Arts & Culture

Today, movies are often about overwhelming the senses with color and sound. But recent films like The Artist and Hugo have reminded audiences that the medium began with silent films, and in the beginning, the lack of sound wasn’t seen as an impediment. On the contrary, filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin…

Colorado governor John Hickenlooper envisioned a different kind of ride when his office announced Pedal the Plains last January. Unlike such scenic yet grueling multi-day mountain circuits as Ride the Rockies, this race was conceived as a way to give equal time to the oft-ignored eastern plains of Colorado, where…

Is your dog troubled? Does he bark incessantly, nip at guests or destroy prized possessions? Maybe he’s just bored. Fix that problem by taking him to the regional version of the National Dog Agility Championships, which might be the ideal outlet for your pup’s excess energy. “Your dog wants to…

Henry Ford’s gift to society was the bare-bones Model T, but his wife drove an electric vehicle, says Kim Tyrrell of the Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition. “Women preferred them back in the old days because you didn’t have to crank them,” she notes. “They were the perfect car.” That…

Tom Mauser is no stranger to readers of Denver newspapers: His son, Daniel Mauser, was killed at Columbine, and Tom has been an outspoken activist for gun control ever since. He’s spent more than a decade talking about his son — and in his new book, Walking in Daniel’s Shoes,…

In the 1970s, the once-wealthy Uptown area was a graveyard of abandoned mansions and sketchy streets. But Uptown on the Hill, a registered neighborhood organization, or RNO, saw the potential to turn its main drag into “their vision of a safe, tree-lined avenue where people could work, live, eat and…

Standard Films will show its latest snowboarding film, 2112, today, and the local premiere marks a bit of a milestone, says Adam Schmidt, editor-in-chief of Snowboard Colorado, the presenting sponsor. “Twenty-one films! In the world of snowboarding videos, it’s the longest run there is. Here’s a snowboard film series that’s…

Launched several years ago by a bunch of bike-loving friends who liked to have fun, drink beer and wear silly outfits, the Denver Cruiser Ride has attained true critical mass. Every Wednesday from spring to fall, hundreds of Cruisers navigate the city streets donning wigs, boas and cardboard boxes, soaking…

The name Wayne White might not ring any bells, but the work of this illustrator, painter and puppet maker is immediately recognizable. His kitschy imagination has created well-known characters like Dirty Dog, Floory and Mr. Kite on the late-1980s children’s TV show/cult classic Pee-wee’s Playhouse, as well as moving art…

After a hiatus, The Narrators is back. The monthly evening of truth- telling was started two years ago by writer and comedian Andrew Orvedahl at Paris Wine Bar (his efforts earned Orvedahl a MasterMind); he has now enlisted his friend and Narrators regular Robert Rutherford to co-host — and moved…

In 1977, Coors Brewery workers went on strike over a host of grievances, and today the Auraria Library Special Collections Department contains a small collection of materials from the Coors Boycott and Strike Support Coalition of Colorado. With letters of solidarity, financial documents, receipts, product orders and a variety of…

Molly Ringwald, who comes from a family of voracious readers, started writing as a child — before she became an ’80s teen icon who starred in such John Hughes films as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club — but says she never really thought she’d publish anything…