The Westword.com Blog Shortcut, June 26 Edition

Allow us to take you on a tour of the other Westword.com blogs… The Cat’s Pajamas introduces us to a lovely boutique called, appropriately enough, Lovely. Cafe Society presents a video showing Marisol, the author of a romantic novel entitled The Lady, the Chef and the Courtesan, cooking while on…

Dan Caplis and His Jihad Against Barack Obama

“The Obama Tapes,” a so-called “report” about presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama by attorney and KHOW radio host Dan Caplis (pictured), is considerably less than advertised. Rather than spotlighting fresh information capable of bolstering Caplis’ contention that Obama’s election would endanger America in a slew of different (and terrible)…

Top Ten Ways to Motivate the Colorado Rockies

In this June 25 blog, I expressed frustration after the Colorado Rockies lost two consecutive games to the freakin’ Kansas City Royals immediately after taking just one of three games against the New York Mets at home. So imagine how I (and every other Rockies booster) felt after the Royals…

DNC Media Whining Hits New Low — For Now

Anyone who wonders why so many members of the general public think journalists are putzes will find an explanation of sorts in “Media No Fan of Protest Neighbors,” in the June 26 Denver Post. According to the piece, “National media representatives are upset that an area designated for protesters during…

R.I.P. Larry Killingsworth

A lot of stand-up comics who never died on the stage seem to be passing away off it these days. First, Denver’s legendary Don Becker, who I wrote about in this June 19 feature, and then George Carlin, who was loved and revered the world over (read blogs about his…

Suspect Charged in Brenda Denton Murder

On June 25, more than three years after Brenda Denton was killed in her Capitol Hill living room, the Denver district attorney charged John Lee Carson with first degree murder. According to the arrest affidavit, Carson, a friend of Denton’s, confessed to the murder from prison in March 2007. Then,…

Q&A With Rayo Casablanca

Rayo Casablanca is the author of the inventive new thriller 6 Sick Hipsters, his debut novel. And just in time for a Friday, June 27, appearance at the LoDo Tattered Cover (click here to learn more), he sat down with Westword for a conversation captured in the Q&A below. Spoiler…

Newt Gingrich parties with Muhammad Ali Hasan

Remember Newt Gingrich? Speaker of the House. Contract with America. Quadrennially rumored Republican Presidential candidate. No? Well, the extremely wealthy Hasan family does, and they hosted Gingrich last Friday, June 20, at their $10 million Beaver Creek mansion, where Gingrich gave a speech to a group of from the Eagle…

Green Achers at the Democratic Convention

It’s rapidly becoming apparent that when Mayor John Hickenlooper said he wanted to “make this the greenest convention in the history of the planet,” he wasn’t talking about the kind of green that comes with pictures of dead presidents. While fundraising for the upcoming Democratic National Convention lags, the press…

Home State Hero Shawn Chacon Goes Sprewell on GM

The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News both reported about Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon’s indefinite suspension after allegedly seizing general manager Ed Wade by the neck and hurling him to the ground like a resin bag, although with few details or mentions of his Colorado connections. In its…

Why I Still Love High Gas Prices

Back in May when I blogged my screed “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love High Gas Prices”, the price per gallon was an outrageous $3.55. Oh, how we long for those good ol’ days! But even though the once unthinkable four bucks per gallon has sent the cost…

Letters to the Editor

“Curtain Call,” Adam Cayton-Holland, June 19 The Last Laugh Thanks for the well-written article/sendoff and wild cover for Don Becker and for the community of which he was a treasure. That goes for the comic/poet/playwright communities, too. Don was unique, passionate and hilarious. One of my best memories of Don…

Courtside

Mayor John Hickenlooper has insisted it will be business as usual in downtown Denver during the Democratic National Convention this August, when an estimated 50,000 people will be simmering in the hot sun and the even hotter media spotlight. “Please know that our intention is to minimize any impacts on…

Duck and Cover

During major international soccer tournaments, my friend Darren and I are in almost constant contact. We’re either watching games together or texting back and forth about the games. And since Euro 2008 has been in full swing since the beginning of this month, I’ve been getting lots of texts and…

Cloudy Weather at Denver Meteorologist Conference

For the most part, Channel 31 forecaster Chris Dunn has a sunny disposition. But even he clouds over at the thought of what he considers to be the biggest misconception about on-air weather prognosticators — “the idea that, ‘Oh, you guys are always wrong’ and ‘If I had a job…

The Lords of Payback

In the endless muddle of battle between Mike Zinna and The Powers That Be in Jefferson County, moments of truth have been hard to find. But once in a while there’s a burst of light over the benighted trenches, like a flare from heaven, that offers a glimpse of the…

Paying the Price

THE ZINNA BILL LITIGATION EXPENSES FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY RELATED TO DISPUTES WITH MIKE ZINNA JANUARY 2004-APRIL 2008 Outside Counsel Zinna v. Congrove $ 112,310.71 Zinna v. County $ 79,763.47 Open Records Requests $ 27,223.23 Stille v. Congrove $ 20,146.81 Zinna v. Beyer-Ulrich $ 18,205.95 Zinna v. Sheehan $ 17, 020.67…

The Westword.com Blog Shortcut, June 25 Edition

The content keeps a-comin’ on The Latest ‘Word and the family of Westword.com blogs. At Backbeat Online, eyeball plenty of good stuff, including an update on Denver’s own Meese, news about 3Oh!3 and the Flobots getting hyped on the MySpace music page, and Q&As with Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley…

George Carlin’s HBO Sendoff

The first time I ever saw George Carlin’s act was on HBO: 1983’s Carlin at Carnegie, his third special for the channel — and one of eleven HBO is running tonight and tomorrow, June 25 and 26, in a fitting tribute to the late comedian and his work. Before its…

The Rocky Mountain News Poo-Poos on Martha Stewart

A June 20 More Messages blog needled the Rocky Mountain News for leaving the letter “y” off the word “say” in a headline affixed to one of the day’s biggest stories. Somehow, though, I missed an even funnier gaffe in the June 21 Rocky. In that issue, “pooh-pooh,” which means…