Community
Skate Sensei: Suggestions of a Sage
It is my true will to guide you, my dear student, on a journey—a quest into the realm unbeknownst to the many—a path less tread. In realization of certain mystery, I must be careful to speak in clear, concise language free from elicit jargon and fancy-free phantasmagoria. The concepts I allege apply to mystical acts, known by the blind as skateboard tricks. Once we clear the cobwebs of confusion, the simplicity of skate mastery can be seen clearly. … read more
The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of SaltCycle
Neglected in dark closets, rusting alongside chain link fences and perhaps even torn apart and piled into boxes, the bicycles in this city have suffered a long, lonely winter as their owners set them aside. As cuffs slowly rise with the temperature, so do thoughts of smooth saddles, glistening cranks and spinning spokes. Like lovers reunited, the fair-weather cyclists mount their steeds and hit the salty streets in droves. Here to organize the enamored masses and spread the love is SaltCycle. … read more
Evryday: Saving the planet one pair of slacks at a...
Salt Lake has a thriving local community of motivated shakers and movers creating real change on the local level, and I’m proud to introduce a new crew to the fold—Ben Gustafson and Jared Smith, creators of Evryday. Evryday (ED for short) was spinning in the A.D.D.-riddled heads of Smith and Gustafson for years. On one fateful evening, a bell rang in one head as a light bulb went off in the other and it’s been a beautiful thing ever since. … read more
Small Timers
Approximately two and a half years ago, a group of friends set out to create a 10-episode web series called Small Timers. Small Timers follows two college-age students—Steve and Elton—who find themselves in huge amounts of debt for various reasons. To try to solve their financial woes, the two turn to the world of petty crime, initially attempting ridiculous stunts before figuring out that the real way to cold hard cash is through drug dealing … read more
The Indie Cred Test
Henry Owings may be the highest profile music fan in the world. Yet somehow, he has managed to parlay his fandom into being on the forefront of many ridiculously important music and book projects as of late. Owings has been the guiding force behind three Chunklet books and his latest, the self-published The Indie Cred Test is written in the style of a standardized exam, with its final goal being a complete assessment of just how cool the reader is. … read more
Cinamon: The High Cost of (Being) Death
Picture death personified. Maybe you imagine a skull-faced reaper with a cloak and scythe or a terrifying angel on his pale horse. Or maybe, if you’re of the right age and background, death is a perky goth girl with a penchant for Mary Poppins and an Eye of Horus spiral on her cheek.This incarnation of Death, introduced in a 1989 issue of the DC/Vertigo comic The Sandman, (or rather, the woman who inspired her appearance) also happens to be a Salt Lake City native. … read more
Prophets of Anarchy: The Mormon Worker
The mash-up of Mormonism and anarchism seems like a concept that would make most anarchists, not to mention the majority of mainstream Mormons, recoil. But to William Van Wagenen, publisher of The Mormon Worker, an irregularly published newspaper devoted to both Mormonism and radical politics, the two philosophies couldn’t be more compatible. … read more
Conserving A Culture, Framing The Future: Skate 4 Homies
“I wanted to do something that was a collective good, to show kids that they can be good and do good things together and have good things happen,” says Todd Ingersoll, founder of Skate 4 Homies. It was a little over a year ago when Ingersoll had the idea to create a non-profit organization focused around the preservation of skateboarding through youth mentoring programs. “Really, what [Skate 4 Homies] is all about is giving back, doing the community a service.” … read more
Hilltop Aces vs. After Shocks
The jammers of both teams were on each other’s heels and the pack was moving moderately, indicating the two teams of the Junction City Roller Dolls seemed well matched as the bout began. … read more
Super Moon Rising: SLUG’s SXSW 2011
To say I was excited for a festival that occurs in a place where shirts stick to backs with humidity would be a great understatement. I made my schedule anyway, boarded the plane with much air-phobia, and arrived with no limo waiting. A shuttle ride later and downtown beckoned outside the hotel window with an amazing buzzing from the SXSW. … read more