It's New Year's Eve! Party Like It's 1994!

Which is the year I took the photograph on the left of my sister Susan's cat at her and my late brother-in-law George's townhouse up in Fort Collins. I can't recall the cat's name, but do remember she loved her traditional New Year's Eve bowl of Moet Champagne. And if she were still around today, I am sure she would wish you a Happy New Year, as do I. I hope you all have a great 2024. I know it looks like it might be a bit of a bumpy year, but it is time to step back and keep a positive attitude. And to achieve that, I suggest reading humorist Dave Barry's 2023 year in review. If he can make 2023 sound so funny, what do we have to fear about 2024? Find the article at https://www.yahoo.com/news/dave-barry-review-2023-ai-100000295.html.

Meeting Up with The Leeds United Colorado Supporters At DNVR

My friend Mark and I met up with the Leeds United Colorado fan club yesterday afternoon at DNVR Sports Bar - located at the corner of Colfax and York here in Denver - to watch Leeds play West Bromwich. DNVR is located in the former home of the Three Lions Pub, a bar that catered to soccer fans, and it appears that DNVR is now trying to attract those fans, too. Sadly, Leeds lost to West Brom 1-0, but it didn't seem to dampen the spirit of the group. I guess Leeds supporters are used to being disappointed, very much like Chicago Cubs fans. I took the photograph of Mark on the left, wearing his Leeds jersey, at DNVR just as the game was starting.

I must say, I was impressed at the number of Leeds fans who showed up for the game. Leeds is in the Championship League, the 2nd tier of the English soccer league system, relegated there from the Premier League last year. I can understand Tottenham, a popular London soccer club, drawing a crowd here in Denver each week, but Leeds? Are they ex-pats? Have friends or relatives in Leeds? Or perhaps these fans have visited Leeds, fallen in love with the place, and support the team because of that? I have heard, much to my surprise, that over the years, Leeds has become a nice city to live in or visit, unlike nearby Bradford, which I hear has become a pit. And I mean that with all due respect. Pits can be a lot of fun. After all, who doesn't want to visit Gary, Indiana? In any case, on the right is the official photograph of that Leeds United Colorado get-together. A very pleasant, friendly group of people. Nice to get to meet you, everyone!

Grabbing A Pizza At Grabowski's With Stuart

I drove out to Lakewood, Colorado yesterday afternoon to have lunch at Grabowski's Pizzeria with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph above. Since baseball spring training does not start for another 7 weeks, and both the Chicago Cubs (Stuart's team, given he is from Chicago's North Side), and my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, are not making many moves during the off-season, the conversation mainly focused on the current state of affairs, which, of course, is depressing as hell. Best to focus on pizza, instead. As I have mentioned before on this blog, Grabowski's is owned by Chicago transplants, and serves pizzas with names such as Classic Chicago and Old Comiskey. We ordered the Classic Chicago, a traditional Chicago pizza covered with cheese and fennel-heavy Italian sausage. This place has moved to the top of my list of favorite Denver area pizza parlors. It definitely holds it own with Vito and Nick's, my family's favorite pizza place when I was growing up in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, and Aurelio's Pizza, our go-to place in Homewood, Illinois, after we moved to the Southern Suburbs. Finally! Civilized dining is coming to Colorado at last!

A Pioneer Era Kind Of Christmas

I took the photograph above a few days ago at the Golden History Park, which has been decorated for the holidays. This park features pioneer cabins, as well as an old schoolhouse, from the 1860s, and is located along Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado. Golden was founded in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, and soon became a commercial and political center, located between the mining camps and the settlements to the east. It was the territorial capital of Colorado until 1867, when it was relocated to Denver through political shenanigans. The building where that territorial legislature met is still there. They conducted business on the second floor, and after adjourning, headed to the bar downstairs. It is still a restaurant and bar, called the Old Capitol Grill and Smokehouse, and retains the glass-enclosed room where woman had to sit to avoid being corrupted by the bar. I don't think women are still required to sit there, although I would love to take photographs and observe the reactions if they were.

Waiting For The 2024 CTA Historical Calendar

The new 2024 Chicago Transit Authority Historical Calendar will be available online in less than a week. I download it onto my computer every year. It features monthly photographs of various CTA transit vehicles in front of memorable Chicago scenes, all from years past. My all-time favorite was a photo of an old-fashioned street car going down the hill from Longwood Drive to the business district and the Rock Island commuter stop in the South Side Beverly neighborhood, a place I know very well. However, I was a bit disappointed with the 2023 calendar. All but one or two of the photographs were relatively recent, and not very nostalgic. I have high hopes that this year's edition will include more of the classic black and white images featured in previous calendars. One can always hope, right? Look for it this coming Monday.

Boxing Day!

Today is Boxing Day, the day people bestow gifts on their servants and give them the day off, after they have spent all of Christmas Day, not to mention the rest of the holiday season, waiting on their "Masters." This is, as far as I know, mainly a British tradition, and Boxing Day is actually an official holiday in the UK. In many movies and books I have seen or read, it appears that even poor English families have servants. Could this possibly be true, even today? If so, it boggles the mind. I myself had to give up my servants when I retired, and to me, Boxing Day is now all about going out and buying half-price calendars, especially those boxed page-a-day ones, such as the Rick Steves Europe Page-A-Day Calendar in the photograph above. In any case, I hope everyone out there has a nice Boxing Day this year, celebrating it in your own unique way. But be sure to give your servants the entire day off. You can always head to Chick-fil-A for dinner.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas to one and all! I hope everyone has a wonderful time with family and loved ones on this special holiday. These days, it is just my sister Susan and I celebrating the holiday, but we have many happy memories of Christmas celebrations from the past, including one back in 1991, when I took the photograph above of my brother-in-law George, Susan, and mother Mary at Susan and George's townhouse up in Fort Collins, Colorado. A very Christmassy and cozy scene, if I say so myself. And keep in mind, the 12 days of Christmas don't end until Epiphany on January 6th, so on keep celebrating!

A Classic Dave Barry Christmas Eve Poem

'Twas the night before Christmas - Or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever religious holiday your family unit celebrates this time of year via retail purchases

And all through the house

Not a creature was stirring

Except Dad, who was stirring his third martini

As he attempted to assemble a toy for his nine-year old son, Bobby.

It was a highly complex toy

A toy that Dad did not even begin to grasp the purpose of

A toy that cost more than Dad's first car

A toy that was advertised relentlessly on TV with a statement in the corner of the TV screen that said, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Oh Deer! Experiencing Wildlife In Colorado

A while back my sister Susan and I drove from Denver down to Manitou Springs, just to the west of Colorado Springs, to revisit that Southern Colorado town. It is a cute place, founded as a tourist destination back in the 19th Century. They have 8 different mineral springs you can drink from, and are supposed to be very healthy for you. I assume that means the water must taste horrible, but I really can't say. In fact, I wasn't even sure whether you were supposed to drink the water or bathe in it until just recently. It would be embarrassing to show up at one of those fountains in a Speedo. Manitou Springs is directly underneath Pikes Peak - it is where you catch the Pike's Peak Cog Railroad, that takes you to the 14,115 foot summit - and there is a lot of wildlife around, including the deer in the photograph above, walking around close to downtown. I assume there are bears around, too, although I have never actually seen one outside of the zoo. There is still time, of course. I will just have to start hiking up the side of Pike's Peak carrying some tasty bear food, like Spam. Who doesn't love Spam?

Christmas In Breckenridge

It was a warm, sunny day in Denver this past Tuesday. In fact, the 67 degree high tied a record set back in 1917. With temperatures that warm, I figured it would be safe to drive up to Breckenridge without fear of getting caught in a snowstorm without snow tires or chains, which could result in an expensive fine. And it was definitely worth the trip. There was snow on the ground, and Breckenridge's 19th Century commercial buildings and homes were all decorated for the holidays, making for a very Christmassy atmosphere. And for a weekday afternoon, there were a fair number of people walking up and down the streets, doing a little shopping and checking out the local bistros.

Breckenridge, as everyone knows, is a very popular ski resort, and I imagine there were a lot of people up on the slopes that day. After all, staying at a ski resort during the Christmas holidays has always been considered a dream vacation (think Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas). Sadly, we did not see anyone singing and dancing to Irving Berlin tunes in the streets, but it was still a very nice day. The only complaint I have about Breckenridge during the winter season is that it is usually too damn cold to sit out on a patio, have a beer, and do a bit of people-watching, as you can do in the summer. Of course, if you have spent all day freezing your behind off on the slopes, I imagine you probably don't mind dealing with a little bit more cold out on the patio. As for me, I'll see you back in Breckenridge next summer.

The 2023 Winter Solstice!

Today is the Winter Solstice, the first day of winter, and the shortest day of the year. This holiday predates Christianity, and was, and still is, very popular with Druids. Most of them celebrate at Stonehenge, in England, which opens it's grounds to celebrants on both the Winter and Summer Solstice. However, I was able to take the photograph above of a group of local Druids celebrating the holiday in Denver's Washington Park. This gathering was being held in front of Monkey Island, which was a popular hangout for hippies back in the 1960s. According to the Washington Park Profile, a young woman, who was part of that hippie group, mysteriously disappeared back then, and is rumored to haunt Monkey Island late at night. That is also the time I suspect these Druids perform their human sacrifices. I guess they want to keep that aspect of their rituals a secret, but they really don't need to. I am pretty sure that the Supreme Court recently ruled that if human sacrifice is part of a religious ceremony, it is protected under the First Amendment. I think Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion on the decision. And, by the way, if you want to head to Monkey Island to see the hippie woman's ghost, you might want to avoid going there tonight. Better safe than sorry. I'm just sayin'.

It's The Holidays, But It's Also Just Eight Weeks Until Spring Training!

Yes! It's true! It is only eight weeks until pitchers and catchers report for Major League Baseball Spring Training, which is the most exciting time of the year for baseball, when every team has a chance, however unlikely, to win the World Series. Last year, I thought my South Side heros, the Chicago White Sox, were on their way to the playoffs. However, once the regular season began, they were just horrible, and wound up losing over 100 games. And since they have now lost Tim Anderson, their last remaining All-Star, this off-season, things are looking even grimmer for the coming season. The same goes for the Colorado Rockies, my adopted hometown team, who were expected to be bad last year, and were, also losing over 100 games. So far, they have made no moves to improve during the off-season, and so things are looking bad for them this year, too. Even the Chicago Cubs (if you happen to be a North Sider), who were in the playoff race until the final week of last season, lost Cody Bellinger - their National League Comeback Player of the Year - to free agency, calling into question how their season will go this coming year. But, as I have said, during spring training, every team has a chance to win it all, at least in the minds of the fans. And it all begins eight weeks from today, down in Arizona and Florida. Hooray! The photograph above, by the way, was taken back in 1996, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during a New York Mets - Detroit Tigers spring training contest. It was the first and last time I saw a game there. At the time, it seemed like that ballpark was in the middle of nowhere, and fans walking into the park were in danger of being attacked by alligators. But, of course, that was a quarter century ago. Maybe, by now, they have relocated all those alligators. Perhaps some day, I will check it out.

Colorado's Snowpack Is 60% Of Normal

Climate experts say that Colorado's winter season is "off to an unusually slow start," with statewide snowpack only 60% of normal. Of course, this has happened in past years, and in the following months it has often snowed like hell, so who really knows how it will all turn out? The ski resorts are freaked, of course, currently promoting ski runs at much higher altitudes, and there is also the constant worry about drought conditions possibly leading to more wildfires, less water for crops, and lower levels in the reservoirs that provide water to Colorado's population. On the other hand, the experts have been complaining about drought conditions in Colorado since I moved here back in 1981. In my opinion, it all balances out in the end. The important thing is that the State of Colorado has now released wolves into the wilderness to reintroduce them into the state. The first batch was released in the mountains, despite fears from ranchers about the danger to their livestock. Hopefully, the next batch will be released in Denver's Washington Park. That should make next year's Turkey Trot Run much more exciting. The photograph above, by the way, was taken in Evergreen, in the foothills west of Denver, which shows some snow on the ground, and a fair amount on top of Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans), and so all is not lost. At least not yet.

A UK Sports Extravaganza

I went over to my friend Mark's house here in Denver yesterday morning to watch the Rangers, located in Glascow, play Aberdeen for the 2023 Scottish League Cup. This soccer match was half over when we tuned in, but we did catch the winning goal by the Rangers, who beat Aberdeen 1-0 to win the Scottish League Cup for the first time in 12 years. We then watched Liverpool play Manchester United to a 0-0 tie, which The Guardian described as a very uninspiring soccer match. And finally, we watched the Newcastle Eagles play the Cheshire Phoenix in a British Basketball League game (And yes! The British do have a basketball league, to the surprise of many people actually living in the UK). All of these games seemed to be well attended. No doubt the British are trying to take their minds off a declining GDP, high prices and interest rates, and the threat of steadily rising energy costs just before winter begins. They seem to be in even worse shape than here in the US, not counting the real possibility that Donald Trump could become president again in less than a year. In any case, the photograph above shows Mark, thanks to the magic of Photoshop, standing along the Mersey River in Liverpool, where the Liverpool-Manchester United soccer match was played. Liverpool and Manchester United, by the way, are bitter rivals, and yesterday Liverpool fans damaged the Manchester United team bus as it made its way to Anfield Stadium, the second time this has happened in the past 5 years. They take their sports damn seriously there. Scarily so.

Problems In Paradise

Florida, like a number of other states, is facing a crisis due to the rise in the cost of property insurance. The reason for this in Florida is due to the damage caused by hurricanes such as Hurricane Ian, which hit Fort Myers Beach last year, costing insurance companies billions. Many insurers have left the state, and the ones that remain continue to raise rates. These increases make it increasingly more expensive to own a home, and condo owners are facing much higher HOA fees. This is especially hard on Florida retirees on a fixed income. If this continues, many will be forced to sell and move to less expensive states. I don't know what the solution is - I know nothing about the insurance business besides paying the premiums. Politicians in Florida claim that getting more insurance companies to do business in the state would increase competition and lower costs, but even if this is true, it does not appear to be happening. The governor is too busy banning books and running for president to pay any attention to the matter. It's all about priorities, I guess. And by the way, the photograph above of sunset over the St. Lucie River was taken a short walk from the condo in Stuart, Florida that my sister Susan and I inherited from our mother, and are currently renting out to help pay for all of those damned expenses.

Remembering Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey, the author of 26 "darkly comic" crime novels, passed away this past Sunday at his home in Islamorada, Florida, at the age of 62. Dorsey was a reporter and editor at the Tampa Tribune, who always wanted to write novels. Back in 1999, he published Florida Roadkill, featuring Serge A. Storms, a serial killer with a heart of gold. It was a hit, and that same year Dorsey quit his day job to write full-time. All 26 of his books featured Serge, along with his drug-addled sidekick Coleman. Dorsey, who grew up in Riviera Beach, Florida, just north of West Palm Beach, was obsessed with Florida history and culture, the weirder the better. Probably not coincidently, his character Serge also grew up in Riviera Beach and obsessed with all things Florida. Dorsey would travel throughout the state, talk to locals, and turn all the things he learned and saw into outlandish crime novels. When asked for his idea of the good life, he said he was living it. It is sad to think it ended at the relatively young age of 62. I read Florida Roadkill as soon as it came out, and was a fan from that point on. I have not read all 26 books, and do not think I have read Atomic Lobster. But in an interview with Powell's Books, Dorsey described it as "the dissection of a Florida neighborhood populated almost entirely by degenerates, con men, the terminally disfunctional, golf freaks, trophy wives, and prescription-abusing retirees in Buicks tying up traffic. In other words, a documentary." I definitely have to check that one out ASAP.

Passing By The Hotel Boulderado

I drove past Boulder's Hotel Boulderado, located a block north of the Pearl Street Mall, on a rather gloomy afternoon last week, and took the photograph above while waiting for the traffic light to change. That hotel opened with a New Year's Eve Gala Ball in 1908, and quickly became THE place to dine and stay in Boulder. After some hard times during the Great Depression, it once again became Boulder's top luxury hotel. And I must say, The Corner Bar, seen in the photo, does seem like a cozy spot on a miserable day. I have walked through the Boulderado a few times, and it is indeed very impressive. And no one will be surprised to hear that it is haunted. The "Lady in White" roams the halls late at night, the sounds of children laughing can sometimes be heard, and many guests report the feeling of being watched (although that is not that unusual in this day and age). There is also a ghostly bellman, and the sound of mysterious piano music. Paranormal experts have conducted several investigations, but the results have been inconclusive. Just for fun, I checked the rates there, and you can get a room for $166, at least during the month of December. That is really not that expensive for a hotel in that class, although I would certainly not pay it as long as there is a Motel 6 around. But for anyone who wants to get up close and personal with the spirit world, it might be a bargain. Of course, I myself have never seen a ghost, or for that matter a moose, either. And so if I stayed there, the only strange sounds in the night would probably be coming from the plumbing.

Visiting The DAM On a Dreary Tuesday Afternoon

I visited the Denver Art Museum (the DAM) this past Tuesday afternoon to check out Personal Geographies, a new photography exhibit featuring work by Trent David Bailey and Brian Adams, divided into two galleries. The theme of the exhibit was how these photographers express their relationship to a region or place through photographs. Bailey photographed both people and landscapes in and around Hotchkiss and Paonia, Colorado, where he spent summers with his relatives as a child, while Adams photographed Arctic landscapes and Inuit people in the far Northwest of Alaska. It was definitely worth a visit, and I recommend seeing it. And by the way, the photograph on the left is of the DAM's Frederick C. Hamilton Building, designed by Daniel Libeskind and continuing the museum's legacy of bold (i.e. weird) architecture.

After viewing Personal Geographies, I immediately headed to the Modern and Contemporary Galleries on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Hamilton Building to see if the museum might have decided, after so many years, to finally put Modigliani's Portrait de Femme, one of the most famous paintings in their collection, back on display. And, of course, the answer was no. They can have a video of a naked guy covered in salt crawling through the wilderness, and having wild elk lick it off, but not Portrait de Femme. Go figure. But this time I submitted a comment card, asking very politely why the hell that painting has been hidden away all these years. I have not yet heard back. Surprise! In any case, they did have an exhibt in that gallery featuring portraits of people living in New Mexico, taken by a photographer originally from Iran, as seen in the photograph on the right. It was interesting, but no Portrait de Femme. 

And, of course, being the Denver Art Museum, there was an exhibit called Space Command, by artist Chris Bagley, described as an immersive installation "probing boundless mysteries of space," which to me is another one of those exhibits that I really don't consider art. It is like Star Wars and the Power of Costume, which really attracted big crowds to the DAM, and Paris to Hollywood: The Fashion and Influence of Veronique and Gregory Peck. Is it really art, or just a way of attracting big crowds to the museum? Regardless, May The Force Be With You.

The World's Top City Destination For 2023: Paris!

Paris has been named the most attractive city destination for 2023 by global research company Euromonitor. In fact, seven out of the top 10 on that list are in Europe. I can't argue that Paris and the other cities, including Rome, don't deserve this honor, but I am very surprised at why they say these cities made the top 10. Euromonitor says Europe dominates the list due to "fast-paced urbanization and technology adoption. Travelers now want high-speed internet, flexible booking options, and spaces for remote working." Seriously? People go to Paris for high-speed internet and remote working spaces? My sister Susan and I went to Paris in 2019, and I have to admit, the quality of the internet was not the main reason for visiting the city. The people who put these lists together need to get real. Would everyone choose to vacation in Hoboken, New Jersey, instead, if the internet was better there than in Paris? Of course, there are all kinds of lists like this on the internet these days. I went through a whole bunch of them looking for this article after seeing it on my home page earlier in the day. Who knows how they really decide these rankings? One thing I did notice was that all of these lists put Paris at the top, no doubt due that great high-speed internet. And by the way, I took the photograph above on the Ile St-Louis in Paris back in 2019. Suprisingly, I did not see anyone on their laptops at that cafe.

The Tallest Digital Christmas Tree In The Country - Well, Whoop-De-Doo...

The Mile High Tree has returned to Denver's Civic Center Park for the holiday season. At 7 stories and 110 feet high, it is the tallest digital tree in the country. I took the photograph above of it as I was leaving the Denver Christkindlmarket last week. In years past, I have seen that tree on the 16th Street Mall (before the City of Denver decided to tear it the hell up), and I admit it was kind of pretty at night, when it stayed a nice solid blue. But then it started changing colors and flashing, and that is damn annoying. But most importantly, it is just plain ugly during the daytime, like a 110 foot tall Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. The tree's web site (Yes! It has one!) brags that it is 10 feet taller than the tree in Rockefeller Plaza, but that is a real tree that looks good both day and night. I firmly believe some things should just not be digital. Especially trees and menus. It reminds me of that cartoon where a librarian is showing a book to a young child and telling him that you don't have to turn it on or recharge it, just open it up. The latest thing!

Watching Tottenham Beat Newcastle With Mark

I went over to my friend Mark's place to watch the soccer match between Tottenham and Newcastle yesterday morning. Mark is ordinarily a Tottenham fan, but Newcastle is his favorite Premier League Soccer team, and so he was rooting for them. I myself root for Tottenham, mainly because it is the only soccer team where I recognize some of the players. Sadly for Mark, Newcastle looked horrible, and Tottenham dominated the game, winning by a score of 4-1. The Colorado Spurs, the Tottenham Hotspur supporters group, who meet at Esters Pub in the Virginia Village neighborhood here in Denver, must have been been out of their minds with joy. Of course, since Mark was wearing a Newcasle United jersey, it was a good thing we weren't there - soccer fans are pretty touchy about people rooting for the opposing team. The photograph above, by the way, shows Mark, in that Newcastle jersey, standing in front of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London, all through the magic of Photoshop. And I must say, looking at that stadium, I actually think I might like to attend a game there. But definitely not wearing the opposing team's jersey.

MLB Expansion Is On The Way!

Major League Baseball is talking expansion, with plans to add two new teams, one in the American League and one in the National. MLB hasn't expanded since the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays began play back in 1998. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred declared that no new teams would take to the field until stadium issues were resolved in both Oakland and Tampa Bay. Since Oakland will be moving to Las Vegas (a sad turn of events), and Tampa Bay is finalizing a deal for a new stadium with the City of St. Petersburg (do I care?), expansion is now a go. For years, people have been talking about Montreal getting a team in the National League and Portland in the American, but now that expansion is a reality, many other cities are in the mix. But don't look for these new teams next year. It will be a long process, as I can tell you from personal experience, following the Colorado Rockies entrance into baseball back in 1993. It was a very exciting time for fans here in Denver. I would take photographs of Coors Field under construction every weekend, in eager anticipation of Opening Day at that ballpark, seen under construction back in 1994 in the photograph above. These days, with the high ticket prices, poor team play, clueless owner, and other assorted complaints, I have reached the conclusion that I prefer minor league baseball instead. Is there any chance we can get the AAA Denver Bears back? I thought not. What a pity.

A Major Slump For Downtown Denver

I went for a walk through downtown Denver yesterday, and I must say, I was surprised at all the vacant storefronts and lack of crowds on a late Friday afternoon in December. Granted, it was cold, but not all that bad. Before the pandemic, the place was thriving, and always seemed to have people heading hither and yon. Of course, during the pandemic, many businesses closed, and after Covid restrictions ended, many people continued to work from home, leaving office towers half empty, severely reducing the number of customers at all those shops and restaurants. And then, Denver decided to renovate the 16th Street Mall, downtown's main shopping street. It is a construction zone these days, and not a pleasant place to walk, let alone shop. And to top it off, the company that owns Larimer Square, one of the city's top tourist attractions and seen in the photograph on the left, decided to renovate all their buildings, driving out many of their most popular tenants.

Even McGregor Square, located across the street from Coor's Field and seen in the photograph on the right, looks deserted these days. The Tattered Cover Bookstore closed its location there last month, and it looks like Old Chicago, which announced it was planning to open a restaurant there, has decided to back out of that decision. McGregor Square is often packed during baseball season, but there is very little foot-traffic from October thru March, which is a major problem for those shops and restaurants. Of course, other cities have similar problems. Office buildings are half vacant all over the country, and in downtown San Francisco and along the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, organized smash and grabs and other types of crime have resulted in many stores closing their doors. Things will eventually get better, but for now, it is a struggle for downtowns everywhere.

Domo Has Reopened!

I read a fascinating article in the Denver Post yesterday about the reopening of Domo Japanese Country Restaurant. This place has been in business here in Denver since 1996, and in addtion to its food, is famous for its beautiful outdoor gardens. I knew about the place, but have never dined there. Evidently, back in 2021, a 40 second TikTok video showing those Japanese gardens went viral and resulted in hundreds of people lining up at the restaurant every day, overwhelming chef Gako Homma and his staff. By September of 2022, Homma decided it might be time to retire, and closed the restaurant. God knows I can understand why. 

Homma traveled to Turkey, Nepal, and Thailand, where he cooked some of Domo's famous curry. Coming home, moved by many notes from loyal customers and wanting to get back in the kitchen, he decided to reopen Domo on a limited basis, serving only lunch and a more simple menu Monday through Saturday, from 11:00 to 2:00, with a staff of only four - two in the kitchen and two in the front. He eventually plans to add more items to the menu, and have a dinner service, too. But at age 73, Homma wants to take things slowly. His mission is to show that Japanese food isn't just limited to sushi and ramen, and to introduce people to foods the Japanese have been eating for centuries, sometimes even cooking by hanging a pot over a fire. This story actually makes me want to visit this restaurant and try out that curry. Which for me is saying something. 

The Denver Christkindlmarket

I visited the Denver Christkindlmarket yesterday afternoon. This German-style holiday market is located in Civic Center Park, and sponsored by the Colorado Chapter of the German American Chamber of Commerce. It hosts local and European craft and food vendors, as well as a Festival Hall serving traditional German beverages. I suppose the best time to take photographs would be when it is very cold and there is snow on the ground, but yesterday was sunny and in the low 70s, which works for me. I am not crazy about cold and snow, no matter how much more Christmassy it makes the photographs look.

Wednesday was St. Nikolaus Day, and old St. Nick himself can be seen in the photograph on the right, schmoozing with patrons at the Festival Hall. I actually had no idea who he was while I was there, but took photographs of him anyway, in case he might be somehow connected with the market, and not just a patron wearing his usual street clothes. Years ago, when I first moved to Denver, there was a man dressed as a priest who could be seen all over the city asking for donations ("Would you like to contribute?"). It was kind of sad, actually. Eventually, Westword, the local free newspaper, did a story about him, following him back to a motel on East Colfax and demanding to know where the contributions were going. Eventually, he disappeared from view, and I don't know what ever happened to him. This guy, however, did not ask for money, and so I instantly knew he was the real deal. Pretty damn old by now, but still the real deal.

There were all kinds of food available at the market, including at the S'mores Haus, seen in the photograph on the left, with Denver's State Capitol in the background. Which of course begs the question: what the hell are S'mores? Which I also had to look up on the internet. It turns out they are a "dessert consisting of toasted marshmallow and chocolate and sandwiched between two graham crackers." Ick - sounds pretty disgusting to me. They are allegedly "a campfire classic in the United States and Canada," which I find hard to believe. I am also, by the way, not fond of camping, either. That is why they invented Motel 6.

Perusing The December Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I recently received the December issue of Chicago Magazine, and found it quite interesting. The cover story was "Why We Love Winter - 39 Ways to Get the Most Out of the Season." It has been quite a while since I lived in Chicago, but as I recall, I did not love winter. Sometimes it was very snowy, sometimes not so much, but seeing the sun was always a very rare thing. Which I very much hated, not loved. The article mentioned such things as the feeling you get walking into a bar on a frigid night, boozy nights playing board games, soups that warm your soul, etc. etc. Sounds like grasping at straws to me. There was also an article about an 1874, 10,000 square foot mansion for sale in Evanston that sounded really nice - fireplaces in all the public rooms, the high quality of the spaces, a quarter-acre-lot, all for a measly $1.899 million. That is less than a lot of homes in Denver's Washington Park, which do not seem to me to be nearly as impressive. If I had that kind of money, I might consider moving back to Chicago from Denver, although then again, there is the issue of those horrible winters. And on the opposite page from that article was a full page ad for The Residences at the St. Regis, a 101 story high-rise on East Wacker Drive that features 1,097 square foot "pieds-a-terre to full floor 6,800 square foot full floor penthouses." The prices range from $860,000 to $18,500,000. Wow! Are we now living in a new Gilded Age, or what? Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need him? And yes, I did have to look up pied-a-terre (a small living unit in a big city some distance away from an individual's primary residence). Hopefully, the purchasers of those units won't be too cramped on the rare occasions they use the place. Keep a stiff upper lip, guys!

The December Mutts Of The Month

I took the photograph above of the December Mutts of the Month a few weeks ago, while they were tied up outside the Eugene Field Branch of the Denver Public Library. Happily, they were both well trained, and looked right into the camera when I asked them to pose. This particular library branch is located in Denver's Bonnie Brae neighborhood, which is a very walkable - and affluent - area, with a one-block business district that has been undergoing a major transformation over the past few years. The Saucy Noodle, a long time neighborhood favorite, closed down after a dispute with the landlord, and the Bonnie Brae Tavern, which has been in business at that location - without ever remodeling, I suspect - since 1933, was sold to a real estate developer, and will be replaced by apartments. The Campus Lounge, a popular sports bar, is still going strong, after several ownership changes, but my favorite restaurant, 730 South, has been closed for a number of years. They had a tremendous Happy Hour, with drink specials and very low-priced food plates. It was such a great deal that the bar area was packed every night. Unfortunately, after 6:00, the crowds disappeared, which led to the inevitable closing of that establishment. In other words, too good a deal can be a bad thing, too, especially for the business owner. Even Red Lobster lost 11 million dollars during the third quarter this year due to the success of it's "Endless Shrimp" promotion. The shrimp might have been endless, but not the profits.

The First Full Week Of December - The Holiday Season Is Here!

I was at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center this past Saturday afternoon, and the place was packed with shoppers looking for the perfect gifts for their friends and family. Cherry Creek is a very affluent Denver neighborhood, and so it is probably not the best place to hunt for bargains, which is what my game plan always entails. Although I have to say, I was very impressed by a brand new Maserati on display off the main concourse, courtesy of the Mike Ward dealership in Highlands Ranch, which I think would make a wonderful gift - a Maserati is the perfect car for running errands along the Front Range of Colorado. There is a Tesla dealership in the mall, too, for the more environmentally conscious consumer. I was very tempted to head to Santa's Flight Academy, as seen in the photograph above and located in the center of the mall, to ask Santa for one of those cars, but it looked like he was pretty busy. Plus, I suspect he probably had a panic button to summon security, and I still needed to get some errands done. Perhaps next weekend.

More About The Travis McGee "Literary Landmark Plaque"

Last Sunday, I reminisced on this blog about taking the Jungle Queen riverboat cruise down the New River in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with my sister Susan and mother Mary back in August of 1996. It left from the Bahia Mar Marina, and when we returned, Susan took the photograph above of me next to the "literary landmark plaque" in front of slip F-18, where Travis McGee, John D. McDonald's fictional hero, kept the Busted Flush, his 52 foot houseboat home. I just loved those thrillers, and have read every one of them. McGee was a "salvage consultant," who specialized in helping victims recover money and items of value for a 50% fee, but only when the money in his safe began to run low. These books inspired many Florida mystery writers, including Carl Hiassen, Randy Wayne White, James W. Hall, Les Standiford, and Tim Dorsey. Evidently, Bahia Mar was remodeled to accommodate mega-yachts up to 300 feet in length, and the plaque was moved, first to the Dockmaster's office, and then to the marina's gift shop. As you can see from the photo, the plaque is really not that big. Would it have killed them to leave it where it was? Would the super-rich find it too tacky? Still another piece of Florida's literary history gone, or at least hidden away. Sad.

Call To Arms!

I read an article in the Denver Post recently about "pop-up" Christmas themed bars that will be open between now and the first of the year here in the Denver area. The one that sounded most interesting was Call to Arms Brewing Company, a brew pub located on Tennyson Street in Denver's Berkley neighborhood. Actually, it is not really a "pop-up" at all, but no matter - the bar is known for its over the top Christmas decorations, and so was featured in the article. I happened to be driving through the area yesterday afternoon, and decided to stop by and take the photograph above of the bar. And I have to say, the place does seem very festive. This is the same brew pub that sponsored a Fat Tuesday celebration this past February that featured a parade through the neighborhood, which I duly photographed and posted on this blog. Call to Arms really knows how to have fun and keep its patrons entertained. It is definitely a place to visit as often as possible during the holidays. Enjoy!

The Two Chicago 2023 Comeback Players Of The Year Aren't Coming Back

The 2023 Comeback Players of the Year were announced this week, and the winners are both from Chicago teams. The American League winner was Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendricks, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma last December, but came back to pitch in late May. To get in shape, he threw bullpen sessions between chemotherapy treatments before the start of the 2023 season. Hendricks was shut down due to right elbow inflamation after 5 games, and underwent Tommy John surgery in August. The White Sox, who lost over 100 games this year, released him after the season, and he is now a free agent. The National League winner was Chicago Cubs centerfielder and 1st baseman Cody Bellinger, who went from a .197 batting average with the Los Angeles Dodgers to batting .307 and hitting 26 home runs and 97 RBIs for the Cubs this year. The Cubs, playing in a weak division, actually had a chance to make the playoffs, but ran out of gas the final weeks of the season. Bellinger has also become a free agent, and is now looking to cash in on his great year. And so neither of the 2023 Comeback Players of the Year are coming back to Chicago. It just figures.