Games on a Plane

I watched Superbowl 42 on a flight back to Denver from a writing conference in New York City. Many people on the plane were coming from that same convention, so there were two main sets of passengers that night: rabid Giants fans (since we were coming from NYC), and poets,…

Letters to the Editor

“Pork Belly,” Jason Sheehan, January 31 A Fine Bromance Man-flirting? Jason Sheehan is so in love with the sound of his own words that I find it hard to believe he’d even notice a budding male romance — platonic or not!Gale SteinDenver Here we go again.  Another illogical letter writer…

Burlesque Performers Trade Garters for Cuffs

The ladies of Burlesque As It Was had just finished their show at the Pink Elephant at 1515 Madison Street on Friday night when Fannie Spankings, who was standing by the door, got an invitation for a special command performance — from a cop. It was a “request to appear”…

American Gladiator Auditions the Best of the Worst

In the early ’90s, Saturday Night Live owned my weekends, and I wasn’t alone. Although there were other favorite prepubescent activities — soccer games, covering Lego men in rubber cement and then lighting them on fire — SNL was the focal point of any good overnight. I can still recall…

A Denver Daily Wouldn’t Touch Michael Garcia

It’s not often that an executive at a major daily newspaper declares his paper’s ethical standards to be higher than those of the competition. But Rocky Mountain News editor/publisher/president John Temple comes mighty close in discussing Democratic representative Michael Garcia, who resigned as Assistant Majority Leader of the Colorado House…

Phil Van Cise: Scourge of Denver’s Underworld

You can learn a lot about a crook, the Colonel knew, if you discover who his friends are. By his friends you shall know him. But in the case of an honest man like the Colonel, it may be better to consider his enemies. Start with a single desperate moment…

The Long Arm of the Law

The day after I first read Alan Prendergast’s marvelous story about Philip Van Cise, the fighting DA pictured here, I was at a memorial service at the First Universalist Church just off Colorado Boulevard at Hampden Avenue. I was seated behind Judge Larry Bohning, a member of that church and…

Turning the Tables on Valentine’s Day

Romantic restaurants on Valentine’s Day are overpriced, overcrowded and overbooked, or at least that’s what you can tell yourself when you realize you’ve forgotten to make a reservation. But eating is optional, people, like those mawkish diamond “journey” pendants and the single red rose, and there’s no reason why you…

Shmuck of the Week

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal if the Broncos had made it to the playoffs…or won more than half their games…or beaten the Chargers (even once) this season. Maybe it wouldn’t be so irksome if the team had made a sympathetic gesture toward loyal fans by keeping ticket…

The Real Results of the Colorado Caucuses

While other reporters were wasting their time on Super Tuesday night tracking useless information like exit polls and delegate counts, the crack political team at Westword was focused on the issues the matter: namely, which Democratic candidate’s political apparatus throws a better post-caucus party. After a sleepless night of number…

My First Caucus

In the days leading up to Super Tuesday, I kept waiting to get an off-white invitation in the mail from an older neighbor, preferably an active, sporty grandmother-type, who had looked up my political affiliation and requested my presence in her home for the Democratic caucus. I would show up…

The Skinny on Fat Tuesday

Call it the most competitive, high-stakes game of Jenga ever, with nothing less than the leadership of our democracy hanging in the balance. Super Tuesday lived up to some expectations—a highly competitive Democratic race and a strong national showing for John McCain—while injecting more surprises and uncertainty into what promises…

2001 Best of Denver Winners

In 2001, Westword published its eighteenth Best of Denver issue, a celebration of the city that saluted everything from the Best Performance by an East High Graduate (Don Cheadle scored in Traffic) to the Best Appearance by Coloradans in an Inaugural Parade (the Precision Lawn Chair Demonstration Team marched for…

Denver Post Business Columnist Al Lewis on Shrinkage

The standalone Business section is a thing of the past in weekday editions of the Denver Post — a fact that a reader commenting on the More Messages blog about the development found ironic in light of past remarks by Post business columnist Al Lewis. In January 2007, as noted…

Boulder Lucky to Have Radda

Radda is a great restaurant, but it’s also a comfortable restaurant, an unassuming restaurant, a restaurant where families come to eat penne al cinghiale and chicken soup in a parmesan broth, made with winter vegetables, lemon and faro, and where rogue CU economics professors sit and argue vehemently about the…

Viva la Rep-olución!

It’s an election year of Firsts. The First Female President. The First African-American President. The First Mexican President. The First Panamanian President. With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton now deadlocked in national and state polls on the cusp of Super Tuesday, both are making desperate pleas to Hispanic communities in…

Rocky Reverses Caucus Ban For Employees

Here it is: Super Tuesday, February 5, when politically active Coloradoans will gather to caucus in greater numbers than ever before. And thanks to an eleventh hour agreement with the Denver Newspaper Guild, Rocky Mountain News employees will be able to join them in a personal rather than professional capacity…

Denver Post Sections on the Move

This morning, February 5, folks who still get the physical edition of the Denver Post, as opposed to perusing the online one, may have hard to look a little harder than usual to locate the broadsheet’s business coverage. Rather than appearing in a standalone section, such material now turns up…

The Denver Newspaper Guild Objects to Caucus Rules at Dailies

Denver Post employees will be able to attend the February 5 Colorado caucus after all. Following an objection by the Denver Newspaper Guild, the broadsheet has modified its prohibition against certain staffers taking part. However, as of this writing, Guild reps have not yet been able to convince the Rocky…

Delegating Denver #29 of 56: Missouri

View larger image Missouri Total Number of Delegates: 88 Pledged: 72 Unpledged: 16 How to Recognize a Missouri Delegate: One explanation of how Missouri became known as the “Show Me” State claims that the nickname originated as a derogatory slur in Colorado. Untrained “scabs,” brought in from Joplin, Missouri, to…

Barfly Taxonomy: The Woo Girl and Yeah Bro

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…