Snow!

There was so much snow in the mountains yesterday that Keystone is opening Nov. 3, a week early. Mostly slush in the city, although it was snowing hard yesterday morning. It's bright and sunny today, and temps are rising all the time. That's Colorado for you.

Fat bastards

Want to know why your gas mileage isn't better? Read this

The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs

(Today at the Denver library, an elderly gentleman grabbed today's Wall Street Journal, sat at a table and promptly fell asleep sitting up. I wasn't brave enough to grab the paper from him while his eyes were closed, so I don't know what he was reading. But the weekend Journal had an article on an LA cop-turned-lobbyist-turned informant who survived a bullet in the face and had to wiretap a friend. Which reminds me...)

In the last few days I saw both "The Departed," (Scorcese's latest star-studded movie) and "Infernal Affairs" (the Hong Kong movie on which Scorcese's movie is based). The people I watched "The Departed" with all like IA better, without as many plot contrivances (two men going for the same woman), a more clever take on the Wong/Martin Sheen character trying to get out of the multistory building without the gang seeing him or him with the Tony Leung/Leonardo DiCaprio character, etc. But the Scorcese version did fill in some questions from IA.

Here's what some of the pros think:

The AP says: "Infernal Affairs" remained taut throughout its 101 minutes; "The Departed," at 150 minutes, sort of lolls around awhile, with lots of soul-searching and pill-popping, before reaching its climactic rooftop conclusion."

The New York Times:
"Fine as Mr. DiCaprio and Mr. Damon are, neither is strong enough to usurp memories of the actors who played the same roles in the original — Tony Leung as the good guy, Andy Lau as the bad — both of whom register with more adult assurance. That’s an observation, not an indictment. Comparisons between “Infernal Affairs” and its redo are unavoidable given how closely the screenwriter William Monahan follows the first film’s beats and scenes. But as fans of “Infernal Affairs” (and its two sequels) know well, the Hong Kong film owes an enormous debt to Mr. Scorsese, whose imprint, along with that of Michael Mann, is all over the trilogy. The Hong Kong and Hollywood action films are themselves doppelgängers of a sort, and Mr. Scorsese, himself larger than life, is one of their biggest, baddest daddies."

From salon.com:
""The Departed" reimagines its source material rather than just leeching off it, preserving the bone structure of the first movie while finding new curves in it. The story has been clarified; the ellipses of the original have been filled in with just the right amount of exploratory shading. ... DiCaprio's performance is terrific -- but I can't say it's better than Tony Leung's, in "Infernal Affairs." Leung vested his version of the character with even deeper furrows of sadness, particularly in a scene where he meets the young daughter he didn't know he had. But I think it's possible to feel warmer toward "Infernal Affairs" than toward "The Departed," while recognizing the ways in which Scorsese has built on, and enhanced, the original's strengths."

What do you think?

Anyways, the Denver International Film Festival schedule is out. Anthony Minghella and Tim Robbins are scheduled to attend. Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn" closes the festival. Tickets to the public go on sale Friday. Party on Thursday (see second item in previous post)

Tidbits

Stephen Colbert is grand marshal for Northwestern University's homecoming parade this weekend.

The Denver International Film Festival releases its lineup Monday (10/23), and then Martini Ranch has a party for the film festival 10/26 with free sushi, free Stella. 6-9 pm at 1317 14th Street. You can also win free tix to some of the films

The front page of the Greeley Tribune is in readers' hands.

Moxie, DRD, and ramblings

Got my hair cut at Moxie the other day, right there on 13th and Sherman next to Watercourse. It's a great haircut but I swear this is the second time they've screwed up the scheduling and I arrived at my appt. time with no one there to cut my hair. The stylist rescheduled and gave me my cut for half off, but jeez, people, quit sniffing the hairspray. With the discount and friendly service and good conversation, all was pretty much forgiven. Anyway, Moxie is having a Halloween party 10/28 at Bender's Tavern

One night before, 10/27, Denver Roller Dolls has a Halloween bout at the Denver Coliseum. Tix are $13 now, or $15 later, so get your tickets sooner rather than later

The next night, 10/28, is the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls' bout

Check out the sail hotel. Where Brangelina stays.

Toys. Inventing toys can be just as much fun as playing with them

Golf. Does this explain why the corporate world is mostly one gender, one color? Maybe Tiger and Michelle Wie will change things. But a friend who works at a private high school for troubled kids was saying how the school tends to recruit fellows with affluent backgrounds who have trouble relating to the students, some of whom have parole officers or parents who don't have time to devote to their education, etc. The school is in the mountains of Colorado, and so it's hard to recruit young staffers who can deal with noncity life. Colorado has always looked at its outdoors lifestyle as a great selling point. But if you think about it, most of the young people who are attracted to the remote mountain lifestyle are into mountain biking and skiing, which require some money or are not really part of the inner-city life. Thoughts?

Spreading the joy

_Woxy.com goes live again on 10/10
_Peet's Coffee on the 16th Street Mall in Denver is giving out FREE coffee from 1-3 p.m. every day thru Oct. 22
_This isn't free, but Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn will be in Denver on Nov. 1 (it's a Wednesday) to talk about her new memoir. At noon. Tix for $20-25.
_Broncos beat the Ravens in a steady rain, 13-3. And there's snow in the foothills.

Denver Art Museum

It's a beautiful day (10/7) in the city! And lots of people are checking out the new addition to the Denver Art Museum. The line was about 20 minutes to get a timed ticket to enter the building early this afternoon. Let the ticket office know what time(s) you want your ticket(s) for. Other events to celebrate the opening of the new wing are ticket-free, including outdoor art stuff for kids, a music stage, and the rest of the museum is also open.



The inside of the building is just as angular as the outside, with open landings, angled, white walls, skylights. It's an interactive museum, conducive to wandering. At times you feel like you're lost in a maze, but you can't really get lost.



From the deck, you can get a peek at the neighborhood, and off in the distance, the snowcapped Rocky Mountains. Read below for a look at one of the galleries ....

Anschutz Gallery

A few minutes in the Anschutz Gallery in the new building at the Denver Art Museum and I was so excited to be there -- and for free! It's a room of all modern art, a collection of oversized gigantic pieces, meant to titillate, mostly colorful. The pieces are on loan, but right now, there are many many pieces of modern art by Asian artists, many Chinese. The first item is this urethane number, called "Headless" by Michael Joo. They're meditating figures, but headless, with various doll heads suspended above each body. It sits next to a piece by Wenda Gu of New York City by way of Shanghai. It's called "Babel of the Millennium," with old-style characters in hair, glue and rope.

Photography actually isn't allowed by visitors, but I bet you can surf the Web for pictures by news media of "Terra Cotta Warriors" by Yue Minjun. It's five life-size figures of cartoonish men in white T-shirts and blue jeans, all with their hands clasped in front of them. Their eyes are closed, with wide smiles. They stand in triangle formation. They stand back to back with five figures, dressed the same, also standing in triangle formation, but with hands up behind their heads. This piece is "The Last 5,000 Years." The figures are not always in triangle formation, as you can see on the Web. Apparently, sometimes they are also in a straight line. Anyhow, there are also anime-style pieces in this gallery right now, more huge canvases, etc

Hot DAM

If you've been by the Denver Art Museum, you've been watching that crazy architectural addition taking shape near the central library and hovering over 13th Street. Museum members have been getting sneak previews of it. This weekend, DAM reopens to the public with its new addition, with free events for 35 straight hours this weekend. If you stop by in the wee hours, from 12:30 a.m.-4 a.m. Saturday night (technically Sunday morning) at the Hamilton Building, you'll get to see the museum, plus The Yummies FREE. Details

Well, what do you know. Looks like WOXY is rising yet again. See their home page for more