Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Feral cats from California get work, new lives in Colorado
After traveling more than 1,000 miles, a bright yellow van rumbles across a field browning with the season and stops in front of a barn in Golden. The van’s cargo — precious to some, a nuisance to others — waits patiently.
Three curious ewes greet visitors with bleats, while chickens peck the ground, unfazed. Two feral cats are about to get a new life at this small home-based wool farm. They’ll reduce the rodent population that’s wreaking havoc on the livestock’s feed stash and the barn’s foundation in exchange for food and a cozy bed.
The cats won’t live in the house. They’re essentially wild animals, largely fearful of humans and potentially aggressive. In places like Los Angeles, where food is plentiful and the weather is fairly warm year round, feral cat populations skyrocket. It’s estimated more than 3 million feral cats roam Los Angeles streets. In many neighborhoods they’re a pest. Last year, more than 6,000 cats, many feral, were euthanized in Los Angeles.
But, if they’re spayed or neutered, well-fed and comfortable, feral cats thrive as rodent deterrents. So feral cats from California are getting a new lease on life in Colorado.
“(Colorado) has a really good spay and neuter program and feral program, but we don’t in Southern California. … So a friend of our founder who lives in Fort Collins said, ‘Why don’t you try coming out here (to Colorado) and bringing some cats?‘” said Silvia Schillo, volunteer and board member at Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats, a Los Angeles-based feral cat rescue.
This is the third trip Kitty Bungalow volunteers have made to Colorado since December as part of the shelter’s free Working Cats program. On this trip, Schillo and fellow volunteer Jan Heuer packed 19 cats into the “Meowgic School Bus,” dropping whiskered workers off at their new homes/workplaces in Salida, Golden and Fort Collins.
“Working cats are cats that are going to live on a farm. They’re going to catch the mice so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. They’re going to keep mice and rats away from the chickens,” Heuer said. “As long as you feed them and provide them warmth and shelter, they’ll keep coming back.”
Schillo and Heuer helped adopters Leah Davis and Randy Snyder set up a warm, enclosed space in the barn behind Davis’ Golden home where two cats will spend two to three weeks getting used to their new surroundings. Afterward, the cats will be free to roam. They’ll return to the barn in the evenings for food and to sleep indoors, safe from potential predators.
Davis hasn’t had cats since she was a child and is excited to welcome these two wary felines to her farm. She has high hopes she’ll eventually be able to pet them, especially the black one, which seems to tolerate human touch. She knows it’s unlikely these two will ever be lap cats — a friend’s pet cat was attacked by a feral cat and had to have its tail amputated.
“I think (the program) is a perfect solution to a really bad problem. I’m happy I can provide a place for them,” Davis said. “It’s a win-win all across the board. L.A. gets rid of their problem, and maybe we can control our mice. Hopefully they’ll be fat, happy cats.”
Kitty Bungalow primarily focuses on neutering Los Angeles’ feral cats. Cats are trapped, neutered and returned to their colonies, where a volunteer monitors the population. Volunteers also catch mothers and their kittens. The kittens are weaned and then socialized during the “prime taming time” when they’re two to four months old and readied for adoption. The mothers are sent to the Working Cats program where volunteers find them “jobs” controlling pests in places like wineries, breweries, barns and warehouses.
“If the cats solve a problem and it’s giving them a life, then it’s great,” Snyder said. “It’s what they want to do: control the mice.”
Kitty Bungalow has placed 35 cats in Colorado and plans to return with another group of working cats in spring.
“I’ve made calls and people need them,” Schillo said. “As long as we can bring 15 to 20 (cats) at a time, it’s worth the trip.”
For more information about Kitty Bungalow, visit kittybungalow.org.
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One of best restaurants in the world is coming to Denver for two days. Here’s why that matters.
First the good news: One of the best restaurants in the world is coming to Denver!
El Celler de Can Roca, run by the Roca brothers in Girona, Spain, has a not-too-shabby three-Michelin star rating and was named the best restaurant in the world in 2015 (and made the top three each of the past five years). Reservations for the year sell out in minutes.
An El Celler pop-up — sure to feature the multicourse, molecular gastronomic edible art that the restaurant is famous for — will be held Nov. 1 and 2 at the Halcyon Hotel. Denver is its only U.S. destination this year.
Pretty cool, right?
Now the bad news: You can’t come. The dinners, sponsored by BBVA Compass, are invite-only.
Here’s why telling you about a restaurant like El Celler de Can Roca coming to Denver is important, and why you should care even though you can’t actually, you know, eat the food.
Last year, El Celler did a five-week international pop-up tour. While the original Catalan restaurant was closed, an entourage of sous-chefs, cooks and other restaurant staff traveled to London, Hong Kong, Santiago, San Francisco and — wait for it — Phoenix to create the outlandish meals the Spanish restaurant is known for.
By choosing Denver as the only U.S. stop this time around, we’ve been marked as an important city not only for capital potential, but for food. Denver probably wouldn’t have registered on a who’s-who list of food cities even a couple years ago, but things are changing for us.
When I asked a BBVA Compass spokesperson how Denver got picked this year, he said that the bank chooses markets where they have a presence and then speaks with the Roca brothers to see what they think. When the bank suggested Denver, the restaurant team was very willing to travel to Colorado, scout out and try our local products and create a unique menu.
Denver is becoming noticed globally, and with that comes really amazing opportunities — like hosting an El Celler pop-up or filming a season of “Top Chef” or going into debt filling our mouths with whatever the latest and greatest fancy restaurant is feeding us.
This pop-up dinner by one of the most esteemed restaurants in the world is another mark that we’ve arrived. Proof, if we needed or wanted it, that Denver is a true dining destination. Not on par with a New York or a Chicago or a San Francisco, but we’ve got something here, and it’s getting bigger.
I’m sorry you can’t taste El Celler’s food and enjoy the dinner. I hate writing about inaccessible things that everyday people can’t experience. But the best restaurant in the world coming to Denver is news and it means something to our city. After all, Denver’s dining ascension is something everyone can experience.
[Read More …]
One of best restaurants in the world is coming to Denver for two days. Here’s why that matters.
First the good news: One of the best restaurants in the world is coming to Denver!
El Celler de Can Roca, run by the Roca brothers in Girona, Spain, has a not-too-shabby three-Michelin star rating and was named the best restaurant in the world in 2015 (and made the top three each of the past five years). Reservations for the year sell out in minutes.
An El Celler pop-up — sure to feature the multicourse, molecular gastronomic edible art that the restaurant is famous for — will be held Nov. 1 and 2 at the Halcyon Hotel. Denver is its only U.S. destination this year.
Pretty cool, right?
Now the bad news: You can’t come. The dinners, sponsored by BBVA Compass, are invite-only.
Here’s why telling you about a restaurant like El Celler de Can Roca coming to Denver is important, and why you should care even though you can’t actually, you know, eat the food.
Last year, El Celler did a five-week international pop-up tour. While the original Catalan restaurant was closed, an entourage of sous-chefs, cooks and other restaurant staff traveled to London, Hong Kong, Santiago, San Francisco and — wait for it — Phoenix to create the outlandish meals the Spanish restaurant is known for.
By choosing Denver as the only U.S. stop this time around, we’ve been marked as an important city not only for capital potential, but for food. Denver probably wouldn’t have registered on a who’s-who list of food cities even a couple years ago, but things are changing for us.
When I asked a BBVA Compass spokesperson how Denver got picked this year, he said that the bank chooses markets where they have a presence and then speaks with the Roca brothers to see what they think. When the bank suggested Denver, the restaurant team was very willing to travel to Colorado, scout out and try our local products and create a unique menu.
Denver is becoming noticed globally, and with that comes really amazing opportunities — like hosting an El Celler pop-up or filming a season of “Top Chef” or going into debt filling our mouths with whatever the latest and greatest fancy restaurant is feeding us.
This pop-up dinner by one of the most esteemed restaurants in the world is another mark that we’ve arrived. Proof, if we needed or wanted it, that Denver is a true dining destination. Not on par with a New York or a Chicago or a San Francisco, but we’ve got something here, and it’s getting bigger.
I’m sorry you can’t taste El Celler’s food and enjoy the dinner. I hate writing about inaccessible things that everyday people can’t experience. But the best restaurant in the world coming to Denver is news and it means something to our city. After all, Denver’s dining ascension is something everyone can experience.
[Read More …]
Golden’s Buffalo Rose, one of Colorado’s oldest bars, is closing for restoration
Depending on who you ask and how you classify a bar, Golden’s Buffalo Rose just might be the state’s oldest continuously-operating saloon. Until Nov. 18 that is, when owner Chris Cone will shut down the watering hole and music venue for a year-long renovation.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Cone, who purchased the Rose in April 2016, said of the impending remodel. “It needs it. It’s a bit dilapidated. It’s way anachronistic; it may have looked good in the ’80s, but it doesn’t fit into downtown Golden now.”
As far as Cone knows, this is the first time that the Rose, which first opened in 1859, will be closed for an extended period of time.
The building’s significance to the state of Colorado is huge — its second floor served as the first public hall for the territory’s (the Rose pre-dates Colorado as a state) capital of Golden. Colorado’s earliest laws were created and voted on there, and Generals Grant and Sherman both stayed on the property.
In addition to slinging beers, the Rose has also housed a paper mill, a grocery store and a hotel; it’s been the scene of more than one shootout, and, if you’re a believer, it’s home to the ghosts of some sketchier wild west characters.
So yes, the Buffalo Rose has seen some things. And now it’s ready to be brought into the twenty-first century. (While still maintaining its historical charm, of course.)
Cone will be replacing all of the plumbing and electrical systems, adding a commercial kitchen and restoring all of the facades to look more like the original — and to better fit into Golden’s thriving downtown scene.
The new look will also bring a new menu, with traditional American and Latin-influenced food coming out of the kitchen.
“It’s not been known for its food,” Cone said. “It’s kind of a dive bar.”
But don’t worry. Cone isn’t going to take away the classic beers and replace them with fancy craft brews. The Coors Brewery is, after all, just two blocks away. While he does plan on adding more cultivated cocktails to the menu, he’ll continue to honor that “dive bar” status with a tried-and-true (and local) beer list.
“It will continue with the same use, just enhanced,” he said.
That means that the Rose will still be a comfortable spot at which to listen to live music and down a Coors, just a little spiffed up. (And that spiffiness means maybe you’ll want to host a wedding or bar mitzvah there. Who even knows?)
Stop by for a beer before Nov. 19, when the Buffalo Rose takes a break until Fall 2018.
Buffalo Rose: 1119 Washington Ave., Golden, 303-278-6800; buffalorose.net; last day Nov. 18, reopening Fall 2018
[Read More …]
Golden’s Buffalo Rose, one of Colorado’s oldest bars, is closing for restoration
Depending on who you ask and how you classify a bar, Golden’s Buffalo Rose just might be the state’s oldest continuously-operating saloon. Until Nov. 18 that is, when owner Chris Cone will shut down the watering hole and music venue for a year-long renovation.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Cone, who purchased the Rose in April 2016, said of the impending remodel. “It needs it. It’s a bit dilapidated. It’s way anachronistic; it may have looked good in the ’80s, but it doesn’t fit into downtown Golden now.”
As far as Cone knows, this is the first time that the Rose, which first opened in 1859, will be closed for an extended period of time.
The building’s significance to the state of Colorado is huge — its second floor served as the first public hall for the territory’s (the Rose pre-dates Colorado as a state) capital of Golden. Colorado’s earliest laws were created and voted on there, and Generals Grant and Sherman both stayed on the property.
In addition to slinging beers, the Rose has also housed a paper mill, a grocery store and a hotel; it’s been the scene of more than one shootout, and, if you’re a believer, it’s home to the ghosts of some sketchier wild west characters.
So yes, the Buffalo Rose has seen some things. And now it’s ready to be brought into the twenty-first century. (While still maintaining its historical charm, of course.)
Cone will be replacing all of the plumbing and electrical systems, adding a commercial kitchen and restoring all of the facades to look more like the original — and to better fit into Golden’s thriving downtown scene.
The new look will also bring a new menu, with traditional American and Latin-influenced food coming out of the kitchen.
“It’s not been known for its food,” Cone said. “It’s kind of a dive bar.”
But don’t worry. Cone isn’t going to take away the classic beers and replace them with fancy craft brews. The Coors Brewery is, after all, just two blocks away. While he does plan on adding more cultivated cocktails to the menu, he’ll continue to honor that “dive bar” status with a tried-and-true (and local) beer list.
“It will continue with the same use, just enhanced,” he said.
That means that the Rose will still be a comfortable spot at which to listen to live music and down a Coors, just a little spiffed up. (And that spiffiness means maybe you’ll want to host a wedding or bar mitzvah there. Who even knows?)
Stop by for a beer before Nov. 19, when the Buffalo Rose takes a break until Fall 2018.
Buffalo Rose: 1119 Washington Ave., Golden, 303-278-6800; buffalorose.net; last day Nov. 18, reopening Fall 2018
[Read More …]
U.S. Manufacturers Discuss Challenges, Rewards of International Business
When it comes to reaching international customers, U.S. companies have developed many creative techniques to overcome challenges and reap sales rewards.
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Denver’s sneaker shop scene is alive and well
There are few things better than lacing up a fresh pair of sneakers, whether they are Jordans, Nikes, Adidas or even New Balances. The trick isn’t finding a particular brand you like, it’s finding a sneaker shop that gives you options. Check out these shops for your next pair of kicks, whether you’re willing to wait outside on a snowy morning for the chance to pick up a rare pair of sneakers or you’re just looking for something snappy you can wear to the gym or a club.
Dvsn West
Address: 257 Fillmore St.
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Contact: 303-800-4448, divisionwest.com, @dvsnwest on Instagram
The scoop: If you’re looking for distinctive sneakers, then Dvsn West might be the place for you. Located in the heart of Cherry Creek, Dvsn West’s sneaker selection includes showstopping Nikes, colorful New Balances and more rare Karhu. You’ll also find Danner boots — ideal as winter creeps in.
Sole Street Shoes
Address: 716 16th St.
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
Contact: 303-893-5280, solestreetshoes.com, @solestreetshoes on Twitter
The scoop: If you’re feeling nostalgic and missing the ’90s, then a trip to Sole Street Shoes might be just what you need. The shop has an old-school vibe and you can check out vintage items like the Patrick Ewing sneakers. You’ll find a vast selection from major brands like Nike, Adidas and Timberland, and also vintage NBA jerseys and clothing from the likes of Mitchell & Ness.
Vices
Address: 2201 Welton St.
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday
Contact: 720-726-4442, vicesltd.com
The scoop: The photo of hip-hop icon Kanye West that hangs by the shop’s register is revealing to what you will find at Vices. The store carries West’s hard-to-find Yeezy Adidas sneakers. The store is serious about its collection: Most of the sneakers are wrapped in plastic. Vices even carries the New York clothing brand Supreme.
303 Boards
Address: 1338 E. Colfax Ave.
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday
Contact: 303-860-1303, 877-303-2303, 303boards.com
The scoop: Don’t let the name fool you — 303 Boards carries more than just skateboard decks, trucks and wheels. The shop specializes in skater sneakers, and it has about 250 varities in stock. You’ll find classic Vans, Adidas and crisp Nike SB sneakers that are great for riding or for casual wear. The shop also sells “Colfax” clothing in recognition of the place it has called home for 11 years.
[Read More …]
Monday, October 30, 2017
Highland’s chic Bindery, a Post Chicken and Beer in Boulder and other Front Range restaurant openings
Hit the sauce
We’ve lost some old-school red sauce joints of late, but a new Italian-American eatery (appropriately named Red Sauce) seeks to mend that spaghetti-and-meatball-sized hole in our hearts. The Park Hill restaurant will be serving up New York- and New Jersey-inspired fare like Brooklyn Blackout cake, ravioli and linguini and clams, all on checkered tablecloths and accompanied by chianti. The cliché-in-a-good-way Red Sauce opens Sunday, Nov. 5. 2230 Oneida St., Denver; Mon.-Sun. 5-9 p.m.
Binders full of food
The Highland neighborhood is home to some of Denver’s coolest restaurants. Here’s another one: The Bindery, a charming restaurant/bakery/takeaway medley, debuted Friday, Oct. 27. The menu features a few things you probably haven’t seen before (pumpkin patê and a blood sausage salad), and a few things you have (yummy ravioli and a cava-heavy coq au vin). 1817 Central St., Denver, 303-993-2364; thebinderydenver.com; Tues.-Wed. 5-9:30 p.m., Thurs.-Fri. 5-10 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-9:30 p.m., closed Mon.
Party fowl
You look like you could use some fried chicken, Boulder. And some beer. Get on after those comfort eats and drinks at The Post Brewing Co., opening Thursday, Nov. 2 in the former Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place spot on 13th Street. (Shine will re-open on Canyon Boulevard as Shine Restaurant & Potion Bar.) In addition to killer fried fowl, I think it’s worth mentioning that The Post also serves fried cheese curds and buttermilk cheddar biscuits. You’re welcome. 2027 13th St., Boulder, 720-372-3341; postbrewing.com
Go west, young food truck
The weather outside may be frightful, but food trucks are still delightful, so zip up your jacket and hoof it over to Hoof, Wing & Fin, the newish Denver food truck that moved up to Frisco for the winter. The truck will be parked outside of Outer Range Brewing Co. Wednesdays through Sundays, which means chicken liver mousse and bone broth all winter-long. hoofwingandfin.com
California eatin’
In other food truck news, California Wrap Runner opened its first brick and mortar restaurant on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus last Tuesday. Get your fix of wraps, rice bowls, smoothies and other SoCal-influenced healthy fare. 12348 E. Montview Blvd., Aurora, 805-453-7777; wraprunner.com
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Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats announces Denver holiday shows
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats — the rootin-est, tootin-est and probably hardest working Denver band around — keeps a busy schedule these days. But even the pull of tours through Australia and the United Kingdom can’t make the band forget its hometown.
On Dec. 15 and 16, Rateliff will bring his rug-cutting blues boys back to Denver for two holiday shows at the Ogden Theatre. Flaural (Dec. 15) and The Still Tide (Dec. 16) will perform in support.
Tickets to Rateliff’s 12th annual holiday celebration are $40.95 and go on sale Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. via axs.com.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats has performed many, many times since the band formed four years ago. Most recently, it played two nights at Red Rocks, on Aug. 28 and 29, which has also become somehwat of a Rateliff tradition as of late. The band will release a live album of its 2016 Red Rocks concert on Nov. 10.
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Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Billing’s Best Practices
As with all modern merchants, online sellers of products and services, including adult paysite operators, must rely on payment processing to turn customers into cash.
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Sunday, October 29, 2017
Saturday, October 28, 2017
PornDoe Premium — 35 Network Sites and Counting
One of the busiest and most exciting porn brands to emerge in recent years is the PornDoe Premium imprint.
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Friday, October 27, 2017
Denver music festival: Superfly’s new Phoenix fest offers a glimpse of what’s to come
PHOENIX — As darkness fell on Steele Indian School Park on Sunday, hundreds of people gathered to watch the giant metal lotuses on the lake bloom with flames. The flowers, which appeared to float innocuously on the water all day, were rigged to shoot fire several feet on the hour after sunset in sync with songs such as Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” and Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Katy Strascina, executive director of Denver’s special events office, was among the crowd, taking in the mesmerizing display.
“Those were so cool,” said Strascina, who stuck around to watch how the pyrotechnic installations were removed from the lake.”It gave me some excitement for what they are going to come up with in Denver.”
This was part of the reason Strascina was at the inaugural Lost Lake music festival, the latest offering from festival producer Superfly. In July, Superfly inked a contract with the city of Denver to throw its next large-scale event on Overland Park Golf Course in the Ruby Hill neighborhood. Strascina, along with seven other officials from across Denver’s special events, police and parks departments — was there to see the New York City-based producer delivered on its Phoenix event.
Lost Lake, which combined a towering roster of musical acts like The Killers and Ludacris with the novel games and food of an adult summer camp, is the second of two festivals Superfly launched in 2017.
In September, the company will plant another new, yet-untitled event that is projected to attract 30,000 to 40,000 visitors to Overland Park each day. But beyond the headcount, few details are known about the festival. Specifics — like festival collaborators and how the event will be styled — likely won’t be finalized until March.
“I know they want to do very outdoorsy kind of things,” Strascina said.
Between now and September, Lost Lake is likely as accurate of a bellwether for Overland Park’s festival as Denver officials will get.
Both are first-year Superfly events. Like Overland Park Golf Course, Steele Indian School Park is light-rail adjacent and is a shout away from residential property. Lost Lake, too, is a no-parking festival.
And while Overland’s acreage isn’t quite comparable, it is scalable. Although not all of it will be used, at 139 acres, Denver’s Overland Park is nearly twice the size of Steele Indian School Park, and is projected to draw about twice the visitors.—That’s much more manageable than trying to compare it to Superfly’s other marquee event, San Francisco’s Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park, which is more than seven times the size of Overland.
Denver officials visited Outside Lands before finalizing the agreement agreement with Superfly. Lost Lake gave it a valuable second point of reference to go off of as the festival nears its planning stage. From its security detail — which Denver law enforcement was especially interested in after the mass shooting this month at a Las Vegas music festival — to its complement of oversized lawn games, Strascina said city representatives came away feeling confident.
“Our assessment is, we are definitely ready to do this,” Strascina said.
Roxann Favors, Phoenix’s special events administrator, agreed.
“The programming really was authentically Phoenix,” Favors said. “It wasn’t the kitschy food people think of Phoenix for.”
Superfly co-founder Rick Farman is reluctant to draw direct parallels between Lost Lake and Denver’s event.
“We don’t do cookie-cutter. That’s not who we are as producers,” Farman said in the heavily air-conditioned media tent at Lost Lake. “When we start a new venture, we design it from the bottom up.”
That said, Denver was on Farman’s mind throughout the weekend. Lost Lake was organized into zones that offered a range of different experiences. Oversized lawn games populated one area, called The Lost Playground; another, dubbed “The Agave Experience,” was an ode to the tequila-bearing plant, including a booth that sold high-end flights of the liquor and a shrine to the plant itself.
Overland Golf Course, Farman said, lends itself well to these stages of experience.
“In effect, the different holes on a golf course are meant to be different venues, different little experiences,” Farman said. “I‘m really excited about being able to apply some of that same philosophy.”
“In Denver, in an hour you can be on the ski mountain. We’re right on the Platte River — that’s an interesting aspect. We’re right on the bike path,” he said. “These are things that, as we’re thinking about what’s unique and special, and speaks to the (city’s) cultural make up. Those are all opportunities.”
There is some method to how Superfly goes about weaving in the fabric of a locale. Like any seasoned traveler, the company leans on locals to help it decide what is relevant in the food, beverage, music and artisan communities.
For example, Lost Lake tasked Chris Bianco, Phoenix’s nationally revered pizza cook, to help select the dozens of local restaurants and food trucks that populated the event.
Charlie Levy’s Stateside, the promoter and owner of Phoenix venues like the Crescent Ballroom and The Van Buren, spent the last year booking a lineup of locals like Kongos and Playboy Manbaby, who filled out the afternoon hours of the festival.
For Denver’s festival, Superfly has been in contact with a similar who’s-who of local talent. For a potential artisan marketplace, the Denver Flea has taken “a few meetings” with Superfly, according one of its representatives. AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, which was initially Superfly’s partner in the festival, has been the point of contact for booking in Denver.
Some Denver residents have raised concerns that Superfly Denver festival, which is flanked by a residential neighborhood, will exceed the city’s sound limits. Phoenix’s noise ordinance is capped at 100 decibels, 20 higher than Denver’s limit of 80, and the festival still received complaints. Despite that, Strascina said the festival was responsive to its complaints, following a list of protocols that includes adjusting the placement of speakers and taking the day’s wind into account.
As the chatter surrounding a potential Amazon headquarters in Denver recently proved, news of a large, moneyed entity like Superfly encroaching on a city can be threatening to locals. In Phoenix, Superfly joined a scene that already has a complement of established, locally grown festivals in place. As Denver has the Denver Post Foundation-owned nonprofit Underground Music Showcase and the Westword Music Festival, Phoenix has been home to festivals like VIVA PHX and nonprofit McDowell Mountain Music Festival for years.
Kimber Lanning, the founder and director of the local business advocacy nonprofit Local First Arizona, said the city already has “a great local festival” in McDowell Mountain Music Festival, and called the city’s insistence to host the massive Lost Lake a result of “low self-esteem.” (Compare Denver’s five-year contract with Superfly with Phoenix’s 15-year commitment.)
“They’re a machine just like any other,” Lanning said. “That’s fine; just don’t act like (coming to Phoenix) is a favor for us.”
The festival had initially approached Lanning to organize its Found marketplace, which seated nonprofit organizations and local artisan vendors prominently near Lost Lake’s entrance, but the deal fell through. The company didn’t offer any money for her consultation, she said, and claimed that Superfly quoted a pricey buy-in for its marketplace vendors — $1,500 for a booth and 40 percent of gross sales. A representative from Superfly said the Found marketplace curator the company did hire was compensated and vendors paid a $500 flat fee.
“That particular area is something that we do in a way that’s about the best presentation of goods and creators,” Farman said. “There’s not a lot of meaningful economics for us. Our goal is to help promote local businesses and be inclusive.”
While the company is a titan in festival production, Superfly received high marks from the businesses, bands and nonprofits.
Flip Isard, the owner of Phoenix french fry food truck Frites Street, said Superfly asked for 20 percent of gross profits from its vendors, an arrangement he prefers to other festivals that ask for a flat fee in advance of the event. The art for the stage banners at Lost Lake were designed by Phoenix artists the Fortoul Brothers, who printed a rare run of T-shirts for nonprofit The Mollen Foundation, which educates kids about healthy lifestyles.
Playboy Manbaby frontman Robbie Pfeffer said that Lost Lake involved the local music community more than other, locally run events in Phoenix. While he declined to go into specifics, Pfeffer said the organizers made the band feel “like princesses” and paid well, too. “We probably made slightly less money than Ludacris, but we also have a couple less radio smash hits.”
The festival’s nonprofit partner, Phoenix Indian School cultural center, also gave Superfly its blessing — literally. On the morning of the festival’s first day, Phoenix Indian School CEO Patty Talahongva invited members of local tribes to Steele Indian School Park to officially bless the grounds.
In exchange for using the park that adjoins its grounds, Lost Lake hosted a series of American Indian performances in a miniature outdoor amphitheater near the festival entrance, including hoop dancing by Nakotah LaRance.
“Pretty much everything they said they’d do, they did,” said Diana Yazzie Devine, CEO of community center Native American Connections. This included a space for American Indian performances throughout the weekend, and adding headdresses, which have become fashion accessories at music festival in recent years, to the list of prohibited items.
“They have been very respectful,” Talahongva agreed.
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Rinaldi: In a male-dominated art world, women can still be showcased without being segregated
On the surface, “Her Paris” plays out like a bit of nostalgia for the bad old days when women were denied opportunities to study, make and exhibit art solely on the basis of gender. The works on display at the Denver Art Museum, mostly by overlooked female painters from the Impressionist era, are skillfully executed and a joy to behold and evoke a corresponding pity for those poor femmes from the late 19th century who just couldn’t get a break. If only they lived in our own enlightened age of equality for all. Oh, well, let’s just savor them now.
But have things really gotten better? The work of men still rules at the auction houses and far outnumbers the work of women held in the country’s largest museums where, published surveys reveal, male directors are paid considerably better then female directors.
And there are these little reminders, sharp jabs that come along not infrequently, that women still get a raw deal. Just down the street, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, there is current group show of 25 artists, just three of them female. Math like that is hard to reconcile.
Still, today’s female artists don’t suffer the same outward discrimination that “Her Paris” painters like Cecilia Beaux, Anna Ancher and Marie Petiet endured in varying degrees — barred from major painting academies, omitted from exhibitions, ignored by critics, even prevented from drawing nude male models.
Nor do they face the same sort of societal pressures that the show’s Louise Abb—ma, Elizabeth Nourse and others had to work around, like the expectation that they would focus their efforts on domestic scenes and images of children and young women.
And certainly more female artists succeed today, following the path of the few women who emerged as stars from the Impressionist age and whose work is routinely featured in the many exhibitions that revive the period for today’s audiences — and which are frequently blockbusters for the museums that present them.
They make up the limited names visitors to “Her Paris” are likely to recognize. Mary Cassatt, the best-known of all female Impressionists, is represented with several works, including the popular “Children Playing on the Beach” from 1884, which brings a candid, naturalist feel to a scene of two toddlers having their fun in the sand.
There’s also Berthe Morisot’s 1892 “Lucie L—on at the Piano,” a straightforward depiction of a young, upper-class female honing the skills expected of those in her social station. Louise Catherine Breslau, who carved out serious respect in her day, shows us why with “Tea at Five o’Clock,” which brings an emotional feel to a daily ritual that painters of the time captured regularly
After that, the recognition factor drops sharply, though that’s what makes the exhibit interesting, in fact, a lot more interesting than most Impressionism shows. It’s not that Claude Monet or Pierre-Auguste Renoir or Camille Pissarro are something to sneeze at, but we’ve seen an awful lot of them in these hyped retrospectives.
We haven’t seen Fanny Churberg and her thundering “Waterfall” from 1877. The talented Finnish painter never got her due and, as the exhibit tells us, gave up her brush just a few years after creating the work.
Nor do we recognize Annie Hopf’s 1889 “Autopsy (Professor Poirier, Paris)” in which the unknown Swiss painter captures a scientist just as his blade cuts into the chest of a corpse.
There are numerous unexpected encounters like this in “Her Paris.” The level of talent is high and the pieces fully represent the interests and methods of painters of the time period who worked mostly in oil on canvas.
The exhibit — a traveling attraction organized by the American Federation of Arts and curated by Laurence Madeline — can be overly positive at times, stressing not the adversity women faced, but their triumph over it in simply getting the work done. It starts out strong with a series of paintings by female artists of female artists. These painters were recording their own history, putting it down on canvas and the work is significant on several levels.
But “Her Paris” is ultimately forced to dwell in the realities of exclusion and discrimination. There are a few notable exceptions, though for the most part we see women painting the things women were supposed to paint: their clothes, their kids, their houses, and all sorts of pretty things, like “The Pink Slippers” that Eva Gonzal—s captured in 1879. There’s plenty of triumph in technique, but don’t be fooled; these women had their place.
Exhibits like “Her Paris” try to make up for history’s unfairness by showing evidence that the way we remember things isn’t the way they really were. It is a futile effort in many ways. Men are the historic figures of this particular art age because the times would not have had it any other way. Women were a sideshow, a novelty.
This exhibit doesn’t break them free from that. Rather, it reinforces the notion by doing the same thing Paris did a century-plus ago: separate them from men. They remain here, in Denver in 2017, a novelty act. If you want to end segregation, stop segregating. Curate shows that — finally — show women painters alongside men, integrated fully into the checklist of works on display.
That’s probably a good rule, as well, for curators of contemporary art right now.— Gatekeepers are more fair to women today because they are sensitive to issues of equity (and because so many of them are women).— But exclusion isn’t quite nostalgia yet. Those sharp jabs from galleries and museums do keep coming.
“Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism” continues through Jan. 14 at the Denver Art Museum. Info at 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
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Halloween dining deals, zoo free days and other deals around Denver, Oct. 27-Nov. 2
Monster appetite
These spooky-good offers really scare up the savings for characters of all kinds. Before you stuff yourself with candy, check out these Halloween food freebies and deals around town on Oct. 31: costumed customers get a burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos for $3 from 3 p.m. to closing at Chipotle; kids 12 and under can put together their own free Scary Face Pancake at IHOP from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; for a snack before haunting the neighborhood, head to Sonic Drive-In for 50-cent corn dogs all day; little monsters (12 and under) enjoy a free kids meal at Applebee’s from Oct. 28 to 31 — no purchase or costume required; and, if your trick-or-treating doesn’t deliver enough sugar, Baskin-Robbins serves a single scoop of ice cream for $1.50. To find dozens more Halloween deals, visit milehighonthecheap.com.
Hero’s meal
There are many ways to thank first responders for their heroic efforts in helping others, but feeding them is probably near the top of the list. All active first responders, including EMT, firefighters and police officers, in uniform (or with proper ID) eat free at Hooters on Oct. 28. First responders can choose from a special menu, including 10 traditional wings, 10 boneless wings, buffalo chicken sandwich, buffalo chicken salad and the Hooters burger. hooters.com
Taco time
Thanks to Cameron Maybin stealing a base in Game 2 of the World Series, America gets to crunch on a freebie. On Nov. 1, stop by Taco Bell to pick up a free Doritos Locos Taco from 2 to 6 p.m. No purchase necessary, but limit one per person. Expect a line, given the Doritos Locos Taco is one of the chain’s most popular menu items ever. tacobell.com/stealabase
Service with a smile
Veterans can receive free dental care on Nov. 11 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Aspen Springs Dental (7940 S. University Blvd.) in Centennial or Aurora Family Dentistry (13700 E. Colfax Ave.) in Aurora. Patients may receive routine preventative care cleanings, fillings or simple extractions. Take note that appointments are required and can only be made on Nov. 3. To schedule one at the Aurora location, call 303-364-4322 from 9 a.m. to noon. For the Centennial location, call 720-482-0793 from 3 to 6 p.m.
Sandwich savings
Who better to celebrate National Sandwich Day than the most ubiquitous sub shop? To honor the condiment-filled day, Subway is offering a deal on Nov. 3. Buy a Footlong or 6-inch sub, as well as a 30-ounce drink, and get a second sandwich for free. Those anxious for some early —Thanksgiving chow can try its limited-time autumn carved turkey sub. Bargain hunters might consider sharing the drink with their lunch (or dinner) buddy for maximum value — just ask for an extra cup. subway.com
Wild and free
Monkey around with the family at the Denver Zoo this fall without breaking your budget. The wildly popular attraction welcomes guests for free on Nov. 3, 6 and 16. The zoo is on winter hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Denver’s City Park. The grounds officially shut down at 5 p.m., so be sure you’re through the gates by 4 p.m. Consider using public transportation or carpooling, as parking can be a stampede. If you miss out, you’ll have to wait until 2018 for the next set of free days. denverzoo.org
More freebies, discounts and deals at—MileHighOnTheCheap.com.
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Scary real: Denver mask maker sculpts hyper-realistic faces of celebrities, for celebrities
Here is Mike Tyson, gap-toothed smile, tribal face tattoo and all. Over there, Donald Trump, his straw-colored hair in dire need of a trim.
These aren’t really faces; they’re masks. But they are unlike any you can find at costume stores around Halloween. First, starting at $500, they’re more expensive than your run-of-the-mill rubber disguise an order of magnitude. But you get what you pay for: Meier’s HyperFlesh masks are scary realistic, so much so that they draw nearly the same attention as a famous face.
Or, for some, a back-up famous face. Actor Charlie Sheen owns his visage in HyperFlesh. “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston famously wore a version of his face from “Breaking Bad” to a panel at Comic Con in 2013. As our video crew was wrapping up a shoot at his home studio, Meier was running late to overnight the Tyson mask to a customer he believes to be pop mogul Drake, just in time for Halloween.
Meier experienced the impact his masks can have in April at Monsterpalooza, a Hollywood makeup and FX trade show. There, he enlisted the help of two kids to wear the masks of President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and T-shirts depicting nuclear mushroom clouds. Clad in a tracksuit, Meier donned a Vladimir Putin mask. A friend filmed a brief clip of the three dancing to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” and uploaded it to Facebook.
Part political statement, part advertisement, part fun, the video became an internet sensation, racking up 69 million views in the 6 months since, and growing Hyperflesh’s log of back-orders.
“It just blows your mind, that volume of attention,” Meier said. “And that was just a little 30-second video with zero production value.”
In our culture of celebrity worship, spending thousands of dollars to live the fantasy of being the apple of the public eye, even briefly, isn’t surprising. Next to “I Want A Famous Face,” a reality show based on— surgeons who put knife to skin to make their patients look like their favorite stars, it’s downright quaint.
“People like them because they’re really good likeness masks,” Meier said.
But the initial intent of Meier’s creations was to make the world uneasy, not starstruck.
Meier started making the masks in 2000 as a hobby after graduating from Colorado State University’s fine arts program the year prior.
“I thought, what if I could do something that’s really surreal but very realistic,” Meier said of the initial concept.
He began fashioning masks of over-sized baby heads in his basement. The result — an adult with the head of a baby — is an unforgettable mix of hilarious and horrifying. Meier sells three models of the baby on his website — Disgusted, Happy and Cry Baby — starting at $500.
“It—hits that uncanny valley,” Meier said.
The term Meier is referencing strikes at the heart of his HyperFlesh masks. Coined in the 1970s by robotics professor—Masahiro Mori, it describes the feeling of revulsion evoked by objects designed to look human, but fall just short.
Counting surrealists like Salvador Dali and H.R. Geiger –—”anything weird and nightmarish” — as influences, Meier considers his masks art. He’s a sculptor by trade, and used to push and pull his molds by hand out of clay.
Now that he’s switched over to a 3D printer, which helps him dial in pore-perfect likenesses, he clicks and drags on a digital ball of clay. For celebrities, he references the internet, scouring for photos of the same facial expression from different angles. After he’s shaped the facial structure on his computer, his 3D printer (made by Loveland’s Aleph Objects) prints out a mold. Meier then fills the mold with silicon and painstakingly paints each freckle, blemish and mottled cheek by hand. In all, the masks take from 40 to 150 hours to complete.
The key to Meier’s creations is in the name. The skin is semi-translucent, the result of a proprietary blend of silicon, pigments and other top-secret ingredients. He’s constantly refining his mixture, and estimates he’s gone through 100 different combinations of skin recipes in his quest to create what he calls “accurate flesh.”
The masks range from $500 to more than $14,000, the starting price for any one of Meier’s made-to-order one-offs. The requests are almost always for celebrities. He’s done masks of Robert Downey Jr., Stephen Colbert, Bernie Sanders and others; if you have the photos and money, it can probably be done.
Whether it’s a good idea is another matter. Meier’s masks are so realistic that one of his customers could viably fool the public into thinking they’re the celebrity, and profit off their influence or effectively defame them.
Meier said that he’s protected by his constitutional right to freedom of speech.
“I haven’t run into any trouble yet,” Meier said. “If a celeb asks, I’ll make them one for free. And then we’re usually all good.”
Porn star Ron Jeremy discovered Meier had made a mask of his face and called him to make a verbal agreement, asking Meier to pay him $250 for every mask that he sold. (He hasn’t sold one yet.)
Some masks aren’t worth the risk. Popular sports blog Bleacher Report wanted a mask of the internet-famous image of Michael Jordan crying. Jordan is notoriously litigious; Meier said no. The blog settled on a—Tom Brady mask instead, which made it onto NBC’s “Today” show, growing HyperFlesh’s profile that much more.
So long as he can pour “flesh,” he can basically print money. But his ambitions go beyond HyperFlesh. Prosthetic companies have been in contact about using his techniques to help people with facial injuries.
Then there’s the artistic potential. There’s great power in conjuring Trump, Putin and Kim — or their spitting images, anyway — in a room on demand.
And besides, looking through a mask to change your worldview is so last century.
“Nobody’s even going to care about any of this soon, because virtual reality is going to get so good,” Meier said. “Just put on an Oculus (Rift, a virtual reality headset), and you realize humanity is doomed.”
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Q&A: White Label Dating’s Steve Pammenter Expands Horizons
Dating drives humanity with as much desire as unslaked thirst, unquenched hunger and dreamless sleep. It is a basic need, to bond, to seek out romance, to merge with others … be it in the heated throes of a casual affair or the intimate devotion of a long-term relationship.
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Thursday, October 26, 2017
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver seeks $18 million to renovate, increase capacity
Officials at the Museum of Contemporary Denver have announced an $18 million campaign to renovate their 10-year-old building in Lower Downtown, expand programming, launch a civic art initiative and bolster the museum’s endowment.
Dubbed “Elevated Heartbeat,” the campaign has been silently under way for months with about $13 million, or 72 percent of the total, already raised — including $5 million from board chairman and Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries and his wife, Michelle.
Their gift includes naming rights to the museum’s 27,000-square-foot, David Adjaye-designed building at 15th and Delgany streets, which will be renamed the Mike and Michelle Fries Building.
“(Museum director) Adam Lerner and his team have curated world class exhibitions, delivered innovative and impactful programming, and brought the power of art to thousands of teens in our community,” Fries said in a news release Wednesday.
A gift of $3.5 million from former trustees Mark Falcone and Ellen Bruss will also establish “a major endowment and will include naming rights to the director and curator positions,” according to MCA Denver.
However, much of the campaign’s fuel comes directly from the museum’s swelling attendance, which has doubled since 2014, with over 75,000 visitors in the past year, Lerner said. Among those people, 10,000 teenagers visited or participated in MCA Denver programs, up from 1,500 when the museum launched its teen programming in 2013.
“Especially over the last three years, it’s been this incredibly rapid rise in our participation here,” Lerner said. “We’ve also brought on board a lot of people who are really excited about what Denver is becoming, both in our donor base and board of trustees, and a lot of people who are very invested in this part of town as the forward edge of that.”
From its LoDo perch, MCA Denver has a view of not only downtown Denver but the hip, fast-growing Platte Valley, Lower Highland and Highland neighborhoods, which house some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants and bars. “Hooking into that energy” has been Job No. 1 for Lerner and his team, he said.
“We’re focused on events, and that’s what the younger generation wants: To know what’s everybody doing this weekend, or even tonight. We’ve created programs that mix our traditional exhibition program with dynamic events that allow us to connect to people’s lifestyles,” he said.
The coveted 18-34-year-old demographic makes up the largest category of museum visitors, MCA Denver officials said, which means a bigger teen space at the MCA is a must for the expansion plan. The museum also reported hosting more than 120 education and experiential programs in the past year.
A new local-art program called The Octopus Initiative, so-named because its goal is “putting art in the hands of many,” will commission Denver artists to produce works for an art-sharing program that allows anyone in the city to borrow them for up to a year. The program will launch in March 2018 and take over the space formerly occupied by the Open Shelf Library.
Other pieces of the $18 million campaign include a performance stage on the roof, and a new entrance and reception area. Lerner said MCA officials decided to go public in raising the final $5 million because they were confident that private donors and foundations would quickly fill the gap.
“We’ve cultivated a pretty broad network over the past 20 years,” said Lerner, who became head of the museum in 2009. “We haven’t even gone very far into our existing donor base yet, so I believe we have a very strong case to make to all the new people coming to Denver.”
MCA Denver’s announcement arrives amid several major fundraising campaigns at other area cultural institutions, such as the Denver Art Museum’s $150 million North Building renovation and a $937 million bond package, up for vote next week, that includes tens of millions for the art museum, the Denver Zoo, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
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L.A. Pump Co-Owner Chris Kalev Discusses the Art of Penis Enlargement
Chris Kalev wants to get you pumped — pun absolutely intended. As co-owner and general manager of L.A. Pump, Kalev understandably knows his way around a cylindrical tube or two.
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Wednesday, October 25, 2017
WATCH: Colorado morning show anchors ate the world’s hottest chip on air, and it did not go well
Channel 2 Daybreak really went for it this morning.
Colorado’s Own anchors were daring enough to try the #OneChipChallenge live on-air. What’s the challenge? All you have to do is eat the world’s hottest chip made with the Carolina Reaper pepper.
Yup, that’s it. Easy, breezy.
Just after an ominous voice shared some of the side effects — short-term loss of news speech, heavy breathing and, of course, swearing –—Ernie Bjorkman was the first to dive in. “Ernie Bjorkman is doing it!” they exclaimed, and everyone followed suit.
While there was some hemming and hawing, the heat hit Natalie Tysdal the hardest. It made her vomit.
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The living dead: Revivals surge as theaters mine nostalgia to fill seats
Chad McDonald is not impressed with most new movies at his local cineplex. To him, they often feel slapped together by a computer program.
“They really are just like pinball machines trying to generate money,” said the 50-year-old film buff who lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah.
Despite living an hour south of Salt Lake City, where there’s a greater selection of art-house and independent theaters, McDonald has been enjoying classic films such as “Dr. Zhivago” and “The Graduate” on the big screen at nearby corporate theater chains.
“Anytime people can see a vintage film the way it was meant to be seen in the theater, whether it’s 10 years old or 75, it’s good news,” said film critic and author Leonard Maltin. “And, of course, theaters wouldn’t be doing it if people weren’t showing up.”
Corporate chains have increasingly turned to revival programming — from classics such as “Casablanca” to modern cult favorites including “The Princess Bride” and “Donnie Darko” — to fill seats and stay competitive with art-house, indie and specialty theaters amid a historic financial slump and a distracted consumer base.
In the second quarter of 2017, the average movie-ticket price hit a record high of $8.95, according to the National Association of Theater Owners. Along with that, this past summer-movie season clocked in as the worst in a decade: $3.8 billion in domestic ticket sales, a 14.6 percent drop over 2016’s summer season, according to ComScore data.
Consumers such as McDonald want a sure thing for their money, and exhibitors are eager to convince those consumers — who have invested heavily in streaming video, social media and gaming in recent years — that no mobile device or home theater can match seeing something on the big screen, even without 3-D or IMAX gimmicks.
Enter Fathom Events. From its offices in the Denver Tech Center, Fathom distributes what they call “event content” that seeks to keep first-run houses full during weekdays and off periods, when attendance and revenue are lowest. National exhibitors AMC, Regal and Cinemark have thrown their considerable weight behind the Greenwood Village-based company since spinning it off from their National CineMedia advertising arm in 2013.
The fare has included classic movies, but also live sporting events, opera, theater and pop-music concerts — to the tune of roughly 140 titles annually. In the first eight months of 2016, the company sold 4 million tickets for $12 to $30 each.
But since last year, when Fathom partnered with Turner Classic Movies’ “Big Screen Classics” series, revenue from their vintage-film series has increased 450 percent, according to Fathom CEO Ray Nutt.
What makes it work?
“Technology has really changed everything,” said Nutt, who declined to share revenue for the classics series, which runs Wednesdays and Sundays. “Ever since we transitioned from 35 millimeter to digital, it’s made our business a whole lot more adaptable and, quite frankly, easier. Distributing via satellite and hard drives allows us to be more cost efficient.”
Fathom’s theater partners include its corporate owners (AMC, Regal and Cinemark) and 57 affiliate exhibitors, such as National Amusements and Marcus Theaters. After licensing a title from the studio — for example, a film celebrating a notable anniversary such as “The Godfather” or “E.T.” — Fathom has a network to distribute the content to 1,000 or more theaters, depending on participation.
“The need to fill empty screens, at times when not everything fares well on a schedule, has grown,” said Keith Garcia, programming manager for the Denver Film Society. “It makes economic sense, but you have to make sure you’re providing a large enough runway for the big titles that drive business, so that you can have the luxury to afford to do repertory on a very consistent basis.”
The revival and anniversary programs, which also include series such as Harkins Theatres’ “Tuesday Night Classics,” are a boon for film buffs such as McDonald, who may not live anywhere near an art-house or independent theater.
“For most of the classic films, I have a couple different options of (big theaters) to see them in,” he said. “And by and large, it’s a better bet than most new movies.”
But simply bringing a film back from the dead — such as “Saturday Night Fever,” which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, or a seemingly oddball title such as Robin Williams’ “Popeye,” as the Denver Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has — is no guarantee of box-office success.
Sony’s recent “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” 4K restoration did gangbusters business, thanks to its 40th anniversary marketing campaign and distribution at mainstream theaters, grossing $95,000 at 809 North American sites on a single weekday night — and $1.9 million over its four-day Labor Day weekend run, according to Variety.
That would be disappointing business for most new, big-budget films. But for “Close Encounters,” which long ago recouped its original production and promotional costs, it was a bright spot for the first-run houses that carried it. By contrast, a 3-D version of “Terminator 2” did middling business on a small number of screens, Garcia noted.
Scale makes a difference.
“It’s the chains with the ability to do marketing for it,” said Howie Movshovitz, who teaches film at the University of Colorado Denver and runs the Denver Silent Film Festival. “It got too expensive for small theaters to do repertory, until all of a sudden there was that instantaneous digital conversion a few years ago. The rental hasn’t gone down, but the shipping has, so the economics are in favor again.”
This setup also helps truly independent theaters, including the Denver Film Society’s three-screen Sie FilmCenter, get back to their roots.
“We’re exclusive on the 4K restoration of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ because a film like that, at its age, needs a specific type of cinephile to come to it,” Garcia said of the classic, which runs at the Sie through Sunday. “And our audiences are willing to look at it in new contexts that it needs to be successful.”
What makes a classic?
Figuring out what will or won’t be profitable is an age-old concern in film, but it extends equally to the revival market. So what, exactly, makes a classic?
As Noah Cross (played by John Huston) tells Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) in 1974’s “Chinatown,” ” ‘Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.”
The same can be said of many B-movies — judging by the mix of irony and nostalgia with which bombs such as “Troll 2” and “The Room” have been embraced in recent years. But there’s no precise formula for a midnight movie.
“We experience cultural shifts that provide a different lens, but history also repeats itself,” Steve Bessette, creative manager for the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, said of programming older films. “Movies like ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ always come back to being relevant because every decade there’s a new reason we lose trust in authority or the government. Films like ‘Southland Tales’ completely bomb when they’re released but are later seen as prophetic because they saw how our culture was shifting.”
Some, such as “Pink Flamingos,” “Eraserhead” and “The Big Lebowski,” develop a self-sustaining culture. The enthusiastic shadow-plays (or live, simultaneous stage versions) of 1975’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show” are nearly as old as the film itself.
But true staying power is never a product of corporate-level marketing, cinephiles and critics say. They must bubble up organically — a demand that exhibitors can then meet with programming. Anything to keep “tushes in seats,” as Maltin put it, and away from other, nontheatrical methods of seeing a film.
Even the anniversary of a critical flop such as “Spice World” — a shameless vehicle for U.K. pop group the Spice Girls — was a chance to gauge audience interest in forgotten fare.
“Reaction to our 20th anniversary screening of ‘Spice World’ was bigger by 300 percent than the experience I had watching the film in a theater in 1997,” Garcia said. “Every dog has their day, and every film has its moment.”
REVIVALS ON TAP
A sampling of restored, classic and cult movies on metro-area screens in the coming weeks. Showtimes and ticket prices vary.
“Night of the Living Dead 4K”
Through Sunday (denverfilm.org)
“Psycho”
Saturday and Sunday (denverfilm.org)
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” with shadow cast
Monday and Tuesday; and Nov. 25 (landmarktheatres.com; bouldertheater.com)
“Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut”
Sunday and Tuesday (fathomevents.com)
“Evil Dead II”
Tuesday (drafthouse.com/denver)
“Princess Mononoke”
Nov. 3-4 (landmarktheatres.com)
“National Lampoon’s European Vacation”
Nov. 7 (harkinstheatres.com)
“12 Monkeys”
Nov. 8 (landmarktheatres.com)
“Casablanca”
Nov. 12 and 15 (fathomevents.com)
“Eyes Wide Shut”
Nov. 15 (landmarktheatres.com)
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles”
Nov. 21 (harkinstheatres.com)
“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”
Dec. 10 and 13 (fathomevents.com)
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Dynamic of Team Is More Important Than Characteristics of Members
I’m a team member. From the moment I get up in the morning to when I go to bed at night I’m part of a team.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Sex Coach Tiffany Yelverton Puts New Spin on Pleasure Parties
Sex education just got a dose of sunny Southern California charm. Long Beach, Calif. sex coach and pleasure party thrower Tiffany Yelverton is turning the home party business on its head.
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Monday, October 23, 2017
Facebook Ends Custom Link Preview Snippets
Facebook has quietly made a big change that could dramatically affect your posts. Facebook is getting rid of the ability to change the image in a link preview.
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
PHOTOS: The first Broadway Halloween Parade in Denver
Local businesses, organizations and more took to Denver’s Broadway Oct. 21to fill the street with themed floats and costumed marchers as revelers dressed as unicorns, zombies and more enjoyed the area’s first Halloween Parade.
The Hornet, Sweet Action and other Broadway businesses had their own themes and even the Ghostbusters made an appearance. See photos from the event in out slideshow.
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Saturday, October 21, 2017
Dealing With the Press Can Be a Mixed Blessing
For those new to the industry, mainstream media attention can seem like a fast-track to fame and success in an increasingly competitive market.
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Friday, October 20, 2017
It’s Crucial to Keep Records Up-to-Date, Ask Same of Vendors
Innovate, innovate, innovate. It’s the biggest buzzword when it comes to managing and sustaining a successful company. While it’s crucial to innovate and stay ahead of trends, many people overlook the general upkeep and maintenance required to run a business online.
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Thursday, October 19, 2017
PHOTOS: Baby hospitalized since birth celebrates first birthday at Children’s Hospital
Family and friends created a festive birthday room for Ryker Christensen on his first birthday at Children’s Hospital on October 18, 2017 in Aurora. Ryker, who suffers from pulmonary sequestration, kyphosis and scoliosis and chronic respiratory failure, has spent every single day of his young life inside Children’s Hospital on a ventilator. Today his family and medical team were able to get a portable ventilator to move him from his room to a courtyard outside the hospital for almost an hour to celebrate his first birthday outside. Young Ryker, who is unable to speak or eat, was able to see sunlight and the outdoors for the first time.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Union Station Whole Foods will house the chain’s first-ever mac and cheese bar
The new Whole Foods Market at Union Station will have more than alfalfa sprouts and tahini. The first downtown location will also house three restaurants, a 100-pound tower of cheese and — are you sitting down? — a mac and cheese bar.
Yes, it has a poke bar, too. But can we please just gloss over that? I’m so sick of writing about poke and there are approximately 180 new poke restaurants where you can get your fill.
Back to that mac and cheese bar. It’s the first of its kind for Whole Foods, a 4-foot-wide Promised Land of carbs and cheese. Varieties will include pulled pork BBQ mac and cheese, roasted tomato mac and cheese and vegan mac and cheese. There’ll be a good old-fashioned basic mac, too.
The local restaurants and cafes setting up shop inside the market are part of its “Friends of Whole Foods Market” campaign. Birdcall, with its fried chicken sandwiches, milkshakes, breakfast biscuits, beer and wine, will open inside, as will Allegro Coffee Roasters and Tel Aviv Street Food by the U Baron Group (Izzio Bakery, Etai’s Bakery Cafe). Tel Aviv will be serving up falafel, shawarma pitas and, as the name implies, all sorts of Israeli-inspired street food.
That 100-pound tower of cheese will be hand-cut to order by American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Professionals. (They are not messing around, you guys. They’ve called in the big cheese guns.)
All the cheese, fried chicken sandwiches, pitas and mac and cheese will be available starting Nov. 15 when the Union Station Whole Foods opens its doors.
Whole Foods Market: 1701 Wewatta St., Denver; wholefoodsmarket.com; opening Nov. 15
[Read More …]
Union Station Whole Foods will house the chain’s first-ever mac and cheese bar
The new Whole Foods Market at Union Station will have more than alfalfa sprouts and tahini. The first downtown location will also house three restaurants, a 100-pound tower of cheese and — are you sitting down? — a mac and cheese bar.
Yes, it has a poke bar, too. But can we please just gloss over that? I’m so sick of writing about poke and there are approximately 180 new poke restaurants where you can get your fill.
Back to that mac and cheese bar. It’s the first of its kind for Whole Foods, a 4-foot-wide Promised Land of carbs and cheese. Varieties will include pulled pork BBQ mac and cheese, roasted tomato mac and cheese and vegan mac and cheese. There’ll be a good old-fashioned basic mac, too.
The local restaurants and cafes setting up shop inside the market are part of its “Friends of Whole Foods Market” campaign. Birdcall, with its fried chicken sandwiches, milkshakes, breakfast biscuits, beer and wine, will open inside, as will Allegro Coffee Roasters and Tel Aviv Street Food by the U Baron Group (Izzio Bakery, Etai’s Bakery Cafe). Tel Aviv will be serving up falafel, shawarma pitas and, as the name implies, all sorts of Israeli-inspired street food.
That 100-pound tower of cheese will be hand-cut to order by American Cheese Society’s Certified Cheese Professionals. (They are not messing around, you guys. They’ve called in the big cheese guns.)
All the cheese, fried chicken sandwiches, pitas and mac and cheese will be available starting Nov. 15 when the Union Station Whole Foods opens its doors.
Whole Foods Market: 1701 Wewatta St., Denver; wholefoodsmarket.com; opening Nov. 15
[Read More …]
How to Safely Buy a Pre-Owned Adult Domain
All the good domains are taken, and they have been for years. Years ago, it was possible to grab a handful of domains, throw up some simple content, link them all together and accumulate converting organic traffic. Once this became known it wasn’t long before adult companies were grabbing them by the thousands.
[Read More …]
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
The Importance of Patents in the Sex Tech Industry
The sex tech industry has achieved a remarkable amount of progress in the last decade. Innovation is occurring everywhere, including in the shapes of vibrators, the way their motors function, incorporation of haptics, and the whole new terrain of VR.
[Read More …]
Monday, October 16, 2017
Tips to Ensure Remote Employees Are Working, No Matter What
Working remotely is the dream of most people who are stuck in a cubical after a lengthy commute each morning and every evening.
[Read More …]
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Q&A: Guillaume Tanferri Conjures Brand Magic at Jasmin
Jasmin elevates models, above all, and thus rises to the highest echelons of cam network supremacy. Its scarlet colors, gorgeous aesthetics and classy reputation have secured the brand as both a legacy institution and a cutting-edge player, not to mention its vibrant roster of webcam girls.
[Read More …]
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Wild Riders: XBIZ Best Cam Duo BlondeRider and RobXXXRider Rev Their Engines
As lovers with genuine chemistry and the depth of a committed relationship, 2017 XBIZ Best Cam Duo winners BlondeRider and RobXXXRider share an unrivaled on-camera charisma that sells very well on Chaturbate.
[Read More …]
Friday, October 13, 2017
Q+A: Chris Davenport, who skied every Colorado 14er in one year, on human potential
Aspen ski mountaineer Chris Davenport will be inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame Saturday night in a gala at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort. The 46-year-old New Hampshire native moved to Aspen after graduating from the the University of Colorado, where he raced on the ski team.
Davenport has a long list of accomplishments, including becoming the first to ski all of Colorado’s Fourteeners in a 12-month period in 2007. Eight years later he completed skiing the 100 highest Colorado peaks. He has appeared in dozens of ski films and is a two-time world champion in extreme skiing. He was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of fame in 2014.
Davenport is a passionate and thoughtful voice for skiing as a metaphor for life. He talked to The Denver Post this week about giving back, passing on his passion for adventure to his kids and finding peace in the mountains.
Q: You have always been an eloquent spokesman for the power of the mountains and the skiing life. Your skiing is not just about your quests or your pleasure, is it?
A: I do see myself as an ambassador for the sport. When I use the word ambassador, it implies that I want to promote all of the great things that skiing does and can do for people and for families. I think skiing is a wonderful release from the everyday stresses and strains of society. It brings families together, teaches us a lot about ourselves and a lot of self-confidence. I matured a lot through the processes of learning to be a skier, whether it was through ski racing and working with my coaches or through guiding and taking people into the outdoors, understanding how to show them a great time while keeping them safe. The sport has defined my life and who I have become as a person.
I’ve always felt this sense of giving back. That remains the most important thing to me. I love the opportunity to make sure that kids in the future can get the same things out of the sport that I was able to, not just that physical activity of gliding down the mountain but all the other things it can teach us as well. Those all remain super important to me.
Q: You climbed Mount Everest in 2011 and skied part of it. We all have Everests in our lives. We can learn a lot about conquering our fears through mountain adventures, and that is part of your message, isn’t it?
A: I’ve always loved the concept of discovering human potential. What do we really have within us that we can tease out through experiences or education? The idea of living outside of any box or preconceived notions — going out there to discover how you can be the best version of yourself — is really important to me. So taking on challenges like the fourteeners or the centennial peaks (100 highest in Colorado) or guiding on Mount Everest or lecturing to organizations about managing risk, those are things I find challenging and rewarding.
The more you discover about yourself, it’s sort of self-perpetuating. I feel like I’m getting my master’s degree in skiing but I’m never going to graduate. I’m just going to keep learning, keep being that student of the sport and keep giving back.
Q: There are lessons we learn in the mountains, especially about ourselves, but we also do these things in spectacular beauty. You have pursued your passion in some of the most majestic places on the planet. What has that been like?
A: That’s been a big part of my love for the sport. Mountains and natural beauty and the connection to nature have been woven into my DNA since I was a little kid. I find the most peace and solace and focus when I’m out there, especially in this day and age when we are surrounded by distraction and technology. I do it because it makes me feel good. I do it because there’s challenge involved, and oftentimes it shows me what I’m capable of — or not capable of.
Being passionate about something is, I think, a really important human trait. It’s one of the main things I’ve tried to pass on to my children. I tell them, I don’t really care what it is you do with your life as long as you love something, as long as you are passionate about something, that is fantastic. For me, it’s been mountains and being a well-rounded practitioner of mountain sports.
Q: How did you feel when you were notified of your selection for the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame?
A: Of course I was excited. I’m happy to support the hall, and the thing that means the most to me is the support of ski history as it pertains to Colorado. It’s something that I’m passionate about. To be added to this long list of people who have made a contribution to the sport is a real honor.
—
Also being inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame Saturday night in Vail:
Walt Evans, a former executive director of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club who spent decades serving the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association’s competition programs, including as the National Competition Director.
Dave Stapleton, longtime Aspen ski racing official and administrator.
Chris Diamond, recently retired president of the Steamboat Ski Resort.
Diane Boyer, owner and president of ski apparel maker SKEA Ltd. who served on the board of Snowsports Industries America from 1998-2009.
[Read More …]
Ski season officially begins in Colorado with first chair at Arapahoe Basin
Arapahoe Basin — Two minutes after the first sunbeams cleared the 13,000-foot ridge that forms the spectacular eastern boundary of the Arapahoe Basin ski area Friday, snowboarder Nate Dogggg and three buddies from Breckenridge laid claim to the first chairlift of the Colorado ski season.
Dogggg, who doesn’t give his real name to the annual flock of media covering Colorado opening days and puts his age at “under the 40 mark,” got to the mountain Wednesday night with his crew. They spent two nights in sleeping bags for the privilege of being the first snowriders in Colorado — the 22nd year in a row for Dogggg.
He wouldn’t be here long, though. His opening-day plan was one run and done.
“It gets pretty dangerous up there,” he said moments before the chair ride that opened Arapahoe Basin’s 71st year of operation. “First chair is nice, there’s nobody in front of you, you don’t have to look out for a lot of people. But look at that line behind me.”
Indeed, a line of hundreds filled the base area and snaked up onto the High Noon trail.
Justin Smith of Breckenridge shared the first chair with Dogggg, Mark Nenninger and “Trailer Tom” Miller. Apparently spending two nights in a sleeping bag was worth it.
“Just to keep the legacy going for Nate Dogggg and Trailer Tom,” Smith said. “Gotta help represent. I’m lucky enough to be friends with them, to be on the first chair with them.”
Smith, 40, said his goal is to get in 30 days this season.
“It’s a great sport,” Smith said.” It’s fun, it’s good exercise, but more important: Go fast, take chances.”
The first man down the mountain was John Gengel of Arvada. He arrived Thursday night and slept in his Volkswagen van, which earned him third chair.
“Because A-Basin is amazing,” Gengel, 41, said. “And I love skiing.”
Gengel said conditions were fine.
“The ‘white ribbon of death,’ as they call it, but it’s fantastic,” Gengel said. “It’s a little icy, a little choppy right now, but the sun is just popping up so it’s going to get great. This line is a little crazy.”
It was more than skiing that brought Gengel here, it was the special ambiance of Arapahoe Basin.
“I love that it’s like a locals’ mountain,” Gengel said. “Most people here know what they’re doing, skiing or boarding. There’s a community here, unlike most mountains nowadays. Love it here.”
Jennifer Natbony of Vail was the first woman to finish a run. She was ahead of Gengel until he took a more aggressive line at the bottom.
“I would have been the first one down, but I saw the ‘slow’ sign and I didn’t want to get my pass pulled for coming in so hot,” said Natbony, 33. “I slowed down, and that’s when he passed me.”
Natbony found the snow to be “perfect for opening day,” but conceded she’s not a “snow snob.” She just loves skiing, whatever the conditions.
“I’m going to come back and do it all over again, every day this season,” Natbony said. “I ski A-Basin every day until Keystone opens, then Keystone every day until Vail opens, then Vail every day. I’m obsessed with skiing. I come from Atlanta. We don’t have skiing there, that’s why I moved here. I try to get 100 days a year and I haven’t failed yet — for the pure love of the sport.”
[Read More …]
Retailers Boost Sex Factor to Increase Halloween Costume, Toy Sales
It’s no secret that Halloween season is one of the largest retail events of the year, and adult stores of all sizes enjoy measurable upticks in sales as the summer ends and Halloween fans start brainstorming.
[Read More …]
A La Niña watch has been issued, so what does that mean for ski-season snow?
Skiers and snowboarders who carve Colorado’s northern and central mountains have reason to be excited about the prospects of good snowfall this winter, based on recent reports by Climate Prediction Center.
That means it could be a good season to shred in Steamboat Springs, Winter Park, Vail, Aspen and the Summit County resorts.
The CPC, a department of the National Weather Service, has issued a La Niña watch, saying “La Niña conditions are favored” for fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The prediction is based on below-average water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
“What we see when we move into a La Niña is, typically the northern and central mountains do really well for snow,” Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist for the NWS in Boulder, said. “Statistically the bias is that the southwest mountains are a little bit drier than average, and locations east of the Continental Divide tend to be near to below normal snowfall for the season.”
When the waters in the tropical Pacific are warmer than normal — known as El Niño — winter storms tend to ride a southern track that favors the San Juans. Those storms also can wrap around the mountains to produce big upslope storms in the Front Range urban corridor.
“Flip that around for La La Niña, when you have more of a persistent and a colder northwest flow aloft, that Pacific moisture can sometimes give the northern and central Rockies days, even weeks of persistent light to brief moderate snow,” Fredin said. “For the northern and central mountains where most of our ski areas are, La Niñas do pretty well. It’s the type of winter where a place like Steamboat can get feet of snow.”
But you may need to wait a little to use those *cough* powder “sick days.”
The big dumps in the mountains may not start coming until after the first of the new year. Above normal temperatures with normal precipitation levels are likely over the next three months, Fredin said, adding that he doesn’t see anything that would indicate significant snowfall over the next seven to 10 days.
Arapahoe Basin is set to open on Friday and Loveland is expected to open next week.
[Read More …]
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Denver chef Justin Brunson to host meat-centric Food Network pilot
Denverites are probably already familiar with chef Justin Brunson’s love of meat; his restaurant, Old Major, is pretty much a shrine to swine.
Now, Brunson is bringing his meaty obsession to a broader audience. Over the summer, the chef shot a pilot for the TV show “SEARious Meat,” which is set to debut on the Cooking Channel and Food Network next week.
“It’s so much different than anything I’ve ever done before,” Brunson said. “We want to teach people about food and meat and sustainability and where it all comes from.”
The Food Network had been trying to get Brunson on various shows for a while, but he waited for the perfect fit. He told them he’d like to do his own show and he’d like to do it on meat.
They obviously liked the concept. We’ll get to see it for ourselves when “SEARious Meat” airs on the Cooking Channel Oct. 18 and the Food Network on Oct. 20.
Here’s how the Food Network’s describes the show: “Renowned carnivore and chef, Justin Brunson, ditches his restaurants for the road and a mouthwatering mission. Join him city-by-city as he steps into the protein-rich kitchens of some SEARious meat savants, to taste and celebrate their savory creations.”
Brunson said that he only filmed one episode, shot entirely in Denver. While he would neither confirm nor deny which meaty restaurants make guest appearances, but based on some social media posts, it looks like he visited Rolling Smoke BBQ and Meadowlark Kitchen.
“Now it’s all about ratings and seeing if people like me on TV or think I’m an idiot,” Brunson said of future episodes. “If it goes, it goes, and if not it was really fun. I got to show off some very talented friends of mine.”
SEARious Meats: Cooking Channel Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. and Food Network Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
[Read More …]
Denver chef Justin Brunson to host meat-centric Food Network pilot
Denverites are probably already familiar with chef Justin Brunson’s love of meat; his restaurant, Old Major, is pretty much a shrine to swine.
Now, Brunson is bringing his meaty obsession to a broader audience. Over the summer, the chef shot a pilot for the TV show “SEARious Meat,” which is set to debut on the Cooking Channel and Food Network next week.
“It’s so much different than anything I’ve ever done before,” Brunson said. “We want to teach people about food and meat and sustainability and where it all comes from.”
The Food Network had been trying to get Brunson on various shows for a while, but he waited for the perfect fit. He told them he’d like to do his own show and he’d like to do it on meat.
They obviously liked the concept. We’ll get to see it for ourselves when “SEARious Meat” airs on the Cooking Channel Oct. 18 and the Food Network on Oct. 20.
Here’s how the Food Network’s describes the show: “Renowned carnivore and chef, Justin Brunson, ditches his restaurants for the road and a mouthwatering mission. Join him city-by-city as he steps into the protein-rich kitchens of some SEARious meat savants, to taste and celebrate their savory creations.”
Brunson said that he only filmed one episode, shot entirely in Denver. While he would neither confirm nor deny which meaty restaurants make guest appearances, but based on some social media posts, it looks like he visited Rolling Smoke BBQ and Meadowlark Kitchen.
“Now it’s all about ratings and seeing if people like me on TV or think I’m an idiot,” Brunson said of future episodes. “If it goes, it goes, and if not it was really fun. I got to show off some very talented friends of mine.”
SEARious Meats: Cooking Channel Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. and Food Network Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
[Read More …]