Pink and Brown

“If I go into this fight, I am going to win. There will be no mincing matters, no pink-tea policies. It will be a regular man’s kind of campaign, stump speaking, spread-eagle and all.” — Margaret Brown When Margaret Brown (aka the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”) ran for public office —…

Go West

Fresh City Life’s Audrey Sprenger, the nomadic Kerouac scholar who’s somehow found herself staying in one place long enough to share the programming saddle of the Denver Public Library’s innovative free cultural series, just can’t say enough about New York artist (and personal friend) Ed Adler, whose visual pantheon includes…

Under the Spell

I was raised a spelling geek, consumed from a very young age with word derivations, spelling-bee protocol and other tricks of the trade. It came in handy in the eighth grade, when I won a ten-inch black-and-white television for taking second place in the Colorado-Wyoming bee; it was handed to…

Room to Grow

The arts have firmly taken root in River North, the town’s old warehouse district along the Platte, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, you can see just how deep they go when you Plant Yourself at RiNo. The town’s hippest arts district (winner of a 2008 MasterMind award)…

In Like A Lion

After endlessly teasing us with nice weather that never really stuck around, it looks like the gods have finally decided to go ahead with spring — and what better way to celebrate than with the Lion Project’s Spring Patio Kick-Off? Tonight at 7 p.m., you’ll finally get to enjoy kicking…

Shop Smart Art

As a wholesale jewelry merchant, Is Art doesn’t generally open its doors to the public. But that changes today with the Wearable Art Sale — aptly named, because the beautiful baubles are equally at home in a fine-art display case or enhancing your own natural loveliness. “It’s huge,” says Is…

Veiled Reference

A desire to “enlighten the gringos to the idea that Muslim women are not shrouded creatures” led Boulder author Jennifer Heath to write a book called The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women Of Islam. In turn, that led her to further explore the politics and history of the veil…

Three Days of Spray

Apart from issues such as illegal immigration and eminent domain, there’s nothing that gets middle-class property owners as blindly furious as graffiti. Kim Owens, of the online magazine Kaffeine Buzz, has taken to calling it the “G-word” while planning Street-2-Screen, which is shaping up to be one of the most…

Mega Party at the Mall

Remember when big marketing promotions consisted solely of special Lion King Happy Meal toys and “collector” Spider-Man Slurpee cups from 7-Eleven? Those days are long over, as witnessed by the Journeys Backyard Barbeque. The fun goes down from noon to 6:30 p.m. today in the south parking lot of Colorado…

TopR

In the world of rap and hip-hop, aliases are de rigueur. When asked, however, most rappers will reveal their given names. Jay-Z is really Shawn Carter. Slick Rick’s mama called him Ricky Walters. It’s a different story for San Francisco underground hero TopR, who rolls into Denver this weekend to…

The Jury is Out

There’s nothing good about jury duty — that fact is as universal as bad mother-in-laws and annoying teenagers. You wait in line with that stupid summons, file into the room, plop in an uncomfortable chair (if you’re lucky), think about lunch and discreetly fight for the armrest until your name…

CPC Gangbangs

Like Guitar Wolf before it, Montreal’s CPC Gangbangs takes a primal punk-rock formula and distorts it far beyond its original shape. The result is a jagged, noisy, harried sound that hurtles forward, careering nearly out of control, then shudders with the waves of powerful emotions harnessed against its will. Touring…

Denver’s Finest

This year’s Democratic National Convention is going to tip our sunny, microbrew-buzzed cowtown right into the national spotlight. Just think: CNN and Fox News filming on the 16th Street Mall, or Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert sending their pseudo-reporters to La Bohème, or the History Channel rerunning Denver: 1908-2008. This…

Running Wild

With a whole year to evaluate last year’s foibles, a cleaner, prettier, more convenient Colfax Marathon race course — which sidesteps much of the 26-mile street the event was named for — awaits today’s 6,000 runners. Marathon co-founder Jean Townsend says she and the rest of the event staff listened…

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

“Things never happen the same way twice.” Thus boometh Aslan the lion (Liam Neeson), alias the Son of God, popping his computer-generated shaggy head briefly into The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian to pep-talk a bunch of discouraged Brits into fighting the good fight again. As in life, so in…

Look of the Day – American Idol Look-A-Likes

See Slide Show Here’s the thing – I sorta think American Idol has become a parody of itself, but I still can’t stop watching it. As near as I can tell, the show panders to three specifics demographics. As long as there are opiates there will be heroine addicts and…

The Pajamas Letter: The Response, and New Challenge!

A large, anonymous envelope was left at Westword’s front desk early this morning. Click on the photo to see what we found inside: That’s right. Nearly two months after we discovered a strange letter in a downtown ATM machine asking for a drawing of our “normal pajamas” – which Westword’s…

A New Look for Spring

Get a free cut and style for spring, and help out kids, too. Talk about inspiring. Paul Guerrie is only a sophomore at Ponderosa High School in Parker, but he’s already majored in community philanthropy. When he was in 8th grade, Paul decided to grow out his hair with the…

Crocs’ Big Idea: Upscale Shopping in Downscale Shoes

Eat your cyberpumping hearts out, YouTubers. Starting today you can get a peek at the latest bit of inexplicable online cross-marketing from our favorite plastic shoe purveyors. Yes, that’s right, www.CitiesbyFoot.com, which Crocs is billing as a “unique travel guide” plugging various shops and restaurants in six U.S. cities, is…

Over the Weekend: FRESH Fashion Market

Slide Show Saturday’s Fashion Market featured original work by over 25 local designers. The looks were fun, fabulous and most definitely fresh. If your spring wardrobe needs a breath of fresh air, check out this slide show, featuring accessories and runway fashion from the market. – Aubrey Shoe…

Costume Party

After two decades, Sandy Tessier is closing the doors of Seams Like Olde Times, her costume shop at 1501 South Pearl Street. Today, May 10, is her last day of business; she’s selling off as much inventory as she can and will be back in the store next week just…

Spring Fashion Extravaganza

Today’s weather is absolutely beautiful, but I can barely enjoy it since all I can think about is the sad state of my closet. I want flirty skirts and kitten heels in the freshest colors and styles for spring, yet my warm wool trousers and cashmere sweaters are still taking…