We're leaving Denver tomorrow and we've had a great stay. Unfortunately there are a few people we would have liked to talk with who we ended up missing: The Denver Young Democrats, a fine organization which was overwhelmed due to the beginning of the legislative session and thus unable to send anyone to meet with me, and Bikes Belong, who due to an email snafu didn't get my message until it was to late to schedule a meeting. Sorry we couldn't talk, guys. But to anyone reading this, these are both wonderful organizations which you should check out if you are at all interested. Thanks for the memories, Denver!
For our last days in Denver, we went to the Wynkoop Brewery in LoDo, a favorite (and former place of employ) of our Denver friends. The ambiance was great and the prices were surprisingly reasonable for a classy brewery. They even had a brew named for their hometown hero and former proprietor, Mayor Hickenlooper. When we asked, our waiter told us that Hick still comes by from time to time, and he's talked with him a bit. The waiter assured us that he's a decent enough guy, though as mayor of Denver he was naturally a bit preoccupied. The food was good and we were glad we went.
We also overheard a conversation at another table, some of the people had been in Laguna Beach in October and were lamenting all the pro-proposition 8 people there. Sorry we let you down Colorado. At least you guys still have an awesome brewery to go to.
Obamathon Man and his associate chose to ring in the New Year in Downtown Denver. It was nice, a big crowd filled the length of the 16th Street Mall and waited eagerly for midnight. There was no big digital clock to watch, but at ten seconds before midnight people in nearby bars began to count down and it spread to the crowd on the street. The fireworks were about a second early, but it was still a good show, and they were fired on both sides of the mall. Friends hugged, couples kissed, and a group of young kids ran up and down the street with a 90s era boombox blaring Daft Punk, prompting spontaneous dancing. A man poured champagne for someone he'd never met before. Ah, the mile high life.
Eventually the fireworks stopped, and we went home. On the way, we passed two girls in carnival outfits, and a man in a white suit with a plastic hat. It was fun.
Obamathon Man and his associate were admiring the Denver Library yesterday evening when we heard chants rising from the Capitol building nearby. Shrill voices rang out on megaphones, and car horns blared along with chants. We thought perhaps it could be a group of irate young Republicans, or perhaps the citizens of Denver spontaneously assembling to show their love for Hickenlooper. In reality, it was something much more controversial, and thus blogworthy: the Colorado Muslim Society had gathered to protest Israel's attacks on Gaza.
Across the street from the protest, five police cars camped out; if the middle east couldn't have peace, at least Denver would. As we waited to cross the street, a man on a cell phone angrily said, "Yeah, the same people who launch rockets at Israel get angry when Israel fights back." We crossed the street and walked past the long line of protesters waving flags and shouting at passing cars. Some of the women wore headscarfs, others didn't. We climbed to the top of Capitol Hill, passing several Muslim families with kids running up and down the hill, and it occurred to me that young children look just as sweet and innocent when they observe hijab. We hit the top of the hill right as a prayer session began, and while I could not understand the words, I reacted to the prayer in much the same way as I do to Christian prayers. I wondered what Americans would think of Islam if they could understand the meaning of Muslim prayer, and realized how similar it was to Christianity.
We walked down the steps to the main table. An older woman with glasses sold glowsticks to young kids. She needed change and my associate and I were able to help her out. We asked her about the gathering, and while she was reluctant to talk, a tall older gentleman wasn't. He told us that this was organized by the Colorado Muslim Society in conjunction with Christian and (even) Jewish groups in response to what he called a total overreaction by the Israeli state. He identified himself as a Christian. He talked about how bad conditions in Gaza were, how people there were subject to random searches and seizures, and how Palestinian fishermen were periodically fired upon by Israeli naval vessels. Ultimately he said that these things do not excuse the Hamas Attacks, but they do explain them.
I asked what he thought the new administration would do differently in regards to the Israeli conflict. He praised the level headedness of Obama but said that he was faced with a difficult situation that he might not be able to change. Then I asked him his take on what Muslims thought of Obama. He told me that he had been to a few Middle Eastern countries recently, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza. The Muslims there generally supported Obama, he told me. A middle-aged man, who later identified himself as a Muslim originally from Morocco, chimed in. He said that he personally voted for Obama because he seemed more capable of making good judgments with lasting effects - incidentally, one of the main reasons I voted for Obama too. He said that Obama would be under alot of pressure to act a certain way, and he hoped Obama woudn't cave in. While I could agree with such a general statement, I had a feeling he probably meant something more specific than that.
He continued, talking about how in Moorish Spain in the Middle Ages, Christians, Muslims, and Jews occupied the same area without conflict. He also said that modern day Israel was much more peaceful before 1948. His feeling, he said, was that most Muslims just wanted to live their lives peacefully. We all agreed that that was a good thing, that people should be able to live their lives without fear of excessive violence.
They asked where I was from, I told them the LA area, and they were happy I was visiting Denver. I told them I was going to visit the inauguration and they were actually impressed, but more that I would subject myself to such discomfort. The older man said that he had attended Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC, and that it took him 3 hours to get in. He also talked about his trip in 1963 to see Dr. King's epochal "I have a Dream" speech. I could only begin to imagine what that must have been like, and I told him I would do my best to carry the torch. I thanked them for talking with me, and then left to get dinner.
The next morning, I found a well-reasoned editorial in the Rocky Mountain News. While there is much to disagree about on this issue, we can all agree that our goal is to have as few deaths as possible, and that instead of killing our enemies it is better to make them not want to kill us. As I write this, it is already 2009 in most of the world, but to those of us who have yet to celebrate the new year: Chicago, Denver, and my home back in Los Angeles, let us think of peace as we sing Auld Lang Syne. We have elected a man to be our president who in the midst of troubled times has given us hope. In this new year, let's work together for something better, for change doesn't come from an elected leader, it comes from us all.
Obamathon Man and his associate were driving across Denver to investigate Park Hill, and as we exited the freeway, we noticed an odd hotel. It was large, drab, and looked like it was designed by the Aztecs, but the weirdest thing about it was that a hotel of its size had been placed in this relatively remote area in the first place. We passed two more large hotels, still confused. Then as we looked to our left, we noticed what looked to be an abandoned control tower, and suddenly everything made sense: this is where the old Stapleton Airport used to be.
I remembered flying into Stapleton once when I was in first grade. For my extended family who lived here at the time, the construction of DIA was a big deal; for us it was a minor civic footnote and a longer drive when we flew in. We forgot about Stapleton, and had never devoted any thought to what became of the place, other than once speculating that with a name like "Stapleton" they should convert it into a staple factory.
The eerie control tower prompted us to park and take a few pictures. We found a nice looking park full of baseball diamonds and basketball courts, and parked in the nearby neighborhood - it was the kind of neighborhood you'd expect to be near a major airport. After crossing the park, we found that on the other side was an entirely different neighborhood. The homes were lavish and immense, each one could easily fit four bedrooms and bathrooms. And they were perfect, down to the last picket on each of their fences. You could easily imagine each of these houses as the home to 2 cars and 2.5 children. It occurred to us that this area actually used to be part of the airport, and that screaming jet engines had been replaced with suburban idyll.
It was all very pleasant, but at the same time there was something unsettling about the place. No one entered or left the houses, and the only sound was an occasional gust of wind. It felt as if we were the last survivors of a nuclear winter, that the houses had been preserved and the inhabitants had long since perished. Looming over every rooftop was the control tower, and my mind began to craft horror stories about radioactive Gollum-like miscreants, scanning the vacant neighborhoods from their vantage point in search of prey.
Upon later research, I found that the Stapleton redevelopment plan was considered extremely environmentally friendly, and had a website as hip as the opening credits from Juno. But why did the area have to be developed at all? Why couldn't they have done what Orange County did with the former El Toro Air Station and turn it into a giant park (one of the few things OC has gotten right)? At this point in America's history, we have enough suburbs. Hopefully, the new administration will bring with it a new attitude toward civic planning that reduces expansiveness and promotes shared space.
In the interest of bipartisanship, Obamathon Man looked into what Denver Republicans were up to, and stumbled upon the Denver Metro Young Republicans. Presumably, they included "Metro" in the title because there are more republicans further out in the metropolitan area, and not to recognize the metrosexual community (if such a thing exists). The DMYR had a few nasty things to say about the election, but for the most part they tried to stay away from sniping, focusing on strategically placing themselves for the 2010 and 2012 elections. Obamathon Man may just have to drop in on one of their meetings at some point.
This just in! Denver's Greater Park Hill has been named one of the top ten neighborhoods in the country by the American Planning Association. Park Hill is located just east of the historic City Park, and on top of a hill, thus "Park Hill". Obamathon Man has been to City Park in previous Denver trips, but never really dug into this neighborhood. But with its free jazz concerts nearby, I dig this neighborhood already. Be on the lookout for follow-up posts!
In other news, the APA has also named one of Obamathon Man's hometown haunts to its list of glory: Echo Park! Rock on, you latino/hipster hood.
Obamathon Man has always been a big fan of bicycle commuting; it's clean, energy efficient, and not space-intensive the way cars are. However, it seems the citizens of Denver are not only fans of bicycling, but also unicycling: while hiking up a mountain, my associate and I saw a unicyclist pedaling down the other way. Such is the way of mountain-folk, I guess.
While one-wheeled riders may still be in the minority here, parts of Denver are blossoming with bicycles - particularly the area near and directly south of the Capital. Bike lock areas are seldom empty and often filled with trendy fixed gear bikes. Denver has a pretty good reputation for bike-friendliness, garnering praise from bike advocates back home as well as the extremely bike-conscious citizens in the Northwest. However, there is still room for improvement. Denver has completed a bike master plan, which hopefully will help usher in an era of even greater bike friendliness.
It has been pretty warm here (above freezing), and if this weather holds I may just have to try biking Denver for myself. But if we do get hit by a blizzard, it will be interesting to see if our unicyclist friend can still make it down the mountain when it's covered in snow.
Wouldn't ya know it? Denver's got it's own Beverly Hills. Obamathon Man has yet to visit, but I suspect that instead of Rodeo Dr they have actual rodeos, and the Beverly Hillbillies wouldn't look so out of place.
Barack Obama will go down in history for, among other things, being the president who lent his image to the most merchandise. If his economic stimulus doesn't work, hopefully at least Americans will buy enough Obama-themed objects to put the economy back on track. Obamathon Man chronicles the popular trends, the quirky deviations and the utterly tasteless byproducts of Obama mania in a series known as Obamorabilia.
What an appropriate gimmick to cover while here at the home of the world's largest mint: Obama commemorative coins! Now for a limited time, get these wonderful gold-plated coins for three easy payments of $4.95. How would you ever remember Obama's historic election without a coin bearing a likeness of his face? Check out the testimonials, all from smokin' hot babes - hey, it works for beer ads. No word as to whether or not these coins are actually legal tender, but the people making them hope they will be worth $14.90 to you.
Back in 2004, the American people were introduced to the self-proclaimed "skinny kid with a funny name": Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. It certainly was a funny name, and oddly enough, funny names seem to have less trouble becoming household names. Fast forward four years to the 2008 Democratic convention. As Barack Obama prepared to accept the Democrats' nomination for president, the skinny kid with a funny name this time was not really a kid, but worked tirelessly to bring the convention to his hometown of Denver: John Hickenlooper.
Just as Chicago is famous for "the Loop", Denver is famous for Hickenlooper, its mayor. He took office in 2003, and has since launched numerous programs, including aid for the homeless, improved transit, and green incentives which have bolstered the city's reputation. I had known that Hickenlooper (or as they affectionately refer to him here, Hick) was mayor for a few years now, owing to my Denverite relatives. But I didn't know exactly what he was doing until the convention came around, and Denver became the darling of purple state-hungry Democratic electioneers.
Upon visiting my family this time around, I actually learned that a couple who were old friends of our family had close connections with Hick. We all had planned a get together at our house, and they were nice enough to stop by. After brief chit chat between them and our family, I casually asked them a few questions, thrilled to be talking with people inside the Hickenloop.
First off, they had been able to work their connections to get seats for Obama's speech in back in August. Not good seats, but seats. I asked them what the convention had been like, they said it was slightly wilder than a typical Broncos game, but knowing Broncos fans, that's saying something. They also said that Hick had gotten the idea to bring the DNC to Denver early on, and had worked diligently to make sure it happened. They said he was a nice guy, a friendly guy who had helped them in the past.
He had been roommates to one of them when they were just out of college, and was responsible for introducing the two of them. He had originally been trained as a geologist, but lost his job during a recession in Denver. In the early 90's, he took his savings and co-founded the Wynkoop Brewery in LoDo, then a sketchy factory wasteland and now a fully gentrified swingin hood with its own baseball stadium. Since he took over the Mayorship, Hick has done the same thing for the entire reputation of Denver. One of them told me that her out of town friends used to chuckle when she told them about Denver. Now, they nod politely.
They were very friendly about my formal line of questioning, and had nothing but good things to say about Hick. They told me that if I had been here two weeks earlier I could have stopped by his annual Christmas party and said hello. Too bad.
Later I heard some in my family, who heard rumors of Hick having a wild side when he was younger. I didn't really get to ask the couple along those lines, but at this point Hick seems to be anything but wild. He has been longtime friends with Colorado's Sen. Ken Salazar, and has expressed interest in filling Salazar's now vacant seat. Could Hick be a White Obama? Maybe, but I'm sure everyone in Denver will be sad to see their hometown hero go. If anything, Hickenlooper proves that "change" is not just about Obama. It's about the work one mayor has done, and that all mayors (including Tony V back home), officials, and citizens will be able to do. I never thought I'd say this, but hopefully in the future we'll all be Hicks.
Yesterday afternoon, a family member showed us around his lab here in Denver (he's a physicist). It's a fairly sophisticated operation, and several employees were present, even this close to Christmas. A young woman with glasses and a bun worked the front desk, she was polite but clearly had her hands full with scheduling. We grabbed safety goggles as we entered the work area, but at this point they weren't necessary since nothing really dangerous was going on.
One of the lab techs came over to talk to us. His name was Dan, and he was happy to talk about what was going on here at the lab. There were several benches full of drills, hammers, welding torches, small stoves, and other relevant tools. At the center of everything was a roughly 8x8x16 foot rectangular assemblage of steel tubes. If this wasn't a laboratory, the structure could easily pass as playground equipment. However it became clear that it was intended as a container for some large scale apparatus.
Dan warmed up when he learned that I was about to graduate from the alma mater of a friend of his. Somehow, the topic of discussion abruptly turned to theoretical physics, which as it turns out is not very popular with practical physicists. Dan didn't like the fact that the theories of theoretical physics were not falsifiable and were difficult to test. I asked him if this had anything to do with the Large Hadron Collider, which I almost referred to accidentally as the "Large Hard-On Collider". Not being a theoretical physicist, he didn't know, or really care. But he did admit that theoretical physics was great for science fiction.
I asked him what was going to be housed within the massive tube system, and he said that it would house machinery to convert the thousands of trees afflicted by pine beetles into charcoal. While this charcoal could be used as fuel, in this case it would be used as a fertilizer which would also remove carbon from the atmosphere. Apparently, the charcoal can also be used to neutralize the damage done by mine tailings, which mine companies prefer to call "peripheral leavings" but scientists refer to in many cases as "toxins".
I then asked about if he thought Obama would be good for alternative fuel development companies like the one he was working for. He absolutely thought Obama would improve the state of alternative fuel in the US, pointing out that Obama dilligently went about creating a "brain trust" who would take an effective course of action many different issues. I agreed, a brain trust would certainly be better than the previous executive, who didn't trust brains. In particular, Dan was enthusiastic that Ken Salazar, formerly one of Colorado's senators, had been named as Secretary of the Interior. He was so enthusiastic that he accidentally referred to him as "Secretary of State".
At this point we had to leave, but I was happy to have had the chat. Even though gas prices have dropped, we still need to start working on building up other sources of energy. Government investment in private research is a good way to establish more effective energy sources, as has already happened in Brazil, and it's also good for our economy. Hopefully, Dan will be doing what he's doing for a long time.
Obamathon Man has hit the ground running in Denver, and while three days before Christmas is probably not the best time to hit the ground running, things have still turned out quite well. I have requested an interview/information exchange with the Denver Young Democrats, and their president, Kevin Neimond, has been receptive to the idea. Look for more about the DYDs in the weeks to come.
In other news, my earlier Denver post - not to be confused with The Denver Post - has been updated to include videos taken from my pre-election visit to Denver. View them there, or just go directly to my Youtube page for a look.
So I'm here in Denver, doing a little last minute christmas shopping with my associate. We're looking over the best Barnes & Nobles has to offer, and apparently that's some cheesy Sarah Palin "authorized" bio. Gee willikers! So we start having a good old time at the expense of Alaska's first gal. "I'll find those answers and bring em to ya!" A well dressed woman walks by and I look over just long enough to catch her giving us a look that could freeze Mauna Loa. Welcome to Denver folks! In LA, that never would have happened - no one cares what you do or say in public. You could catch on fire and no one would notice.
To be fair, I saw plenty of Obama stickers and posters left up here, so the situation is not one sided. But the Republican contingent is not backing down. Unlike LA, they still have a strong foothold, and though they now appear to lie dormant, they are poised to strike back at the least opportunity. Denver: the town of mile high tempers.
October 25, 2008. In the plaza across from the state Capitol, a crowd was gathering. Blue signs had been taped to the concrete columns lining an amphitheater. An impassioned speaker told of the troubles he and his families had faced, and what it would take to overcome them. Signs read, "Red to Blue", "Obama/Biden", "Renewing America's Promise". Later a woman sang a song, "Living My Life Like It's Golden".
Later, on a walk through an older neighborhood, lawns were littered with leaves and Obama signs, and there was an Obama campaign office on every corner. Maybe holding the convention here two months earlier really paid off for the democrats. Or maybe Denver was just undergoing a political change.
In the coming days, when not overtaken by holiday festivities, Obamathon Man will examine the city of Denver. What has happened here during the last eight years? What do the people here want of their new President-elect? What about the Republicans in town, who lost this round, but are still a powerful force? I've already sent out requests to local political organizations (Democratic and Republican) asking for their take on these questions. But I'll also be speaking to as many of the good citizens of Denver to see what they think as well.
And to those of you from Denver, feel free to write in! let's hear your take. The comments section is open!
Obamathon Man provides fearless and peerless coverage of the most monumental event in the history of the universe: the 2009 U.S. Presidential Inauguration. The day has come and gone, but all the great coverage leading up to the inauguration is still availiable. Also, Obamathon Man will contiue to post on events relevant to Obama, Washington DC, and the American people. Obamathon Man salutes you!
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