Episode 314 – Neo Organic Water Colors

We start the week with a discussion of local news, featuring Bryan Brandenburg, co-founder of FanX, being arrested. This leads us to a bit of discussion on the convention itself and how we all feel about it several years in.

But that conversation gives way to our guest of the week. Patrick Cat of Patrick Cat Tattoo. He is an incredibly tattoo artist, based right here out of Utah. He brings and amazing amount of color and unique imagery to his tattoos. You can find him at Misery and Co. Tattoo Collective, but you have to message him first as he doesn’t do walk ins.

Patrick was born in New York City to parents from near the Mexico City area. We got to talk a lot to Patrick about his influences, and how moving back and forth from Mexico City to the United States during his early years impacted his education and life. It’s a fairly unique and very interesting story.

When it was time for college, a hard decision had to be made; Go to school in New York or stay in Mexico and pursue his artwork that he loved. He decided to stay in Mexico, where he started to tattoo to support his other art work. After gaining experience in Mexico, he tattoo’d in parts of the US and even moved to France for 2 years to tattoo.

Now he calls Salt Lake City his home, with his lovely wife, who he met in Mexico, and has a thriving tattoo business. He does guest spots around the world, and its no wonder based on the amazing artwork. We spend a lot of time talking about his style, and how he makes Neo Organic Watercolor come to life on human skin.

He gives all his customers their own artwork, sculpture or otherwise, that is the inspiration for the final tattoo. His consultations are selective, and he won’t do tattoos he doesn’t think will work or look good. And he charges by the project, not by the hour. We really loved our chat with Patrick, and hope you enjoy it as well.

We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast

Episode 313 – 6 years

Hey kids, we here at The New Utah Podcast just had our 6year anniversary and we are as surprised as you that we have lasted this long! To celebrate the momentous occasion, we started the evening with Ruby Snap Cookies.

We trued some new cookies that none of us had before:

Patsy Jane: Fresh blackberry cream drizzled in blackberry glaze and topped with, you got it!… fresh blackberries.

Darby: Chocolate oatmeal with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting and callebaut crips pearls.

Lola: A festival of lemon! Made with panela curd and topped with fresh squeezed lemon glaze and glacéed lemons.

We also enjoyed the tried and true favorites, Lola, Penelope, Vivian, and of course the always popular PB WOW.

Check these flavors out and so many more at Rubysnap’s

So, not only is it our 6-year anniversary it’s also Utah Adventure Week! This week was a ‘2-for’… Gilgal Gardens and the International Peace Gardens.

Located at 749 East 500 South in Salt Lake City, Gilgal Sculpture Garden was envisioned, designed, and created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. Tucked in the middle of the block and surrounded by homes, business, and apartment complexes it’s a place you would never know existed if you didn’t know where to look. Gilgal contains 12 original sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with scriptures, poems, songs, and literary text. Although Child was not a classically trained artist, he went to great lengths to obtain each stone for his garden.

The finished statues are unconventional, even eccentric: a sacrificial altar, a shrine to Child’s wife Bertha, and probably the most recognized piece is the Sphynx with Joseph Smith’s faced carved into it. Child knew that not everyone would appreciate his particular artistic vision. His primary concern, however, was that the garden would succeed in making people think: “You don’t have to agree with me,” he said. “You may think I am a nut, but I hope I have aroused your thinking and curiosity

This is one of the places talked about by so many of our guests over the years and you have to see it to believe it. One of our favorite pieces is the carving of the creator himself Mr. Child. The different stones he brought together to create the pants, the suite coat, and the head are very interesting and intricate. His pants actually have a pattern to them!

You have to do yourself a favor and visit this MOST UNIQUE Utah location!

Our second spot was the International Peace Gardens located in Jordan Park: 1160 Dalton Ave S, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. This Park is one of only two peace gardens located in the United States. It was founded in 1939 by Mrs. Otto Wiesley, Citizen Char of the Salt Lake Council of Women. Its original dedication was planned to coincide with the Centennial Celebration of 1947, but WWII ironically interrupted progress and delayed the opening until 1952.

Each of the 28 countries represented in the garden is allotted a section which they design, create and plant at their own expense. Plans are approved by the City Parks Director before they are implemented. As each garden is completed, it is dedicated and presented to the city.

As we wondered through the gardens, we noticed that some of the countries are represented very well. China, Japan, Switzerland, were some of our favorite sections to visit. Others are in need of expansion, and a little more effort from their respective countrymen. One thing to note the fountains has not been turned on yet and most of the seasonal flowers were not planted or in bloom. As the summer progresses the induvial gardens will bloom and be even more amazing.

Both of the Utah locations are free to the public, so visitors can enjoy these parks year-round and for the best price of $0.00.

We are so excited to have reached this tremendous milestone in our little podcast’s history. Thank you to all the many wonderful people we have met along the way. So many fun interviews, field trips, and we have gotten to know and become friends with people we would have never otherwise been able to meet. Thank you for 6 wonderful years, and we hope there are many more to come.

The New Utah Podcast · 313 – 6 Years

Episode 312 – Tunnel Buddies

Hey kids, are you ready? I can’t hear you!!! In this week’s episode we are joined by the lovely and talented Stephanie Faulkner and Lacey Hall; owners of La Bella Morte an Oddities and Taxidermy shop.

BUT FIRST, we discuss the opening of this year’s downtown farms market

With covid protocol being in place, the last two season have been successful but not what the Farmers Market was meant to be. This year thing should be back to ‘Mostly’ normal, and the event organizers are anticipating a busy and exciting market. If you have never been, you really need to go, and if you have been in the past, you will know what a fun Saturday morning adventure it is. Get out there and support local!

Lacey Hall and Stephanie Faulkner are both Utah locals who have a passion for the weird and unusual. Lacey started with an interest in occult practices and Stephanie began with her love of everything horror. As best friends they found common interest in creating something beautiful from what would normally be considered rather strange

Lacey is a self-proclaimed nerd with a love of paranormal literature, fantasy films, witchy shit, and of course dead things. The more eerie and supernatural something is, the better! Every full moon you can find Lacey doing spiritual rituals to revitalize and motivate herself for the upcoming month. Lacey is her most creative when getting witchy! “I love the outdoors, going shooting, anthropology, and everything it encompasses, going to metal shows, and seeing as much of this beautiful planet as I can!”

Stephanie is a true crime junkie, horror obsessed, aspiring ghost hunter who happens to fancy the creepy, macabre, and darker things in life. Stephanie also likes the outdoors and things like camping… and by camping, she is dragging her husband down every dirt road, off the beaten path to find bones and skulls to take home and turn into art.

Stephanie started off by collecting the dead things that she would find and turning them into something beautiful. Through a rather funny set of circumstances (listen to the episode to find out how) these two like minded ladies were drawn together in the name of Art, Oddities, and the Macabre.

This was a fun episode and we really enjoyed talking to these two. Do yourself a favor and listen to the episode and then go out and shop their site.

The New Utah Podcast · 312 – Tunnel Buddies

Episode 311 – Fuck Cancer

Well, I put off this blog and now I’m coming down off Sudafed from an awful cold. Truly one of the worst. Either that, or it’s just been so long since I’ve really been sick that I forgot how it goes! Anyway, in this episode, we talk about Caffe Molise, for those of you a certain age, The Bay. Our beautiful and perfect friend, VaNita Levesque turned 50 and we celebrated (she’s also really excited to be the grandma of a grandson in October)! There’s garden talk, featuring leg zucchini, Jeremy’s bees are the bomb with their dandelion yellow honeycomb but we’re all worried about tomatoes and peppers.

The best part of this episode is when we talk to Hildegard, Hilde, and Jay Koenig with Ink Against Cancer and Ink Against Cancer Warriors Foundation.

Hilde hails from Caracas, Venezuela but grew up in a German Encampment and was the first mixed grandkid in the family. When she was little, she only spoke German and didn’t learn Spanish until she was about five or six. She and her family moved to Utah when she was about 16. Her father had to leave the country for political reasons. Her full time job is working with victims of crime and like Jeremy and I, went to Granger High School at the same time as us. Truly a kindred spirit!

Jay was born in Salt Lake at LDS Hospital. He went to a lot of high schools and got his GED at 21, what an amazing accomplishment. Jay is a Jack of all trades and a musician. His band was called ‘The Opposable Thumb.’ Jay’s grandparents migrated to New York and met at a church, then moved out to Utah for family.

Hilde is the oldest of three sisters, by 10 years and 12 years. She started working when she was very young, got into a bad relationship and which landed her on a feeding tube. She and Jay met in an old bar/porn theatre. They were both anti-marriage, but started out like old friends and Jay adopted her kids. They will have been married for 21 years on July 13^th.

After marriage she got earned her paralegal certificate to work in victim aide, for social justice AND worked as security at a music venue. She and Jay started Ink Against Cancer because of Wolf, who they me at a music venue and who was instant family. Wolfe didn’t have insurance when he got sick, listen to Hilde and Jay talk about his story and how he inspired the Foundation. The foundation who uses artists, mostly tattoo artists, to help raise money.

They realized that while there is lots of money for research, there’s not any set aside for the actual person. They started out as an LLC before they set up the foundation to give themselves some time to learn. They became a foundation after the fourth year. Listen to the episode to learn about all the cool musicians they’ve met and who support them along with great sponsors like the Grizzlies and now RSL and the Jazz are joining in. They’ll talk about their yearly fundraiser and how they grant last wishes!

Hilde and Jay’s interesting or unique thing is Utah’s beautiful naturescape. Being able to explore, the indigenous reservations, local ruins, and Ink Against Cancer gets to work with our local tribes and have access to things that others don’t always get to see

If you haven’t already, set your Amazon Smile and Smith’s/Kroger card to Ink Against Cancer.

One last wonderous thing about Hilde, she was granted the 2022 Ignacia Zargoza Utah Victims of Crime, Woman of the Year Award by the Centro Civico Mexicano.

The New Utah Podcast · 311 – Fuck Cancer

Episode 310 – Cockblaster 9000

This episode we talk about the passing of a true Utah activist to start the show. A former guest, Psarah Johnson, was a true social warrior. She was almost always found at the center of any social justice movement for women, the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities. If you ever had the pleasure of meeting her or working with her, you knew she believed in what she fought for, and never let anything get her down without a damn good reason.

We also find out Bre has yet another sister out in the world. A very different store with this one and for now, we aren’t giving too many details, but suffice to say, we question how many more there may be for sure.

We also talk a lot about the existing Utah drought, and the levels of the reservoirs around the west. Lake Mead in particular has been so low, that all manner of things are being found, including bodies inside of barrels from the 70s and 80s. We urge everyone to cut back on their watering this year, and talk about how dead our lawns will be too. Plus we get a bee update from Jeremy.

The heart of the episode though is spent talking with Valerie Trujillo, the owner and creator of Tru Creations Crochet, a local crochet artist that makes clothes and all manner of fun crochet oddities. Her instagram is full of all the things she makes. She was even outside the studio, finishing the top she wore in studio.

While her clothes are fantastic, I can’t get over all the other stuff she makes personally. From butts, to penises, to baby Gorgus, she is extremely talented. She does it all as a hobby, when she is just sitting around. She takes custom orders, and clearly nothing is off the table. We really enjoyed talking to her and hope you enjoy listening.

The New Utah Podcast · 310 – Cockblaster 9000

Episode 309 – Liger Facts

Hey Kids, it’s the last week of the month and you all know that means, Utah Adventure Week!! This week we visit the lovely Utah Hogle Zoo. But first, Julia regales us with stories of her adventures in North Carolina. She visits Carowinds theme park, the North Carolina Zoo and avoids those pesky time share folks. Peobe the podcast mascot has surgery, and Chris sounds like Barry White due to spring allergies. We get caught up on bees, gardens, and the new ‘Jump’ by Limitless flight in Bluffdale… spoiler alert it sounds AMAZING! It’s a virtual base jump experience brought to you by the creative minds who helped develop the Void. They open early in May 2022 (so anytime now). Located at 4725 South Porter Rockwell Blvd, Bluffdale, Utah 84065. Follow the link to their website and read all about the upcoming experience.

This week however is dedicated to the Uthah’s Zoo, located at 2600 Sunnyside Ave S, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (the mouth of Emigration Canyon)

The history of Hogle Zoo began in Liberty Park 1911 with a cage of monkeys and later a deer for the exhibit. This humble collection of animals actually inspired local Salt Lake residence to being a zoo, and In 1912 the zoo expanded to 16 various animals and in 1913 the zoo added over 100 rabbits. In 1916 the zoo makes its first big purchase with Princess Alice the 31-year-old Asian Elephant (named after Theadore Roosevelts daughter Alice). Although an amazing addition to the zoo Alice kept escaping and wandering around the 7^th east area. This began the search for a more permanent location for the zoo.

In 1931 Mr. and Mrs. James Hogle donate a parcel of land at the mouth of Emigration Canyon which is where todays Holge zoo is located. Please listen to the episode for the full history and lots of interested stories about the zoo in its younger days.

When the podcast crew arrived at the zoo it was snowing (YES) snowing. You have to love this crazy Utah weather.

We were all actually very surprised with all the updates the zoo has made over the past few years. The animal habitats are vastly improved, there are multiple food courts and quick dining locations throughout the facility. The animal habitats have been updated, like the seal and sealion exhibit…you could look down on the water as well as going into the building and seeing the exhibit from under water.

Being a colder day most of the large animals were sleeping but we still had a good time watching them. Bre’s favorite animals were the sand cats, seeing these wild cats really helps you get a sense for where our domestic house cats came from.

We also had a good time recreating the famous lion water fountain photo, Only Jonathan has kind of outgrown it.

Some of our other favorite animals were the Elephants, Gorillas, lions, and Sealions.

We all give Hogle Zoo an enthusiastic thumbs up. This has been one of our favorite Utah adventure sites so far. Do you and your family a favor and go support the Utah Hogle Zoo. Make an afternoon of it and you will be glad you did.

The New Utah Podcast · 309 – Liger Facts

Episode 308 – Airplane Bathrooms

Our guest was unable to come but is already rescheduled! So, this week we’re going to wrap up our review of City Weekly’s Best of 2021 (part II) this week.

Jeremy does math to figure out Chris and I have been doing the podcast for almost as long as we’ve been a couple. Then we do some personal planning that is quite thrilling and talk about the lifting of the Federal travel mask mandate, there’s a lot of pee talk and we discuss the reclassified COVID endemic. Chris talks about his new lunchtime getaway and the loot he’s gotten and shared.

BEE UPDATE: As promised, Jeremy gives us an update on the bees after last week’s snowstorm. He checked on them all week and the bees were protecting the queen and on the 16^th Jeremy discovered the queen is out and after that the bees have been out and about looking for food sources.

If you felt something that was like an earthquake and are in the Salt Lake and Tooele valley area, the Tooele Army Depot was ‘blowing shit up!” Bre is disappointed that she didn’t get to see the small helicopter crash at Airport II.

We start with Media & Politics and are reminded that many of the 2021 picks are COVID related and/or influenced. We move along to Arts & Entertainment and finish up with Goods & Services. For Restaurants, Food & Drink and Nightlife, go listen to episode 295, Floppy Fries.

I was excited to learn that Dave Cawley with Cold put out another investigative, unsolved murder podcast about Joyce Yost. Senator Mike Lee wind both Best Political Scandal and Worst Utahn and we feel both were greatly earned. I also learned that Traeger is a local company, who knew?! (Don’t tell me if you did). Please listen to hear about our thoughts and opinions along with our personal alternatives to some of the places listed.

Prior TNUP guests/topics who won awards, Demolished Salt Lake, Cat Palmer (Best Visual Artist), Gia Bianca Stephens (Best Drag Entertainer), Spiral Jetty (Best Public Art), The Monarch (Best Ogden Cultural Pollinator), Olio Skin & Beard Co (Best Tattoo Oil), Fillings & Emulsions (Best Minority-Owned Business), and the Alpine Loop (Best Scenic Drive).

If you’d like to be on the show, have an idea or comment, please reach out to us on our socials, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also email us at thenewutahpodcast@gmail.com.

The New Utah Podcast · 308 – Airplane Bathrooms

Episode 307 – Furry Pron

This time it’s really a Prime episode! So, not common, but not so unusual either, Utah had a small blizzard on the 11th. The wind was so strong, it threw one of Jeremy’s compost boxes across his yard! Additionally, the bees arrived on the 11^th and luckily the bees are protecting their queen. Regular bee updates will be part of the next several episodes. We discuss the problems that a snowstorm this late in the season can cause, including damage to Chris’ garden since he’s already planted the entire thing.

*Meditations on Pollination – WordPress.com*

Julia announced that her brick and mortar for The Pleiadian Altar will be opening June 11^thand 12^th. She’ll begin to have regular hours, so plan on patronizing her budding business.

This week we are interviewing Allie Gore from Lunasea. This lovely person was born here in Salt Lake City. They have always loved art and it was encouraged first by a great elementary school teacher. Like Julia, Allie went to Weber State University for a degree in art education, but soon realized that world wasn’t for them. They definitely still had a love of art but not to teach it, do produce it.

After a bad breakup in January of 2021, they found the Ogden art community through involvement in the Odgen Farmers Market. Allie does a lot of Pride themed work to help others in their queer community. Allie’s family has been very accepting of them.

Their art is digital and influenced by animation and anime. Allie isn’t your normal anime fan, they are looking at the artwork and the style because that is their passion! They tell us their inspiration comes from media consumed and from that comes art prints, stickers and buttons!

Allie thinks one of the best things she’s discovered about Utah is the art and vendor community and how much she loves being a part of it. Please follow Allie in Instagram at lunasea.art.

In closing, because it’s near and dear to my heart, if you can, please adopt a dog. The doggos adopted at the beginning of the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home, are finding themselves in shelters now that they are in their teenage years and their families are back at work and school. We’re a huge fan of CAWS because we found Phoebe Rose there but Rescue Rovers, www.utah.bestfriends.org, and your local Humane Society are good places, too. There are many, many others. Make sure they are reputable and then take your new baby to Kudos 2 Kanines so you and your pet are the best family ever!

The New Utah Podcast · 307 – Furry Pron

Episode 306 – Slappy Fun Time Place

We had the pleasure of speaking at length to Alan Dee Geddes this episode. He is a life long magician and Tarot reader. Based out of Ogden, Utah, Alan is a life long Utahn. You can often find him at The Ogden Monarch like so many of our other past guests. He also has a YouTube Channel, where you can find his magic trick videos.

Alan grew up in Utah, but decided at 17 years of age, to take a life journey to Las Vegas. He already knew he liked magic and tarot by that point, and joined the Las Vegas magic club. Of course we talk all about his time in Vegas and the history of Magic there. While incredibly impressionable on Alan, his time in Vegas did not last long, and he made his way back to Utah.

We walk through some of his early Utah years in Ogden. He spent time at The Fun Shop, learning magic tricks. He would do magic on the side at Grizzly Bear Pizza. And at some point in all of this, Alan found his first tarot deck and was instantly hooked.

The Waite Smith Tarot deck, is really what hooked Alan. It still remains his favorite in terms of art, but he has many, many more. We get to take a really deep dive with Alan about Tarot. He learned a lot in the pre-internet days, simply by reading books he checked out from the public library system. The complete guide to tarot was his first book on tarot. And for years he preformed magic, and tarot readings, all while working at Xerox / Kinkos and the IRS.

Now Alan has decided to read tarot, work on his magic, practice Wicca and practice reiki full time. He gives us insight into what people ask the most about (psst its Love, Health and Money) and how he likes to read. He even does a small reading for the podcast, pulling a card for each of the hosts. But I’m going to make you listen to find out what we pulled, and if I pulled the death card or not again.

The New Utah Podcast · 306 – Slappy Fun Time Place

Episode 305 – Poop Shoot Shoot

Hey there loyal followers believe it or not the month of March has just about come to end and that means it’s Utah Adventure week.

First thing first, we start off this episode talking about Julias new shop. The Pleiadian Alter has finally found a home in the Murray area (next to Wheeler Historic Farm). Stay tuned for the address and opening date coming soon.

Bre has an exciting colonoscopy story, thus the Poop Shoot, Shoot! Chris and Jeremy give us a gardening update. We get the rundown on the USMNT & the upcoming World Cup. In a funny twist of fate Jeremy goes to Dancing With the Stars Live. “At least the music was good.”

But let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this episode, ‘The Leonardo’ an interactive museum in Downtown SLC. Located at 209 East 500 South Library Square. Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. Currently the main exhibit is all about flight. It was originally installed in 2016 and has run for 6 years with little to no updates. They are currently running the Van Gough 360 experience but at a staggering $30 per person we opted to go through the general admission experience.

We all agree that if you are a school age child going to the Leonardo for a field trip (with a museum guide) it would probably be a blast. Some of the exciting things they have are an actual A C-131 cargo plane you can sit in. You can push the knobs and pretend to fly the plane….upon exiting there is a twisty slide going out the rear of the plane. They also have a Soviet made MiG-21 that flew in the Polish Air Force hanging from the ceiling.

When you enter the main exhibit, you go through the ‘Tunnel of Dreams’ and illuminated arch with hand drawn blueprint like objects depicting early concepts of flight. At the end of the tunnel is the re-creation of a 1969 living room the children watching the moon landing.

They have Colonel Scott Nowlin’s flight suit along with Senators Jake Garns payload suit from his 1985 trip to space.

Unfortunately, this 6-year-old exhibit is in desperate need of updating, repair, and some basic interpretation. There is little to no instruction on the exhibits and the staff seemed short handed the day we were there. Had one of the staff members not stumbled upon us and pointed out how some of the exhibits worked we would have never known what we were looking at. For example, they have a plane engine that you can move and see how the parts work, but with no instruction one would never figure it out on their own.

There are lots of interactive stations, with no explanation as to what they are or what you are supposed to do. The second floor was not much better. The exhibit on black history of flight had some cool pictures but little to no explanation for any of it. The xray room was cool but made no sense and had no explanation as to what it was or why it was there.

We did find the interactive art studio. They had clay and small area where you could make squares for the museum’s patchwork quilt.

We really love Utah, and we want to love the Leonardo, but to be honest it was a lackluster experience and even though we only paid $5.00 to get in that almost felt like a rip-off. In conclusion, if you were already downtown and had an hour to kill, the $5.00 might be worth it. You kids will LOVE going there for a field trip, but if you are planning on taking the family there for the day….go to the Clark Planetarium a few blocks away, it was free to get in and they have lots more to see and do. Perhaps the Van Gogh 360 was amazing, but once again for $30 a person we just didn’t feel like it was worth it.

We sincerely hope the Leonardo will update their exhibits and once again give us a reason to be excited to attend.

The New Utah Podcast · 305 – Poop Shoot Shoot