If anyone needed further evidence that the tide of public opinion has turned firmly against smoking cigarettes, look no further than the mass freak-out that ensued when cancer-survivor Michael Douglas was recently spotted possibly smoking a cigarette. As an incorrigible smoker myself, I understand Michael Douglas’s dilemma, and yesterday, I…
It’s a mildly fun fact that the original gimmick of the Smurfs — created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo way back in the ’50s — was the “Smurf language”, in which the small blue characters substitute that word for whatever verb, noun or adjective, depending on context. But it didn’t really…
Though the initial Project Runway pool of twenty contestants is not exactly exclusive to better-known capitols of design, it’s certain that Denver made a huge impact on the show last year in the form of Mondo Guerra, who came in second place in the running and first place in everybody’s…
It’s the most grueling professional bike race ever held on American soil. Beginning in Colorado Springs, winding up along treacherous passes through Gunnison, Avon, Aspen, Vail and eventually to the State Capitol in Denver, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is like the Tour de France of America (literally: it’ll have…
Every time I go to the doctor’s office, it’s the same old story: I show up on time for the appointment I’ve made in advance and then wait for two hours, during which they make sure I’m going to pay them and provide six-month-old gossip magazines for me to read…
When you were young, they told you that you could do anything. And while that turned out to be true for you only as long as your dreams were limited to peeing your name into the snow in an especially decorative fashion, for God it’s literally true. So today, because…
Waldo came and disappeared from the Arhaus Furniture store in Boulder back in April, but he wasn’t done yet; since then, a stencil of the famously elusive children’s cartoon character has been popping up in several hard-to-spot locations all over Boulder, steadily attracting the attention of Boulder blogger Blempgorf and,…
Alright, so we didn’t like Soul Surfer that much. But they can’t all be gems, and when it comes to elevating fellow Denverites into the echelons of dumb awards, we’re always willing to help a brother out — so take, if you will, a moment from your busy day and…
Unless you are homeless or have a healthy masochistic streak, chances are you’re not much inclined to wait in line overnight for the grand opening of IKEA Centennial at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning, as more than a hundred people have been doing since yesterday. Luckily, we are both of those…
Captain America is awesome — he’s like a ‘roided up Uncle Sam with a badass shield sworn to send Hitler to the gates of hell, and what’s not awesome about that? — but let’s be honest: Captain America is some propaganda. It’s not the only thing that makes the trailer…
The basic origin of the phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong” is clear enough: the 1981 video game, in which said large ape somewhat inexplicably terrorizes a construction site. What’s less clear, though, is how that ape went from mindlessly slinging 8-bit barrels at Mario to an icon for getting…
Although the MTV Video Music Awards have consistently failed to represent the “dawning of a new age for America,” as predicted by Russell Brand in 2008, the nominations this year are at least mildly interesting — if, for no other reason, than the inclusion of Odd Future, those ragtag hip-hop…
Although IKEA didn’t even allow people to start lining up outside its doors for Wednesday’s grand opening until 9 o’clock this morning, it’s been more than 30 hours since the line effectively started forming in the parking lot across the street. The Swedish home-ware retailer, of course, is offering a…
New Belgium is well-known as maybe the world’s foremost purveyor of goofy bike-related events that is also a beer brewer, and the Urban Assault Ride is at least a contender for the crown jewel of that lineup. This weekend, hundreds of people who enjoy both bikes and beers competed against…
If you’re going to align yourself with a ridiculous (albeit in ways both great and not-so-great) place like Boulder, the least you can do is have a sense of humor about it. Then again, one of the many things that makes that city ridiculous is that so few Boulderites have…
There might be a simple solution to America’s fat problem, and it might just be fun: Go outside and play. That’s the idea, at any rate, behind Keen Footwear’s Recess Revolution Tour, which is criss-crossing the country in five cities trying to tear adults away from their computer screens for…
There’s an element of truth to every stereotype, and that particularly goes for Boulder, a place so preoccupied with its own righteousness that even its Pop Tarts must be certified organic. Our man Thorin Klosowski recently returned from a stint in the People’s Republic, and he brought back some observations…
There’s an element of slavish worship to any superhero myth, but that’s particularly true for Captain America, a WWII-era propaganda comic that took a sickly young man who just really wanted to fight those damn Nazis and made him into the pinnacle of the American ideal — which is, of…
Although the musical — one of the sillier holdouts from an era when theater was more, you know, theatrical — is mostly exploited these days for its camp potential (see: The Book of Mormon), it’s still not quite dead as a study of human emotion, either. And although the idea…
Call Sarah Palin what you will — hell, call her “undefeated” if you want — but there’s no denying she inspires some strong feelings on either side of the political divide. Since Jenn Wohletz posted her recap of the Palin-stroking documentary The Undefeated Monday, the commentary has been rolling in…
Frankly, I’m a little embarrassed to be so excited about a furniture store. Still, at today’s press preview and tour of the brand-spanking-new IKEA Centennial, which opens July 27, it was clear that the store does not fail to live up to the hype, at least for what it’s hyped…
As everyone knows, the interwebz are like an infinite well of hilarious memes, info-tainment and time-wasting, and that’s pretty awesome — but there is a dark side: As the consequence of our lulz, we become callow, desensitized shells, losing all connection with humanity and living only for the ROFLs. But…
