POSTED // Dec 24,2008 - nJust in case you were wondering whose side you were on in the War on Christmas, I offer this simple test: Did you decorate a tree this year? Hang mistletoe? Place a wreath at your door? nThen you’re part of “the problem”—the problem, that is, as defined by hotheads like Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, and creepy, falafel-loving Fox News guy Bill O’Reilly. This pro...

POSTED // Dec 24,2008 - nEight eventual benefits of the smoking ban going into effect in Utah bars Jan. 1, 2009: n8. More stamina to outrun Mayor Becker’s hybrid police cars. n7. Finally knowing what your favorite dive really smells like. n6. No more women snubbing advances with a cigarette butt to your forehead. n5. Finally knowing what your favorite stripper really looks like. n4. A much healthier environment in ...

POSTED // Dec 24,2008 - n The Ogden School District has decided to reduce its high school math requirement from four years to three. Some worry the shortened curriculum will be inadequate for preparing students for college. City Weekly asked Erin Foley of the Jagged Edge Retreat salon downtown whether or not she thinks the change is a good idea:nThat’s how it is in Jordan School District, they only require two year...

POSTED // Dec 24,2008 - nLove psychic Margaret Ruth can be heard Friday mornings on X96’s Radio From Hell (X96.com). Ruth will teach a tarot class at the University of Utah in February (details at MargaretRuth.com or phone 575-7103).nCan the feeling of “falling in love” be trusted?n“Chemistry” and “attraction” are not always the same as the feeling of “love.” You shou...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - Ticket to Riden Short of drilling a hole through the mountains and installing a giant fan to blow smog out of Utah’s valleys, the only way Beehive State residents are going to breathe clean air in the near future is if they stop driving. There’s good news on that front in a recent survey from the Federal Highway Administration. People are driving less all over the United States compare...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - Do you have a memorable teacher or professor you want to send a Christmas wish to? n n nDerek Jones: Mr. Newman. In high school, I approached the principal to form a Gay-Straight Alliance. He came forward and let me know he would be the adviser for our group. It was a truly proud and heroic act as he put a lot on the line coming out like that. Mr. Newman, it’s been a few years, but I want yo...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - Ioana Cupsa was genuinely surprised the day I answered her e-mail. She wrote to me on Dec. 8, with “story idea” in the subject line. nBy far, most e-mail I get at City Weekly comes from commercial ventures or marketing firms and public relations experts hawking everything from a struggling band’s CD to a new line of organic baby food. Each e-mail is rarely distinguishable from th...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - Just in time for Christmas comes the perfect stocking stuffer. It is a gizmo that shuts off your cell phone if you try to use it while operating a motor vehicle [“Yes! Anti-teen Technology,” Salt Blog, Dec. 11]. Developed by a Utah urologist now living in Kansas and a professor of civil engineering at the University of Utah, the device fits over your car key and transmits a Bluetooth r...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - nSOS, and calling Chris Buttars, please: In all but declaring a regular jihad on Christmas, the Salina and Richfield city councils have officially decided to 86 nativity scenes on city property this holiday season. nThe Associated Press reports that both councils took their city attorney’s legal advice to—imagine—keep church and state separate and to take a pass on the crè...

POSTED // Dec 17,2008 - nnnnEight little-known Christmas TV specials and movies airing this week:nn8. Law & Order: Ralphie the Red Ryder Freeway Sniper (NBC) n n7. A Very Real Christmas: Home for the Holidays and Nowhere Near the Playoffs With Real Salt Lake (KSL 5) n n6. Rudolph’s Shiny New Flask (ABC Family) n n5. Big Budah’s Supa-Funky Yuletide Dance Party (Fox 13) n n4. Betrayed By the Beard: The Mrs...