Authors: Esther Merono
Narco Cultura: Bullets, Borders and Ballads
“Out of poverty, poetry; out of suffering, song.” This old Mexican saying has proven its merit throughout history. World-renowned photojournalist and filmmaker Shaul Schwarz came across this cultural connection in one of the most controversial yet underground conflicts currently marring our continent: the drug war. Schwarz makes his Sundance debut this January with Narco Cultura, a unique and engrossing film documenting the plague of cartel violence and the subculture that has sprouted from the bloodbath, making its way onto U.S. stages and airwaves. … read more
Beautiful Godzila: Down Here, It’s Our Time—It’s Our Time, Down...
A cloud of warm air forces its way through the loose loops of yarn on the crocheted scarf covering my mouth as I pull my bike out of the shed. What doesn’t make it past my mom’s needlework fills in pockets of moist heat around my face, providing a comforting sensation in contrast to the dry freeze that’s stinging my uncovered eyes. I’m wearing enough layers to regret the extra hoodie after the first hill, but if I’d tensed from a single shiver walking out the door, I might’ve changed my mind and stayed in. Besides, the only humans awake at this hour to witness my pit stains and matted hair are busy with someone’s hand up their skirt in the back of a cab. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Home Sweet Home
Every winter, but especially after a particularly wet one like this year, I promise myself it’ll be my last in Salt Lake. I really love this city––I just can’t handle pedaling or driving through all this extremity-numbing precipitation. What inevitably keeps me here is the fact that I can navigate my way around this godforsaken desert without Siri holding my hand. A city doesn’t become home until you can confidently give a stranger accurate directions to the nearest, local strip club. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Maudlin Bikes
Type “girls on bikes” into Google Image Search. Seriously, pick up your iPhone and do it right now—just keep in mind it’s NSFW unless you’re employed at SLUG … read more
Mashin’ and Thrashin’ with FOAD Fixed
I interviewed Sam in 2011 for SLUG—our first FGFS rider profile. Sam was the first of the crew to start riding fixed about seven years ago, when most of them were sophomores in high school. Jackson started the blog on foadfixed.com nearly two years ago as a way to post their edits and connect with the FGFS community outside of Salt Lake, beginning with a video of Evan. That’s when FOAD became official. … read more
Audrey Patten: Midwest Meets West
“I tend to pull from things that resonate with me because they represent a part of my childhood, or a specific moment in my life that I know other people will feel a connection to,” says CLC DIY Fest artist Audrey Patten, speaking of her artwork. The subjective nature of visual art often renders it introverted and inaccessible, but Patten has managed to transcend the self in her work and illustrate an emotion that has become the defining keystone of our generation: nostalgia. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: I Am Not an Athlete
Yes, people, I signed up for OKCupid, the online-dating website. Since I spend a decent amount of time on a bicycle and/or organizing bicycle events (and writing a column about bicycles), that’s obviously something I added to the interests portion of my profile. After getting a handful of messages from “granola” types whose profiles lauded cringe-inducing key words like “hiking,” “climbing,” “camping” and “outdoors,” I realized I was inaccurately marketing myself as athletic. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Take a Look, It’s In a Book
It all began with the Bike Snob NYC blog. I was working as the door girl at Brewvies––which essentially meant I’d stare down my nose at kids my age and demand to see their IDs in between writing college papers––and picked up on reading the latest Bike Snob post during my shift. He was the main influence of this column, obviously, though I only chose “Beautiful Godzilla” as the title because “Feminist Bicycle Rants” was already taken by some anarchists in Brooklyn. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Alleycat Power
Alleycats were thought up by ADHD bike messengers in urban areas as a way to earn some extra cash, test their skillz and ride their bikes some more, because, apparently, no one but me just wants to go home and massage their butt cheeks after riding their bike all day. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Livin’ The Daydream
It’s taken over a decade, but all my daydreams came true a couple of months ago at the Monthly Mystery Ride. … read more