Jack Kerouac Wrote Here, Crisscrossing America Chasing Cool

January 19, 2008 by David Amram Denver | When I first came to Denver in the mid-forties with my family, and later on when traveling through with different bands, I was always aware of Larimer Street and Five Points as the two places in Denver that in no way fit…

Ron Paul: Evol?

Dear Ron Paul supporters, I have a tip that you might find helpful – and, no, it doesn’t involve bunker-building or camouflage mouse pads. It has to do with graphic design. I’m not an expert in the art of campaigning, but I keep noticing all of these banners hung on…

Makovsky Snags the McClintock Building

As described in the story “Evan Almighty,” developer Evan Makovsky made celebratory headlines last summer when he managed to buy up most of decrepit Block 162 in the middle of downtown Denver so the eyesore could be redeveloped. The only building on the block Makovsky did not acquire was the…

Haunted Sculpture Arrives at DIA. Flyers, Rejoice!

The enormous “Mustang” sculpture finally made its way to the ground of Denver International Airport yesterday, only fourteen years past deadline. Crews installed the 32-foot fiberglass horse where Pena Boulevard splits south of the main terminal. The rearing beast comes complete with an astounding back story sure to secure a…

Strike Two

Hollywood writers have already begun to return to work, even though the strike isn’t officially over—which is a sign of either how much trust exists now that the picketing is done, or how many people realized that they need to delete their stuff (unfinished scripts, novels in progress, porn) off…

So Louisville’s Got That Going For It, Which Is Nice

My personal commitment to the Froggish arts is nothing when compared to the two-line backstory of Uttam Lama, chef at the five-month-old Tibet’s Restaurant in Louisville. Uttam spent fourteen years as the chef at a Tibetan monastery. While there, he cooked for the Dali Lama. For culinary street cred, Uttam…

Another Behind-the-Scenes Rocky Departure

Reporters and other byline earners aren’t the only folks fleeing the Rocky Mountain News these days. Employees assigned to the paper’s all-important website are also moving on with a regularity that has to be disheartening for those who remain. Then again, the eagerness of techies to seek out other opportunities…

On the Dimming of Shine Magazine

The November 22, 2007 Message column focused on the prospect of a local magazine war involving at least three publications — 5280, the existing champ, which had proved that Denver could support a glossy in style; Denver magazine, whose execs were devoted to reviving the name of a pub that…

Charting Graf: The CIA Wall

Slide Show As Charting Graf reported in this blog, and spotlighted again here, the private wall that graffiti writers refer to as “The CIA Wall” has a long and storied past. Here’s a slide show sample of some of the production pieces, or murals, that have graced the wall recently…

The Monday Squeeze Play at the Denver Post

The last item in the February 7 Message found Denver Post editor Greg Moore explaining the decision to combine the broadsheet’s Denver & the West and Business sections Monday through Friday. However, Moore didn’t mention another squeeze play — one that’s on display in the February 11 issue. In that…

Delegating Denver #30 of 56: Montana

View larger image Montana Total Number of Delegates: 24 Pledged: 16 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Montana Delegate: Residents of the Treasure State think that their Last Best Place isthe Jewel of the Lower 48. On average, there are only seven Montanans per square mile of Big Sky Country,…

Barfly Taxonomy: The Midwestern Tufted Touchscreen Addict

View larger specimen In order to make more sense of the world around us, illustrator and public house naturalist Nate Stone is compiling here a taxonomy of different barflies. While you’re out and about in Denver, if you spot any of these specimens please add your observations about their habitat…

Columnist’s Affiliation Not Mentioned in Reader Write-in Piece

A sharp-eyed reader noticed something unusual about the February 10 debut edition of “Consumer Shopping Bag” in the Denver Post. The column found “Bag” author David Migoya answering a question about Xcel and tree-trimming from a reader identified as Joanne Ditmer of Denver — and if that last name looks…

Last Call for 3.2 Beer?

A Senate bill was introduced Thursday that would legalize the sale of full-strength wine and beer in grocery stores. If passed, S.B. 149 could mean the death of the Colorado oddity known as 3.2 beer. In 2006, I wasted away hour after hour of my life in front of microfilm…

Graves vs. Jive at Indy Ink

See a slide show sample of the show. Unlike the brutal and drawn-out battles common amongst opponents in politics and sports, rivalries in art tend to be less about victory and defeat as they are about playful competition among contemporaries. The dual exhibition showing at Indy Ink, 84 South Broadway,…

LANS Corp. Faces the Music

As noted in Westword’s January 31 cover story, “The Player,” before longtime scam artist Amadeus Harlan started his latest venture, Harlan21, he worked at Legal Aid National Services, Inc., or LANS Corp., a legal-aid operation in Denver that many former employees have accused of unsavory practices. It turns out the…

Love+Cereal+Cupcakes+Creative Collaboration=The Shoppe

Update: The Shoppe is now open for business. Get a look inside with this slide show by Molly Kreck. In its December issue, Men’s Health magazine named Denver the “Most Dangerously Drunk City” in America. It makes sense: Denverites can count on one shaking hand the social spaces that are…

Mitt Romney Will Never Surrender, But He Will Suspend

It’s somehow fitting that the last people to know Mitt Romney was dropping his bid for the presidency were his supporters in the room. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Romnites were still handing out buttons and wildly waving posters when Mitt took the stage for a stump…

The Toll of the Twinkle

Sort of like that obnoxious neighbor at the end of your block, the City and County Building insists on keeping up its gaudy holiday light display long after everyone else has taken theirs down. The city’s official policy is to keep the display going until the end of the National…

IRS Making Local Escorts Hot and Bothered

“Juvel” is out of a job since Denver Sugar closed shop. A major law enforcement investigation into Denver’s top escort agency has sent a chill through the local sex-for-hire industry – and the wealthy clientele who finance it. Rumors of distress in the escort underground floated by Westword’s ear earlier…