Buzz Blog

Hello to all you fully working, holiday shopping, not immediately worried of what's to come enthusiasts. I'd regale you with the tales of job hunting as I quest for another job in/or related to broadcasting or writing, but do you really want to hear how much it sucks trying to get someone to call or write you back? In fact, to my un-amazement, one station has apparently dissolved their human resources department to save money and reduce frequent job inquiries. And by frequent, I mean more than once. Anyway, enough of that crap, since no one has updated the 337 Wall in a while, here's some random wall art that I've had in photo storage for a while now.

--- Starting with something that's happening as this is posted, the D-Wing of Poor Yorick Studios is currently having an art sale! All the artists who occupy the western most area of the large studio space are inviting you down to check out their works for lower than normal prices, starting at just $10. If you're looking for some good art on the low end, this may be one of you best stops all year.

Speaking of events tonight, the Bboy Federation is kicking off Round 4 of their competition tonight starting at 6PM , over at the Utah Arts Alliance (2191 South 300 West). You know the drill, go check out the finest SLC has to offer in Bboy competition and watch these six teams try to make it to the final round! 4-on-4 and 2-on-2 teams, just $5 to watch. Must I really say more? Go check it out, its bound to be an awesome showcase!

Going to theatre, at the rate Salt Lake Acting Company pushes out productions these days, its a tad hard to keep up on our end. So much like Boom, we're throwing in a quick plug for their latest play: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Their second annual children's production, following up to the success of last year's Go, Dog, Go. Probably a good idea for a family play this season, especially if you have kids who are blown away by this kind of stuff.

Moving onto music, if you haven't caught wind of it yet, X96 is throwing another concert at The Complex (that I believe we're sponsoring), their 4th annual Nightmare Before Xmas.%uFFFD Usually I tend to pass up mentioning these since there's never a local on the bill, but this year they're voting in a local to open. They whittled down the list to ten bands, some familiar names on here such as Passive and Fox Van Cleef, but a lot of groups that seem to have barely come out of the woordwork. In fact there's at least one who appears to have only started his website six months ago and has one demo loaded. Kinda makes me wonder where all the bigger local names are and why they didn't make the list, or if they even entered. In any case, the winner will open for OK Go, Innerpartysystem, Middle Class Rut and Brogan Kelby. Should be one hell of a party. Click here to vote for your favorite and get a good local on that stage!

Speaking of music and voting, if you'd like to take this effort to the next level, Velour will be holding their Winter Battle Of The Bands all this coming week. Kicking off on Monday night you'll see four different bands a night for five nights, just $6 per show no less, and be able to vote for your favorites. The highest bands will compete in the finals next Saturday for a final vote to declare a winner. We don't exactly have info on the final prize at the moment, but if you know Velour like we do, its bound to be an awesome surprise. Head down and check out some of the best up-and-coming acts Utah County has to offer.

Going to film, a lot of people were flipping out when Banksy visited for Sundance and tagged the town in his own unique way. Now those who missed out on the experience of seeing the film locally can pick back up on it again. "Exit Through The Gift Shop" will play this coming Friday, December 10th at the Salt Lake Art Center in partnership with the SLC Film Center and sponsorship from 3form. From 7-9PM. There's no ticket prices listed, so at best we can guess, its a free viewing! Go check it out, but take some cash with you just in case.

Stepping back to art for a second, but keeping with the reliving aspect, a lot of people missed out on the original run of Derek Dyer's Glitter People exhibition. Now you'll get a second shot for the fitting holiday season. In roughly two weeks on December 17th, from 6-9PM at the Sorenson Unity Center Gallery (1383 South 900 West), the full series of photographs make their return to the public eye. Along with Dyer himself to talk about the exhibition, there will be performances from SLC Ballet and music from DJ Portia Early. The full run of the show will be from now until February 4th, but this is the only night an official party will be held for the art. Go check it out.

And finally to wrap this up, and objective and shorthand look at something that a lot of you have seen rumblings about but don't really know what's going on. The Salt City Derby Girls appear to be in the midst of major dispute with... themselves. News broke out late last week of several members being terminated from the league with explicit instructions that they cannot return to SCDG. Some posted their letters for public view, others vented and complained, others dismissed it as childish and the rest flat-out ignored it all as "business as usual" with the league. It even prompted a Facebook "Boycott SCDG" fansite (now removed) and a party being thrown later this evening for former members. So... what the hell is really happening beyond the track?

The incident seems to have come from the fact that league president Brew HaHa currently owns 51% of SCDG, including the LLC, and by those circumstances has been in control of SCDG since its inception, directing the way the league does business with other elected staffers. This action has spawned complaints over the years from several former and current skaters, raising issues with the group over topics such as safety, illegal hitting, financial standing, sexual harassment and other questionable ethics involving league officials. Then this past week several members received letters informing them that they were being removed from the group and couldn't return. This action struck a chord in the derby community and brought out a lot of dirty laundry on many fronts, ranging from accusations without formal proof to evidence on tape. Most of the members wishing to remain anonymous at this point for fear of backlash or retribution for raising complaints. At the moment the WFTDA (who couldn't immediately be reached for comment) have started looking into these issues after receiving said complaints. After which the initial boycott website was taken down by request, and those who received letters were told the could come back, with the stipulation of requested retirement if they were returning to "cause problems."

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As for the league itself, they're pressing on as if nothing new has occurred, setting up sponsors and impending fundraisers, not to mention holding successful tryouts two weeks ago for new skaters. And from all indications are making plans to move forward with a new season starting next summer. When asked to comment on the original dismissals, Brew HaHa declined to elaborate on the reasoning, but did offer her opinion on the rise in anti-SCDG sentiment over the past week. "It's sad really. Some people like to make things up, and some people like to jump to conclusions without having all the facts. That's not for me to change, they are all their own people, they make all their own decisions. I am here only to address our league members and take care of their needs. If people want to judge based off of false accusations, and made up stories, that's on them. We'll just keep doing what we do, which is focusing on how to make ourselves better, and achieve our goals."

As for what will happen from here, that's really anyone's guess. Many former players have created their own league, Wasatch Roller Derby, which was brought into the WFTDA this past year. Others have moved beyond the Wasatch Front and into other groups, or even into non-competition groups like the Red Rockets who play for recreation. If the current vibe holds true going into next year, SCDG may end up with a massive exodus from the league and have to rebuild teams from scratch with the few remaining members becoming team leaders and staff. That is, pending whatever findings or decisions the WFTDA unveils after they conduct a proper investigation into the accusations and issues. In any case, purely from a spectator position, the entire situation feels like a derby bout in progress with no one getting away uninjured. By the time its finished, there's bound to be a few teeth left on the track.

As for the blog... we'll be delving into a gay issues podcast, talk erotica, visiting the latest fashion boutique, hit up a rustic furniture store, explore an upcoming gala hitting a milestone, and take a look at the last Gallery Stroll for 2010 (as seen above). At least that's what I'm hoping happens. As always, we'll see what happens.

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