The Westword.com blog shortcut, February 2 edition

Blogs guaranteed to appeal to your groundhog. Today in Backbeat Online: • Spinning the wheel. • Charles Spearin: The Happiness Project. • Live review: Hot Congress Show 1 at Moe’s Original Barbecue. • The Boss was made for loving you. • See video of Reno Divorce at the Ogden Theatre…

A Colorado immigration story hits page one of the New York Times

Yesterday’s New York Times switched the national spotlight onto a fascinating story based in Greeley. “Paying Taxes, and Fearing Deportation” focuses on Amalia’s Translation and Tax Services, a business that has prepared tax returns for a mostly Hispanic clientele since the ’90s. Last October, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, knowing…

Kenny Be’s Yard Arteology: Xmas-Season Xpansion Tree

The study of neighbors through their lawn ornaments Fiqure 4. Cole: Xmas-Season Xpansion Tree: Holidays may come and go, but some Christmas decorations are made to hang around just a little bit longer. A close examination of this prolific wonder reveals that it is a seven-section plastic evergreen pyramid that…

Q&A with Christian Lander, author of Stuff White People Like

Christian Lander is a true Internet-generation success story. Just over a year ago, he launched a website called called Stuff White People Like, and in short order, he became a media sensation — an unexpected turn on which he’s wisely trying to capitalize. He penned a book entitled Stuff White…

Shakeup at KOOL 105, The Mix and The Wolf

In the January 16 blog “Meet Jeff Wilks, New Owner of The Wolf, The Mix and KOOL 105,” Wilks Broadcasting head Jeff Wilks said that there would be changes at the aforementioned three stations, which his firm recently purchased from CBS, but “they’ll all be to the good.” Of course,…

Keep dreaming about Denver hosting the Super Bowl, Sam Adams

At this writing, “Denver Deserves Shot as Host of Super Bowl,” the February 2 Open Mic column by the Rocky Mountain News’ Sam Adams (pictured), has yet to make its online debut. (Update, 11:50 a.m.: As pointed out by a commenter, the column is now available on the Rocky’s website…

Super John Elway and other Colorado appearances in Super Bowl ads

There were few players or coaches with Colorado connections on the field in Tampa Bay during yesterday’s far-better-than-anticipated Super Bowl. But in-between the action, a few square-state notables popped up. Among the local-commercial highlights were Frontier Airlines spots for “Super Roll 43,” a sale that tied into the Super Bowl…

The Westword.com blog shortcut, January 30 edition

The weekend is so close you can practically smell it. Or maybe that’s your aftershave. Today in Backbeat Online: • The Normal Ones really aren’t. • Sneak peek: 3 the Hardway’s new album, Set in Stone. • Talking during shows: another fan’s perspective. Today in Cafe Society: • SPAM on…

Is KOOL 105’s loss Cruisin’ Oldies’ gain?

Arbitron has released the final numbers for the fall radio-ratings book in Denver — the first for KRWZ/950 AM since switching to the Cruisin’ Oldies format described in the September 2 blog “Oldies Radio Set to Make Comeback on KRWZ” and the September 24 followup “Cruisin’ Oldies 950 Brings Back…

The Rocky Mountain News throws one heck of a migil

The mood at last night’s Rocky Mountain News candlelight migil (half march, half vigil — so coined, in the tradition of the Martin Luther King Day Marade, by someone cleverer than me) was light. Although the details of the event hinted at the possibility of theatrics, the actual gathering felt…

Those cards weren’t giveaways, Belmar attendees

From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. this past Wednesday, The Lab at Belmar hosted opening-night festivities in honor of new exhibitions entitled “The Astounding Problem of Andrew Novick” and “Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics.” Unfortunately, some valuable items walked away along with the attendees after the bash…

Shmuck: Dave Schultheis

Eighty Latinos died in traffic accidents in Colorado in 2008, or roughly one quarter of the total number of people who were killed in car crashes. Of the eighty, 59 were unbuckled. So it made sense for the Colorado Department of Transportation to — for the first time ever –…

Advice to American journalists looking for work: Learn to speak German

Andrew Bulkeley is a Littleton native who attended journalism school at Colorado State University with an eye toward working in the media. Little did he know that he’d find his greatest success only after leaving the United States. Today, Bulkeley is a Berlin-based correspondent for TheDeal.com, a New York-based news…

Is Jay Cutler the reincarnation of Jeff George?

Given that former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer has a Paul Bunyon-size ax to grind, it’s no surprise that his criticism of former coach Mike Shanahan is sharp in “Shanny Firing Was ‘Past Due,'” a Mike Klis piece in today’s Denver Post. But arguably more interesting than the Snake’s sense that…