days after appearing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

This may not be the only Archuleta/Osmond connection. According to the "Idol"-obsessed MJ's Big Blog, the rumor is that David Osmond - lead singer of Osmonds 2nd Generation - auditioned for "American Idol" and made it as far as the Hollywood round.

Labels: American Idol, David Archuleta, Osmond

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Feedback

If you have any hot tips - interesting art exhibits, weird experiences at the theater, unusual billboards, sightings of “High School Musical” stars at Crown Burger, whatever - send them along to me at vulture@sltrib.com.