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Show The Missing Link: 4 Friday, Jan. 19,2007 This just in: You don't know Jack. Check out the return of one of the funniest quiz games ever at www.youdontknowjack.com. 797-1769 diversions@statesman.usu.edu 'American Idol' is killing idle America Photos by Patrick Oden/poden@a.usu.edu LEFT: OVER THREE MILLION GALLONS of naturally heated water flows :e pools at Lava Hot Springs. the town to™*p00L5 ° f L a v a ^ o t Springs offers many g opportunities for visitors. BY STEVE SHINNEY Diversions Editor School has been back in session for two whole weeks now, and students have already earned themselves a break. For anyone willing to make a bit of drive, Lava Hot Springs offers a seemingly magical place where steam fills the air, the water is naturally warm andTbikinis can been seen, even in the winter. Lava tlot Springs consists offourpools of varying size with some cover comingfroma couple small wooden awnings. The pools are located in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, a town named for the pools. It's about an hour and a half drive from Logan. The hot pools have long been a destination for people looking to relax away their stress and pain, both physical and mental. "It's a tremendous place to meditate and clear out the mind-trash that we getfromdaily life," said Mark Lowe, the executive director of the Lava Hot Springs foundation. According to Lowe, one thing that makes Lava different from other hot pools is how natural the water is. "We don't do anything to manipulate the water," Lowe said. He explained no chemicals are added and nothing is done to change the temperature of the water. "It comes in at about 112 degrees to 105\\ in some places," he said. According to Lowe, most commercial hot tubs don't get above 104degrees. : The floors of the pools are. poyesed-with small stones^like afish|tank-Lawesaid the. small bits of gravel on the bottom, provide, both a natural filtering system and .a comfortable surface for guests to walk on. > '; Lowe' explained why .the water at the hot: pools is all-natural and yet lacks the rotten egg, sulfur smell of natural springs in the Yellowstone area. "Here the water doesn't actually come in contact with the magma," he said. "Rather, it is still separated by a layer of earth." Not only is the water natural, but the way the water comes into the pools'would make Mother Nature pleased. -':y "A lot of places, they take the water and . pump it somewhere elie,* Lowe said. In contrast, the pools in Lava Hot Springs are filled directly by the spring. * "Anywhere in the poojs you can see.bubbles, that'sfreshwater coming right in," Lowe said. The water fills in at a rate where the pools have entirelyfreshwater every 2 hours. Lowe said the laws for public pools only require 8 hours. According to the pools' Web site, over 3 million gallons of waterflowthrough the 4 pools everyday. Lowe said many people believe this natural way the water enters the pools and its unaltered How to get there ^ . l)frM> Head north on Main Street Drive through Richmond, Preston to 1-15 Continued on North Bound 1-15 Take Exit 4 7 ; ^ V ' ' ; ^ ^ ^ . ; : f ^ ^ ^ v ^ ^ ; Turn Left on W. Portneuf Road j ; rtl;'< Follow U.S. 30 for about 12 miles Turn right on Oregon Trail Road ,. v Turn left on Main Street ;&'-> • H O T AS LAVA see page 8 Do you know what Aaron Peck 37 million ofourfellow Americans were doing Tuesday night? They were killing brain cells. Tube Review Now, I'm probably going to catch a lot of flack for this article, seeing that USU has its share of "American Idol" fans, but I just don't understand the obsession with this show. I don't know how people can devote not one, but two nights a week watching the most worthless show on television. What is it people find so appealing about a "reality" snow that's so blatantly staged and usually offers subpar to average singers? But, before you pick up your sticks and stones in preparation to beat me, please hear me out. When the auditions start they tell the audience "over a hundred thousand people have tried out," and then they show a football stadium filled with people hoping they will be the next Kelly Clarkson, not the next Ruben Studdard. But what they don't tell you is Simon, Paula and crazy Randy don't see every single one of them. No. They mal<e you think they do, but instead the producers comb the crowd for the good singers and the insanely bad ones, making for better TV Then it's off to the races: singing, dancing, stinging remarks from Simon Cowell, washed-up celebrities trying to get seen in the audience, Paula Abdul looking drunk a majority of the time and, at the end, a text message frenzy of gigantic proportions for the voting. After it's over, do you even remember who won? Let's think back to last year. Who won? Oh yeah, that babyboomer-looking guy Taylor Hicks. Up until the season finale of trie show, Taylor was America's gray-hairea golden boy, and then after the finale, where'd he go? I think I saw him on a Ford commercial. Aaron Peck is the Statesman TV critic. Send comments to aaronpeck@cc. usu.edu. From funny name to full-fledged film 'Pirates of the Great Salt Lake' brings humor and scurvy to film festivals around the world BY T O M LILIECRGN Senior Writer "Pirates of the Great Salt Lake" began as just a humorous title for a movie. Within one week, however, the idea went from being a humorous title to a completed script ready for production, said Nathan Phillips, a writer and producer for the film. Now, after trips to multiple film festivals across the United States and the world, the Utah-made film is preparing to be released in theaters across the country. The movie stars local actor Kirby Heyborne as Captain Kirk Redgrave, who along with new friend Flint Weaver (Trenton James), challenges their loner ways to become'hapless pirates on the Great Sale Lake. The two makeshift pirates stumble onto a treasure map that leads them into battle with a shifty pawnshop owner (Larry Bagby). Phillips describes the movie as a "dark, off-beat comedy." The film began out of the frustra- tion of Phillips and co-writer and director E.R. Nelson over not having a sufficient budget for the project they intended on doing. Having investors for a movie but no script, they turned the funny "Pirates" movie title that Nelson suggested into a full script. After finalizing the script, Nelson and Phillips worked primarily for the next month on finding a cast and crew for the film. They had written the script with Heyborne in mind as Captain Kirk Redgrave. Heyborne led the producers to Bagby and James, associates of Heyborne from Other films and the comedy circuit. Aside from those leads, the remaining actors and crew were all local professionals hired with the help of Christian Vuissa, a co-producer of the film, who was very familiar with the Utah film circle (He previously directed LDS film "Baptists at Our Barbecue"). The producers were initially reluctant to film at the Great Salt Lake. "The Salt Lake is disgusting and not a pleasant place, especially in August [when the movie was filmed]... when the brine flies were out," Phillips said. However, they finally settled on the lake and filmed from two locations on Antelope Island for most of their water shots. Phillips said the lake's long shores, shallow water and seagulls all helped give the scenes the character the producers wanted. The filming schedule for "Pirates of the Great Salt Lake" was determined largely by the budget constraints of the film. Operating on a small budget, Phillips said, reduced the amount of cameras and angles they were able to get on each shot. Most importantly, it limited the time they could spend filming. "The biggest thing you need on a movie is time," Phillips said. "And time costs money." •ARRRGH see page 5 Image from Pirates of the Great Salt take |