CATALYST Weekly Reader ~ Resources for Creative Living
Jan. 8- Jan. 15




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Dear friends & family,

Yesterday's Paris tragedy, in which two men gunned down 12 people in an editorial meeting at the French satire publication, Charlie Hebdo is stunning. Humor has traditionally been a safe haven. But they killed the court jesters.

"Satire must always accompany any free society. It is an absolute necessity," wrote former Onion editor Joe Randazzo for MSNBC yesterday. "Even in the most repressive medieval kingdoms, they understood the need for the court jester, the one soul allowed to tell the truth through laughter. It is, in many ways, the most powerful form of free speech because it is aimed at those in power, or those whose ideas would spread hate. It is the canary in the coalmine, a cultural thermometer, and it always has to push, push, push the boundaries of society to see how much it's grown."

The most positive act I can conceive of right now is to love some satire today. Appreciate our own Pat Bagley, cartoonist for the Salt Lake Tribune. Check in with The Onion. Watch Jon Stewart. Read Mark Twain. Bring out the old Monty Pythons skits. Love the silly and the brave. Learn to take a joke. It's important to maintain respect for that capacity, even when it's no laughing matter.

Greta Belanger deJong
Editor and publisher, CATALYST

 

Event picks for
Jan. 8 - Jan. 15
 
Thursday, Jan. 8, 6 & 9p (two screenings).
Brewvies Cinema Pub, 677S 200 W. 


Celebrate The King's birthday with KRCL's Music Meets Movies series screening the documentary Elvis: That's The Way It Is. 

In 1970 Elvis Presley was working to make his concert comeback in Las Vegas. He had been sidelined by his film career and a self-imposed exile. Shot over six nights, the documentary chronicles the King in top vocal form and showmanship.
 

Friday. Jan. 9, 10pBar Deluxe, 666 South State Street. $6, 21+.
 
Come shake your thang on the dance floor with Samba Fogo! Bring your friends and your dancin' shoes!

Friday, Jan. 9, 7-8p. 
Red Lotus School of Movement 740 S 300 W. 
 
15-week winter sessions begin the week of January 12.
 

Jan. 9-10, 8p-12a.  Odd Fellows Hall, 26 W Mar�ket St. Pre-order the CD for $15.
 
Jung Society of Utah Founding Presi�dent Machiel Klerk invites you to make 2015 into a dream year. Join the celebration of the release of his new CD. Introduction and bonus feature by Coleman Barks. 

Saturday, Jan. 10, 9-11p (doors 8p).  The State Room, 638 S State. $21.
 
One of the first lessons they teach you in film school is that you sometimes have to "kill your darlings." It's a term that means no matter how much you love a scene you shot; if it doesn't fit in the film, it ends up on the cutting room floor. 
 
In 2009, The Mother Hips rescued a short stack of 2-inch analog tapes from a Los Angeles basement and started picking through hours of material, most of it recorded around the era that produced 1995's Part Timer Goes Full and '96's Shootout. They were thrilled with what they heard. In fact the band was so prolific during this period that literally dozens of top-notch songs were shelved and never saw the light of day as the group continued to spit out new material with machine gun rapidity. Now the band has compiled the cream of this lost crop into an 11-song treasure trove titled Chronicle Man. 

Saturday, Jan. 10, 7p.  Bar Deluxe, 666 S State. $8.50. 
 
Juana Ghani welcomes Romanian artist and founder of the Balkan Expressionism art movement, Paul Hitter, to Salt Lake City for a night of Gypsy art and music.  

Monday, Jan. 12, 7p.  Megaplex 12 Gateway, 165 S Rio Grande St. $10.
 
Paramahansa Yogananda (Autobiography of a Yogi) was the first and most influential swami to bring yoga and meditation to the United States in the 1920s. This film had a sellout one-night stand in SLC in December and has returned by popular demand. 
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 6-9p.  Main City Libray, 210 E 400 S. Free.
 
Does change in democracy require civic dialogue? If so, where is it and who gets to talk? Or write? Join the CWC, libraries and guests to learn techniques of writing for change, such as letters to editors and public officials. Come with a concern and stay to write a letter with the help of CWC writing coaches.
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 7-8:30p.  Skaggs Auditorium, U of U, 259 S 1400 E. Free.
 
This discussion examining Utah's poor winter air quality includes U of U atmospheric scientist Dave Whiteman; Michelle Hofmann, MD, addressing the health effects; Ryan Evans, SLC Chamber of Commerce VP on economics; and HEAL Utah's policy director, Matt Pacenza, providing insight into air quality legislation. Q&A and reception. 
Blog Updates 
 
The planetary patterns of the week offer opportunities to create a fresh start to a new year. And even though the sky isn't presenting a completely clean slate, this week's astral activity does provide the potential to shift certain situations. Embrace this possibility for improvement and allow it to infuse your outlook with a fresh, positive perspective. Of course there is still work to be done, and yes, we need sweeping reform in many areas of life, but many of those solutions will be found in the mundane tasks of daily life. So use this week to reaffirm your commitment to making "energetic progress in the good." (I-Ching, Hexagram 43.)...(read more).