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Rick Polito, sometime George Takei joke writer, finds that Internet fame doesn't always pay

Star Trek icon George Takei's profile photo on his hilarious, ultra-popular Facebook page features a smiling pic alongside a button reading, "It's OK to be Takei!" However, being him has been even weirder than usual since Boulder-based writer Rick Polito, author of the world's funniest one-line movi ... More >>

Meet the tree that's making your neighborhood smell like Semenville, USA

Spring is in the air. You can tell, because the air stinks. That foul fragrance is the contribution of the Callery pear tree to Colorado. Those who have not inhaled its near-toxic fumes simply don't understand; it's something you have to experience to believe. But if the Callery continues on its p ... More >>

Harlem Shake: Everything to know about YouTube's viral successor to "Gangnam Style"

This is a turning point in the history of music on the internet. I know, I know, it feels like a regular Friday, but trust me, things will never be the same again. The forces of capitalism, social networking and goofing off have converged at the perfect time to create the magic that is the "Harlem ... More >>

Carly McKinney, aka CarlyCrunkBear: Overland teacher outed for hot Twitter photos, pot jokes

Carly McKinney, 23, is a first-year math teacher at Overland High Schools, but her calculations related to a now-yanked Twitter account posted under the name CarlyCrunkBear don't add up. She reportedly considered it a parody account, but administrators at the Cherry Creek School District don't appea ... More >>

YouTube stars battle for money and creative control

Nikola Tesla's career is re-energized by cartoonist Matthew Inman

It took a cartoonist to re-energize interest in eccentric scientist Nikola Tesla. Matthew Inman recently posted a piece on The Oatmeal, his comic website, explaining "Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived," and it's inspired more than a million dollars in donations to turn one of his ... More >>

Aurora theater shooting: Meet Jonathan Lee Riches, prime suspect in bizarre court filings

Last week, we told you about a bizarre court filing in the Aurora theater shooting case -- one that blamed the incident on a police chief and the Illuminati, among others. Shortly thereafter, Reddit user FreedomsTorch set out to unmask the prankster behind the document. He concludes the culprit is s ... More >>

Marijuana activist says Obama campaign using "Harold and Kumar" clip to hide bad policies

Update below: Kal Penn and John Cho, the stars of the Harold and Kumar movies, have been to Colorado multiple times in recent weeks to stump for the Obama campaign, and both appear with the president in a video about Penn hosting Democratic National Convention coverage this week; see it below. Howev ... More >>

Laura Shunk dishes out some tips for the new Cafe critic

In advance of Gretchen Kurtz's debut next week as the new Cafe critic, we asked some of our previous restaurant reviewers to weigh in -- and given their jobs, we do mean weigh in -- with advice for our new newest critic. Kyle Wagner, our reviewer for close to a decade who's now the travel editor at ... More >>

Photo: Young man shows off wounds he says he got at Aurora theater shooting

The front page of Reddit.com right now is topped by this story: "i am one of the 50 wounded in the aurora theatre shooting. here are a few photos of my very lucky but nonethless terrifying brush with death. my thoughts go out to those less fortunate than me." Below are photos he shared with the onl ... More >>

The copyright standoff: Technology pits bad rules vs. no rules

Bear in CU-Boulder photo killed on Highway 36

Over the past week or so, we've covered the brouhaha over a photo of a bear falling from a tree on the CU-Boulder campus; see our original coverage below. The shot became an international sensation, as well as the basis for plenty of memes and GIFs included in this post. Now, however, there's infini ... More >>

Bear photo at CU-Boulder: Copyright complaint as shot becomes meme, GIF fave

Update: Last week, CU-Boulder student Andy Duann's photo of a tranquilized bear falling out of a tree went viral, as we explain in our original coverage below. But even as the shot became a meme and GIF favorite (we've included examples), reports broke that Duann was exploring legal action against C ... More >>

The problems with SOPA and its sweeping side effects

Remember that mixtape you made for your high-school sweetheart? Or that time you taped a movie off cable? Turns out you were breaking the law, pirating copyrighted materials without permission. While the statute of limitations has probably long passed on your crimes of teenage passion, entertainme ... More >>

Top ten Westword marijuana news stories of 2011

​From regulations changing and shops being raided, to pizza delivery guys calling the cops on tokers, it has been an interesting year for medical marijuana in Colorado. Below is our top ten list of Westword's most popular marijuana stories of 2011 as well as links to the original posts.

Tim Tebow tattoos and tribute Tumblrs meet hate sites and pointless-spin-move ridicule

It's Tim Tebow's worldwide web. We're just surfing on it. With the Broncos having reeled off their fourth straight win, Tebowmania has reached heights that even his most fanatical fans probably never imagined. But that doesn't mean the haters have been squelched. Here are some examples from opposi ... More >>

Ten topical Halloween costumes to avoid this year

Just go as a beer.​If only because when you look back at the photos ten years from now, you may slap your palm to your face and think, "Did I really dress as the physical representation of WikiLeaks?!" And how many people did you see dressed as Zach Galifianakis's "Alan" from The Hangover duri ... More >>

Denver ranks as the third most socially networked city in America

Hipster Traps: Will they work in Capitol Hill?

Full-size version below!​Someone is setting 'hipster traps" in New York, as photographed by this Reddit user. The awesomely cartoonish bear trap surrounds a pack of American Spirits, a can of PBR and sunglasses. Please warn your jobless young friends to avoid these traps.

Nü Metal quilt will keep you warm with '90s nostalgia

Memorable Christmas gifts are made with love, and in the case of this gent, his Christmas gift is infused with a rap-metal logos of the '90s and early 2000s. Many of the classic T-shirts are there: the Korn Adidas rip-off and 40 ounces, the Coal Chamber ice cream truck, the classic Walls of Jericho ... More >>

Sanity Now

Barbecue How-To: The Beef-Filled Bacon & Hot Dog Turtle

Just in time for the weekend, here's a meat-filled recipe for the grill. Ingredients:- 3 all-beef franks- 1/2 pound of bacon- ground beefVia RedditBehold, the beef-filled bacon turtle. ​

Five ways social media has changed us -- like allowing us to socialize pants-free

Pants: Now totally optional​Over at the excellent social-media site Mashable, there's an intelligent and thought-provoking post about the ways social media has changed us. And while its conclusions about social media's impact on our society included important points about information availabil ... More >>

Social-media Frankenstein

​Every day, I use multiple social media services to work, stay in touch with friends and keep up to date with what's going on in the world. Half an hour on MySpace here, twenty minutes of Facebook there, and a quick look at Twitter every hour -- it adds up. So, until the future I predicted h ... More >>