Tour of Words

Anaïs Nin once said, “I will not just be a tourist in the world of images.” According to Cynthia Morris, that quote “really sums up what I’m hoping to bring to people, to give them a chance to write in the moment.” That’s why Morris has organized the Writer’s Tour…

Total Control

Joy Division leader Ian Curtis, who hanged himself in 1980, just prior to the planned start of his band’s first American tour, is among rock’s most famous suicides; in this country, only Kurt Cobain compares. Rather than dance around this topic, director Anton Corbijn uses it as subtext in every…

Seeing (RED)

There’s a natural high associated with both shopping and giving to charity, so when you combine them, the feeling is ecstatic. Mod Livin’ (5327 East Colfax Avenue) hopes to invoke some pocketbook-inspired warm fuzzies with their Mid-centuri(red) campaign. Choose from a long list of red products online at www.modlivin.com or…

Let Art Be

Leave it to laid-back Boulderites to approach Arts Awareness Month with as little hoopla as possible. Instead of a grand effort on the scale of Denver’s recent Arts Week, the Boulder County Arts Alliance board decided to highlight the ordinary: “We thought, why not get people to do what they’re…

Snakes Alive

If you had the misfortune to be trapped in a tragic Greek myth, one of the worst positions you could possibly find yourself in is that of Medusa. Once a beautiful nymph with many suitors, Medusa caught the attention of Poseidon, the Lord of the Sea. When Poseidon raped Medusa…

Comics and Collectibles

Nothing shows a genuine love and devotion for collecting toys like going face-down in a metal tub full of water in the “Bobbing for Action Figures” activity at the Collectors Supershow and MajestiCon Comics Con, taking place today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Convention Center…

Día de la DeVotchKa

Forever gone are the days of balancing the glockenspiel and Sousaphone on the same dive-bar stage. DeVotchKa has come home with the accolades of a Grammy nomination for the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack firmly notched into their cummerbunds. Tonight’s Day of the Dead Masquerade Gala marks the first time the…

Halloween Humor

When was the last time you got to wear your pirate costume, get drunk and laugh out loud at someone? Don’t miss your chance to dress up, drink up and laugh it up, tonight at 8 p.m. at the inaugural Ha Ha Halloween Party at the Comedy Works. Kevin Fitzgerald…

Haunted History

Sometimes late at night, when wind is the only sound in Capitol Hill, if you listen closely, you can hear running footsteps — even though there’s no one around. A dog is howling, even though that dog has been dead for many years. Damn right there are ghosts in Cap…

City at Night

Voix de la ville means “voice of the city” in French, and promoters Pamela Dore Alford and Jenifer Kuntz took that voice very seriously when they created tonight’s Voix de la Ville: An Evening of Subculture Bliss extravaganza. “It was kind of a collaborative effort,” explains Kuntz. “We called on…

Tales of Terror

If you love the macabre but crave a more sophisticated scare, then Capitol Hill Horror Stories at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion, 777 Pennsylvania Street, is just the trick for you. Historian Tom Noel, also known as Dr. Colorado, and a cast of famous and infamous characters from Denver’s past — including…

Sucked In

Even if you don’t care for the acrobatics and artsy-fartsy interpretive dance that goes into something like Cirque du Soleil, you may be inexplicably drawn to Theatre of the Vampires, showing tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. in Macky Auditorium at the University of Colorado at Boulder. For starters,…

Pure Paolantonio

Whether they’re arguing over the greatest teams, defending their favorite players or inventing imaginary scenarios, sports pundits love a good debate. Sal Paolantonio’s new book, The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated & Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, & Moments in NFL History, is less a tome than an instrument for controversy,…

Knight of the Animals

Chess is a serious game — but Colorado closed-chess champion Brian Wall knows it can be fun, too. That’s why he and co-author Anthea Carson wrote How to Play Chess Like an Animal, which they’ll introduce this afternoon. The book teaches kids and other novices strategy using examples literally drawn…

Burning the Man

From the psychedelic installation art, unusual costumes and hippie-dippy trade-and-barter mentality to the lunar-like panorama and oddly named camps and villages — not to mention the forty-foot pyrotechnic dude who inspired it all — everyone seems to know something about Burning Man. But how much do you really know about…

Striking Gold

It’s Halloween, and there was a time when hanging out in the same space as Allen Iverson would have given you the evening’s requisite fright. But these days, Iverson is as likable as ever. He has embraced this city: His kids call it home, he has plans to move the…

Dog Days

There are a lot of misconceptions floating around out there about dogs. We’re looking at you, self-proclaimed Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan. And Colorado has its own answer to Millan: Jake Page, author of Dogs: A Natural History. “I don’t want my dogs rolling over on their backs and peeing on…

Moon Time

Looking for something to do this weekend that doesn’t involve ghosts, ghouls or goblins? Then steer toward Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Picadilly Road in Brighton, for tonight’s Full Moon Hike: Tales of Migration and Folklore. During a short hike, park naturalists will explain how Barr Lake’s animals adapt and…

Sexual Revolution

Victorians were obsessed with sex. Let’s review the evidence: clothing styles that covered women from chin to wrist to ankle, lest a glimpse of skin send a male onlooker into a frenzy; the invention of bland foods such as graham crackers to help smother the sex drive; the proliferation of…

Down and Derby

There will be no World Series game tonight, but that doesn’t mean you have to forgo an evening of fierce, hard-hitting competition. Lace up your skates and sharpen your elbows, because the Denver Roller Dolls’ all-star team, the Mile High Club, hosts the Cincinnati Rollergirls All-Stars in Denver’s first Women’s…

Miley Cyrus

The Disney Channel has perfected a four-part approach to tween marketing. Step A: Find a telegenic youth. Step B: Build her into a suburban superstar. Step C: Milk her until her udders are dry. Step D: Begin promoting her to a slightly older audience while introducing a similarly telegenic youth…

Gone Baby Gone

“Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid,” Raymond Chandler wrote in 1950’s “The Simple Art of Murder,” smacking the ascot off the drawing-room mystery and all its crime-solving dilettante dandies. “He must be…a man of honor, by instinct,…