"Dr. Colorado" Speaks At The Tattered Cover

Tom Noel, known locally as "Dr. Colorado," gave a slideshow presentation and spoke at the Tattered Cover Bookstore last night, promoting his new book Denver Landmarks and Historic Districts.  Noel - seen in the photograph on the left - gave a lively and entertaining talk, with a great deal of the audience, many part of the historic preservation community, adding valuable insights.

One of the audience members adding comments - lots of comments, as a matter of fact - was former Denver City Councilman and Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher (seen in the photograph on the right addressing the audience), who joins Noel every year in leading a guided tour of Denver during the annual Open Doors Denver Weekend. Both Noel and Gallagher discussed the famous Tabor Opera House, Denver's most notable building, which was torn down without hardly any fight at all back in 1964.  This, and the proposed demolition of the Molly Brown House, is what spurred the founding of Historic Denver, which has saved many Denver buildings since.  Great talk, Tom.  Sorry I couldn't afford to buy your book last night.  Maybe after I get paid next week.

A Fort Collins Kind Of Fourth

My sister Susan and I were originally planning a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park this past 4th of July, but my brother-in-law George decided he would rather kick back at home and grill some steaks on the barbie.  Which is exactly what we did.  When George isn't working in his home office, he can be found in his chair in the living room, watching (God help us all) Fox News with his two dogs, Tutu (seen being held by George in the photo on the left) and Blackberry, on his lap.

Meanwhile, my sister Susan, who George describes (as well as me, by the way) as a left wing loon, spends her free time in her garden, as seen in the photograph on the right.  In any case, political differences aside, it was a very pleasant evening.  The steaks were good, the conversation was lively, and the evening passed very pleasantly. The only down side was the realization that the 3 day Independence Day weekend was coming to an end. Always a bummer.

Watching The Iceland - France Soccer Match - Live!

Saturday afternoon I brought a pizza over to my friend Mark's place (Mark works at the University of Denver's Anderson Academic Commons, called the library back in the real world) and watched Iceland play France live in the semi-finals of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.  Iceland was the underdog favorite, since it has only about 1000 people living there due to the extreme temperatures and the fact that it is in total darkness half the year.  In any case, sadly enough, Iceland lost 5 to 2, and was eliminated from the tournament.  In honor of the occasion, Mark wore his Cemento Cruzazul soccer shirt, which features advertising for various products all over the front, back, and sleeves.  I only hope major league baseball executives don't see these jerseys.  Otherwise, they will sell so many ads they will probably eliminate even the player's name from the jersey.  And if you think I'm kidding, you don't know major league baseball these days.

Happy Fourth Of July!

Today is the Fourth of July, and here in Denver that day is synonymous with the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which takes place every Fourth of July weekend and is Denver's most prestigious art fair.  I walked around the festival for a few hours yesterday afternoon.  There was a short, light rain shower, which was good, since it reduced the huge crowd that you usually have to fight through to see the art.  I overheard one woman talking about the year it rained so hard a lot of artists were washed down  the street.  I was there that day, and the streets were like fast running streams.  I remember a lot of debris being washed away by the current, but no artists being swept away.  The sight of that must have been horrific.

This is a very prestigious show, and it is an honor to be selected to display your work.  It goes without saying that the art here is 1000% better than what you see at the monthly Santa Fe Drive Art Walk, but on the other hand, the prices are 1000% higher.  The painting on the right is one of a pair that would look perfect over my living room couch, but I simply can't afford to buy them.  I am seriously thinking of just having the photograph enlarged to sofa size and hanging that there, instead.  No wonder so many booths have signs forbidding photography.

The best thing about the Cherry Creek Arts Festival is the people watching.  The Cherry Creek neighborhood is arguably one of Denver's most prestigious, and therefore you get to see a lot of interesting sights. Dogs are welcome at the fair, too, and for the most part, that is good.  People are always stopping to complement people on their pets, and most of them are pretty well behaved.  However, the dog in the photograph on the left, being pushed in a baby stroller no less, was barking at every single person that went by, which means of course it was barking continuously.  And the owner didn't seem to care less.  And of course it was a poodle.  I say next year dogs in baby carriages should be banned.  Poodles too, for that matter.  Something must be done.

And of course we must not forget that Denver has been plagued for years now by zombies.  Every October they even have a special day when they get to parade around the 16th Street Mall and run amok.  I attended the event last year and was shocked at how many of these damn creatures there are here in Denver.  Of course, they don't go away after their special day, and can be seen around town the rest of the year, too - even at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.  I took the photo on the right of one of them walking down the street looking zombie-ish.  You can't keep them out, after all.  That is why we are celebrating the Fourth of July in the first place.  Happy 4th Everybody!

First Friday Continued...

As I was saying yesterday, most of the art at the First Friday Art Walk on Santa Fe Drive here in Denver was pretty bad this month.  However, it is a great place for people watching and just walking around, enjoying the ambiance.  A lot of the galleries had beer and wine available, as well as live music.  I took the picture on the left in the alley behind Santa Fe Drive.  A lot of the best art is actually on the walls in the allies.  I think the studio in the photograph is actually a time warp back to the 60s.  I opted not to go in.

There are also art demonstrations on First Friday.  The artist in the photograph on the right, Loren Lichti, is - in addition to also having a 1960s vibe - a stonework artist , and was giving a demonstration of how he performs his craft.  It was all very interesting, but why can't the finished product be something you can recognize?  Perhaps a wildebeest or warthog?

The First Friday Of July - Already?

I drove over to South Santa Fe Boulevard here in Denver yesterday afternoon after work for the monthly. First Friday Arts Walk  Perhaps it was because I arrived early, before all the hipsters had arrived to liven things up, but the art just didn't "grab" me, or even amuse me,  this time.  Most of it was pretty bad (and I am being kind here), and even the photographs at John Fielder's Gallery were the same as last month.  I still enjoyed looking at the artwork on the walls of the allies however, like the one in the photograph on the left.

I also enjoyed the people watching, too.  Everyone was going up and down the street, walking into and out of the galleries that line the street, although once again, the biggest crowds were in the Renegade Brew Pub at 9th and Santa Fe and around the food trucks across the street.  After all, true artistes have their priorities.

Stuart Keeps Calm On His Birthday

I went to Old Chicago on Colorado Boulevard here in Denver with my friend Stuart to celebrate his birthday. Stuart saw the sign pictured above him in the attached photograph, and decided to order a rare (for him) beer to celebrate the day.  Plus, the Chicago Cubs were on the television to complete the celebratory atmosphere. Of course, Keep Calm and Carry On is a famous British expression, but after voting to leave the EU, I imagine they are anything but calm, and having lots and lots of beers.  Perhaps if Donald Trump becomes president, Colorado can secede and take Britain's place.  They couldn't possibly require you to actually be located in Europe, can they?