Reader: Kathy Griffin isn’t worthy of a Muppets cameo

The Muppet Movie is doing boffo box office; the puppets alone are enough to draw the crowds. But during their lengthy career, the Muppets have also cozied up to many celebrities — including the quintet profiled in our “Five most memorable Muppet movie cameos” post. DustyD One of them was…

The Christkindl Market: The last old-fashioned place on earth

Denver’s not generally known for its old-world charm. We’ve gone straight from cowtown to modern city, it seems, and even our perception of “old-fashioned” has been contemporized for an urban audience. At Christmastime, though, there’s at least one tradition here that’s fiercely old-world, and that’s the come-and-go Christkindl Market, which…

Reader: Shop ’til you’re dropped…unless you buy local

Shop ’til you’re dropped! The all-consuming holiday chaos at malls — including one in nearby Falcon — captured in “Black Friday 2001: A soul-crushing compilation of humanity at its worst,” prompted this from Coco: Protests in Tahrir Square, tramplings in Walmart. No wonder the rest of the world hates America!…

Shop Local: Rakun’s got high style for the 99%

When Meghan Throckmorton opened her tiny boutique Rakun, situated in a little house on the far northern edge of the Art District on Santa Fe, on First Friday in June, she knew it was a gamble; six months later, she’s still there, but not without wishing for more of the…

Reader: Give roller derby a sporting chance

Roller derby isn’t just a very entertaining spectacle, it’s a real athletic endeavor — as anyone who saw the national WFTDA championships earlier this month at the 1stBank Center could tell you. Or just listen to Pet Scoop: Despite the crazy names and eccentric themes, roller derby is definitely a…

The real story behind “Black Friday”

As we prepare for the commercial holiday that follows a little thing called Thanksgiving, the debate over whether stores should begin opening at midnight on Black Friday is raging. But when and where did Black Friday come from? What does it really mean? We asked Darrin Duber-Smith, Marketing Professor at…

Reader: Shop local, buy local, read local

Susan Froyd rounded up some of the season’s best homegrown shopping opportunities in her “Buy Local Week” post, prompting this from Marie (yes, one of the local artists whose creations Froyd singles out): Bravo! Thanks for supporting the little guys Susan!! We love you!! I love the way you put…

Reader: Newlon Elementary is green, and growing

Jef Otte wrote “O, Barnum! An ode to Denver’s least desirable neighborhood” as a celebration of his own neighborhood — one that counts several other Westword writers as residents. Some of their neighbors appreciated Otte’s ode; others did not. Denver School Board member Andrea Merida is just the latest to…

I lost the Futurama quiz last light by one @#*&#! point

Last night’s “All Glory to the Hypnoquiz: an all-Futurama Event ” at Rackhouse Pub, sponsored by Geeks Who Drink, was a pretty raucous time, and I definitely debunked the myths that geeks can’t drink, party, be hot or win things. The evening didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted –…

Sugar Plums dancing before your eyes: A Sugar Plum Bazaar preview

The buy-local, DIY holiday craft market season is on: Get your foot in the door this weekend when the Sugar Plum Bazaar, featuring about forty spot-on, homegrown vendors, opens for business from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the elegant Parkside Mansion…

Futurama quiz: Bite some shiny metal asses tonight at Rackhouse Pub

Good news, everyone! If you love Futurama and beer, then you should check out “All Glory to the Hypnoquiz: an all-Futurama Event” at Rackhouse Pub tonight at 8 p.m. Sponsored by Geeks Who Drink, this pub quiz will involve teams competing (showing off) with each other to answer trivia questions…

Trade your toys for body ink (or piercings) at Fallen Owl Tattoo

Sublime’s “Santeria” is playing over the speakers at Fallen Owl Tattoo when owner and artist Adam Rose introduces himself, his shop and his mission: “We’re a solid old-school shop, and we have old-school values. We’re very focused on the children.” In the flier for the West Colfax studio’s latest project,…

Reader: Patti Cramer lives on through her work

Patti Cramer passed away just over a year ago, shortly after she left the town where she’d lived forty years, collecting hundreds of fans in the process. But her art lives on. And at Westword, where Cramer worked for several years and then continued as a contributor for decades more,…

Reader: Quit horsing around with wild mustangs

The Bureau of Land Management’s attempts to remove thousands of wild horses from public lands has generated outrage across the country, as well as em>Wild Horses & Renegades, a new film by Santa Fe-based filmmaker James Anaquad-Kleinert, which explores the government’s unsuccessful efforts to protect wild horses — and that…

Reader: Colorado’s on a roll with roller derby

The 1st Bank Center played host to twelve of the best roller derby teams from around the country this past weekend. And although our hometown teams did not triumph in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championships, the Denver area definitely came out the winner for having the WFTDA games…

Fashion Forum at Crossroads tonight

Another clothes call! Arts & Venues Denver will host a fashion forum tonight for local fashion/accessory and jewelry designers, which it describes this way: “This is a forum to LISTEN & HEAR from YOU! We want to know from you as designers what will be the best for this creative…