Spirit, Halloween

I have a five-year-old nephew who loves Spirit Halloween and has memorized every item on the website. He waits all year for abandoned RC Willeys to transform into the spookiest retail franchise. His time has finally arrived, and for the last few weeks, he's been hitting Spirits all over the valley. According to him, the best Spirit Halloween is at South Town mall, and this week I had the absolute honor of visiting this location with him.

Dare I say it was the greatest hour of my life. He excitedly told me the name of every animatronic and demonstrated their terrifying functions.

I walked out of the store having purchased $200 worth of plastic skeletons,

and feeling truly blessed to live in a land of so many abandoned RC Willeys.

STORIES OF THE WEEK

On Alarm Chimes and Three Digit Mileage

Justin Davies is preparing to run a 100 mile race because apparently that's something people do of their own free will?

This is going to be my first attempt at running a 100-miler, and I’ll be honest, I’m starting to panic. It feels almost impossible to wrap my head around running for 100 miles. Even after spending a handful of years in the “ultra scene,” and running a couple pretty solid 50-mile races, 100 miles has always felt to me like something entirely different.

“Oh, these legs? Yeah, they’ll just keep going for 100 actual miles. 24, 27, 30 hours. Walking, hiking, and running day and night? Heat, rain, or snow? Almost 22,000 feet of climbing? Oh, no, yeah, of course I can do that. That tremor in my voice? Oh, that’s just normal.”

Read the full piece here:

RHOSLC Season 2, Episode 2: Salt Lake Valley or the Uncanny Valley?

L.R. Encinas is back with her recap of RHOSLC episode 2.

Meredith says, “All we want from Brooks is to identify as our son—no more, no less,” which is one of the sweetest sentiments I’ve heard coming from one of these stupid shows in a long while. When she followed that with: “Retweeting something is as good as saying it,” I almost fell off my couch because, frankly, how dare she make two coherent, true statements consecutively.

With wild horse eyes, Meredith says that Jen’s tweeting is “ENOUGH.” And then the editors add a cell-block sounding sound bite to remind us that they think Jen is guilty of fraud.

Read the full piece here:

I Went To Phenomecon

And I wrote about it for Deseret News.

We were perhaps the most receptive audience possible for these speakers. I was ready to soak in every detail of what Walton experienced on the alien ship and what Knapp knows about Area 51, and what exactly a prehistoric watersnake is doing in northeastern Utah. But instead, I found my attention waning as each speaker spent hours trying to prove they aren’t frauds.

I don’t need proof. If they’re frauds, the joke’s on me — my $150 should have made that clear.

Read the full piece here:

From The Podcast

This week on Hive Mind we did a deep dive into LulaRich, we covered the latest on Bachelor In Paradise, and The Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City Season 2. Plus Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend.

Coming Up On The Beehive

Scott Wessman tackles Utah's affordable housing crisis, and—in a rare move for think pieces—offers some solutions. Look for his piece in your inbox tomorrow.