Pay at the Pump: Uncovering the True Cost of Gasoline
by Benjamin R. Bombard
Like it or not, the automobile is central to the American way of life, and so is the promise of inexpensive gas. But without government subsidies and other economic trickeries, the price at the pump is a pipe-dream.
 If you're like most AmeriÂcans, your visits to the gas station to fill your vehicle's tank are workaday, and your behavior nearly robotic: Roll up, pop the gas cap, swipe your card, pull up on that black handle and watch the numbers on the pump tick away your hard-earned money. That is until the price per gallon starts climbing, as commonly happens every summer—then we really start paying attention.
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The Aquarium Age: 2010 and beyond
by Ralfee Finn
Startling plot twists! Tremendous potential for creative innovation! And, on July 26, a glimpse into 2012: Now is the time to wake up.
 This summer, as the weeks before and after the opposition of July 26 unfold, we will have a glimpse into the future, a preview of future intensity, as we move into the seven exact Uranus/Pluto squares that occur 2012-2015. Those squares will change the world. Completely. Each one of us will be a participant in those changes, making it all the more important to move into alignment, now. "Be the change you want to see in the world" may be overused. But it is not yet a cliché.
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State of the Universe Address 2010
by Swami Beyondananda
Wake up laughing, and wise up loving: The upwising has begun!
 Well, another 12-month episode of that long-running comedy of situations, "Universe Knows Best," is in the can, and you'll be happy to know the show has been renewed for another season. The Producer thinks it's hilarious. However, if you're like most of us, you really had to strain to hear the laugh track in 2009. Certainly, there was plenty to not laugh about. Take our political system—please!
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The Art Farm
by David Kranes
For over 40 years, Salt Lake Acting Company has "bought local" when it comes to supporting talent; one grateful playwright speaks out for local artistic "farming."
 Not long after facial hair had found me and I had found writing-for-the-theater, I said a stupid thing. Smudged almost imperceptibly with early success, I was a bit full of myself—sitting on the stage of the August Wilson Theater in New York with a half-dozen others who constituted a panel giving advice to regional theater directors and managers. The question asked of the panel to which I responded stupidly was: "Where do we find the playwrights?" Feet cartwheeling toward my mouth, I leapt in.
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Undo Dirty Air with Yoga
by Charlotte Bell
"Bridge pose" is especially needed in the month whose name means "purification."
 The Romans had detox in mind when they added February to their calendar in about 700 BCE. The Latin februum means "purification." February is named after the Roman purification ritual that took place each year on February 15th. "Purification, refinement, surrender. These are the practical steps on the path of yoga," wrote Patanjali in "Yoga Sutras." Purification is central to the yogic path.
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Banksy Was Here
by Amie Tullius
Ephemeral art: It's just a matter of time. The legendary graffiti artist leaves a potentially short-lived Utah legacy.
 Banksy, perhaps the world's most famous graffiti artist, has left Utah, but he left us with artwork. Some of the art has met its fate already; of the handful of guerrilla murals Banksy left us, over half have been buffed out or painted over already. Do we know for sure it was Banksy? Certain Salt Lake artists have the skills to mimic. Does it matter? Banksy's spokeswoman confirmed he made the paintings.Banksy, perhaps the world's most famous graffiti artist, has left Utah, but he left us with artwork. Some of the art has met its fate already; of the handful of guerrilla murals Banksy left us, over half have been buffed out or painted over already.
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Hell Shall Be Peopled With Seagulls
by Amie Tullius
Jamie Wyeth exhibition takes an avian look at the seven deadly sins—at the Salt Lake Art Center.
 The seven deadly sins have fueled western culture's fascination with all things deemed nasty. The anÂcient checklist for bad behavior has been inspiration for plays, ballets, paintings, literature, music, film, even video games. Renowned American painter Jamie Wyeth's tweak on the topic: his subjects are seagulls. His seven portraits of seagulls embodying the traditional Christian theological vices feel very realistic—you come away with the sense that they are almost photographic.
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Uconoclast Wallace Thurman
by Ken Sanders
The short, dark yet luminous life of the Utah-born Harlem Renaissance novelist reborn for the theatre.
 A black man from white Utah talking about the dark color of his skin. White America didn't care for that. A black man in black America durÂing the heady days of the Harlem Renaissance talking about racism within the African-American community. Black America didn't care for that. Wallace Thurman, a young black homosexual male from Salt Lake City seduced by the glittering lights of New York City in the 1920s, didn't care what America—black or white—thought. He simply told the truth.A black man from white Utah talking about the dark color of his skin. White America didn't care for that.
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