The sign squad

Signs of the times. After a roof-raising speech by Montana governor Brian Schweitzer, whose charm and effectiveness undoubtedly reenforced his reputation as a rising Democratic star, the Pepsi Center’s lights dimmed for a Hillary Clinton tribute video — an odd mix of elements that featured two clips from Saturday Night…

Breaking out of the pack

My spot. It took me part of former Virginia governor Mark Warner’s keynote speech, all of the talk by Ohio governor Ted Strickland and the opening section of the address by Massachusett’s governor Deval Patrick to reach the opposite side of the Pepsi Center from where I started — directly…

Getting the media’s back

That blur in the middle of the screen is Katie Couric. As those of us in the (barely) moving mosh pit inched our way around the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night, we passed by broadcast platforms populated by network heavyweights. My photos of the CNN crew — Wolf Blitzer included…

Floor scrum

Welcome to the Thunderdome, bitch. When I hit the Pepsi Center floor, former Virgnia governor Mark Warner was delivering the Democratic National Convention keynote address — not that I or anyone else around me registered one word of it. There were far too many bodies in a too-small space, and…

DNC press row

The press minions tapping away. Once I finally made it into the Pepsi Center on Tuesday evening, I was directed toward section 106 — press row. The area has a couple of significant advantages over other spots in the arena. For one thing, it has power — the electrical kind,…

Update: Cops trying to search anarchist headquarters

At about 12:30 p.m. today, police officers showed up at the UnConventional Action Convergence Center near 44th Avenue and Brighton Street, a space the anarchist group has rented as a staging ground for its Democratic National Convention protest activities that’s approximately a hundred yards from the Denver Colisieum, where Rage…

The longest three-minute bus ride in history

The buses arrive — at last. When it became clear that many of the people gathered outside the Pepsi Center on Tuesday evening might not make it inside in time for Hillary Clinton’s big speech, Democratic National Convention personnel decided to allow anyone present who wasn’t carrying oversized media equipment…

Wanna get into ritzy DNC parties? Be paparazzi

Looking to embarrass celebs? Come right in. Turns out all you have to do to get into the glitziest parties in town is to be one of the sleaziest folks around. Flush with democratic fervor, a bunch of us attempted to exercise our God-given right to get into parties we…

New photos of protester being struck by police officer

A photo of a woman about to be struck by an officer named Stewart. A Westword staff member took photographs before and after a woman was struck by a police officer during an August 26 protest near Civic Center Park; They can be seen below. In an August 27 Rocky…

The Daily Show‘s John Oliver on the downside of equality

“When we pose, pretend like you’re my best friend.” In the midst of the ridiculous line to the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night, I found myself standing alongside none other than British-born comedian John Oliver, a correspondent for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart who I’d just enjoyed at the…

Buddy Moore and the truth about 9/11

The 9/11 Truth movement may have found a friend in Buddy Moore, who is running for the U.S. Senate as an independent. Buddy Moore’s bus. Moore’s giant, and questionably road-worthy, bus led a contingent of Truthers down 14th Street Tuesday, while someone inside — likely Moore himself — shouted something…

Inside the first Denver taping of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart is taping shows at the University of Denver’s Newman Center Tuesday through Friday during DNC week, and after trying and failing to snag tickets through the show’s website (admittedly, I started late), I figured I’d be watching it on TV like the…

Fox News’ Shepard Smith — the planet’s handsomest man

We’d follow this Shepard anywhere. Of course, it’s understandable why Fox News’ Carl Cameron would spend so much time on his makeup — he’s got to compete with his FNC colleague, super-dreamy Shepard Smith. I walked past him on Tuesday, and he’s got the most beautiful complexion I’ve ever seen…

Carl Cameron touches up

Makeup! That’s Carl Cameron, veteran Fox News political reporter, applying pancake makeup prior to a live shot from the DNC-prepped Pepsi Center floor. And he didn’t just pat the stuff on. He slowly, meticulously rubbed a puff over every inch of his face for what had to be a good…

The DNC media: practice, practice, practice

Once more, with feeling. Don’t know the name or network affiliation of the reporter in this ultra-mediocre photo from the Pepsi Center on Tuesday morning — but I do know she’s a perfectionist. She had to deliver the following rather awkward line about the DNC festivities to date: “The effort…

Newest DNC collector’s items: no-longer embargoed speeches

Word power. Another lonely item in the practically deserted broadcasters corridor on Tuesday morning: a rack filled with copies of speeches by everyone who yakked on day one of the DNC — and I do mean everyone. All of them are marked “EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY,” and since delivery…

Dick Wadhams on the loose

Dick Wadhams, alone at Pepsi Center. Most broadcast operations at the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention are ensconced on the club level, and when I entered the zone, I found no security, no technicians, no one at all — except for Dick Wadhams, head of the Colorado Republican…