Salt City Sinner

New Years' Eve is coming, and if the folks whose empire apparently extended northward to modern-day Georgia  (actually crackpot bull$h!t) have anything to say on the subject, it's that we're boned! Holiday-hating curmudgeons would say that attempts to cash in on a potential apocalypse theorized by an ancient political economy we still do not understand to this day, aside from a few unsettling notions about their grasp of mathematics and astronomy , is a little unsettling: If there is one place sure to be visited by an ironical apocalyptic thunderbolt, I would wager it would a dubstep "bar rave" in Salt Lake City, UT. Preceded, of course, by the grave of Richard Nixon, the '12 DNC, or possibly any place that I find a moment's solace. At EVE, Salt Lake City's bold and ongoing experiment in sober public celebration, #OccupySLC will be hosting an Art Wall in Gallivan Plaza. Can't make it? Kick them a few ducats you filthy plu...

To celebrate Christmas, #OccupySLC hosted a potluck dinner today at the One World Cafe, located at 40 S. 300 E. in downtown Salt Lake City.. For those of you unfamiliar with the One World Cafe and/or Everybody Eats Foundation, here's a bit-sized morsel from their mission statement : [One World Cafe] began when owner Denise Cerreta in mid-2003 had an epiphany to serve food, let people choose their own portions and let them price those portions themselves...Because our customers choose their own prices, their portions tend to be more mindful and reflect what they actually want to eat, with the result being little or no food waste. We've realized that this makes more food available and we expect this will make the concept exportable and adaptable worldwide.  Much like the Circle-A Cafe / kitchen operation at #OccupySLC's original base camp in Pioneer Park, OWC seems, at first blush, like a silly idealistic notion that could never survive the harsh and brutal reali...

I was on my way down the stairs in my building with Charley in tow for his habitual stroll when I was hailed by my downstairs neighbor. Being a gentlemanly sort, I sauntered over to see what was amiss. She held a travel bag in one arm and, awkwardly cradled under the other, a piney, bushy looking houseplant, about three feet tall. "Is that rosemary?" I asked. It was indeed! It seems that her first attempt at growing rosemary met with failure, as she dried out/killed the poor thing. I say "poor thing," but in all honesty dried/dead rosemary is a delight to at least three out of the five senses, so it's hard to get too teary-eyed about it. Her story was short and to the point: her sister had fallen through, and could I care for her rosemary plant for a week? Water it daily, watch for problems, etc.? Of course I can. Meet Roland: Roland marks my inauguration into plant-sitting; a heady responsibility, to be sure. On the plus side, I have been assured...

The air quality in Salt Lake City has been truly awful lately - much worse than the usual winter inversion that moseys through. At the same time, our legislators (who claim  to be actual humans with actual lungs) relax regulations so that companies like Kennecott-Rio-Tinto can defile the air even more. Actual, undoctored photo of SLC air It was only January of 2010, almost two years ago exactly, that Salt Lake City experienced the legendary inversion that led to record-setting bad air - the very worst, in fact, in the United States of America ( I wrote about it at the time ). It has gone beyond a little "kaff-kaff" at the nasty diesel fumes as the delivery truck rumbles past. This is chemical warfare, and the corporate god-kings whose greed is more lethal than hatred are waging it against us, quite literally at the cost of our very lives. I received an e-mail from Cori Redstone, a fellow activist and friend of mine. She writes: How bad is this air? As I type th...

Tonight 'round about 5 PM MST, #OccupySLC hosted a "flash meditation" in Temple Square. The first time I ever heard the term "flash meditation" I believe my exact, sardonic, aren't-I-clever words were "sounds tricky." Well har-de-har-har, Charles, you prick. It turns out that meditation is scientifically proven to be beneficial to your well-being , and to boot, it builds a more thoughtful, inclusive way to relate to the world around you. As pro-meditation flash mob hub  MedMob states : Our intention is to create an environment for people from all religions, all world views, and all experience levels to join together in meditation. Our vision is to continue inspiring world-wide meditations until the entire world is invited to join - literally! Tonight was cold. Colder than I anticipated. But the lights were up, and beautiful. As I've said before, if I had my druthers, we'd have Christmas lights up year round. Thankfully ...

Christopher Hitchens, contrarian's contrarian, atheist, truth-teller, arrogant bastard and fierce mind, is dead. He was one of my idols. People say "too soon" but to paraphrase some fruity British comic book guy , Hitch got what we all get: a lifetime. No more, no less. I'm heartbroken, and mourn his passing, but I'm confident that Christopher's intellect, and his contributions to any number of debates, will ensure that his name is still being lofted around (and often cursed) for longer than most of us will ever live.

I'm sorry for my recent absence. As far as excuses go, I have a few good ones I could deploy - I've been doing less "slacktivism" and more "activism," I'm actually dating professional jewel thief Selena Kyle , &c. - but one reason (and it's not a sexy one) is this: You see, as part of the Urban Homesteader / DIY / whatever you want to call it ethos, knitting is both really cool and pretty handy. It consumes time, reduces consumption of $h!tty goods produced by slave labor, occupies my idle hands, and, if you have a modicum of skill (something I lack so far), you wind up producing a scarf, or a hat, or a handgun cozy -  - whatever strikes your fancy. Jenn Stauffer, one of my best and oldest friends, responded to my "HALP HOW DO I KNIT THRAEDS" S-O-S, and an impromptu knitting circle and anti-social deviancy discussion group formed. Funny how community can flourish under the oddest circumstances and during the worst times...

So far #OccupyOakland's attempted port blockade on the west coast seems to be a mixed bag. As I mentioned this morning , protesters shut down at least two terminals temporarily (Hanjin and Trapac), but as the San Francisco Appeal - a publication that is apparently no fan of #Occupy - reports ; The protest appeared to thin out mid-morning, and Port of Oakland spokesman Robert Bernardo said that as of 11:30 AM "our terminals are open and operational."  The port had reported "sporadic disruptions" earlier this morning caused by the protest. Several other marches are planned throughout the day, including a march at 4 PM from Frank Ogawa Plaza, and another from the West Oakland BART station at 5 PM. As of this writing, the protests in Oakland have resulted in a "handful of arrests" but no violence. Here in Utah, #Occupants gathered in Tooele (due to an unexpected circumstance, I could not make it out to Tooele, much to my anguish). The Tribune h...

Bright and early this morning, #OccupyOakland commenced their blockade of Oakland's ports. A livestream was available, which made for interesting very-early-morning watching. Before 6 AM had even rolled over and kicked California out of bed, there were already about 1,000 people headed for the ports, according to estimates: Riot cops were on scene, as you can see. Meanwhile, here in Salt Lake City, the Occupation's base camp at Gallivan made a nice, chilly place to meet at 8 AM MST: It's nice to see that the kitchen tent from the Circle-A Cafe in Pioneer Park has made a reappearance, along with the R. Buckminster Fuller Memorial Gathering Chamber: We huddled up. As soon as people were assembled, we heard the details of the day's loose collective suggestion - I wouldn't really call it a plan  - for a cheerful bicycle outing. We also committed - out loud - to the Principles of the Occupation, including and especially nonviolence. I'm ...

I mentioned that #OccupySLC will be participating in a day of protest and solidarity with #OccupyOakland tomorrow, 12/12/11 (meet at Gallivan Plaza at 8 AM MST, citizens!). I realized shortly afterwards that I had neglected to mention what Salt Lake City is acting in solidarity with.  To rectify that mistake: Oakland's Occupy movement, which has been one of the hardest hit and most brutalized by police, plans to respond via a general strike / port blockade. #OccupySLC will be responding with protests of Walmart (more information on that   here  and   here  ). This has led to an interesting dispute between #Occupy and Big Labor, in this case represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Salon has a decent write-up of the dispute's outlines: On Dec. 12, general assemblies (the decentralized governing bodies of [Occupy Wall Street]) in Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif., Tacoma, Wash., Santa Barbara, Calif., Portland, Ore., Sea...

Judy Fahys and Thomas Burr at the Salt Lake Tribune have a story up as of yesterday  regarding a new bill that has wended its way through the US House of Representatives: Utah's three representatives supported the "Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act," which passed by a convincing 268 to 150 in the GOP-dominated House, but likely faces tougher going in the Senate, controlled by Democrats.   ...Some say the bill would stymie the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect public health from dust pollution.  Let's pause for a moment here. God alone knows it hasn't been an easy run for the staff of the Salt Lake Tribune. "Utah's independent news source since 1871" (independent compared to the Mormon Church-owned Deseret News) was bought by MediaNews Group in the 90s - due to my mom's past life in journalism, we've heard a lot of hard times stories from a lot of family friends as the newspaper business in general ha...

The intrepid (and handsome) Jesse Fruhwirth has struck again ! As you may recall, following the eviction of #OccupySLC from it's base camp at Pioneer Park, a Government Record Access and Management Act (GRAMA) request was submitted to the SLCPD . The first of the details have emerged, although by no means all of them. You remember Jesse, right? He's the guy who metaphorically kicked a chainsaw through the face of a certain owner of a certain vacant lot in downtown Salt Lake City  with the Power of Journalism. Jesse addresses one of the primary justifications given by Salt Lake Police Chief Burbank regarding the eviction of #OccupySLC - namely, that "163 arrests" had been made during the Occupation. Quoth Jesse : 46% of the criminal cases in Pioneer Park were for simple alcohol or tobacco possession (47 liquor cases, 33 for tobacco). 10% were for crimes believed to be charged only on the night of the eviction (curfew, disturbing the peace, obstructing police...

The General Assembly of Salt Lake City, official Tabernacle pipe organ of the #Occupy movement in Salt Lake City, has released the following statement : In response to coordinated attacks on Occupiers throughout the world:  As West Coast Occupations shut down their ports and the East Coast Occupiers shut down their waterfront on December 12th, 2011, Occupy Denver has given a call for occupations to organize mass mobilizations across the nation to support these actions. Occupy Salt Lake will stand in solidarity with Occupy Denver and others by disrupting the distribution system of Walmart, an excessively oppressive corporation that is actively destroying communities throughout our nation.  The world's workers at ports and in our transportation systems are under threat by the 1 percent. In Oakland, Goldman Sachs obstructs and opposes the interests of port terminal labor unions. Occupy Oakland stands in solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse Unio...

As deeply as I drink from the well of bitter disappointment, it's occasionally nice to switch to a sweeter cocktail, preferably one that induces forgetfulness, like the waters of the river Lethe , or Jose Cuervo. About six months ago my life was notably improved by the addition of a small, furry companion, Charley. Charley is a three-year-old Brussels Griffon , and is freaking adorable (and surprisingly well-behaved!). Charley's best canine friend in the world belongs to a neighbor of my parents' named Jan - he is a little white mutt named Toby. If you, like me, need a little break from news regarding the economy or the environment or the state of income inequality or basically anything that ISN'T a backyard full of sunshine and cute dogs, please enjoy.

Last night's big Economy Speech sure sounded nice, didn't it? It must have hit the right notes, because the punditocracy is gushing about it today and it just about drove Glenn Beck to go full R. Budd Dwyer on us this morning. It was a selection of just the right series of bromides to launch an Obama reelection attempt. Given the nighmarish, radioactive cannibal clown orgy that is the Republican field, he might even pull it off. Meanwhile, a woman in Texas shot her two children and then herself after being repeatedly denied food stamps , but worry not, peasant: President Obama met with Lady Gaga (I guess the title is official now?) to discuss the urgent issue of school bullying. A funny little detail about last night's speech jumped out at me, incidentally. In what pundits on networks ranging from CNN to MSNBC to ABC to FOX are portraying as either Marxist Class Warfare (guess who) or a big nod to #OccupyWallSt, Obama calmly intoned: Ever since [the financia...

The intersection of political theory and reality manifests itself in very physical, very real ways. Lewis Mumford, in The city in history: its origins, transformations and prospects , writes of Washington, D.C.: Despite [D.C. architect Pierre] L'Enfant's firm republican convictions, the design he set forth for the new capital was in every respect what the architects and servants of despotism had originally conceived. He could only carry over into the new age the static image that had been dictated by centralized coercion and control. The sole feature that was lacking was the original sixteenth century fortifications, since there was no apparent need for military defense. While Mumford's comments relate to the layout of D.C. as originally designed (and not specifically to the architecture of the Capitol or White House), and might be read as an indictment of classical architecture generally, I think it's an insight that is worth thinking about. Our public m...