Q&A with Denver’s Leo Perino, father of the White House spokeswoman

While White House Press Secretary and former Colorado resident Dana Perino (for Michael Roberts’s profile, see “New Forecast”) fields hundreds of questions from a ravenous Washington press corps every day on subjects that span the globe, her father, Leo Perino, took questions from Westword during a busy day at his…

Obama and Leeeeeeeeroy Jenkins: Change we can believe in

Just when the world seems in capable hands with the election of Barack Obama, some disquieting news comes out: The president-elect has hired a disciple of Leeroy Jenkins, the wacko who gained global fame by running beserk in the online game World of Warcraft. (To learn about the mild-mannered local behind this viral-video…

Turkeygate: Sarah Palin’s Colorado connection

By now, you’ve heard of Turkeygate, the Sarah Palin TV interview in which a turkey farm employee sends a couple of gobblers to their gruesome deaths behind the former vice-presidential candidate. But you might have missed the Colorado connection. To find out more, check out Jon Solomon’s hilarious interview in our…

Westword‘s holiday safety tips you can actually use

Last week, the fine folks at the Denver Police Department sent us some handy-dandy shopping tips for us to pass along to readers to “assure their personal safety and an enjoyable holiday season.” But while things like locking the car and avoiding secluded areas seem like they might work well…

The Westword.com blog shortcut, November 25 edition

Betcha can almost taste that dead bird… Today in Backbeat Online: • “Anthem” by Born in the Flood (pictured) climbs One Tree Hill. • The Flobots score a Music Choice nomination. • The release of Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Money is delayed. • Thirteen things that took less time than Guns…

Today’s Night & Day featured event: yurt’s so good

For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar. When it’s winter, do as the Mongolians do. After all, yurt season is upon us, so it wouldn’t hurt to get a yurt. These round tents, stretched over wooden frames and lit by circular skylights, are…

Marilyn Musgrave’s epic pout continues

I admit it: At first I thought Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (right) was being childish when she kept mum after losing in the election earlier this month — the topic of the November 7 blog “When Is Marilyn Musgrave Going to Concede Defeat to Betsy Markey?.” But with each passing week,…

We Twitter, therefore we are

MC Hammer Twitters. Why can’t we? If it’s good enough for MC Hammer, it’s good enough for us: You can now find Westword on Twitter, where we’ll bring you regular (and pithy!) updates on our latest concert reviews, breaking news, slide shows, event previews and whatever else we deem tweetable…

Denver Post headline red meat for the liberal-bias crowd

Weeks before Barack Obama takes on the mantle of the presidency, conservative critics are already in full cry about media coverage they feel is biased in his favor — and headlines like the one stretched across the top of today’s Denver Post bolster their argument. The article itself, by Washington…

The Jet Pack Man does it Jetsons style over the Royal Gorge

As expected, there are loads of YouTube postings showing Jet Pack Man Eric Scott’s record-setting flight across Royal Gorge yesterday, with clips featuring footage captured by major news agencies as well as bystanders with camera phones. However, the one viewable below is my favorite simply because of the infectious glee…

The Westword.com blog shortcut, November 24 edition

Round ’em up. Today in Backbeat Online: • Chris Martin, seen here, is at the center of our live review of Coldplay at the Pepsi Center. • Eric Eyl’s Mile High Makeout experiences a renaissance. • Hotties provide an important element in Synthetic Elements’ new video. Today in Cafe Society:…

Russ Cook: A good cop’s lonely death

When Jefferson County deputies found their former boss, Russ Cook, dead in his home on November 21, the press reports were short and predictable. They began with a hasty, almost embarrassed review of the man’s public disgraces of the past few years — his 2003 resignation as sheriff after just…

Santa rappels safely (damn it!) at the Denver Pavillions

I trekked to the Denver Pavilions today for the same reason dozens of others did: on the off chance that we could witness a man dressed as Santa Claus explode. Unbeknownst to me, there is actually an annual event wherein St. Nick rappels down the giant “Denver Pavilions” sign to…

Today’s Night & Day featured event: Rejoicing the Roots

For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar. The new digital film Rejoicing the Roots, which premieres in town tonight and tomorrow, is actually the product of a three-way collaboration between artists whose ties to the region echo the locally made work’s roots theme…

More complaints about new Denver Police Department reporting system

[jump] Readers kept in dark? New police system hampers journalists Monday, November 24 The public is at a disadvantage to obtain valuable information related to crime thanks to a new police reporting system implemented by the Denver Police Department, say journalists and community groups. Since September 2007 when the Denver…