One of the down sides of living in the Wasatch Valley - temperature inversions. We have had less snow so far this winter and this results in more and/or longer inversions. For example, this week the inversion is expected to last 5 days. Temperature inversions are caused by warm air holding down cooler air in the valley with the warm air acting as a lid. This lid holds in pollution from vehicles, factories and wood smoke. Even people who do not have allergies have a rough time and it is dangerous for people with asthma or COPD. I can only imagine how horrible the air quality was in the days of coal burning stoves. We rely on the snowstorms to clean out the valley's air in the winter so hopefully, there is significant snow on the way.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Crazy Winds
Freaky weather event today. I am not sure if this is normal for this time of year. Serious winds in the canyons and it is very interesting, at least to me, that this event followed a couple of days of inversion. The valley is definitely being cleaned out by the winds. North of Salt Lake City, the canyons near Bountiful are clocking 93 mph winds (hurricane force) and in Centerville, 96 mph gusts. The wind speeds are definitely increasing as the day goes on. Semis have been toppled over. Travel in and out of any of the canyons is either being discouraged or shut down completely. Running the trains has become very dangerous in certain areas and the Frontrunner trains are stalled between Layton and Woods cross. For now, TRAX is still functioning. UDOT will try to rescue the passengers on the Frontrunners but buses would not be a good idea as they are high-profile vehicles and will have the same problems with the winds as the semis. Transformers have been blown out and approximately 12,000 homes and businesses are without power. Debris is slamming into vehicles and homes. Many of the descriptions by the various newspeople sounds very much like a Category 2 hurricane but with snow instead of rain. Amazingly, school has not been cancelled or delayed. If I had a school-aged child, there is no way that I would allow them to ride a bus to school, especially since authorities are recommending that EVERYONE stay off of the interstates and out of the canyons.
UPDATE: Centerville Schools announced that they are indeed closed for today. Somebody came to their senses.
UPDATE: Centerville Schools announced that they are indeed closed for today. Somebody came to their senses.
Monday, November 21, 2011
ABC4/CW30 shakeups
Several weeks ago viewers of Good Things Utah (ABC4) and The Daily Dish (CW30) said goodbye to Reagan Ledbetter. She felt that she was missing out on quite a few things with her boys and wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. It was an agonizing decision for her to give up her career but in the end, she decided that family is first. She could be with her sons in the morning before school, spend the summers with them and be available for her husband's roping competitions that normally are Friday - Sunday without having to take time off of work.
Reagan had been one of the original hosts of GTU (9 years) and TDD (1 year). Her departure began a talent shakeup at both stations. On her last day, it was announced that the producer of TDD was also leaving. A couple of weeks later, Marti Skold announced she was leaving for a job at News14 in Raleigh, NC so that she could be closer to her children and her husband's family. Last week, Angie Larsen announced she was leaving for a position at Usana as the new Senior Manager of Corporate Relations. This was stunning as she denied any plans for leaving only a few weeks prior when Marti Skold left. Her stated reason is also spending time with her sons as she will now have a normal schedule. The exit of Marti and Angie left holes in the local morning newscast where Angie was an achor and Marti was the meteorologist. This leaves Nicea Degering as the only original host remaining.
There were several weeks of tryouts for the shows with many promising candidates. The first person chosen is Brianne Johnson. She was the one person that I was really hoping would not be hired. She does not have a journalism background so this is a huge learning curve for her. Her nerves really got the best of her when she was trying out because her already squeaky voice was on "squeak overload" and her on-air persona was really fake. This has calmed down somewhat now that she has been hired on full-time but the fakiness is really annoying. (I give her the benefit of the doubt that she may be a terrific person off camera.) It also does not help matters that Reagan was the warm and calming influence for Nicea and Brianne is somewhat of a sycophant. I am not sure how the process will work for filling Angie's chair but my hope is for a journalist who is on GTU and sits in the morning anchor chair along with Don Hudson.
On the morning news broadcast, the new weather anchor is really lame. Not sure if this is his normal personality or if the producers are trying to be "edgy". Either way, Marti is sorely missed. With Angie leaving, I decided to check out KSL's local morning newscast. Considerably more professional and I enjoyed it enough that I will probably switch stations in the morning. I will miss Don Hudson as he seems like a genuinely nice person.
On TDD, there was always a great back and forth between Nicea and Reagan because their close friendship off-air was very apparent on-air. Yes, they had scripts but they mainly just riffed it which was refreshing. The show has become really boring and lifeless without Reagan. I also dislike Nicea reading the FB comments as she has a really bad tendency to summarize rather than read the actual post, sometimes losing the meaning of the original post. Reagan just simply read the post on-air and would sometimes comment if she agreed or disagreed, always in a very polite way. Nicea can sometimes come off as being a bit nasty. At this point, I see no reason to continue watching TDD and took it off of the DVR schedule. I will, however, miss Don Hudson and Brian Carlson in the "Dishing with the Dudes" segments.
The rumors on FB suggest that Angie, Marti and the TDD producer were actually pushed out. Management did not do themselves any favors by suggesting that all of the changes were "merely a coincidence". It is so unfortunate that two really great shows have gone downhill so quickly from "must see TV" to "if I am really, really bored TV". As a viewer, I do not blame Reagan in any way because her choice was merely a catalyst for the changes that followed.
Reagan had been one of the original hosts of GTU (9 years) and TDD (1 year). Her departure began a talent shakeup at both stations. On her last day, it was announced that the producer of TDD was also leaving. A couple of weeks later, Marti Skold announced she was leaving for a job at News14 in Raleigh, NC so that she could be closer to her children and her husband's family. Last week, Angie Larsen announced she was leaving for a position at Usana as the new Senior Manager of Corporate Relations. This was stunning as she denied any plans for leaving only a few weeks prior when Marti Skold left. Her stated reason is also spending time with her sons as she will now have a normal schedule. The exit of Marti and Angie left holes in the local morning newscast where Angie was an achor and Marti was the meteorologist. This leaves Nicea Degering as the only original host remaining.
There were several weeks of tryouts for the shows with many promising candidates. The first person chosen is Brianne Johnson. She was the one person that I was really hoping would not be hired. She does not have a journalism background so this is a huge learning curve for her. Her nerves really got the best of her when she was trying out because her already squeaky voice was on "squeak overload" and her on-air persona was really fake. This has calmed down somewhat now that she has been hired on full-time but the fakiness is really annoying. (I give her the benefit of the doubt that she may be a terrific person off camera.) It also does not help matters that Reagan was the warm and calming influence for Nicea and Brianne is somewhat of a sycophant. I am not sure how the process will work for filling Angie's chair but my hope is for a journalist who is on GTU and sits in the morning anchor chair along with Don Hudson.
On the morning news broadcast, the new weather anchor is really lame. Not sure if this is his normal personality or if the producers are trying to be "edgy". Either way, Marti is sorely missed. With Angie leaving, I decided to check out KSL's local morning newscast. Considerably more professional and I enjoyed it enough that I will probably switch stations in the morning. I will miss Don Hudson as he seems like a genuinely nice person.
On TDD, there was always a great back and forth between Nicea and Reagan because their close friendship off-air was very apparent on-air. Yes, they had scripts but they mainly just riffed it which was refreshing. The show has become really boring and lifeless without Reagan. I also dislike Nicea reading the FB comments as she has a really bad tendency to summarize rather than read the actual post, sometimes losing the meaning of the original post. Reagan just simply read the post on-air and would sometimes comment if she agreed or disagreed, always in a very polite way. Nicea can sometimes come off as being a bit nasty. At this point, I see no reason to continue watching TDD and took it off of the DVR schedule. I will, however, miss Don Hudson and Brian Carlson in the "Dishing with the Dudes" segments.
The rumors on FB suggest that Angie, Marti and the TDD producer were actually pushed out. Management did not do themselves any favors by suggesting that all of the changes were "merely a coincidence". It is so unfortunate that two really great shows have gone downhill so quickly from "must see TV" to "if I am really, really bored TV". As a viewer, I do not blame Reagan in any way because her choice was merely a catalyst for the changes that followed.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
11/11/11 and Fashion Place Mall's Grand Re-opening
Fashion Place Mall had a grand re-opening on 11/11/11 with a total of 11 new or reopened stores. Crate & Barrel, The North Face store and H&M have opened stores in Utah for the first time with this addition to the mall. Other stores include Ann Taylor, Yankee Candle, Bastille, Brio, Art of Shavings and Loft. I was most excited about Crate & Barrel and The North Face store.
There was much hullabaloo about H&M. The first 500 people in line when the doors opened received a gift card with values between $5 and $500. News reports estimated that there were approximately 700 people in line. People began showing up at 4:30 am or so. There had been a false report on Facebook that stated the mall would start allowing people to camp in line Thursday evening at 10:30 pm but it was a hoax. The H&M is a full line clothing store in that it has women's, men's, maternity and children's departments. The maternity and children's departments are on the second floor. The store offers women's sizes through 14. However, their clothes are slim European cut so most women need to go up from their regular size. It is unlikely that I will purchase clothes for myself but their accessories are reasonably priced. I will also shop for my grandson from their children's department.
At Crate & Barrel, the corporate rep was absolutely shocked at the flooding of customers when they opened the doors. There was a group of women at the beginning of the line who had driven down from Montana for the opening and they were really excited. I am so with them. I will, however, delay gratification and wait until January to go check out the store.
Despite the madness at the mall, Skip wanted to go directly to The North Face store after I picked him up at the airport in the evening. We had to park very far away from the entrance but we enjoyed the walk. The North Face store was not too crazy. They were giving away gift cards but very few. Our ticket garnered us free t-shirts. I was really surprised that the t-shirts, which were a marketing tool, were not crappy cheap ones. It was so wonderful to be able to shop in a The North Face store rather than at Dick's Sporting Goods because of the variety of product and helpful salespeople. Our two big finds were "e-tip" gloves and jackets with "side vents". The e-tip gloves really work so if you have a touchscreen device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), they are worth the money. The salesperson, Kaycie, helped me find a jacket that keeps me dry and blocks the wind but does not make me sweat. I am a polar bear so it needs to be really, really cold for me to need a warm coat. The side vents allow airflow to keep me cooler. LOVE!!!!! We spent a lot of money but we had saved up because we were anticipating the store opening. We will definitely be returning again and again to this store.
There was much hullabaloo about H&M. The first 500 people in line when the doors opened received a gift card with values between $5 and $500. News reports estimated that there were approximately 700 people in line. People began showing up at 4:30 am or so. There had been a false report on Facebook that stated the mall would start allowing people to camp in line Thursday evening at 10:30 pm but it was a hoax. The H&M is a full line clothing store in that it has women's, men's, maternity and children's departments. The maternity and children's departments are on the second floor. The store offers women's sizes through 14. However, their clothes are slim European cut so most women need to go up from their regular size. It is unlikely that I will purchase clothes for myself but their accessories are reasonably priced. I will also shop for my grandson from their children's department.
At Crate & Barrel, the corporate rep was absolutely shocked at the flooding of customers when they opened the doors. There was a group of women at the beginning of the line who had driven down from Montana for the opening and they were really excited. I am so with them. I will, however, delay gratification and wait until January to go check out the store.
Despite the madness at the mall, Skip wanted to go directly to The North Face store after I picked him up at the airport in the evening. We had to park very far away from the entrance but we enjoyed the walk. The North Face store was not too crazy. They were giving away gift cards but very few. Our ticket garnered us free t-shirts. I was really surprised that the t-shirts, which were a marketing tool, were not crappy cheap ones. It was so wonderful to be able to shop in a The North Face store rather than at Dick's Sporting Goods because of the variety of product and helpful salespeople. Our two big finds were "e-tip" gloves and jackets with "side vents". The e-tip gloves really work so if you have a touchscreen device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), they are worth the money. The salesperson, Kaycie, helped me find a jacket that keeps me dry and blocks the wind but does not make me sweat. I am a polar bear so it needs to be really, really cold for me to need a warm coat. The side vents allow airflow to keep me cooler. LOVE!!!!! We spent a lot of money but we had saved up because we were anticipating the store opening. We will definitely be returning again and again to this store.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Twilight Mania
For those of you who are not Twilight fans (or have a life), there is a new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn - Part 1, that premieres next week. Utah takes the Twilight fandom to stratospheric level of crazy.
For the non-fans, Twilight is a series of books and subsequent movies based upon the books. They are in the young adult fiction category and are horror/romance novels (heavy on the romance, light on the horror). The author is Stephanie Meyer, a Mormon who attended BYU. These books have made her a legend in Utah. The sales figures for the books and movies in Utah are so high that the production company does a few special things for the Utah fans that are normally reserved only for NYC and LA.
The first item is a display of costumes from the movie's wedding scene. The only U.S. cities with such a display are NYC, LA and Sandy, UT. It is located at the Megaplex 17 - Jordan Commons. The "Exclusive Movie Display" includes the dresses, tuxedos, shoes and jewelry of the following characters: Rosalie Hale, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale and Emmett Cullen. There is also framed copy of the wedding invitation. The display is behind bulletproof/shatterproof glass to protect it from theft. The aspect I found interesting is the size of the costumes. The dresses are size 0, thus displayed on a little girl's mannequin. The tuxedos are displayed on boy's size 10 mannequins, which shows you how small these actors are and the creative camera angles necessary to make them appear larger.
On premiere night (Friday, 11/18/2011 at 00:01), there will be a "VIP Party" at the Megaplex 17 - Jordan Commons. There will be goodie bags similar to those handed out at the world movie premiere on Monday at the Nokia Theatre LA. However, the contents are from local businesses and there may or may not be some of the actors in attendance. If there are actors from the movie, it will most likely be secondary characters but I could be wrong. Musicians who have music on the soundtrack will be performing as well. I have no idea which musicians.
Businesses all through the state have purchased entire showings of the movie on premiere night. They give the tickets to customers and employees as well as friends and relatives. Only one theater in the area had tickets left this morning and I am sure they are gone now.
I do not really understand the craziness surrounding the Twilight phenomenon since I am not a fan. Sparkly, angsty vampires and romance novel plots are not really appealing to me. I prefer the Southern Vampire Series universe (Sookie Stackhouse) of author Charlaine Harris. However, this movie is Breaking Dawn - Part 1 so I am assuming that the craziness will return with Breaking Dawn - Part 2.
For the non-fans, Twilight is a series of books and subsequent movies based upon the books. They are in the young adult fiction category and are horror/romance novels (heavy on the romance, light on the horror). The author is Stephanie Meyer, a Mormon who attended BYU. These books have made her a legend in Utah. The sales figures for the books and movies in Utah are so high that the production company does a few special things for the Utah fans that are normally reserved only for NYC and LA.
The first item is a display of costumes from the movie's wedding scene. The only U.S. cities with such a display are NYC, LA and Sandy, UT. It is located at the Megaplex 17 - Jordan Commons. The "Exclusive Movie Display" includes the dresses, tuxedos, shoes and jewelry of the following characters: Rosalie Hale, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale and Emmett Cullen. There is also framed copy of the wedding invitation. The display is behind bulletproof/shatterproof glass to protect it from theft. The aspect I found interesting is the size of the costumes. The dresses are size 0, thus displayed on a little girl's mannequin. The tuxedos are displayed on boy's size 10 mannequins, which shows you how small these actors are and the creative camera angles necessary to make them appear larger.
On premiere night (Friday, 11/18/2011 at 00:01), there will be a "VIP Party" at the Megaplex 17 - Jordan Commons. There will be goodie bags similar to those handed out at the world movie premiere on Monday at the Nokia Theatre LA. However, the contents are from local businesses and there may or may not be some of the actors in attendance. If there are actors from the movie, it will most likely be secondary characters but I could be wrong. Musicians who have music on the soundtrack will be performing as well. I have no idea which musicians.
Businesses all through the state have purchased entire showings of the movie on premiere night. They give the tickets to customers and employees as well as friends and relatives. Only one theater in the area had tickets left this morning and I am sure they are gone now.
I do not really understand the craziness surrounding the Twilight phenomenon since I am not a fan. Sparkly, angsty vampires and romance novel plots are not really appealing to me. I prefer the Southern Vampire Series universe (Sookie Stackhouse) of author Charlaine Harris. However, this movie is Breaking Dawn - Part 1 so I am assuming that the craziness will return with Breaking Dawn - Part 2.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Utah's Arid Climate Creates Havoc - Hair
I have commented previously on the arid climate in Utah so I will not rehash it. Just as it causes my skin to overproduce oil, it also causes my scalp to overproduce oil. In addition, the ends of my hair became very dry within a couple of weeks of our arrival. I take excellent care of my hair - natural, brush it with a wooden handle paddle brush (100% dry), large tooth comb when wet, hair oil, vegan (sulfate free, paraben free, petrochemical free and phthalate free) shampoo and conditioner, and do not use heat appliances (blow dryer, curling iron, flat iron, hot rollers, etc.). I was perusing Costco and saw a Kirkland Signature brand shampoo and conditioner "Moisture". It was reasonably priced and is packaged in very large bottles. Its scent is not too strong and with Kirkland Signature brand, I can be confident that the product is vegan and not tested on animals (direct or third party). So, I decided to give it a try.
"Moisture" is safe for color treated hair, which is not a necessary feature for me. It is 100% vegan, sulfate free, paraben free and gluten free. Because the shampoo is sulfate free, your hair needs to be soaking wet when you apply the shampoo or it will not really lather. Before you apply the conditioner, you must gently squeeze as much water out of your hair as possible. I wash my hair every third day and it stays clean and soft between washes although it is fluffier on day one, which is normal. I have been really happy with these two products and have since purchased another bottle of shampoo. My husband likes it because it is not perfumey.
A couple of weeks after my initial purchase, there was a segment on GTU about hair care products. One of the hosts said that her stylist had actually recommended the "Moisture" products. The stylist said they are the best thing she has found for the dry hair here in Utah, especially for those women who color or highlight their hair. The host also said that she had met women whose primary purpose for having a Costco membership was the beauty products. I have found many great products at Costco but until I saw this segment, I had no idea about the popularity of the "Moisture" shampoo and conditioner.
I highly recommend the "Moisture" hair care products from Costco.
"Moisture" is safe for color treated hair, which is not a necessary feature for me. It is 100% vegan, sulfate free, paraben free and gluten free. Because the shampoo is sulfate free, your hair needs to be soaking wet when you apply the shampoo or it will not really lather. Before you apply the conditioner, you must gently squeeze as much water out of your hair as possible. I wash my hair every third day and it stays clean and soft between washes although it is fluffier on day one, which is normal. I have been really happy with these two products and have since purchased another bottle of shampoo. My husband likes it because it is not perfumey.
A couple of weeks after my initial purchase, there was a segment on GTU about hair care products. One of the hosts said that her stylist had actually recommended the "Moisture" products. The stylist said they are the best thing she has found for the dry hair here in Utah, especially for those women who color or highlight their hair. The host also said that she had met women whose primary purpose for having a Costco membership was the beauty products. I have found many great products at Costco but until I saw this segment, I had no idea about the popularity of the "Moisture" shampoo and conditioner.
I highly recommend the "Moisture" hair care products from Costco.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Reality TV in SLC - Flip Men
Spike TV's new reality show, Flip Men, is shot here in Utah. It stars Doug Clark and Mike Baird (The Foreclosure Boys). They are flippers who focus on foreclosed properties in the Salt Lake County area. Clark and Baird first began documenting their experience with photos of the weird stuff they found in the foreclosed homes. After awhile, they decided to take videos and upload them to YouTube. Their YouTube channel became really popular, which caught the attention of someone at Spike TV. The project manager is funny and pretty blunt with Clark and Baird. They have a security guy who lives in homes that are located in the not so great areas of the valley. Each episode shows the entire process from the auction to breaking into the house, clean up, repair, staging and sale. The one element of this show that is really cool is that they do not always make a profit. So many of the flip shows on HGTV, etc. present flipping as an easy way to make quick money, which is really not the case anymore. Most of the properties they purchase are sight unseen. The show is part Hoarders and part Holmes on Homes.. If you are a fan of either of these shows, you will really enjoy Flip Men. New episodes air on Tuesday nights and repeat on Saturday mornings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)