Saturday, September 30, 2017

The Final Friday Of September


I attended the Final Friday event at the Denver Art Museum (The DAM) last evening, and  was happy to see that the museum has some new exhibitions for the fall, including Stampede: Animals in Art, which features a wide variety of art from the museum's permanent collection, including the quirky photograph featured on the left.  It is a fun exhibit to see, but there was a negative aspect to the evening, too - the Ponti Building (the North Building) is scheduled to close for remodeling for two years starting this November, and things are already being removed.  I knew there was going to be a major remodeling and expansion of the north end of the complex, but didn't think it was going to happen this fast. As a result, there are no longer hors d'oeuvres served on Final Fridays.  Palettes, the restaurant on the first floor of the Ponti Building, is now empty, and I assume this is where the treats have been coming from.

The North Building, by the way, is where the more traditional art is displayed, while the Hamilton Building is where the modern collection is kept. And the biggest donors to the Denver Art Museum's modern art collection are Vicki and Kent Logan, who are featured in the Stampede exhibit in the painting featured on the right.  And I must say that a lot of the art the Logans donate is truly weird.  And I mean truly, truly weird. Perhaps this is because they lived in San Francisco for a while, or maybe it is because they now live in Vail, and the altitude has affected their brains.  Of course, that is just my opinion, and the modern art curator for the museum and many, many others think the art is great. After all, I am just a simple kid - a 64 year old kid, but a kid at heart - from the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, where we like to be able to understand our art, and preferably be able to plug it in.  And by the way, if you want to learn more about the Logans, check out http://www.denverpost.com/2006/10/05/dams-best-friends/.


To illustrate my point, the photograph on the left shows Frankie, the husband of Heidi, one of my former University of Denver co-workers, posing next to one of the Logan's gifts, titled Made In China.  I want to emphasize that I actually like a lot of modern art, but some of it is just too strange, and you have to wonder about the huge amounts of money paid these pieces.  I can just imagine the conversation the Logans had the day one of them brought this piece home.  "You bought a what?  Where will will we put it?  And why?"  "The patio, of course!" "No way in hell.  Let's donate it to the Denver Art Museum.  They'll take anything.  Even this"  This makes me want to take art lessons after I retire, and then drive up to Vail  and show up on the Logan's front doorstep, artwork in hand.

Friday, September 29, 2017

Christopher Kimball Makes An Appearance



Christopher Kimball made a noontime appearance at the bookstore where I work this past Tuesday to promote his new book Milk Street.  Kimball was the host of America's Test Kitchen for many years, until a bitter feud with management ended his run there.  ATK, as it is known, instituted a lawsuit against Kimball, and so it appears that cooking shows are not as serene as they might seem.  Perhaps Chef Ramsey is the norm rather than the exception. In any case, I had never heard of Kimball until Tuesday.  Just as I was going to lunch, my office-mate Peter asked me to take a photograph of him.  I was, coincidentally, on my way to heat up my Banquet Spaghetti and Meatballs frozen dinner, and so I thought what the heck, go ahead and snap a picture.  Of course, after taking the photograph, I had to sneak my lunch past Kimball for fear he would see it and sneer at my low-brow food choices.  If only I had brought my frozen Michelina's entree, I could have walked past Kimball proudly.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Watching Soccer With Mark At The Three Lions





I went to The Three Lions ("A World Football Pub") with my friend Mark last night to have burgers and beers and watch a soccer match between the Colorado Rapids and the Dallas Something-Or-Others (as you can tell, I'm really getting into this soccer thing).  The Three Lions is just down the street from the bookstore where I work on East Colfax Avenue here in Denver. The Rapids did not look so hot, and were behind 2 to nill, as they say, 5 minutes into the game, which is how the match ended.  The Rapids are solidly in last place, but Mark tells me they could still make the playoffs, which start at the end of next month.  Weird.  And what is a soccer pub doing on Colfax Avenue, once called America's "longest, wickedest street"?  On the other hand, what isn't on Colfax these days, soccer pubs being one of the tamest.  In any case, wait until next year, Colorado Rapids, as we Chicago White Sox fans seem to say too often.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Can The First Snowfall Be Far Behind?



It has been cold and rainy here in Denver since Saturday, and more of the same is predicted through the end of the week.  It has already started snowing in the mountains, and I think there is a good chance we will be seeing our first snowfall very soon.  Snow in Denver in September is not unusual, and the average first snow is in October, which amazingly enough is only 4 days away.  In keeping with the spirit of things, I am posting a photograph of (from left to right) my sister Susan, mother Mary, and me, taken during a snowstorm in 1983 in front of Printemps Denver, which had recently opened on South Broadway here in Denver.  If you know Denver at all, you know that South Broadway is not all that upscale, and was much less so back then. How somebody convinced a famous Paris department store to put a branch there is beyond me.  Granted, it wasn't there long, but still. I am glad I never met that salesperson, because I would probably still be making payments even today on London Bridge (not the famous one, or the one in Arizona, just a London Bridge). And probably from London, Ontario, not London, England, too.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Rain Rain Go Away



That is what we used to chant when I was a kid back in the Brainerd neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and I feel the need to start chanting it again.  It has rained for 4 days straight, and has been cold as hell, too. We are not used to that in Denver.  Normal conditions here are drought or semi-drought.  I know people in Seattle thrive, even though the place gets 360 days of rain a year, but this is not Seattle.  Enough already!

Monday, September 25, 2017

Oktoberfest - Part II


As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I went to Oktoberfest on Denver's upper Larimer Street Friday night. The festival takes place Friday through Sunday, both this past weekend and next weekend as well, but I decided to go Friday night because the weather bunnies predicted horrible weather for Saturday and Sunday.  And in point of fact, they were right.  Friday, the first day of fall, was warm and pleasant, but both Saturday and Sunday were cold, wet, and miserable.  In any case, in addition to plenty of beer there were lots of food booths at Oktoberfest, including the one in the photograph on the left.  And in examining the tee-shirt of the fellow grilling the hamburgers, I realized that the booth was being run by The Goods, the restaurant right next door to the bookstore where I work.  The chalkboard sign in front of the bookstore claims that they serve the world's greatest hamburgers, so I imagine they are at Oktoberfest trying to get the word out about that.



And in addition to food and beer, there was music on two stages.  The photograph on the right is of a "poka" band performing Friday night.  While I was there, I had no idea they were playing polka music.  It sounded just like loud rock and roll music to me.  It wasn't until I looked at this photo and noticed the word "poka" on the drum that I realized they were supposed to be a polka band.  What ever happened to the um-pah style of music played by musicians in lederhosen and wearing funny hats?  Out of style, I guess.  If it doesn't appeal to the hipsters these days, it is gone.  Where is Frankie Yankovic when you need him?

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Oktoberfest!



I decided to make a detour during my walk after work Friday night to the light rail station and check out Oktoberfest on upper Larimer Street.  Oktoberfest here in Denver runs Friday through Sunday both this weekend and next, but since the weather was predicted to be cold and rainy both Saturday and Sunday, I decided Friday night was the best time to go. Not surprisingly, the streets were filled with young hipsters, who seem to celebrate any special holiday whatsoever.  I was especially surprised that so many hipsters took the Colorado Rockies' Opening Day off this past April to celebrate in the ballpark neighborhood, but as far as I could tell, nobody was watching the game, just hanging out on patios and rooftop bars, and drinking beer.

And in fact, that is what they were all doing last Friday night, too.  There were booths set up where people could buy huge glass steins of beer (at a huge price, too, I might add), and people either hung out in the street and drank, or else sat down in two huge tents to imbibe, one of which is seen in the photo on the right.  What I want to know is why the festival is called Oktoberfest if it doesn't even take place in October?  I checked and found out that even in Munich, the event this year starts on Saturday, September 16th and ends on Tuesday, October 3rd.  I understand the need to have these festivals when the weather is still nice, but why not just call it Septemberfest instead? The internet (which is always accurate, by the way) states that the first Oktoberfest (which celebrated the wedding of Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria) was in October, but to take advantage of better weather conditions, the starting date of later festivals was moved back to September, and the October part lopped off.  I still say it should be Septemberfest, even if you can't put a "k" in it.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Ouija - Origin Of Evil



I was selecting photographs for the blog the other day in my computer files, and wound up selecting the above photo quite by mistake.  I am not sure I have ever posted it, but I do remember taking it, pasted on a wall on on Sherman Street during a mid-summer bike ride.  What does it mean?  Is it advertising a movie, a video game, or just a political statement by some wacko fringe organization?  Of course, these days, the internet answers every question under the sun in just a few seconds, and so I googled it and found out it was indeed a horror movie that came out last year.  And was it any good, a bomb, or the scariest movie of all time? For that you will have to google it yourself.  My work here is done.

Friday, September 22, 2017

The First Day Of Fall



Today is the first day of fall, and the days are definitely getting shorter.  Just a few weeks ago, it seemed I could walk from my workplace to the light rail station at Union Station in Lower Downtown Denver, and get home before the sun set.  Now it tends to get dark before I even reach downtown Denver, as can be seen in the photograph above.  And it getting cold in the mornings and evenings, too.  I myself am not happy about that.  I have always believed that warm is good, cold is bad.  But then again I am an eccentric from the South Side of Chicago, so what do I know?  All I do know is that summer is over.  Bummer.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Memory Killer



I just finished reading The Memory Killer, a mystery novel by J.A. Kerley.  I read an advanced reading copy of his previous book, The Death Box, liked it, and when looking for a new book to read, looked to see if he had a new book out.  In point of fact, he had two books published since the one I read, and I decided to get both of them. The Memory Killer takes place in Miami, where the hero of the story, Carson Ryder, member of an elite Florida crime fighting agency, searches for a serial killer.  I think these books are great, and I was very surprised to find that his next book in the series will only be coming out here in the U.S. in digital form. Evidently he is much more popular in the UK, where his new book will be coming out in traditional form this December.  What's the deal with that, anyway?  In any case, pick up a copy of The Death Box or The Memory Killer- you'll like it.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Running Into Doug





I ran into Doug - my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore coworker - at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore on South Colorado Boulevard here in Denver Sunday night.  I needed a large map of India right away (and who hasn't been in that situation before, right?) and the local bookstore where I work was out of them, forcing me to shop at a hated rival.  In any case, I walked in and saw none other than Doug having coffee with a friend at the adjoining Starbucks.  Doug was one of the textbook buyers at the DU Bookstore when I worked there as the Finance Manager, and remained at the store as the sole textbook buyer after Follett Higher Education Group took over operation of the store. Doug retired a few years ago after tiring of the 16 hour (or so) workdays and now works 2 days a week as a magician at The Wizard's Chest, a Denver institution. Unfortunately, Doug does not want his photograph taken any more - at least by me - and therefore I have to dig into the archives to find photographs I took of him a few years ago. I came up with a DU Bookstore collage that I made while taking a photo class at DU.  Doug can be seen in the upper left hand corner, his face superimposed on a cow, and also being strangled by then marketing coordinator Dave and textbook buyer Mary.  I wonder why Doug won't let me take his photograph anymore?

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

East Side - West Side



As I mentioned in yesterday's Blog, I spent part of the afternoon this past Saturday at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, which is the suburb just to the east of Denver.  Since it was still early when I left, I decided to hop on Interstate 70 and head to Golden, which sits up against the foothills west of Denver, for a few hours, too. Golden is a former gold rush town founded in 1859, and is protected from the rest of the Denver metropolitan area by the butte seen in the top left photograph above.  Golden is one of my favorite towns, and is filled with historic homes and neighborhoods  like the one in photograph on the top right.  One of the things I like best about the town is that the owner of the 1880s era home in the photograph on the bottom left decided to put a beer garden (seen in the bottom right photo) in his back yard.  It is called the Golden City Brewery, and is the second largest brewery in Golden after Coors.  The place is packed with neighborhood residents, students from the Colorado School of Mines, and visitors like me, all enjoying a late summer afternoon surrounded by the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  How great is that?

Monday, September 18, 2017

The Cherry Arts Festival



The Cherry Arts Festival was held this past weekend at Stanley Market, a shopping complex in the Stapleton neighborhood (located in both Denver and Aurora, Colorado), and so I thought I would drop by and check it out Saturday afternoon.  The Stapleton neighborhood is on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport, which served Denver for many years and was a mere 6 miles away from downtown Denver.  City fathers decided that this was WAY too convenient, and moved the airport close to the Kansas state line, to the joy of cab drivers throughout the city. But I digress.  The Stanley Marketplace is located in the old Stanley Aircraft Corporation building, and is actually a lot of fun to visit, with all kinds of locally owned restaurants and bars, not to mention two brewpubs.  And it is technically in Aurora.  Imagine - something fun in Aurora.  Unheard of!  In any case, the art fair was held both outside and in the center's exhibition space, a former airplane hanger.  The crowd was good-natured and happy, and included a lot of young families, as befits suburbia.  However, it was not nearly as crowded as the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which sponsors this festival, too.  But who cares - it was a very pleasant afternoon, there was a lot of photography on display, and so it was a win-win day for all.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Parallel Universes






As I have frequently mentioned, I walk from work to the light rail station at Union Station in Lower Downtown Denver as often as I can.  It is good exercise, but even better people-watching.  I alternate the route I take, walking down Colfax Avenue (15th street) one day and 17th Street the next.  These streets, running parallel to each other and only two blocks apart, couldn't be any different.  Although the businesses are becoming more upscale, Colfax is still a street of homeless people, the poor, the desperate.  It is still pretty seedy in a lot of spots, despite areas that have been gentrified, like the block where the bookstore where I work is located.  In the photograph on the left is the famous (or infamous) Satire Lounge, a dive bar that has been there for almost 50 years or so. And still seedy after all these years.




Just two blocks away is 17th Street, and the entire 2 mile stretch I walk is filled with trendy restaurants and bars, boutiques, refurbished Victorian homes,  and brand new apartment complexes for the young, hip population that frequents the area.  The street is always filled with people bar hopping, walking their dogs, and just hanging out.  Amazingly enough, very few homeless people are in evidence. They are evidently more comfortable on Colfax, in their element.  There can be no greater symbol of the haves and have-nots than walking these two streets.  And will this dichotomy get better or worse in the future?  I know how I'm betting.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

The Downtown Scene



I walked downtown from the local Denver bookstore where I work both Thursday and Friday nights, a distance of about 3 miles.  It really isn't much of a workout, but better than nothing.  When I got to the 16th Street Mall, the place was hopping, both nights.  I was not surprised about Friday night being busy, but it seemed to me that people were in weekend mode on Thursday, too.  Since I live across the street from the University of Denver, I am used to students in party mode on Thursday evenings.  Classes are Monday through Thursday at D.U., and so they let loose on Thursday nights and head to the mountains (especially during ski season) Fridays.  However, it seems to becoming a trend everywhere now.  I wonder if this is because so many people work part-time jobs now that the 3 day weekend is becoming more common. Less hours, no health care, and the only benefit being that 3 day weekend.  The good along with the bad, I guess..

Friday, September 15, 2017

The September Mutt Of The Month



The September Mutt of the Month, seen in the photograph above tied up in front of the Denver bookstore where I work, did not like to have his or her photograph taken.  I kept trying to get a close up portrait, but it kept turning it's head, refusing to look me in the eye.  I find that very suspicious - what is it hiding?  In any case, I went for a short walk and took the above photo from a distance when I was heading back inside the store.  Just what makes this dog so nervous?  Certainly not me.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

The Daily Commute



I am still taking the bus to work in the morning whenever I can, and then walking the 3 miles in the evenings to Denver's Union Station to catch the light rail train home.  Often I have to change trains at the Broadway Station, where I took the above photograph the other day.  You may not realize it, but you are looking at one of hottest properties in the City of Denver.  before the great recession, the area south of here was going to be the trendiest neighborhood in the city, and among the new businesses was going to be one of Robert Redford's Sundance Theaters.  When the big crash happened, the plans were dropped, and the space has remained undeveloped.  Now there is talk about starting to develop the property, but since the only thing that seems to be built here these days are apartments, that dream neighborhood with a coveted movie theater is probably off the table for good.  Sigh.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Hurricane Damage Update - Good News!



At least for me, anyway.  It sounds like the Florida Keys have been leveled by Hurricane Irma, and my heart goes out to all those people who are now homeless thanks to that horrible storm.  For me personally, however, I found out yesterday that the damage to my sister and my condo in Stuart, Florida was wildly exaggerated. The damage consists only of a damp carpet, and nothing more.  How wonderful is that?  What is basically our family's last home is still standing with virtually no damage.  And sunset over the St. Lucie River, just a short walk from the condo, is still as beautiful as ever.  We are so lucky.  Of course, that hellish Hurricane Jose is still out there in the Atlantic, lurking around, but nothing new there, as regular Blog readers know.  But for now, I definitely count our blessings.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Novels Of Gary Reilly



I just finished reading the first two books in the Asphalt Warrior series (The Asphalt Warrior and Ticket to Hollywood), which is about the adventures of a Denver taxi driver named Murf, written by Denverite and part-time cab driver Gary Reilly.  I had read an advanced reading copy of Devil's Night, a later book in the series, and liked it, and decided to make the radical decision to actually buy the first two books.  Reilly wrote 10 books in the series, as well as three volumes about his experiences in Vietnam, but died before he could get them published.  Several of his friends decided to form a company called Running Meter Press to publish them, and intend to make all 10 books available.  They are comic novels featuring taxi driver Murf, who vows never to get involved in the lives of his fares, but always does.  I really enjoy reading these low key novels - they are fun and filled with local color about Denver.  I heartily recommend them if you want to escape your troubles for a while and just have a good, humorous read.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Hurricane Damage



I truly thought my sister Susan and my condo in Stuart, Florida would be safe from damage, but no such luck.  I got a call from my tenant yesterday afternoon during the hurricane (and just who makes phone calls during the middle of a hurricane?  My tenants, evidently) telling me that the rugs were soaked in both bedrooms.  With all the damage reported down there, it will be hard to find someone to make repairs.  Of course, people in the Florida Keys and along the west coast of Florida are faring far worse, but I still was surprised by the storm's reach.  In any case, I took the above self portrait of myself in front of our first floor condo, and the eastern wall that allowed all that water through a probable crack between the wall and foundation.  Where are all the This Old House people when you need them?

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Waiting For Hurricane Irma


It has been a nerve-wracking week for people living in Florida.  Irma, a killer hurricane with 185 miles per hour winds, was headed towards Florida, specifically somewhere between Miami and Palm Beach, not too far from where my sister and my condo is located.  My tenants down there were a bit nervous, as well they should be. Then Friday night, the hurricane moved further west and weakened, and is now moving along the west coast of Florida with sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, still a category 3 hurricane, but not the killer storm of a few days ago.  You hope and pray it won't hit you, but if your prayers are answered, it still hits somebody else.  A very sad truth.  It made me think of other hurricanes, both hits and misses, that threatened Stuart in the past.  I remembered a photograph taken of me with a copy of The Stuart News, back in August of 1995, when Hurricane Erin "hit home," found it, and it can be seen in the photograph on the left.

Actually, the headline was a bit of artistic license.  Hurricane Erin actually hit north of Stuart, between Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, and was a Category 1 storm, the weakest kind of hurricane. Nonetheless, I watched the hysterical, non-stop weather broadcast with my mother and sister all night long, until my mother and sister both said to hell with it and went to bed. The hurricane landed around midnight, and when I looked outside and just saw just mildly strong winds and nothing else, I went to bed, too.  The next day was bright and sunny, and we all went to Stuart Beach.  My mother Mary and sister Susan, seen here with her "boogie" board,  are in the photograph on the right.  Later in the week, we drove down to meet Susan's sister-in-law Nancy and her kids at a restaurant in Boca Raton, the half-way point between Stuart and Miami, where Nancy and Willie lived.  Their house in south Miami was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, and they spent 2 years living in a trailer in their driveway while it was being rebuilt, and so when we brought up the subject of a Category 1 hurricane, Nancy was quite dismissive.  I was in Florida when Hurricane Andrew hit, and it was very scary to watch that thing barreling toward south Florida on the television, too.  A few days later, when I was being driven to the airport in the morning, the only other vehicles on the road seemed to be army vehicles, heading to south Miami to help with the massive destruction and displacement of people.

Hurricane Erin was a category 1 hurricane and a near miss, but 9 years later 2 hurricanes hit Stuart dead on. Hurricane Francis hit Stuart over Labor Day weekend in 2004, a Category 2 storm with winds of 105 miles per hour.  My mother and her neighbors, fearing a storm surge from the nearby St. Lucie River, spent the night in the condo complex's clubhouse.  It was a horrible experience, and they all said they would rather die than spend another evening together like that.  And they got their chance.  Just 3 weeks later Hurricane Jeanne, a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 miles per hour (the current strength of Hurricane Irma, I might add), made a direct hit in Stuart, causing lots of damage, especially along the ocean and rivers in the area.  My mother and her neighbors all stayed in their condos for this one.  My mother, who was hard of hearing by this time, just went to bed and woke up the next morning like nothing had happened.  She told me she noticed nothing different that night.  I came down from Denver a week or two later and there was quite a bit of damage.  Our favorite restaurant, Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty, seen in the photo of my mother and sister on the left in happier days, was heavily damaged and never reopened.  Buildings along the beach were in ruins.  Hurricanes are definitely not fun.

Driving around Stuart, the thing I noticed first was the absence of signs. All are made out of plastic, and were the first things to go in the 120 mile per hour winds.  I took my mother on a ride up Indian River Drive, which runs along the Inter-coastal Waterway, not far from the ocean, and had to turn around when we encountered a very large cabin cruiser sitting right in the middle of the road.  Scary. In the photograph on the right, by the way, shows my sister sitting at the bar of The Admiral's Table, another favorite of ours, which was located on that very same Indian River Drive.  It also was heavily damaged, and never reopened.  Up until that point, my dream was to live in a house or condo on the beach.  After Jeanne, I realized that my mother's condo was quite close enough to the ocean, thank you very much. Sadly, my mother's health took a turn for the worse, and she moved up to live with me in Denver in early 2005.  We went back for visits two or three times a year, however, until she passed away in 2009.  In October of 2005, I went to Europe on a vacation and when I got back, took my mother (who was staying with my sister while I was gone), down to Stuart.  When we arrived, the power was turned off, the bedroom rug was strung over chairs, and we later found out the air conditioner on the roof was hanging by a thread. While I was in Europe, Hurricane Wilma, another Categroy 3 with winds of 120 miles per hour, went up the east cost of Florida, causing lots of destruction in her wake.  That was the last storm to hit Stuart, for now, and the worst for damage, at least for us personally.  This storm is probably the closest to what the people on the west coast of Florida are  experiencing form Hurricane Irma now, and my heart goes out to them.  Good luck people!

Saturday, September 9, 2017

The Cable Center



The Cable Center, seen in the photograph above, is located on the University of Denver campus, just across the street and down the block from my condo.  It was being built just as was buying the place, and I kept watching it's progress to see if it was going to block my view of the mountains.  Fortunately, it topped out with my view still intact, and I stopped paying attention.  The Cable Center was originally supposed to be a cable museum, and they were going to show movies on one of their outside walls to better interact with and serve the community.  As I recall, they did that exactly once.  Whether or not it is still a cable museum I don't know.  It's main function now is as an event space, and they seem to have a wedding reception there every week or so, which is what is going on in the photograph above.  I have never attended an event there, and probably never will, although I have been tempted to crash a few weddings.  But then I would have to put on my suit, shine my shoes, etc. etc.  What a pain, unless you are the one getting married, and even then...

Friday, September 8, 2017

Cubanos And Beer At The TrailHead Taphouse




My friend Stuart (seen in the photograph on the left) and I had Cubano sandwiches and beers at the TrailHead Taphouse and Kitchen last night in beautiful and historic downtown Golden.  This was a departure from our usual routine of heading to the Old Chicago restaurant in nearby Lakewood, the Denver suburb where Stuart lives and at one time the brief (and I mean really brief) home of beat generation legend Jack Kerouac.  I wonder why so brief?  But I digress.  Thanks to a butte cutting it off from the rest of the metropolitan area, Golden (the first capitol of Colorado) has retained it's historic neighborhoods and small town charm.




Instead of dining inside and watching the first NFL game of the season, we decided to eat outside on the patio, with a view of the Astor House Museum ( a former 19th century rooming house) and the foothills beyond.  We were also just across the street from the Capitol Grill, which was Colorado's first state capitol.  The legislature met upstairs on the 2nd floor, and would retire to the first floor bar when their legislative duties were done for the day.  The place still has it's glass enclosed "ladies parlor," where all women were required to sit in order to not be corrupted by the barroom atmosphere.   I imagine that soon this old tradition will once again be required via a Trump executive order, and then the Capitol Grill will be way ahead of the curve.  Far out!

Thursday, September 7, 2017

A Colorado Kind Of Sunset



I took the above photograph over Labor Day weekend of sunset over downtown Denver.  It was taken from the roof of the parking garage next to the bookstore where I work.The colors are very vivid, but the reason for this is because there are a number of forest fires here in the west, and the smoke from these fires is what causes the deep colors.  Due to the pine beetle infestation across the west, there is a lot of fuel out there, and with the lack of rain, fires are inevitable, from both human cause and lightning. The bottom line is, it would be far better to have no fires and less colorful sunsets, but we don't get to decide.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

The First Day Of School



Yesterday was the day after Labor Day, which is the first day of school in the City Of Chicago, as opposed to here in Denver, where classes begin in mid-August.  I myself attended Fort Dearborn Grammar School, located in the south side Chicago neighborhood of Brainerd, which is where I grew up. I was never crazy about school, and having to go back the day after Labor Day was depressing enough, let alone having to start school in mid-August, which to me is the heart of summer. My fondest memories of school were in June, looking out the windows of the classroom and counting the days until classes let out for the year.  Kindergarten was okay, I guess, but as I recall,  it only lasted half a day, which was just enough for me.  And as you can see, I looked pretty chipper back then, sitting in the front row on the far left side in the photograph on the left.




By 7th grade, however, I thought school was a drag, as can be seen from my expression in the photograph on the right (I am once again on the far left, in the middle row}.  In my opinion, high school was not much better, and I wasn't crazy about college, either, although I decided to keep torturing  myself and get an MBA from the University of Denver (I worked there, and so could attend for free, and free to a cheapskate is irresistible). Come to think about it, working for a living is not all that great, either.  And so I have great hopes for retirement. Free at last!

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Back To Reality After A Taste Of Colorado



I took the above photograph of a fountain in Civic Center Park this past Saturday night at the annual Taste of Colorado.  For 4 days each Labor Day weekend it is one of the most popular destinations in Denver, just as the People's Fair is the big event in Denver the weekend after Memorial Day.  As the photograph shows, it is a very pretty area of the city, but except for these events, the park is mainly populated by the homeless.  I have no idea where they go while these events are taking place, but I am sure that this morning they have already found their way back there.  And is Denver doing what it can to help the homeless?  I personally believe they are doing all they can, but the problem is so massive that  it will never be enough.  I believe this is true for most of the cities in this country.  Something to think about when the Federal Government starts to build a wall across the Mexican border that will cost billions and billions, as Carl Sagan used to say.

Monday, September 4, 2017

It's Labor Day! Time For A Taste Of Colorado!


Today is Labor Day, and all this weekend A Taste of Colorado has been taking place at Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.  I put in a few hours this past Saturday afternoon at the bookstore where I work, and afterwards stopped by the festival to walk around a bit.  I was surprised by how few people in the crowd had tattoos this year.  I often jokingly refer to this event as A Taste of Tattoos, but there is a tattoo convention going on at the Colorado Convention Center this weekend, and so I assume the tattoo people are all there.  In any case, the Taste of Colorado is almost the exact same event as The People's Fair, which takes place in this same park the weekend after Memorial Day, but both events draw big crowds.  Attendance is free, families can bring the kids, the older kids can bring themselves, and the people watching is pretty damn good for everyone else.


This year the carnival part of the fair was significantly expanded just in front of the state capitol, and there was a carnival midway with traditional carny games, too.  I even spotted a flying saucer which people were entering in droves, which probably explains all those alien types I saw walking around the grounds. In any case, they still have the gizmo in the photograph on the right, which launches young children high up into the air and scares their little heads off.  It seems to be a particular favorite of parents, for some reason. The main feature is, of course, the food, and restaurants from all over the area have booths set up, where they serve their specialties.  I myself have never once tried the food here - tickets are on sale at a cost of $10 for 15 tickets, but they insist on cash only.  Who carries cash these days? Certainly not me.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

More On First Friday



As I mentioned in yesterday's Blog, I attended the First Friday monthly art walk on Santa Fe Boulevard here in Denver Friday night, along with throngs of other people.  Sadly, the main photo gallery on the street, John Fielder Photography, has closed, leaving only one small shop, The Fastidious Fotog (seen in the photo on the left), dedicated solely to photography. I walked past the space where Fielder's gallery was located, and strangely enough the doors were open.  The place was completely empty, nothing but a cement floor, but was strung with Christmas lights.  A table was set up with a laptop on it, and three people were sitting there.  Since it was obvious they were exhibiting nothing, I just walked on by.



But sometimes exhibiting nothing is preferable to exhibiting something.  I have often looked up at the window on the second floor of this building (see photo on the right), looking at the people admiring what is displayed there.  I myself have inadvertently walked up there several times, and have quickly walked out.  As you can see, however, there are at least five people so taken with the "art work" that they are sitting down to admire it at length.  Makes me think I must get a gallery of my own once I retire. It looks like you can display anything and get an audience.  And I do not mean that in any kind of a negative way.



And for all you child labor fans out there, the little girl who was performing in front of Metropolitan State University's Center for Visual Arts last month was back this month too, singing and playing her guitar in front of the Spark Gallery, as her father manned the sound system .  The cost of living has skyrocketed here in Denver recently, and so I imagine everyone in the family has to do their part to pay the mortgage on their pricey homes.  I also notice that many of Denver's residents drive BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and Lexuses (Lexi?), and the payments on those do not come cheap either.  Hopefully her parents let her keep at least a little bit of the tip money.  And by the way, her rendition of Folsom Prison was actually quite good.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

The First Friday Of September


I attended the First Friday of September Art Walk on Santa Fe Boulevard here in Denver last night, and the streets were packed.  I thought the crowds were a little sparse last month, but the street was closed to traffic that night and people had a lot more room to wander.  This time Santa Fe Boulevard was open to traffic, and the sidewalks were jammed.  In any case, I walked past The Room of Lost Things, and noticed that Santa Claus was prominently displayed out in front. It is, after all, September, which I assume is now the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.  In any case, I took a look inside, and the place was jammed wall to wall with people.  As far as I could tell, the place has a lot of weird stuff, such as the skeleton of a baby alligator enclosed in glass, and that was one of the more ordinary items on display.  I decided not to go inside, because I doubted I would be able to get out again if I did.

Just down the block is Veterans of Foreign Wars Post I, which allows artists to display their work on the first Friday of every month.  And yes, VFW Post I is indeed the first VFW Post in the country, founded in 1899. For many years it was located near the corner of 20th and Market Streets, and existed there inconspicuously when the neighborhood was considered "questionable."  Then the city built Coors Field around the corner, and they were forced to move, replaced by The View House, a trendy bar in what is now known as "The Ballpark Neighborhood."  In any case, I was happy to see that Jim Stevens was exhibiting his work there last night.  I have featured Jim on this Blog before.  He is a legally blind artist who lost his sight in 1993, as a result of an injury he received in Vietnam in 1970.  He paints strips of monofilament and hangs them in rows to create the artwork seen (along with Jim and a potential customer) in the photograph on the right.  His work is really good, especially considering the handicap he labors under. Check out Jim's story at http://www.westword.com/arts/blind-artist-jim-stevens-got-a-black-belt-and-found-his-vision-7443613 .

Friday, September 1, 2017

Evocative Alleys



I am still taking the bus to work every chance I get, and then walking the 3 miles or so in the evenings to the light rail station at Denver's Union Station.  The neighborhoods I walk through were built in the late 1800s, and therefore that is the era that the alleys behind the houses in these areas are from, too.  A number of these alleys have carriage houses that have been converted to homes, and the view from here has always fascinated me.  It reminds me a bit of the movie Rear Window, in which Jimmy Stewart recovers from a broken leg in his apartment, and spends his days watching the backyard scene through his binoculars.  Doing this, he uncovers a murder, and eventually the murderer (Raymond Burr, no less, and I am very surprised at him) comes after Stewart, and almost succeeds in killing him, too.  On second thought, perhaps walking through those old 19th century alleys is not a good idea after all.