POSTED // Jan 7,2009 - Just when things are looking a little gloomy—post-holiday blues, the economy in ruins, scandal in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, etc.—along comes a story that makes you glad to be alive. I am referring to an article in the Jan. 2 Deseret News carrying the headline, “BYU Study Recommends Restraint in Eating.” nThe BYU study will soon be published in The American Journal of Hea...

POSTED // Jan 7,2009 - nEight New Year enrollment incentives and classes being offered by local gyms:n8. Complimentary protein/vodka shakes n7. Happy-ending Pilates n6. Wheatgrass hookahs n5. Tele-cycling n4. Free XXXL yoga pants labeled Small n3. Spiritual strength training n2. Combination tanning/liposuction beds n1. CardioNap™ ...

POSTED // Jan 7,2009 - n Members of a Utah State University fraternity and sorority are being charged with felonies for the hazing death of an 18-year-old pledge who died of alcohol poisoning. While underage, the individual did consent to the fraternity initiation drinking game and was warned by those hazing him about drinking too much—the state still decided to press felony charges. City Weekly asked Lisa Hibbens...

POSTED // Jan 7,2009 - n On Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m., Donald Worster’s appearance at Sam Weller’s Bookstore (254 S. Main, 328-2586, SamWellers.com) sheds light on the life and times of John Muir in A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir. nWhy should Utahns care about Scottish-born (in 1838) John Muir?nJohn Muir was no stranger to Utah. He swam in the Great Salt Lake, climbed Mount Nebo and wrote abo...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - nEight reasons you didn’t go out on New Year’s Eve:n8. Nothing goes with this damned electronic ankle bracelet.nn7. Had to guard home against roving bands of zombies (Ogden only).nn6. Couldn’t tear self away from City Weekly’s fascinating Year in Preview 2009.nn5. Busy backing up computer files in event of underreported Y2K9 Bug.nn4. Didn’t want to show up drunk at fi...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - nOther newspapers choose the New Year as a time to look back, to recap events of the year just passed. Bah, we say. It’s a lame excuse to give lazy reporters a day off every Jan 1. “Hope,” after all, is the watchword for 2009. (Or was it “change?”) Either way, it’s about moving forward. And if there was ever a year to put quickly in the rear-view mirror, it was ...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - What will be the first big political scandal in Utah in 2009?nAngela Brown: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker will star on Hive TV’s new local celebrity dating show Mayor of Love. nTroy Williams: Rookie Congressman Jason “tent cities” Chaffetz gives Utah its first national gay-sex scandal. He’s too hardcore conservative and too well groomed not to have some secrets in that ...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - I’m not really a television psychic—but I was gratified this past October when my analysis of Don Draper’s card reading from episode 212 of AMC’s Mad Men (“The Mountain King”) received mention on Websites of such notable Tarot experts as Corrine Kenner and Mary K. Greer.nDespite the fact that my predictions turned out to be—well, absolutely wrong, I decide...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - It’s that time of year: What are your New Year’s resolutions?n nNick Clark: I resolve to get over the fact that not all people look, think, love or vote like me. I suggest everyone else do the same. n nJamie Gadette: Run the Salt Lake City half-marathon in April. n nJeremiah Smith: I could be boring and say stopping smoking, but that has more to do with not wanting to smoke outside in...

POSTED // Dec 31,2008 - Two old soldiers sat at a table at SugarHouse Coffee and told war stories. The stories usually began with “remember when” and concluded with a smile. Between them, they had done 53 years in uniform, mostly in Utah’s Army National Guard, mostly among friends. Although no passerby would have guessed the two were sometime soldiers, most would have recognized their faces and names. n...