No shortage of wacky stories lately:

_ The sheriff says the parents who called 911 to say their 6-year-old son was floating away on a flying saucer was a hoax concocted by the couple, who met in acting school, appeared on "Wife Swap" twice and were trying to land another reality TV deal. (The saucer was actually a saucer-shaped helium balloon, whose flight was tracked by TV news helicopters, and the Colorado Army National Guard sent 2 helicopters up to try to help with rescue efforts. The thing landed in a field though with no one inside, and it turns out the kid was hiding the whole time) No arrests or charges yet. The couple is being represented by David Lane, the same lawyer who represented former University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill after he came under fire for writing an essay that compared some 9/11 victims to a Nazi.

_ In North Dakota back on Aug. 31, a vehicle transporting intercontinental ballistic missile components overturned near Minot Air Force Base. It turns out the driver was distracted when an insect landed on his back.

Roasted veggies

Using A's recipe, we made roasted vegetables for a gathering to watch the CU Buffaloes get beat by the Texas Longhorns (and Cody Hawkins there for a bit.) It made watching the game Saturday night a little more enjoyable. We used orange and red peppers, 2 sweet potatoes, 3 white potatoes, 1/4 onion, rosemary, thyme and olive oil. Tasted good, even though we forgot to use balsamic vinegar.

So yesterday was take two, this time with butternut squash, orange and red peppers, asparagus, olive oil, rosemary, thyme and balsamic vinegar.



Stuck a piece of salmon on top, and that was dinner.

Also, on Saturday, for the CU fiasco, AK made a fabulous salad. Baby spinach, balsamic vinaigrette, gorgonzola cheese and cranberries.

Most of the ingredients came from Whole Foods. Has anyone else noticed that Whole Foods sells conventionally grown veggies? I haven't shopped there in a while, but have they always done that? Seems to defeat the purpose of their message, no? They were selling Hass avocadoes for 50 cents more than King Soopers. Conventional red peppers were for the same price as at King Soopers ($1 apiece)

Want a free lift ticket?

RT this on Twitter and you could win one from Vail Resorts: (just cut and paste. They pick winners on Monday, 10/12)
RT: Get your season pass while the prices are low http://bit.ly/18rpJB

You need to register if you want to buy postseason tickets for the Colorado Rockies.

The ski resorts are still making snow! Last year Arapahoe Basin and Loveland opened on Oct. 15. What day do you think they'll open this year?

And is Dan Hawkins gonna get canned from CU midseason? Or are fans just being too harsh?

In the news

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made it to Denver for an announcement Monday that Vail Resorts and the U.S. Forest Service were each pitching in $750,000 over three years to restore areas devastated by the Hayman fire in 2002. Kind of impressive. But then again, Vilsack does have a son who lives in Colorado. (Vilsack joked that guilt and a promise of a job wasn't enough to get his son back to Iowa. "We've lost him to Colorado forever," Vilsack said.)

The former Iowa governor and Democratic presidential candidate gave plenty of plugs to fellow Democrats. He said freshmen Sens. Bennet and Udall and Rep. Markey, all Colorado Dems, were working hard for their constituents. He even put in a plug for Gov. Bill Ritter, whom the GOP is confident they can push out of office next year. (Ritter has had to make unpopular cuts to shave millions of dollars from the state budget as tax revenues have fallen in the tough economy, and he's angered unions) "There is no harder time to be a governor," Vilsack said. He said you can't singlehandedly turn things around in a state or in a country but that hopefully the stimulus package was making that easier. He said Ritter is focused on job growth. "There are new jobs coming to the state, largely because of his commitment," Vilsack said.

So all in all, it was a green announcement for Vail Resorts (which is paying for its share of the Hayman restoration, by the way, by using the money it once used to buy wind energy credits. It's not going to be buying those anymore) But also a chance for some backscratching in a pep rally for Democrats.

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The Colorado winter wheat harvest is way up this year from last year. Too bad sale prices are way down.

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Have you been listening to the Postmarks' quirky retro cinema pop? It's like every song should be in the opening credits of a James Bond movie. Hear them live at the Hi-Dive this coming Monday, 10/5.

Hello Kavita's CD release show is 10/23 at the Hi-Dive! And get this... They play with Grand Archives at the Larimer Lounge 11/20!

Langhorne Slim will be at the Hi-Dive 10/29

Monolith Festival is here! With Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rahzel, Dandy Warhols, The Walkmen, OK Go, Method Man & Redman and lots more over two days, 9/12-9/13. Bundle up and bring rain gear today. Looks to be a bit better weather tomorrow. You can still get tickets at Red Rocks ($65 at entrance 2. Bring cash so you don't have to pay a service fee). You can also try Things That Glow before 5 p.m. on 9/12, but there will be a fee.

King Soopers is celebrating the new remodel for its store at 13th and Speer with lots of good deals and samples. We got a gallon of skim milk for 99 cents and T-bone steaks for $4.99 a pound. We also sampled some Boulder Sausage bratwurst, new fruit drinks with real fruit in them, and Caribou Coffee. If you sample the coffee (kind of near the milk area), pick up a coupon for $1 off.

Also this weekend, there's a fun 5K (and 10K) on 9/13 that will have you running on the warning track at Coors Field, across the floor of the Pepsi Center where the Nuggets play, and through Invesco Field at Mile High! The Fans on the Field walk/run raises money for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. There's a bbq at the end. $30 to enter, and enter the code "SUFF09" for $5 off. Although actually it may be too late to register online. Anyway, the money is for a good cause, a fun run and BBQ!

Labor Day in Denver...what to do?

_ Free music and jostling of elbows atTaste of Colorado
_ Sniagrab / Ski Rex for cheap lift tix and passes
_ Pick your own veggies for $15 at Miller Farms in Platteville
_ Rockies host the Reds, 1:10 p.m.
_ The Autumn Film plays the early show ($6) at the Hi-Dive, before Rock Star Karaoke.
_ Down in Pueblo, 3OH3! plays the Colorado State Fair, 8 p.m.

Ski deals ... and other Labor Day weekend stuff

Found some $30 snowboard boots and a $65 helmet (was originally marked at $120) at SkiRex today, at the Colorado Ski & Golf store in Aurora. You have 7 days to return most merchandise, or a month to bring it back for store credit, so you can buy stuff and still return it if you find something better at Sniagrab, which is this weekend at the sports castle. The customers have been camped out _ like with tents and stuff _ since Monday waiting for the sale to start.

Also available at SkiRex (and Sniagrab, I imagine): three days at Eldora for $79 (nontransferrable), four days at Loveland for $109 (that's $10 off). A four-pack to Keystone and A-Basin is $139. Colorado Pass, Summit Pass and Epic Pass also on sale.

"Slumdog Millionaire" playing free tonight, 9/4, 8 p.m. at Auraria campus, between Tivoli and the Plaza.

Taste of Colorado this weekend. Civic Center Park, Denver.

Telluride Film Festival this weekend.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival with Black Eyed Peas, Drive By Truckers, et al. Playing loose with the term jazz

Pete Yorn at the Ogden, Denver

Pete Yorn played a mix of old stuff ("Strange Condition," "Life on a Chain," "Crystal Village") and stuff from the new album "Back and Fourth" that just came out this summer ("Paradise Cove," "Don't Wanna Cry"). Guitarist Jonny Polonsky rocked the red jeans, Scott Siever of Denver was on drums, Joe Kennedy on piano, Mark, sorry missing someone else, but also Max!, the most rock-n-roll tambourine man ever throwing the tambourine in the air, and hitting it like his arm was a windmill.



YouTube hit Zee Avi opened, and Max wasn't available to play tambourine for one of her songs, but a woman in the crowd volunteered. So she got on stage for one song to play, ha. Zee Avi played songs on guitar and ukulele, including one in Malay and English

Snow white tomato harvest

We've got our first harvest of snow white tomatoes from the Delicatessen balcony garden. Sweet! And a little tangy. We put them with London broil, spinach and white rice. Looks like we'll get a few more handfuls this summer.

101.5 fm ... is moving ...

We're disappointed that 101.5 FM in Denver has decided to shift genres from "awesome" to "just another radio station." But. Soon you will be able to listen online at Indie303.com