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CONTENTS FEATURED STORY

SINS OF OMISSION Part II of Project Censored’s annual list of news stories that have evaded the light of day. By Paul Rosenberg

Cover illustrated by Derek Carlisle

6 OPINION 18 A&E 23 DINE 30 MUSIC 36 CINEMA 37 COMMUNITY

2 | DECEMBER 31, 2020

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OPINION

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SOAP BOX

@SLCWEEKLY

ARUP Is Not the Red Cross

In your Dec. 24 issue, the Citizen Revolt item, “Blood Drive,” led with the eye catching and venerable Red Cross brand in order to promote two ARUP blood drives. You know, of course, that ARUP and the American Red Cross, although both nonprofit, are not the same, but they compete in the same space. STAN ROSENZWEIG Cottonwood Heights

Chris Who?

Regarding “Fly Away, Chris,” John Saltas’ Dec. 17 Private Eye column, I have nothing to add to it. But I will say this— you were talking about me. Why the hell does Chris Stewart represent me here in greater Salt Lake City? I have never seen him, nor have I heard him campaign in this area. Thank you, John. AHMED FARAH Via the Internet

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GOP Herd Mentality

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Throughout 2020, the mainstream media—until now—has steadfastly avoided reporting the awful truth that has become increasingly obvious and apparent to the American public, as the months pass and the death toll climbs from COVID-19. The failed far-right Trump regime’s unofficial policy all along in regard to COVID-19 was the so-called public health strategy of herd immunity. This pathetic policy of complete surrender to the coronavirus is a direct result of the racist Republican Party’s malign neglect and “herd mentality,” as Donald Trump himself put it in his now infamous and incredibly incriminating Freudian slip. Trump has made it perfectly clear over the course of this conservative-caused catastrophe that he wants, in his own words, a “herd developed” solution to the crisis of his own making. How many times now has Trump insisted upon its efficacy and acted upon his apparent belief that increasing public infection

rates (and consequently the death rate) is a laudable goal? Videotape doesn’t lie; Donald Trump does. Over 300,000 Americans are dead, most of whom didn’t have to die! Donald Trump is to blame for this crime against humanity (not to mention his countless crimes against the Constitution), and he must be held accountable—one way or another. It’s up to you, people of America. Do what must be done. If the courts won’t act, we must. History is what we make it. Being voted out of office in a landslide is insufficient punishment for Vladimir Putin’s puppet, Donald Trump. He deserves to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law upon the end of his presidency on Jan. 20th. No presidential pardon is going to save the Trump family from state civil and criminal prosecutions, which is why the state of New York will have the final word on the fate of these farcical fascists and their bogus business empire. JAKE PICKERING Arcata, California

THE BOX

Given everything you learned in 2020, what’s the best advice you could give yourself for 2021? Scott Renshaw Be ready for anything, because the world is only getting more ridiculous by the day. Paula Saltas Prepare like my LDS neighbors (without rolling my eyes) and have a three-month to two-year food storage ready for an emergency. Mike Ptaschinski Enjoy who you can and what you can whenever you can. All are fleeting. Kelly Boyce Continue to educate yourself on topics that matter to you, and then use your voice to help enact change and protect the ones you love. Mikey Saltas If ever I’m on the fence about going to a concert, on a trip with family or out with my friends— just do it! Furthermore, when the next pandemic rages and ravages America, don’t be the asshole that calls it a hoax. Katharine Biele Meditate more. Be gentle but firm. Instead of changing minds, know your own and let go of anger and hate. Benjamin Wood Take a little time every day to do something you love. Eric Granato Keep your head on straight and take time to marvel at all the good stuff in your life. Derek Carlisle Continue to improve your home-based headquarters. Go and grab some things to put on your walls so when you have a Zoom meeting, people have more to look at than that “just moved in” beige wall. Jerre Wroble There’s no “normal” to return to. Party on!

OPINION

Truth Decay

Not to be confused here, alternate facts and untruthful tweets are symptoms. The disease is Truth Decay, and it is more insidious than COVID-19. You can find evidence of Truth Decay (the subject of a book by Jennifer Kavanagh and Michael Rich) in the WOTY selections over the years. In 2005 the American Dialect Society chose “truthiness,” a coinage of Stephen Colbert’s, as the WOTY. Merriam-Webster made the same choice a year later. Truthiness springs from the conviction that something is true because it seems to be true, irrespective of factual evidence. It is often on display in such Republican redoubts as the Utah Legislature. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary picked “post-truth” as its WOTY. The adjective was defined as relating to a circumstance in which an appeal to emotion or personal belief is more influential than facts and logic in shaping opinion. Sean Hannity, Rudy Giuliani and their ilk are practiced, post-truth pundits. Demagoguery is in the saddle and is riding mankind. The ugly truth of “post-truth,” however, is the cynical calculation at its core: Avoid truth if disinformation advances your cause. Truth Decay took a turn for the worse when Trump began to rail against “fake news.” He used the epithet so often that both Collins and the American Dialect Society recognized “fake news” as the 2017 WOTY. The real news was that Trump was a fount of fake news—cause for alarm in and of itself. It is one thing to dismiss unflattering reports with a “fake news” label, it is quite another to employ “fake news” as a post-truth tactic. Trump has promulgated falsehood and disinformation more than 22,000 times in the last four years, according to weary fact checkers, a recent spike being attributable to “rigged election.” Said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz before he chugged the Trump Kool-Aid: “He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth. And he had a pattern that I think is straight out of a psychology textbook. His response is to accuse everybody else of lying.” Or to accuse such states as Georgia and Pennsylvania of conducting “the most corrupt election in the history of our

country.” Engaging the gears of the post-truth machinery, Trump asserted that his loss at the ballot box was prima facie evidence of fraudulent voting. Georgia’s initial recount of the 5 million ballots cast in the November election found miscounts in four of 159 counties. Correcting the errors gave Trump a net gain of 1,200 votes, according to Georgia’s Republican secretary of state. Those are the facts. The cause of the miscounts? Not human error, say Trump lawyers, but a conspiracy that included Venezuelans tampering with voting machines. The Justice Department disagreed, but a majority of Republicans believed Trump and forked over $170 million to investigate voter fraud. Love him or hate him, you have to concede that Trump has accelerated Truth Decay. Will you also concede that the president of the U.S. ought to be known as a paragon of truthfulness? Truth Decay is an alarming phenomenon that evokes George Orwell’s dystopian novels. Our public discourse is being deliberately distorted by the counterfactual. Emotion—usually fear—often surpasses reason. Alternate facts and conspiracy theories circulate on the internet gaining strength like a hurricane over warm water. The pandemic (Merriam-Webster’s 2020 WOTY) was a turning point: Truth Decay became potentially lethal. A lot of people believed the president when he called COVID-19 “a fake news media conspiracy.” In crowded hospitals, people died from a virus they believed was fakery. After the Georgia recount, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican election official, implored Trump to stop his baseless attacks on the integrity of the election. To persist is to “inspire people to commit potential acts of violence,” Sterling said. “It has to stop.” It just has to stop. Them—the words—we should talk about until respect for truth is restored. CW Send comments to editor@cityweekly.net.

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“Pick some words,” says the beery college professor in Thomas Pynchon’s novel The Crying of Lot 49. “Them, we can talk about.” What could fuel a livelier conversation—religion and politics notwithstanding? Them are easy to pick in December because the dictionary companies do the winnowing and choose a Word of the Year (WOTY). Says Oxford Dictionary about the deliberations: “Every year, we choose a winner that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood or preoccupations of that particular year and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.” Them are usually words worth talking about, I find. Collins Dictionary’s 2020 WOTY is “lockdown.” The noun was coined in 1973 to describe a temporary, doors-locked restriction imposed on prison inmates in emergencies. This year, countless people have had their workaday lives constrained by lockdowns designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. People are feeling imprisoned and resentful. Shortlisted by Collins this year were “BLM” and “coronavirus.” The latter’s subset includes “flattening the curve,” “herd immunity” and “super-spreader”—all of which were scratched in the wet concrete of collective memory. Trump’s lame “Kung flu” will be forgotten, however. Adjectives “rigged” or “stolen” will never again modify the noun “election.” Still, the cult of personality that is Trumpism has given us plenty to remember: “stable genius,” “covfefe” and “MAGA” (cribbed from Ronald Reagan) to name a few. Who can forget Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” dodge? Or Sarah Sanders’ assertion that truthfulness was irrelevant in Trump’s anti-Muslim tweeting because “the threat is real”? Biased spin is expected in the White House Briefing Room, but Conway and Sanders go beyond the pale. They devalue truth. The Trump spokeswomen learned from their boss to dissemble, to use words as a warplane uses chaff to confuse radar.

BY JOHN RASMUSON

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Not to be outdone by Utah’s Person of the Year, the state’s favorite criminal trespasser won a presidential pardon from Utah’s presidential choice, Donald J. Trump. That would be former San Juan County commissioner, now Utah state representative, Phil Lyman, the man who “bravely” led a protest of ATVs through the archaeologically sensitive Recapture Canyon. It was all part of a larger screw-the-feds movement that included an armed group of ranchers taking over an Oregon wildlife refuge. The Bundys, whom a judge once called delusional, and former state Rep. Ken Ivory of the ironically named American Lands Council were among the leading voices of the movement. Lyman, or rather his devotees, paid his $96,000 fine before he started receiving his salary as a state representative. Now, both Lyman’s federal conviction and the pardon will appear on his record.

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Yes, it was embarrassing and maybe not the best choice for a reader poll. But thankfully, The Salt Lake Tribune editors buried the results on A4, where it would not be confused with any real people to be admired. They then cleverly disguised the poll with their front-page story on the 2020 Utahns of the Year, which appropriately highlighted the heroics and risks of front-line workers who fight COVID-19, calling them “the vanguard of the battle against the pandemic.” And then, just for kicks, the Trib editors referred to the poll and what was a “surprising” choice for Utahn of the Year, namely, Eric Moutsos, the ex-cop and anti-masker who also shared Dr. Angela Dunn’s home address with his gun-toting followers. She came in second in that poll, which Moutsos deftly manipulated on social media. Readers can only hope and pray the Trib will never again run another readers poll.

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Just as Wonder Woman 1984 hit the movie theaters, the Women Law yers of Utah burst the bubble of strength and equity in a study showing that workplace harassment in the legal field increased significantly over the past decade. “Men are almost twice as likely as women to hold a leadership role here, and while 47 percent of men hold a top job, ‘only 4 percent of women of color law yers currently hold a leadership position in Utah,’” The Salt Lake Tribune quoted from the study. Then, there was The Wall Street Journal op-ed disparaging Jill Biden’s doctorate because—well, we don’t know why. But if Sen. Mike Lee’s social media is any example, here is what one of his male followers replied to a female Ph.D. who asked for support of the Equal Rights Amendment. “You’re already equal, you Dumb Twit!”

CITIZEN REV LT IN A WEEK, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Decriminalizing Drugs

On Nov. 3, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize all drug. Does this sound radical? It actually could be a solution to an otherwise insoluble problem. It’s well known that the “war on drugs” has been a dismal failure. Criminologists find that sanctions aren’t the best deterrents to drug use, and the money spent on enforcement could be put to better use. Of course, criminalization effects people of color disproportionately. This Free Thought Forum offers a Public Debate: Should All Drug Use Be Decriminalized? followed by a public discussion on the pros and cons of decriminalization, which has taken place in many European countries. Virtual, Sunday, Jan, 3, 6:308:30 p.m., free. http://bit.ly/3hbRoUg

Emancipation Day Ritual

You might not know it from all the racism and voter suppression in the country, but it has been nearly 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863. Also called Freedom’s Eve, many African American churches and other Christian churches celebrate with a service to remember the freed slaves in the Confederate states during the American Civil War. You can experience the ritual and hear reflections from Pastor Matthew Southall Brown Sr. and National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes in the documentary screening Watch Night: An Extended Public Service Announcement. Virtual, Thursday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m., free. http://bit.ly/3rCbrQC

How Women Won the Vote

Experience the tactics of the suffragists as they struggled to win the right to vote. This live event begins in the 1840s, tracing the roots of the women’s rights movement and the ultimate decision to pursue voting rights. Large-scale parades, picketing at the White House and the risks taken will be highlighted in How Women Won the Vote, a presentation from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “The story culminates with the ratification of the 19th Amendment where you will be able to view Pennsylvania’s own copy of the amendment and trace its impact, including the push for equal rights that followed ratification in 1920,” organizers say. If you are not a member of the League of Women Voters, please email jrblwv@gmail.com for the link. Virtual, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, 1 p.m., free. http://bit.ly/3piKhMy

Year in Review

Hard to believe, but 2020 will soon be in the rearview mirror. Watch this Hinckley Report with Damon Cann, Utah State University professor of political science and North Logan City mayor; the Deseret News’ Doug Wilks; and political commentator Michelle Quist as they look back on the effects of COVID-19 and the first round of vaccines. They’ll talk about how the Electoral College played out in Utah and around the country, and the Biden transition in Year in Review 2020. Virtual, any time. http://bit.ly/3nPyUeD

—KATHARINE BIELE

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SINS OF OMISSION Part II of Project Censored’s annual list of news stories that have evaded the light of day. By Paul Rosenberg

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they’ve gained some of the wider attention they deserve. And the chapter “Media Democracy in Action” highlights individuals and organizations engaged in building a more inclusive, equitable and democratic society. Should these summaries leave you hungry for more, Project Censored has all that and more waiting for you in State of the Free Press 2021.

DECEMBER 31, 2020 | 9

read a chapter on “Junk Food News”: cheaply produced, stories focused on celebrityhood, industry-generated buzz and other trivia in place of substantive investigative journalism, and another devoted to “News Abuse,” about important topics that are presented through a distorted lens or two. There’s also a chapter devoted to “Déjà Vu News,” tracking previous Project Censored stories to update them and track whether

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DREAMSTIME

ince 1976, Project Censored’s role has been to shed light on the most significant news that’s somehow not fit to print. As previously noted in Part 1 of this series (published Dec. 24), censorship in an authoritarian society is obvious, from a distance, at least. There is a central agent or agency responsible for it, and the lines are clearly drawn. That’s not the case in America, yet some stories rarely, if ever, see the light of day. The media erasure is part of a system of targeting and marginalization. While journalists everyday work hard to expose injustices, they work within a system where some injustices are so deeply baked in that stories exposing them are rarely told and even more rarely expanded upon to give them their proper due. That’s where Project Censored comes in. “The primary purpose of Project Censored is to explore and publicize the extent of news censorship in our society by locating stories about significant issues of which the public should be aware, but is not, for a variety of reasons,” wrote its founder Carl Jensen on its 20th anniversary. Thus, the list of censored stories that’s the centerpiece of its annual book, State of the Free Press 2021, doesn’t just help us to see individual stories we might otherwise have missed. It helps us see patterns—patterns of censorship and suppressed stories, and patterns of how those stories fit together. In Part I, published in City Weekly’s Dec. 24 issue, the Top 10 list also included: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), the targeting of journalists and activists by Monsanto “Intelligence Center, and how the U.S. Military is a massive, hidden contributor to climate crisis. In Part III, to be published on Jan. 7, you’ll read about the underreporting of missing and victimized Black women and girls, the public banking revolution, how climate change is increasing the risks of nuclear power and how journalism is due for a stimulus package and public option. These stories are only part of what Project Censored does. The book’s other chapters are devoted to other forms of obfuscation that help keep censored stories obscured. You’ll

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DREAMSTIME

CONGRESSIONAL INVESTMENTS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Exposition, political corruption and conflicts of interest are age-old staples of journalism. So, it’s notable that two of the most glaring, far-reaching examples of congressional conflicts of interest in the Trump era have been virtually ignored by corporate media: Republicans’ support for the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and a bipartisan failure to act on catastrophic climate change. “The cuts likely saved members of Congress hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes collectively, while the corporate tax cut hiked the value of their holdings,” writes Peter Cary of the Center for Public Integrity reported for Vox in January 2020. It was sold as a middle-class tax cut that would benefit everyone. “Promises that the tax act would boost investment have not panned out,” he noted. “Corporate investment is now at lower levels than before the act passed, according to the Commerce Department.” Once again, “trickle down” tax cuts didn’t trickle down. “The tax law’s centerpiece is its record cut in the corporate tax rate, from 35 percent to 21 percent,” Cary wrote. “At the time of its passage, most of the bill’s Republican supporters said the cut would result in higher wages, factory expansions and more jobs. Instead, it was mainly exploited by corporations, which bought back stock and raised dividends.” Buybacks exceeded $1 trillion for the first time ever, the year after the cuts were passed, and dividends topped a record $1.3 trillion high. The benefits to congressional Republicans were enormous. “The 10 richest Republicans in Congress in 2017 who voted for the tax bill held more than $731 million in assets, almost two-thirds of which were in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other instruments,” Cary noted. And they benefitted hand-

somely from their votes that “doled out nearly $150 billion in corporate tax savings in 2018 alone,” he wrote. “All but one of the 47 Republicans who sat on the three key committees overseeing the drafting of the tax bill own stocks and stock mutual funds.” While Democrats also stood to gain from the tax bill, not one voted for it, he wrote. “All but 12 Republicans voted for the tax bill.” Two special features deserve notice. First is a newly created 20% deduction for income from “pass-through” businesses, or smaller, single-owner corporations. “At least 22 of the 47 members of the House and Senate tax-writing committees have investments in pass-through businesses,” Project Censored noted. Second was a provision allowing real estate companies with relatively few employees—like the Trump organization—to take a 20 percent deduction usually reserved for larger businesses with sizable payrolls. “Out of the 47 Republicans responsible for drafting the bill, at least 29 held real estate interests at the time of its passage,” Project Censored pointed out. As to the second major conflict, “Members of the U.S. Senate are heavily invested in the fossil fuel companies that drive the current climate crisis, creating a conflict between those senators’ financial interests as investors and their responsibilities as elected representatives,” Project Censored wrote. “Twenty-nine U.S. senators and their spouses own between $3.5 million and $13.9 million worth of stock in companies that extract, transport or burn fossil fuels, or provide services to fossil fuel companies,” Donald Shaw reported for Sludge in September 2019. While unsurprising on the Republican side, this

also includes two key Democrats. Sen. Tom Carper, of Delaware, is the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. He has “up to $310,000 invested in more than a dozen oil, gas, and utility companies, as well as mutual funds with holdings in the fossil fuel industry,” Shaw reported. But his record is not nearly as questionable as Sen. Joe Manchin’s, of West Virginia, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who “owns between $1 million and $5 million worth of non-public stock in a family coal business, Enersystems,” and reported earning “between $100,001 and $1 million” in reported dividends and interest in 2018, plus $470,000 in ‘ordinary business income,’” Shaw reported. His support for the industry was significant, as the report notes: “Manchin was the only Democrat to vote against an amendment to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling in 2017, and he was one of just three Democrats to vote against an amendment to phase out taxpayer subsidies for coal, oil and gas producers in 2016. Manchin has also voted to approve construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expedite the approval process for natural gas pipelines and override an Obama administration rule requiring coal companies to protect groundwater from toxic coal mining waste.” While there has been critical coverage of 2017 tax cuts, this has not included coverage of lawmakers personal profiting, Project Censored noted. “In addition, despite the significant conflicts of interest exposed by Donald Shaw’s reporting for Sludge, the alarming facts about U.S. senators’ massive investments in the fossil-fuel industry appear to have gone completely unreported in the corporate press.” (Continued on p. 14)

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INEQUALITY KILLS: GAP BETWEEN RICHEST AND POOREST AMERICANS LARGEST IN 50 YEARS (Continued from p. 10) “In public health, decades of research are coming to a consensus: Inequality kills,” DePaul University sociologist Fernando De Maio wrote for Truthout in December 2019. Even before COVID-19, his research added finegrained evidence of broad trends highlighted in three prominent governmental reports: the gap between rich and poor Americans had grown larger than ever in half a century, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 annual survey. There is dramatic evidence of the gap’s lethal impact: people in the poorest quintile die at twice the rate as those in the richest quintile, according to a report by the congressional Government Accountability Office. This is partly because job-related deaths are increasingly rooted in the physical and psychological toll of low-wage work—as opposed to on-the-job accidents—as documented by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization. All these conditions were made worse by COVID-19, but they could have been seen before the pandemic struck—if only the information hadn’t been censored by the corporate media. As of May 2020, Project Censored notes “it has not been able to identify any corporate news coverage on the GAO or Census Bureau reports on inequality and premature mortality, or on the ILO report about

work-related illnesses, accidents and deaths that take place when workers are off-duty.” The August 2019 GAO report was based on health and retirement surveys conducted by the Social Security Administration in 1992 and 2014, looking at those between 51 and 61 years old in 1992, and dividing them into five wealth quintiles. The GAO found that “nearly half of those (48 percent) in the poorest quintile died before 2014, when they would have been between 73 and 83 years old. Of the wealthiest quintile, only a quarter (26 percent) died,” Patrick Martin writes for the World Socialists website. Death rates increased for each quintile as the level of wealth declined. It’s at the level of cities and communities “that the most striking links between inequality and health can be detected,” De Maio wrote. “At the city level, life expectancy varies from a low of 71.4 years in Gary, Indiana, to a high of 84.7 in Newton, Massachusetts—a gap of more than 13 years.” And at the community level, “In Chicago,” De Maio notes, “there is a nine-year gap between the life expectancy for Black and white people. This gap amounts to more than 3,000 ‘excess deaths’” among Black Chicagoans, due to “heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. All of these are conditions that an equitable health care system would address,” he concluded. “The poorest Americans are also more likely than

their rich counterparts to face illness or premature death due to the inherent dangers of low-wage work,” Project Censored noted. “In 2019, you no longer have to hang from scaffolding to risk your life on the job,” María José Carmona wrote for Inequality.org. “Precariousness, stress and overwork can also make you sick, and even kill you, at a much higher rate than accidents.” She reported on an ILO story that found that less than 14 percent of the 7500 people who die “due to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions every day” die from workplace accidents. The greatest risk comes from “increasing pressure, precarious contracts and working hours incompatible with life, which, bit by bit, continue to feed the invisible accident rate that does not appear in the news,” Carmona wrote. “The most vulnerable workers are those employed on a temporary or casual basis, those subcontracted through agencies and the false self-employed. ILO data shows the rate of accidents for these employees to be much higher than for any others.” As of May 2020, Project Censored has not been able to identify any corporate news coverage on the GAO or Census Bureau reports on inequality and premature mortality, or on the ILO report about work-related illnesses, accidents and deaths that take place when workers are off-duty. (Continued on p. 16)

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SHADOW NETWORK OF CONSERVATIVE OUTLETS EMERGES TO EXPLOIT FAITH IN LOCAL NEWS (Continued from p. 14) In late October 2019, Carol Thompson reported in the Lansing State Journal that, “Dozens of websites branded as local news outlets launched throughout Michigan this fall … promising local news but also offering political messaging.” The websites’ ‘About us’ sections “say they are published by Metric Media LLC, a company that aims to fill the ‘growing void in local and community news after years of steady disinvestment in local reporting by legacy media.’” Thompson wrote, but it soon emerged that they weren’t filling that void with locally generated news, and the 40 or so sites Thompson found in Michigan were just the tip of the iceberg. (Editor’s note: A Utah Metric Media website can be found at beehivestatenews.com) A follow-up investigation by The Michigan Daily reported: “Just this past week, additional statewide networks of these websites have sprung up in Montana and Iowa.” This was followed by a December 2019 report by the Columbia Journalism Review, revealing a network of 450 websites run by five corporate organizations in 12 states that “mimic the appearance and output of traditional news organizations” in order to “manipulate public opinion by exploiting faith in local media.” All were associated with conservative businessman Brian Timpone. “In 2012, Timpone’s company Journatic, an outlet known for its low-cost automated story generation, which became known as ‘pink slime journalism,’ attracted national attention and

outrage for faking bylines and quotes, and for plagiarism,” CJR’s Priyanjana Bengani reported. Journatic was later rebranded as Locality Labs, whose content ran on the Metric Media websites. “The different websites are nearly indistinguishable, sharing identical stories and using regional titles,” Michigan Daily reported. “The only articles with named authors contain politically skewed content. The rest of the articles on the sites are primarily composed of press releases from local organizations and articles written by the Local Labs News Service.” “Despite the different organization and network names, it is evident these sites are connected,” Bengani wrote. “Other than simply sharing network metadata as described above, they also share bylines (including ‘Metric Media News Service’ and ‘Local Labs News Service’ for templated stories), servers, layouts, and templates.” Using a suite of investigative tools, CJR was able to identify at least 189 sites in 10 states run by Metric Media—all created in 2019—along with 179 run by Franklin Archer (with Timpone’s brother, Michael, as CEO). “We tapped into the RSS feeds of these 189 Metric Media sites,” over a period of two weeks, Bengani wrote, “and found over 15,000 unique stories had been published (over 50,000 when aggregated across the sites), but only about 100 titles had the bylines of human reporters.” That’s well below 1% with a byline—much less being local. “The rest cited

automated services or press releases.” “Their architecture and strategy are useful to understand the way they co-opt the language, design and structure of news organizations,” Bengani explained. Automation can make them seem far more prolific than they really are and can help build credibility. “Potentially adding to the credibility of these sites is their Google search ranking: In the case of some of the websites set up in 2015-16, we observed that once sites had gained ample authority, they appeared on the first page of Google Search results just below the official government and social media pages.” So, the sites aim to fool people locally about the source of their “news,” and Google helps fool the world. Although The New York Times did publish an article in October 2019 that credited the Lansing State Journal with breaking the story about pseudo-local news organizations, Project Censored notes: “Corporate coverage has been lacking…. The Columbia Journalism Review’s piece expands on the breadth and scope of previous coverage, but its findings do not appear to have been reported by any of the major establishment news outlets.” CW

This is Week 2 of a three-part feature. Author Paul Rosenberg is an activist turned journalist who has written for the Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Al Jazeera English, salon. com and numerous other periodicals. He has worked as an editor at Random Lengths News since 2002. Send comments to editor@cityweekly.net.

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I mean, 2020, amirite, folks? We’ve spent at least the past nine months living with this cliché, but clichés get that way for a reason. From isolation in lockdown to financial uncertainty, from the threat of a deadly disease to the threat of an idiot president, this has been one annum to forget. It feels as though it has lasted forever, and we want to let loose as we finally get ready to kick its ass into history. But how do we do it in a safe way? As we head into 2021, The Gateway presents its fourth annual Last Hurrah, in a way that acknowledges one of the main reasons 2020 was such a suck-fest. A presentation including a 45-minute pre-show concert and a fireworks spectacular will begin at 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 31, streamed live via the websites for The Gateway (atthegateway.com), Last Hurrah (lasthurrahslc.com) and The Gateway’s YouTube channel. Every 20 minutes, prizes will be given out live to viewers. For those who want to experience

There are other ways to ring in the new year, of course, besides literal fireworks. Maybe instead you’d be more into the sparks that fly when the talented performers of the Viva La Diva female impersonation show— featuring City Weekly Best of Utah winner Jason CoZmo—set their sights on a celebration to say hello to 2021. In the fine tradition of other Viva La Diva spectaculars, audiences will be regaled with comedic and musical interpretations of some of the queens of the performing world, including Celine Dion, Bette Midler, Lady Gaga, Tina Turner, Liza Minelli and, of course, Jason CoZmo’s own legendary, City Weekly-cover-immortalized interpretation of Dolly Parton (who herself has only become more legendary during the pandemic thanks to her much-lauded charitable contributions). The show leads up to a midnight celebration including a balloon drop, and a chance to toast to a year with a lot less anguished and stress. The event begins Dec. 31 at

HILARY REITER

New Year’s Eve Diva

the event live, there are limited in-person spaces available. Register at atthegateway. com or the Facebook event page to be one of 102 groups of no more than six householdonly groups allowed in for socially-distanced, masks-mandatory reserved spots; remaining spots the night of the event may be available on a first-come, first served basis. As a special thank you to healthcare workers, 10 of the reservation spots will be available exclusively to University of Utah ICU staff and their families. Sign up now, and ring in a much-desired new year. (Scott Renshaw)

We’re winding up the holiday season, but there’s still an opportunity to catch up with some holiday-themed entertainment that you might have missed out on in all the hustle and chaos. And it might be easier than ever to experience some of these performances as they migrate into virtual spaces—including a unique filmed presentation of Municipal Ballet Co.’s distinctive interpretation of The Nutcracker. River of Rosewater has been a holiday tradition for Municipal Ballet for five years, using the one-of-a-kind space of the historic McClune Mansion as a setting for a dance performance that moves through the various rooms, with live musical accompaniment by Pixie and the Partygrass Boys doing a special 1920s-themed arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker score. Its narrative, as crafted by director Sarah Longoria, follows the original Nutcracker heroine, Sarah, now 23 years old and transported into a hallucinatory fantasy after drinking too much absinthe at a holiday party, transporting her to a snow forest and an encounter with the Absinthe Fairy (inspired by a

9 p.m. at the Divas’ home at Metro Music Hall (615 W. 100 South), with doors open for the general admission seating at 8 p.m. At press time, due to social distancing requirements, no reservations remain available for parties of two. Individuals can join existing reservations at $40 per ticket, and parties of four ($140) or more are still available. Tickets may be sold out closer to event date, so please visit the vivaladivashow.com to confirm availability and purchase tickets. What better way to shake off the 2020 blues than by making your New Year’s Eve into a NewYear’s Diva. (SR)

Jennifer L. Holm: The Lion of Mars

stained-glass window in the mansion showing a woman in a green dress). This year’s version of River of Rosewater once again makes use of the McClune Mansion setting, and a partnership with non-profit Social Antidote to capture the production. The choreography has been modified to allow for safe social distancing between dancers; those dancers who appear together unmasked are from the same household. View the performance free at Social Antidote’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/channel/ UCzdfXypJmWvvQqmXxl6fDdQ). Christmas might be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t enjoy wonderful creative storytelling. (SR)

As 2021 kicks into gear, it’s worth thinking about what lifestyle changes necessitated by the pandemic are worth hanging on to. For example, plenty of people found themselves with a lot more time for reading, or for encouraging their kids to do the same. So maybe we should continue to support the authors and the local booksellers who helped us through a rough time—and we get great entertainment out of it, so everyone’s a winner. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m., The King’s English Bookshop welcomes New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Holm for a virtual author appearance on the release date of her new novel for middle-grade readers, The Lion of Mars. It’s the timely story of Bell, an 11-yearold who has spent his entire otherwise normal tween-kid life in an American colony on Mars. And that colony is isolated from other nations’ Martian colonies—a fact that confuses Bell, who wants to understand the reasons behind the lack of contact. It takes a crisis to begin exploring the reasons behind

RANDOM HOUSE BOOKS

Municipal Ballet Co.: River of Rosewater

VIVA LA DIVA

Complete listings online at cityweekly.net

Last Hurrah at The Gateway

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ENTERTAINMENT PICKS, DECEMBER 31, 2020-JANUARY 6, 2021

this isolation, as a virus begins afflicting all of the adults in the colony, forcing Bell and the colony’s other children into the unexpected role of saviors who need to save their families’ lives by uniting a divided planet. The California-based Holm has a résumé including the Eisner Award-winning Babymouse series and Newbery Honors for her books Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven and Turtle in Paradise. Join her for an all-ages-friendly reading and virtual conversation. (SR)

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It’s time to look forward to fun things in 2021. BY BRYAN YOUNG comments@cityweekly.net email @swankmotron

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t’s no news flash that 2020 has been, frankly, the worst. It’s impacted all of us, though some more than others. We’ve been asked to endure a pandemic with no leadership or help from the highest levels of our government, and our state leaders work pretty hard to endanger us, too. But there are things to look forward to! As the year clicks over to 2021 and the vaccine makes its way through the population, things will start to get back to normal-ish. Aside from that, we have all kinds of nerdy things to be excited about next year. For one, we’re getting all of the stuff that got delayed from 2020 because of the pandemic. That means we’ll be able to see Black Widow, Dune and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. All three of those films (and many more) were delayed indefinitely because of COVID-19, and now they all have 2021 release dates. But more than looking forward to those specific films, I’m looking forward to seeing them in an actual movie theater. I don’t think there’s been a week since 1996 that I haven’t spent at least one movie’s worth of time in a theater, and I haven’t stepped foot in one since March. I’m going through serious withdrawals. I won’t be able to go inside of one until I have the vaccine, but I can’t even tell you how much of a religious experience getting back to the movies will be, regardless of what it is. Another thing to look forward to is the

amount of content coming to our small screens, especially if we’re going to have to continue social distancing until we reach herd immunity with the vaccine. To kick off the year, Marvel starts with WandaVision on Disney+, a bizarre looking show starring the Scarlet Witch and Vision. Which is odd, because we watched Vision die. It looks like a cross between the House of M stories told in the Marvel comics and I Love Lucy, and I’m here for all of it. After that, we’ll get Falcon and the Winter Soldier in March, then Loki in May. All of these shows bring back their Marvel Cinematic Universe cast members, and will tie into the greater universe in a way that the Netflix Marvel shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones weren’t really able to. On the Star Wars front, they’ve got so much coming out on the small screen as well. We’ll be getting a new animated series called Star Wars: The Bad Batch following a group of misfit clones in the early days of the Empire. We’ll also get Star Wars: Visions, a series of animated shorts set in the Star Wars universe, all conceived and pro-

duced by different Japanese animation studios. And then there’s Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett to cap off the year, as teased in the season finale of The Mandalorian, continuing the mysterious bounty hunter’s story. There’s more Star Wars than that to look forward to, as well. Star Wars: The High Republic will take readers of books and comics back 200 years in the timeline to an era when the Jedi were more plentiful and spiritual as they deal with a great catastrophe. I’ve read the first three books in the era, and every single one of them is a winner. Some might be excited about Zack Snyder’s Justice League director’s cut on HBO Max, though I’m still scratching my head on that one. That seems more appropriate for 2020 where everything hurts. More than all of the content I can consume, though, are the other things I’m looking forward to doing in 2021. I’m looking forward to having a simple game night with my friends. Playing board games or Dungeons and Dragons over Zoom doesn’t quite have the same warmth that playing

Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen in Disney+’s WandaVision

in person does. And after almost a whole year of responsible isolation, I can’t wait to just … see my friends and extended family again so we can play games. I can’t wait to go to a nerd convention. I’m not sure which will be the first I’ll feel safe going to (it will definitely be postvaccine), but when I go, it will be nothing short of glorious. There’s magic in roaming a convention center or hotel complex with thousands of your fellow nerds—and I miss it. There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a long-term traumatic event for all of us. We didn’t just live through a pandemic, we got hit with an earthquake, a summer of protests, and a windstorm that tore down so many of our favorite trees. It’s been a lot. But 2021 promises light at the end of the 2020 tunnel that I’m looking forward to more than anything. Let’s just hope that light isn’t an oncoming train. CW

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think I echo the hearts and minds of most humans on Earth when I say that 2020 has pushed us to our physical, emotional and psychological limits. No matter how secure we tried to make things for ourselves, ill news and bad luck kept oozing in wherever it could. With a year as miserable as this one, comfort food started to take on a whole new meaning. Despite the global pandemic and its subsequent series of bumbling leadership fails leaving an open wound in our restaurant scene, eating local became less about satisfying our own guilty pleasures and more about trying to keep the lights on in our favorite dining haunts. While I’d suggest eating at any local restaurant as much as you can right now, the following have been special highlights in a remarkably crappy year. Arempa’s ( 350 S. State Street, 385-3018905, arempas.com): While it’s not a silver bullet for all the garbage that 2020 kept throwing our way, sandwich therapy provided me with a few blissful moments of reprieve. Some days, a simple turkey on wheat would do the trick, but in those moments when I could feel an audible wail of despair

Sweet, savory and spicy food that kept my soul humming through 2020

pain, you can order this dish mild and still walk away refreshed and ready for a scrap. But when you need to kill it with fire, order this dish and tell them to make it spicy. It’ll fill your soul with a holy fire that strengthens your resolve, while conveniently helping you forget everything outside of the inferno in your mouth. Vessel Kitchen (Multiple locations, vesselkitchen.com): Of course, not all takeout endeavors need to be about sensory alteration. In fact, zeroing in on a takeout place that makes sure to include all the food groups is a great way to feel good about yourself. When I was too bushed to cook but wanted to make sure the family got a balanced meal, I’d call up Vessel. They’ve got locations all over the place, their family meals are reasonably priced and usually set you up with leftovers for the next day. I’m a fan of their braised beef—seasoned to perfection with cumin, rosemary and garlic— as well as their roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potato hash and ratatouille, but you really can’t go wrong with whatever you get. For convenience, variety and a wellrounded selection, Vessel is tough to beat. Sagato Bakery (44 W. 7200 South, 385557-1728, sagatofoods.com): None of us could have gotten through the year without baked goods. I found myself craving numerous items from Sagato’s menu when I needed something good for my soul. The chocolate-covered Lamington cakes, speckled with coconut and stuffed with thick whipped cream, do wonders for a sudden sweet tooth, and the pineapple pie or pani popo are great when you need to eat sweets and drive. On the savory side, their sausage rolls will make you forget all about your favorite hot dog, and their steak-andmushroom pie is filled with enough warm and homey flavors to provide a soulful boost to remind you that yes, good things can still exist in 2020. CW

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Thank You, Comfort Food

building deep within my core, it was time to jam an arepa peluda from Arempa’s into my mouth to keep that scream from escaping. That mix of tender shredded beef, melty cheese and creamy avocado has a way of blocking waves of despair, and I’d like to see anyone try and scream with this monster shoved into their mouth. Arepas are apex comfort foods for anyone who adores a good sandwich, and the selection at Arempa’s is ideal for smacking your taste buds with enough flavor to put that constant lag of existential horror on the back burner for a few blessed minutes. The Salty Pineapple (13262 S. 5600 West, 801-890-0532, the-saltypineapple. com): I thought driving out to Herriman for my bi-weekly Salty Pineapple fix would wear thin, but it turned out to be a great opportunity to get out of the house and do some highway meditation. Not to mention the fact that a half-hour drive west is a small price to pay for some of the finest Hawaiian cuisine in the state. Anytime my brain started to murmur about driving out to Herriman, it was quickly placated by the promise of pineapple jalapeño chicken, kalua pork and an electric pink slice of guava cake. The spicy notes of the chicken paired with the tender, juicy kalua pork with a hit of garlic sauce gets detonated by the mainline of sticky sweet guava cake, resulting in a meal that overwhelms the senses in all the best ways. Chettinad House (169 S. Main Street, 801-410-4696, chettinad-house.com): Sensory overloads and jawbreaking sandwiches are all good and well when combating overwhelming malaise, but sometimes you just need to turn up the heat and burn it out of you. In such moments of anguish, I turned to the Chettinad chicken masala at this newly minted Downtown Indian joint. Of course, if you’re looking for a heady mix of flavors to distract your mind from the

onTAP BEER TO-GO AVAILABLE! SUN - THU: 11AM – 9PM FRI - SAT: 11AM – 10PM

Moab Brewing 686 S. Main, Moab TheMoabBrewery.com On Tap: Bougie Johnny’s

Silver Reef 4391 S. Enterprise Drive, St. George StGeorgeBev.com

Bewilder Brewing 445 S. 400 West, SLC BewilderBrewing.com On Tap: Ginger Bier

Mountain West Cider 425 N. 400 West, SLC MountainWestCider.com On Tap: GULB 2020

Squatters 147 W. Broadway, SLC Squatters.com

Bohemian Brewery 94 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale BohemianBrewery.com

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Bonneville Brewery 1641 N. Main, Tooele BonnevilleBrewery.com On Tap: Peaches and Cream Ale

Policy Kings Brewery 223 N. 100 West, Cedar City PolicyKingsBrewery.com

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Epic Brewing Co. 825 S. State, SLC EpicBrewing.com On Tap: Son of a Baptist Coffee Stout Fisher Brewing Co. 320 W. 800 South, SLC FisherBeer.com On Tap: Red Ale Grid City Beer Works 333 W. 2100 South, SLC GridCityBeerWorks.com On Tap: Extra Pale Ale

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26 | DECEMBER 31, 2020

2 Row Brewing 6856 S. 300 West, Midvale 2RowBrewing.com On Tap: Feelin’ Hazy

Desert Edge Brewery 273 Trolley Square, SLC DesertEdgeBrewery.com On Tap: Fresh Brewed UPA

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Hopkins Brewing Co. 1048 E. 2100 South, SLC HopkinsBrewingCompany.com On Tap: Winter Ale Hoppers Grill and Brewing 890 E. Fort Union Blvd, Midvale HoppersBrewPub.com Kiitos Brewing 608 W. 700 South, SLC KiitosBrewing.com Level Crossing Brewing Co. 2496 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake LevelCrossingBrewing.com On Tap: West Coast IPA

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Proper Brewing 857 S. Main, SLC ProperBrewingCo.com On Tap: Jacob’s Classic: West Coast IPA Red Rock Brewing Multiple Locations RedRockBrewing.com On Tap: Secale RoHa Brewing Project 30 Kensington Ave, SLC RoHaBrewing.com On Tap: Project Porter Roosters Brewing Multiple Locations RoostersBrewingCo.com On Tap: Cosmic Autumn Rebellion SaltFire Brewing 2199 S. West Temple, South Salt Lake SaltFireBrewing.com On Tap: Fritz Baltic Porter Salt Flats Brewing 2020 Industrial Circle, SLC SaltFlatsBeer.com On Tap: Barrel-Aged Lowrider Shades Brewing 154 W. Utopia Ave, South Salt Lake ShadesBrewing.beer On Tap: Peach Cobbler

Strap Tank Brewery Multiple Locations StrapTankBrewery.com TF Brewing 936 S. 300 West, SLC TFBrewing.com On Tap: Dunkel Lager Talisman Brewing Co. 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden TalismanBrewingCo.com On Tap: Udder Chaos Chocolate Milk Stout Toasted Barrel Brewery 412 W. 600 North, SLC ToastedBarrelBrewery.com Uinta Brewing 1722 S. Fremont Drive, SLC UintaBrewing.com On Tap: Was Angeles Craft Beer UTOG 2331 Grant Ave, Ogden UTOGBrewing.com On Tap: Synergy Coffee Lager Vernal Brewing 55 S. 500 East, Vernal VernalBrewing.com Wasatch 2110 S. Highland Drive, SLC WasatchBeers.com Zion Brewery 95 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale ZionBrewery.com Zolupez 205 W. 29th Street #2, Ogden Zolupez.com

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Ending on a High Note BY MIKE RIEDEL comments@cityweekly.net @utahbeer

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ly allowing charred toffee, dark fruits, grapefruit zest, spicy ginger, honey and citrus fruit esters to assert in spots across the profile into the finish. At 10.3 percent ABV, the mouthfeel brings a crisp, easy, medium body supported with moderate carbonation—lightly syrupy in the midpalate, transitioning into a dry finish with a creamy edge and minor bitterness developing into the swallow. Overall: While at times this can feel like a multitude of disparate elements struggling to find their place, everything eventually comes together with a harmony all its own. Malty and bitter, piney and sweet, honeyed and fruity—they all find their way together in a winter warmer that remains perfectly unfocused and consistently intriguing. It’s the kind of eclectic nature I enjoy in a holiday ale. Wasatch Snow Bank: Pouring an amber hue, the beer shows bright clarity and a faltering head character. Through building a frothy white head to start, the foam dissipates without lace as quickly as it forms. First aromas are malty with notes of freshly-baked breads and bread crust, but with a grainy note here and there. The nose is mostly sweet, and with a soft herbal and floral hop blend. Flavor is equally as simple, leading with a mostly malt, but partly grain sweetness of light caramel, French breads and the savory crust flavor of breads most of all. No esters or phenols, the clean lager taste comes through in quite a refreshing attitude. Tea-like herbal flavor turns to earthy bitterness as the beer approaches finish, for a slightly bitter and fleeting malt taste late. Medium bodied, the beer’s mild maltiness and ample carbonation keeps things lightly creamy through midpalate, before turning herbal and slightly warm in finish. Overall: A less complicated brew that’s more of an apres-ski beer due to its toasty mixture of grainy bread and biscuit tops, with a lightly sweet touch of caramel. Pile on the earthy, spicy hops and a restrained level of balancing bitterness, and this 5.0 percent beer will give you no complaints. Snow Bank is widely available and currently in cans as well as draft handles around northern Utah. The Big Fruit Cake is less available; only in 16-oz cans from Grid City’s pub and retail shop. Here’s hoping for a much kinder 2021! CW

s we bid adieu to the infamously shitty 2020, I’d like to reflect on some of the more positive developments that came about in our craft beer scene this year. When mid-March passed, we had undergone the biggest craft beer boom in the state’s history, with breweries popping up at an obscene rate. Thankfully, no brewery/brewpub has (so far) succumbed to the economic woes that has befallen us all. Our pals over at Grid City Brew Works were scheduled to have their grand opening days after the shutdown, and have managed to stay afloat during a less than ideal year. So, it seems appropriate that 2020’s last beer nerd column would feature a brandnew beer from Grid City, as a testament to the brewers and their customers who are keeping our thriving beer culture alive. Grid City “The Big Fruit Cake”: This is a barleywine at its base, made with maple syrup, Balaton cherry juice, dried mission figs and Deglet Noor Dates. It pours a beautifully deep, clear burnt orange-amber body, with a slight, frothy off-white head. Adequate retention quickly yields a lasting frothy collar, paper-thin islands of cap and sparse strands of medium lacing around the glass. The nose opens in a weightless vacuum of vanilla-tinged tree sap, serving as a soft prelude to a dominant caramel malt with rounded honey accents. Sticky evergreen with touches of ginger and orange zest develops over time; trending towards syrupy sweet, but with a snappy crispness, evening the bouquet out nicely. Taste shows semi-sweet caramel malt with a burnt pine backing upfront, steadi-

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If you’re in the market for a swank feast to ring in the new year, then Snowbird Resort (9385 S. Snowbird Center Drive, 801-933-2222, snowbird.com) has you covered on Dec. 31. High rollers will want to check out the prix fixe New Year’s Eve menu at The Aerie, which features beef tenderloin, ahi tuna and stuffed chicken breast. Additionally, The Lodge Bistro will be offering an a la carte New Year’s Eve menu. Snowbird’s SeventyOne, Wildflower and Steak Pit restaurants will also be open for the occasion. Reservations are highly recommended, and there are few places more lovely than the Wasatch Mountains to welcome 2021 into our midst.

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Those craving a volley of brunchtime favorites alongside mimosas and Bloody Marys will want to check out Garage on Beck (1199 Beck Street, 801-521-3904, garageonbeck.com) come the first of January. This local gastropub is hosting a New Year’s Day brunch starting at 11 a.m., which will feature Garage’s Sunday brunch favorites like the smokehouse benedict with brisket and caramelized onions or the Garage Cristo, a sinful take on the Monte Cristo made with cinnamon Texas toast and honey ham before getting battered and deep fried. Garage on Beck’s New Year’s events are perfect for those after something low-key—or those looking to wind down after partying all night.

Bricks Corner Opens

A new pizza joint called Bricks Corner (1465 S. 700 East, 801-953-0636, brickscornerslc.com) recently opened its doors in the Liberty Wells area. From a glimpse at the menu, Bricks Corner is all about Detroit steel pan pizza, which looks to be a mash-up of Chicago deep dish and traditional Sicilian pies, so color me interested. Salt Lake has its fair share of pizza dialects, but this square-pan pie with cheese, tomato sauce and pepperoni spread straight to the edge has me all kinds of curious. In addition to some specialty pies, Bricks Corner offers sharables like oven-fired squash and brussels sprouts and a burger that sounds like it’ll give the pizza a run for its money. Quote of the Week: “Unless you are a pizza, the answer is yes, I can live without you.” –Bill Murray

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New Year Reflections Pt. 1 Notes from the local music scene on what we’ve been through and what’s to come.

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BY ERIN MOORE music@cityweekly.net @errrands_

ho better to send us off from 2020 and into 2021 than SLC’s own musical mainstays? Here we touch base with some folks City Weekly has talked to throughout this strange year—and some new ones—as we move into a new one.

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Bly Wallentine, musician, producer and owner of Studio Studio Dada How did this year change your relationship with music?

I created more music this year than any other year of my life. Creating music has been a coping mechanism and healing tool, a means of meditation and introspection. Relative solitude gave me the opportunity to experiment and further develop intimacy with sound. I seem to have sort of anthropomorphized sound to help me feel less lonely through all the disconnectedness. What’s your dream show to go to after the pandemic is over? I would love to go to an It Foot, It Ears / Corner Case / Helichrysum / Muzzle Tung show! What are your plans for 2021? I’m working on a new psych-pop album, and I hope to get a community band/orchestra in Provo going again if the pandemic ends.

Bianca Quigley, violist, composer and music student at Westminster College How did this year change your relationship with music?

I’m a very goal-oriented person, and without the prospect of different concerts to be practicing for, it was very difficult to keep myself motivated. As I began making myself practice for practice’s sake, I rekindled what made me fall in love with classical music and started playing for myself. What have you missed the most this year? Probably performing for an audience. Probably the most jarring thing about performing without a live audience is playing my heart out and, after finishing a piece, looking up and not hearing any applause. In those moments, the reason that we couldn’t play for people live felt very overwhelming, but that feeling only lasted a few seconds. What positives have you found? I’ve always been a little afraid of being by myself, but my roommates left to stay at their parents’ homes after the pandemic hit, and I was alone in my house for three months. I definitely got over my fear of being alone, and it gave me a lot of time to compose. I like writing music in the middle of the night, so it was also nice not having to worry about waking people up or annoying them.

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Justin Cornwall, DJ, tour manager How did this year change your relationship with music?

I finally had time to step back and reevaluate what kind of path I want to be on within music. Things have been so busy the last few years, I haven’t really had a spare minute to consciously lock in a direction. 2020 has allowed me to step back and decide what I want to give/get in terms of music. I’ve been able to put a lot of energy into music production to come out of this with new material. What positives have you found? Highlights of 2020 include a Goblin Valley adventure and DJing in the rain during a SLC Skate Babe skate night at Jordan Park. What’s your favorite music you found this year? Local: Kasadoom’s newest single “Witches” is a current favorite. Non-local: Jamie XX’s “Idontknow” is one of the best dance records I’ve ever felt.

Cecil Smith, PK Opal, booking for Twilite Doom Lounge, former HUM Juror What have you missed the most this year?

I miss my queer music community! There’s a certain magic that happens when you support an artist you know at a local venue. I can’t really describe it, but it does feel arcane to me. I’m realizing now how lucky I am just to have previously experienced it. What positives have you found? I feel so much less inclined to follow a capitalist mode of production when it comes to music. It’s really easy to fall into this mindset of a ‘successful’ artist being one that makes lots of money. I’m just happy that my friends like what I make. Does your band or project have plans for 2021? PK Opal will be releasing an album titled INKY at some point in 2021. I don’t tend to give myself deadlines, but a few singles will be coming soon for sure!

Josaleigh Pollett, musician What have you missed the most this year?

Any sort of live music whatsoever! I even miss getting ignored while playing in the corner of a loud restaurant. I was so looking forward to doing a big album release show to celebrate everyone involved in making my new record, and I really hope we get to in the New Year. Who are your favorite local music peddlers? Vincent Draper and the Culls, Bly Wallentine, Marny Proudfit, Lavender Vinyl, Diabolical Records, Graywhale!

Darin Piccoli, Owner of The State Room In the New Year, do you anticipate any changes in our music community?

[We] are seeing an overwhelming shift to boutique and independent artists and agencies—we hope the days are gone of the ‘big box’ promoters and agencies. Just like in retail, people are craving uniqueness, and are not going to take the concert experience for granted any longer. They will demand quality for the price of admission, and that is a win for the smaller promoters and artists out there. Here’s to 2021! CW

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One wouldn’t expect demos recorded on an iPhone—in a mad-dash attempt to make the deadline for submissions to 2020’s final HUM archive (and its prize money)—to come out sounding great. Even more so, one wouldn’t expect those demos to form a cohesive album that serves as a poignant touchstone in an SLC artist’s solo career. But that was the case for Katie Van Sleen’s aptly named October 2020 release, I Need The Money - Demos. Van Sleen used to play with a band, Baby Pink, but since striking out on their own they’ve managed to somehow craft a more intricate style than was ever present with backing support. Their voice is impossibly soft on the opener “Mistaken Identity,” a plaintive, remorseful song where the remorse is aimed at Van Sleen themself, and where scabbed-over regret is aimed at some undeserving ex. All over the album, Van Sleen’s measured voice and simple acoustics display an introspective, emotional dig—all the discomfort and pain tagged and organized, laid out peacefully. The thoughtful songwriting yields stunning lyrical moments, like the climax of “I Knew It’d Never Work,” whose lines draw vivid imagery: “the night I saw you with her at the Twilite Lounge, after dropping LSD / I was seeing gold stars around you, I was seeing them around me / then I went home all by myself, and I swore I was free.” “Hard 2 Live” starts out with the pluckily delivered, “sorry I forgot which day you died” and “Quarantine Song” is chill-inducing in its whole, as Van Sleen recalls a friend’s early demise and imagines following suit. From reflecting on the hurt of ex-lovers and the hurt they gave others, too (“Ode to a Man Who Hurts People”), to side-stepping into the playful (“Cowgirl’s Lament”) and finally to practicing hope and resilience (“Fine”), Van Sleen’s thoughts, feelings and memories feel like the result of much tossing and turning. They also feel finely wrung out and rinsed, like rumpled clothes that come out cool and clean after going through an extra spin cycle. These songs quite simply cement Van Sleen as one of SLC’s strongest songwriters—and they still need the money, so visit the album at kvsmusic.bandcamp.com

Demo Fest Features Locals Foaly, Petr Chubak

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If it’s last-minute 2020 giving that you seek, Demo Fest is the place to be. This Montreal, Québec-based fundraiser sprung up this year, seeking pledges from artists everywhere to submit demos to their Bandcamp for one mighty release, which happened on the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21) and which directs all proceeds from demos purchased to Solidarity Across Borders. The migrant justice network is based in Montreal, and focuses on supporting individuals and families confronting the many failures of the

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Katie Van Sleen’s I Need The Money Demos

immigration and refugee systems in Canada, whose problems in many ways mirror those of the United States. Among the dozens of entries from all over North America, across just as many genres, SLC’s talent is also in the mix thanks to contributions from Derek Wetenkamp of Choice Coin and Petr Chubak. foaly is the name of Wetenkamp’s solo project, and though the residue of his work with the emo band is present on his five-song submission we’re gonna do less and we’re gonna do worse, it’s also very much its own thing. While sticking to themes of anxiety typical of emo, Wetenkamp experiments with trap beats, crunchy looping guitar riffs, wry spoken-word lyrical delivery (except for on “in the field (blooming),” where spoken word is traded for screaming and glitchy roboticism) and even synth pop on “summer of ‘20.” The demos benefit from the work of other musicians in Wetenkamp’s circle, including locals like Eichlers and Spirit Prison. As for Chubak, it seems that besides putting on virtual “Instafests” in support of local venue The Beehive in the past few months, apparently he’s been busy with this totally self-sufficient album, titled On the Road to Recovery. Chubak’s main instruments are deftly-played acoustic guitar and an earnest, impassioned voice that makes him perfectly suited for a clean-cut take on folk-punk that rings with emo inclinations—cousins to Wetenkamp’s. Both of these demo contributions are available on demofest.bandcamp.com, but the dizzyingly large, full digital collection is available for only $50 there, too. Whether you just want a place to send some money for a good cause or need to send a friend a late digital Christmas present, take a gander at Demo Fest and learn more at demo-fest.org

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Gabino Ghrymes Releases Darvey Hent

Home Leigh

Sammy Brue and Branson Anderson Close Out the Year

SLC band Home Leigh’s Oct. 2020 EP Patio Furniture shirks, curiously, the homeliness of the EP’s title; opening track “Alaska” builds towards perfectly-balanced indie catharsis over a trim 5:41. Maybe crescendos are meant for endings, but the way the red-faced lament of “Alaska” goes, so grippingly, from a blush to a desperate cry opens things up perfectly for the rest of the album to follow. The instrumentals that color all the motion on that track are present in perfect indieemo-rock form on the following track, “Crave,” which rocks with the rhythm of a moving car when you’re trying hard to fall asleep on a long drive home. There, and also on “Heavyweight,” an almost mathy guitar carries things along with the reliable symmetry of a maple tree’s falling samara. Closer “Sappy” kicks things up a little, opening jauntily into something of a louder, more spirited, more complex effort—which is quite the note to go out on, if you ask me. The album builds wonderfully on their sparer 2019 effort, Goth Daughter, with more lush production but also more teeth evident in every aspect of the instrumentals and vocals, with Brittney Townsend on guitars and keys, Lucas Cathey on guitars, Jory Reece on bass, Zach Reinhard on drums and all four pitching in for vocal duties—though Townsend’s are the focal point. Recalling classic aughts indie emo acts like Now, Now, it’s clear with Patio Furniture that Home Leigh are fans of that time and place in music, but also more than capable of reproducing the way it sonically leans into emotional weight. As they say, anyways, their songs are for “anyone who has ever had feelings.” Find the album on Spotify or purchase it on homeleighslc.bandcamp.com

If there are two artists who could feasibly duke it out for the title of Americana Prince of Utah, it would be Branson Anderson and Sammy Brue. Though Brue has technically been on the local and national venue circuits for longer as our own folk wiz wunderkind, Anderson has made quick work of making a name for himself that’s just as recognizable, thanks to his distinctive revival of a certain vintage style of singer-songwriting. If the two were going to do it—though they both seem to be so gentle-natured that it’s unlikely any fisticuffs would be involved—they’d be able to when they share the stage to close out 2020 on New Year’s Eve at Kilby Court. For all of us, this has been an unimaginable year, with almost every aspect of normal life turned upside down or at least into something different. What better way, then, to close out a year whose anchor was prayers for normalcy, than by revisiting a musical past via the music of these two rock ‘n’ roll traditionalists? Brue in particular has taken a turn from his strict folk and country leanings in the last year, with the altogether-more-daring album Crash Test Kid, which was released earlier this year. Anderson is still reaping the benefits of his second album, Applecor, Baltimore, which came out last year. Anderson’s style is western wanderer all over, despite his reedy Bob Dylan-ish voice—and he, like Brue, has put it to work over the past few months at staggered live shows, and with an appearance on KUAA’s new program Locally Made, Locally Played. The two will surely provide a good-spirited time for fans or new listeners alike. So head to Kilby Court for your New Years Eve—doors are at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and masks are required for both performers and attendees. Find tickets and more info at sartainandsaunders.com

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In “Poetic Waltz” off of Utah rapper Gabino Grhymes’s first album since 2012, Darvey Hent, he raps “Salt Lake City’s my second home / Utah’s on the map, but I’m not / so that’s my main goal / resume is rap / not false stories and cheap gold.” So goes the very geographic 17-song tale of his own journey in the rap world, by way of the earnest and ambitious Darvey Hent, released Dec. 18. It’s colored throughout with the local likes of Fuego Skilz, Umang, gLife, Bobby B Life, Rebel Concept and more, making the lengthy work feel like a family reunion around the time-tested concept of classic hip hop, a slice-of-life production around Gabino Ghrymes’s making of an album to contribute to that legacy. It’s a fitting one, too, for an artist who co-hosts on KRCL’s Friday Night Fallout show, and who’s opened himself for the likes of Bone Thugz ‘n’ Harmony. The opening title track hooks with glittering production and snappy drum breaks, with plenty of room for Gabino’s charismatic rapping. He sets up the image of himself as a two-faced character in homage to Batman’s Harvey Dent, with lines like “nice guy, but my ugly side feels uncomfortable / apologies are minimal, know that / don’t like me in the physical? Let’s rap / Darvey is getting critical.” The track flips halfway through to a different face, too, with the help of DJ Battleship, dropping the ritzy beat mix for a somewhat grimier one. Over the many tracks that follow this opener, Gabino says what he needs to say, via the rhymes he refers to over and over as his preferred refrain. “I’m livin’ in my own sin / comfy in my own skin / give me a pen and pad and I’ll get it in,” he raps on “Maytag 2.0 (Remix)” which likens his style to the famously sturdy appliance. In it he identifies himself as both a subscriber to and a member of the hip hop classicists, brushing zillennial rap off his shoulder with references to the old meme of Gucci Gang and the still thriving popularity of Lil Nas X. He’s clearly comfortable in his style, in his rhymes, and has plenty of support that makes these songs shine. Find the album at gabinoghrymesmusic.bandcamp.com and stream on Spotify.

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CINEMA

You’re the Top The best of a very weird— but still great—movie year. BY SCOTT RENSHAW scottr@cityweekly.net @scottrenshaw

n a year where it seems everything was weird and different, movies were particularly weird and different. The COVID-necessitated closure of movie theaters around the country and around the world bounced mainstream theatrical releases from original release dates either to streaming services or to the (theoretically) more promising terrain of 2021. And yet, even if blockbusters took 2020 off, there was still plenty of superb cinema if you knew where to look. Here are my favorites from this peculiar movie year, proving that greatness doesn’t disappear just because of a virus. 10. Never Rarely Sometimes Always: Writer/director Eliza Hittman’s narrative shouldn’t be reduced to the fact that it’s about a 17-year-old (the stunning Sidney Flanigan) traveling to another state to get an abortion. On a sadder, more profound level, Hittman connects abortion to a culture of men sexualizing underage girls, then making those girls the only ones responsible for the consequences. It doesn’t just ask “why is it so hard for a teen girl to end an unwanted pregnancy,” but also “what world have men built that contributes to so many unwanted teen pregnancies.” 9. David Byrne’s American Utopia: Stop Making Sense is a tough act to follow, but erstwhile Talking Heads frontman David Byrne isn’t really trying to duplicate that landmark concert film in this record of his 2019 solo tour. Instead of attempting an almost alien remove from the audience, here he offers up his music in a way that

celebrates collective humanity. Brilliantly directed by Spike Lee, it’s effective both as pure showmanship and as a warm shared experience. 8. She Dies Tomorrow: In a year dominated by an infectious disease, writer/director Amy Seimetz gave us a creepy thriller that made despair itself literally contagious. Beginning with a young woman (Kate Lyn Shiel) who has become convinced that her death is imminent, Seimetz offers a kind of narrative contact-tracing as existential dread spreads from one person to another. With a compelling visual style and a wicked sense of humor, She Dies Tomorrow digs into an allegory for the insidious way mental illness tells people there’s no hope. 7. Collective: Alexander Nanau’s documentary launches from a tragic fire at a Romanian nightclub that killed several people, becoming both a portrait of crusading journalists who investigate corruption in local hospitals, and a profile of a newlyinstalled Minister of Health attempting to sweep out the rot in the system. Both sides of this story are amazingly compelling, providing a grim reminder that reform is a fight that depends on refusing to get discouraged even when the bastards win. 6. Fourteen: Tales of dysfunctional/ codependent relationships are tough to nail down, which makes writer/director Dan Sallitt’s portrait of two friends-sincegrade-school—the phenomenal Tallie Medel and Norma Kuhling—all the more impressive. Sallitt’s low-key directing style, emphasizing sustained takes, allows him to capture a relationship weighted with decades of history, building a remarkable portrait of how it feels to care deeply for someone you might not ever be able to “fix.” 5. Another Round: Turn Thomas Vinterberg’s premise—four co-workers testing a researcher’s theory about the beneficial effects of being slightly inebriated all the time—just a bit sideways, and it easily could have been a high-concept comedy. Instead, while also dodging the danger of turning into a “hey kids, don’t become an

alcoholic” PSA, Vinterberg conveys how much fun it is in the moment to hide from the things that make you feel like crap, anchored by Mads Mikkelsen’s terrific performance. 4. Wolfwalkers: The filmmakers behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea return to the well of Irish folklore for an animated tale so rich with subtext that it practically overflows: a beautiful tale of friendship between lonely, motherless young girls, plus a potent metaphor for the collision between occupying English Christianity and native Celtic paganism. Top that all off with Moore’s distinctive brand of 2-D animation—including exhilarating moments representing the freedom of running with wolves—and you’ve got the year’s most complete animated film. 3. I’m Thinking of Ending Things: It’s not necessary to have read the book on which Charlie Kaufman’s movie is based in order to appreciate this achievement, but it helps. Ian Reid’s psychological thriller— about a young woman (Jessie Buckley) pondering breaking up with her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) even as they travel to meet her parents—certainly falls into Kaufman’s mind-bending wheelhouse, but it’s also a perfect vehicle for serving up some stun-

ning performances, and a surreal narrative that still reveals a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and regret. 2. First Cow: Director Kelly Reichardt’s favorite themes coalesce magnificently in an adaptation of Jon Raymond’s 2005 novel The Half-Life, about an itinerant cook (John Magaro) in the Oregon Territory circa the 1820s who begins a business collaboration with a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) built on stealing milk from a local landowner. It becomes both an economic parable and a tale of unconventional friendship, where capitalism collides with basic decency in a sweet and sad reminder of the violence behind our mythologies of bootstraps social climbing. 1. Dick Johnson Is Dead: Kirsten Johnson’s debut feature Cameraperson felt indebted to her long career as a documentary cinematographer, in its hypnotic, almost stream-of-consciousness lack of narrative. Here she shows her versatility while retaining her deep humanity, capturing the experience of caring for her aging father with compassion and an oddball sense of humor that involves staging mock death scenes for Dad. What emerges is both a beautiful individual character study and a magnificent exploration of how we try to prepare for inevitable grief. CW

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ARIES (March 21-April 19) Author Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) carried on a long love affair with books. He read thousands of them, wrote more than 20 of them and further postulated the existence of numerous imaginary books that were never actually written. Of all the writers who roused his adoration, a certain Russian novelist was among the most beloved. Borges wrote, “Like the discovery of love, like the discovery of the sea, the discovery of Fyodor Dostoevsky marks an important date in one’s life.” I’m wondering if you will experience one of these pivotal discoveries in 2021. I strongly suspect so. It may not be the work of Dostoevsky, but I bet it will have an impact close to those of your original discoveries of love and the sea.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) In his masterpiece, the “Mona Lisa,” Leonardo da Vinci applied 30 layers of paint that were no thicker than a single human hair. Can you imagine the patience and concentration that required? I’m going to propose that you be inspired by his approach as you carry out your big projects in the coming year. I think you will have the potential to create at least one labor of love that’s monumentally subtle and soulful.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Climate change is proceeding with such speed in central Mexico that entire forests are in danger of perishing. In the hills near Ejido La Mesa, for instance, the weather is getting too hot for the fir trees that shelter millions of monarch butterflies every fall. In response, local people have joined with scientists to TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Vietnamese American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen has won physically move the fir forest to a higher, cooler elevation. What numerous awards for his work, including the Pulitzer Prize. might be your personal equivalent, Scorpio: an ambitious plan Here are his views about the nature of accomplishment: “We to carry out an idealistic yet practical project? According to don’t succeed or fail because of fortune or luck. We succeed my analysis of your astrological potentials, you’ll have a lot of because we understand the way the world works and what energy to work on such a scheme in 2021. we have to do. We fail because others understand this better than we do.” I bring these thoughts to your attention, Taurus, SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) because I think that in 2021 you will have an extraordinary Author Gérard de Nerval (1808–1855) made the following potential to enhance your understanding of how the world observation: “I do not ask of God that he should change anything works and what you must do to take advantage of that. This in events themselves, but that he should change me in regard to things, so that I might have the power to create my own unicould be the year you become both smarter and wiser. verse, to govern my dreams, instead of enduring them.” If you have a relationship with the Divine Wow, that will be a perfect GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Modern civilization has not spread to every corner of the planet. prayer for you to say on a regular basis in 2021. If you don’t There are at least 100 tribes that inhabit their own private have a connection to the Supreme Intelligence, I suggest you realms, isolated from the invasive sprawl of our manic, frantic address the same prayer to your Higher Self or Future Beauty influence. Among these enclaves, many are in the Amazon rain or whatever source of sublime inspiration you hold most dear. forests, West Papua and the Andaman Islands. I have a theory that many of us civilized people would love to nurture inner quali- CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) ties akin to those expressed by Indigenous people—hidden away The mathematically oriented website WaitButWhy.com says from the mad world, content to be free of the noise and frenzy and that the odds of winning a mega lottery can be compared to this living in attunement with natural rhythms. In 2021, I hope you scenario: You know that a certain hedgehog will sneeze just one will give special care and attention to cultivating this part of you. time in the next six years, and you place a big bet that this sneeze will take place at exactly the 36th second of 12:05 p.m. next January 20. In other words, WaitButWhy.com declares, your CANCER (June 21-July 22) Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island of Dominica in chances of winning that lottery are very small. But while their 2016. Scientists studied two local species of anole lizards both analysis is true in general, it may not be completely applicable to before and after the disaster. They were amazed to find that the you in 2021. The likelihood of you choosing the precise moment lizards after the hurricane had super-strong grips compared to for the hedgehog’s sneeze will be higher than usual. More their predecessors. They were better able to hold on to rocks importantly, your chances for generating positive financial luck and perches so as to avoid being swept away by high winds. through hard work and foresight will be much higher than usual. It’s an example of one of the most rapid rates of evolutionary change ever recorded. I bring this to your attention, Cancerian, AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) because I suspect that you, too, will have the power to evolve Author Anais Nin was supremely adaptable, eager to keep and transform at an expedited pace in 2021—in response to growing and receptive when life nudged her to leave the past behind and expand her understanding. At the same time, she positive events as much as challenging events. was clear about what she wanted and determined to get what she wanted. Her complex attitude is summed up in the following LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) I hope that in 2021 you will spend a lot of time meditating quote: “If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or on your strongest longings. Are they in harmony with your reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, highest ideals, or not? Do they energize you or drain you? Are and all that is left is compromise.” I hope you will heed her they healthy and holy, or are they unhealthy or unholy—or counsel throughout 2021. (Here’s another quote from Nin: somewhere in between those two extremes? You’ll be wise to “Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died re-evaluate all your burning, churning yearnings, Leo—and in other people’s.”) decide which ones are in most righteous service to your life goals. And as for those that are in fact noble and liberating and PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In 2013, workers at a clothing manufacturing plant in Gazipur, invigorating: Nurture them with all your tender ingenuity! Bangladesh, staged a mass protest. Did they demand a pay raise or better health benefits? Were they lobbying for air VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them,” says sing- conditioning or longer lunch breaks? None of the above. In fact, er-songwriter Pink. Strictly speaking, you can’t move moun- they had just one urgent stipulation: to dispel the ghost that was tains by shouting at them, either. But in a metaphorical sense, haunting the factory. I’ve got a similar entreaty for you in 2021, Pink is exactly right. Mild-mannered, low-key requests are Pisces. I request that you exorcise any and all ghosts that have not likely to precipitate movement in obstacles that resemble been preventing you from fully welcoming in and embracing the sold rock. As you undertake relocating or crumbling a certain future. These ghosts may be purely metaphorical in nature, but mountain, be robust and spirited—and, if necessary, very loud. you still need to be forceful in banishing them.

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SUDOKU

| COMMUNITY | | CITYWEEKLY.NET |

38 | DECEMBER 31, 2020

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

signed up for the Wasatch Speakers Series at Symphony Hall a few years back. An old friend hornswoggled me into buying a season’s pass she was selling. I cringed at the price but found that it to be one of the smarter investments I’ve made for my brain. Similar to TED Talks, speakers lecture for 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A. Had I not bought season tickets, I would not have exposed myself to people like General John Kelly, met President-elect Joe Biden or heard Donna Brazile and Michael Steele banter on stage (she’s the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, and he’s former chair of the Republican National Committee). With Brazile and Steele, we might have expected a knock-down, dragout fight. Instead, we found two folks intelligently expressing their views and chiding each other good-naturedly on stage. The series is now offered as a Zoom subscription with talks by musician Wynton Marsalis, stand-up comic W. Kamau Bell, reporter Anderson Cooper, travel guru Rick Steves, former British Prime Minister Theresa May, filmmaker Ken Burns and neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman. I’d never heard of Eagleman before and was pretty much blown away by his discussion of how the human brain works with time perception, dreams, plasticity and neurolaws. He spoke about several kinds of experiments, with one in particular about rats in cages. When rats are placed into confined spaces, they end up with low neuron activity. By changing their environment and giving them more freedom, they experience more creativity and more brain activity. Many of us have been feeling caged for most of 2020. Whether you work in a restaurant that turned from packed tables to takeout only or were forced to work from home because the boss closed the doors for COVID-19 safety reasons, you may have felt cooped-up, restricted, even a little stir crazy. Sadly, not much will change in the first quarter of 2021. Having a vaccine doesn’t mean the pandemic will instantly go away. But for those potential real estate buyers waiting to purchase until spring when the market cools a little, fuggedaboudit! If you don’t buy sooner rather than later, prices will go up, not down. Locally, property values went up 10%-20% in 2020 along the Wasatch Front and prices are expected to rise just as much if not more in some areas. My words of wisdom for those feeling caged in the safe spaces they call home: remodel, pack and purge to declutter. Get pre-approved for a mortgage and get into the buying game. You’ll get beat up when making offers, but with a wise strategy, you’ll win. Getting free from your cage will be good for your mind—and your soul. n Content is prepared expressly for Community and is not endorsed by City Weekly staff.

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WEIRD

Sign of the Times Superstitious residents of Naples, Italy, experienced what some see as a bad omen on Dec. 16, according to Reuters, when the dried blood of the city’s patron saint, San Gennaro, failed to liquefy when put on display. The saint’s dried blood is contained in a vial that is brought out three times a year in the city’s cathedral, where faithful Catholics pray for it to become liquid in a phenomenon known as the Miracle of San Gennaro. But after hours of praying and a special mass in the afternoon, the blood remained dry. Scientists have no explanation for why the substance in the vial sometimes liquefies and sometimes doesn’t, but Naples’ Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe told his flock not to be too concerned: “If something needs to melt, it is the hearts of people.”

Obsessions Real estate agent Sevenraj, 58, of Bangalore, India, has always wanted to be unique, he told the Mirror on Dec. 15, so when he was 18, he decided to make red and white his signature colors and has worn only those two colors ever since. Today, his home, his car and even his family—Puspha, his wife of 25 years, and their two children—sport nothing but red and white. Along with his color scheme, Sevenraj is fixated on the number 7. He was named after the number because he was the seventh child, and he now embroiders a crown symbol and the number 7 on all his suits and even has it stitched into the headrest of his red and white car. Sevenraj also speaks seven languages. “Wherever we go, people recognize us. They know us (as) the red and white family. I enjoy all the attention,” he admitted.

Likely Story Barry Joseph Watts told police in Fort Dodge, Iowa, that he had been walking by the building police found him in on Dec. 15, pulling on doors to see if they were unlocked and “entered the property to get warm,” according to the police report, “but after spending some time looking around the building, he decided to

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Bad Dog An unnamed “pug-like” dog was found at the wheel of a family’s van after it plummeted into a ditch on Dec. 9 in North Grenville, Ottawa. The Ottawa Citizen reported that police determined the owners had left the dog in the running car, and it probably bumped the gear shift into reverse, causing the van to slowly back up as the driver ran alongside, trying to get in. “Of course, the dog wasn’t charged,” said Grenville County police acting Sgt. Anne Collins. ‘Tis the Season While children across the world await Santa’s visit, naughty kids in some parts of Europe have already been visited by Krampus, the Christmas devil, a half-goat, half-demon with horns, who, according to legend, appears on Krampusnacht, Dec. 5, bearing whips and chains to beat wicked children before stuffing them in a sack and taking them away. The Mirror reports the centuries-old tradition takes place in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic and had its origin in German and Norse mythology. Horsing Around A 25-year-old Russian man identified as Vasily was out with friends on the evening of Dec. 9 in St. Petersburg when he encountered two women riding a horse through the streets and decided he wanted to pet the horse, Fontanka.ru reported. He said the rider offered him a carrot to give to the horse, but “the horse turns sharply to me and bites!”—taking off a chunk of Vasily’s nose, then spitting it out. The missing piece was retrieved, and doctors were able to sew it back into place, but they expect there will be scarring. Vasily denied the police report of the incident that claimed he was drunk and tried to kiss the horse. Oops! Matt Hightower, of Overland Park, Kansas, was home alone with his three kids in mid-December when he switched on the oven in preparation for making dinner. Inside, unfortunately, were the family’s three Elves on the Shelf, who had been put there the night before to “warm up” after a day of being held captive in the refrigerator by the “bad milk,” KCTV reported. “Babe ... I cooked the elves,” Hightower confessed to his wife, Chelsea, who was out Christmas shopping. “Thankfully,” said Chelsea, after a frantic search around town, “Jingle, Belle and Magic have made a miraculous recovery and are back to their silly ways.” Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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Only in Canada Police in Sarnia, Ontario, arrested two suspects after they allegedly broke into the wrong house on Dec. 11 and offered to pay damages after they realized their mistake. CTV reported that residents of the home were watching television when two unnamed 27-year-old men broke through a door, one holding a hammer, and demanded money they claimed was owed to them. They apologized and left the home after discovering their error, according to police, who quickly apprehended them.

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Police Report The Lee County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office said Jonathan Hernandez, 32, died on Dec. 12 while apparently trying to burglarize a home in Lehigh Acres after the window he was crawling through closed on him. According to the incident report, Hernandez’s neck was caught in the window, and he was dead by the time sheriff’s deputies arrived. WBBH reported friends and family of the budding rap artist, who performed as Taz UFO, deny the burglary accusation and call for further investigation.

Suspicions Confirmed Twenty-year-old Kaleb Kleiss was arrested in Clearwater, Florida, on Dec. 12 after a witness saw him driving with the barrel of an AR-15 rifle sticking out the driver’s side window of his 2016 Volkswagen, The Smoking Gun reported. Kleiss, who was intoxicated, according to arrest affidavits, told officers he carries the gun for self-defense because he’s “seen crazy stuff since moving to Florida.” When police tracked him down, Kleiss was standing next to his car outside a laundromat, with the assault weapon “displayed carelessly ... on the dashboard ... in plain view of everyone walking by the store,” police said, and the gun was “loaded with a full magazine and a round in the chamber.” Kleiss was charged with drunk driving and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon.

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It’s Come to This China’s Civil Aviation Administration issued updated COVID19 safety guidelines in early December that drew attention by encouraging flight crews to wear diapers and avoid airplane lavatories. Titled “Technical Guidelines for Epidemic Prevention and Control for Airlines,” the document included information on wearing masks and other personal protective equipment and also stated, “It is recommended that cabin crew members wear disposable diapers and avoid using the lavatories barring special circumstances to avoid infection risks,” United Press International reported.

start taking items.” Watts told officers he had taken gold teeth and a laptop from a dental business, but police also found cash, a $5,000 digital camera and burglary tools on him, including a screwdriver and a flashlight. KCCI reported authorities also found five doors damaged. Watts was arrested and held at the Webster County Jail.

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