N o one knew for sure what would happen when Freewheelin, a partnership between the Humana health-care group and Boulder nonprofit Bikes Belong, unleashed 1,000 bicycles for residents and visitors to use for free during the Democratic National Convention. Would all the bikes end up in Cherry Creek? Would anarchists…
As fall’s chill creeps into the air and the leaves linger wistfully on their branches, Colorado’s thoughts inevitably turn to football. We are a football state, and nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the behavior of What’s So Funny roommate/correspondent Monty. A brief update for those of…
“Blankety-Blank,” Patricia Calhoun, September 4 The Price of Free Speech After reading “Blankety-Blank,” I am filled with shock and awe at the tactics of the Denver Police Department. They need learn nothing from the Beijing police department; in fact, they probably could have taught the Chinese a thing or two…
The future first lady — of fashion? Get along, little bloggies. The Cat’s Pajamas examines Cindy McCain under the stylistic microscope and celebrates the announcement that IKEA is finally putting a store in Denver. Build it and they will come. In Backbeat Online, meanwhile, get a heads-up about the latest…
Feeling Twitter-pated? The Rocky Mountain News’s experimentation with the Twitter micro-blogging service during the Democratic National Convention was kinda silly due in part to its staffers’ frequent misspellings, but the crazy pace of the event at least partly justified its use. Not so the funeral of three-year-old Marten Kudlis, who…
Get the skinny on The Thin Man. Okay, so the Looper and his bookworms wanted something “adventurous” for this year’s One Book, One Denver. Like a mystery. So why not Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man? Hammett, after all, is the dean of the American hardboiled private eye novel. As his…
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor. Welcome to a new Latest Word feature: The Westword.com Best of the Blogs. As the latest edition of Westword is hitting the streets and the web, we wanted to provide an easy way for you to catch up with the top bloggery from the past…
Diane Carman. As noted in the second item from this October 2007 Message column, longtime Denver Post columnist Diane Carman left the paper in order to take a position as communications director with the Presidential Climate Action Project, associated with the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Public Affairs. The…
Tickets for sale. In the aftermath of the Democratic National Convention, peddlers have not unexpectedly taken to eBay to sell leftover T-shirts and buttons and other paraphernalia. But there have also been other kinds of souvenirs for sale, as well such as the “goodie bags” that delegates received, DNC keycards…
Judge Terry Gilmore probably isn’t smiling this morning. An article headlined “Two Judges Censured Over Trial” appears on the front page of today’s Denver Post, and that’s appropriate for a couple of reasons. First, the decision by the state Supreme Court’s regulatory office to censure Terry Gilmore and Jolene Blair,…
Gloria Neal. As noted in this August 15 More Messages blog, Channel 4 added longtime radio host Gloria Neal to its morning news team for the run of the Democratic National Convention, and she rewarded this move by adding a much-needed dose of smarts and sass to the proceedings. Station…
Chips ahoy! Barack Obama has been losing ground to John McCain in many national polls among likely voters — but he’s apparently way out front among Mexican food. At least that’s one way to interpret the bizarre set of just-posted videos below, which date from the Democratic National Convention. In…
Dave Grohl at Red Rocks. Free blogs. Get your free blogs here. Backbeat Online doubles your pleasure with two blogs about the Foo Fighters — a review of Dave Grohl’s band at Red Rocks last night (the group is on the Rocks tonight as well) plus the first online appearance…
It’s a dirty business. (Note: Joe Tone live blogged the snot out of last night’s Broncos-Raiders game, and would love if someone actually read it.) As I watched the Broncos dismantle the Raiders last night, one recurring thought kept bull-dozing my mind: Who the shit is Eddie Royal and is…
Stretching out, Obama style. The DNC is over, but that doesn’t mean politics has left Denver. If you’re still jonesing for a taste of Obamamania, head over to Santa Fe Drive, where his spirit lives large in a yoga studio. Öm Time, which happens to be located next door to…
Dashiell Hammet. Patricia Calhoun’s blog teasing today’s One Book, One Denver selection notes that the city has previously enforced a no-dead-author rule when it comes to choosing a tome all of us are supposed to read, and share, together. Well, that’s all over. Mayor John Hickenlooper announced that this year’s…
All aboard. The $477 million plan to transform Denver’s Union Station into a bustling transit hub is inching forward, even as protracted debate about what, exactly, this hub should look like continues. Today, September 9, at 12:15 at the Tattered Cover Lodo, an organization called the Open Space Initiative Group…
Zen and Now author Mark Richardson. Photo by Simon Hayter. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, published in 1974, is one of the classics of American literature. Author Robert Pirsig has inspired hundreds of followers, known as “Pirsig’s Pilgrims,” to follow the same route he rode with his son,…
The logo for the Carpenters’ District Council of Kansas City & Vicinity. Here’s a new one for your downtown Denver commute: The enormous red-and-white billboard on Court Place, protesting a construction company that hires undocumented immigrants. “Shame on Spacecon Specialty Contractors, LLC for jeopardizing the standard of living for hard-working…
SkyNet doesn’t have a tumah. Something fishy has been going on with SkyNet, the giant LED video screen that was installed on the side of the Colorado Convention Center several weeks ago, and we’re not just talking about the fact that it seemed to be named after the world-destroying computer…
Bob Barr supporters modeling some of the gear he’s got for sale. With all the attention being garnered by Sarah Palin (and her running mate, John McCain), as well as by Barack Obama, it’s easy to overlook other presidential candidates with passionate followings — including Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s…
A sign of the times. Just a week after visiting The Outlets at Castle Rock and being distressed by the sky-high vacancy rate there, I discovered a similar situation in Idaho Springs, a community I’ve enjoyed visiting for years. On September 6, Miner Street, the heart of the old downtown,…
