Vegan chili, kimchi, sourdough bread, bags, buttons, tinctures, soaps, jewelry, pitas, pastas and garden-grown spreads of granola, pies, cookies and Kombucha lined the tables as dozens of people ambled around the room listening to guitar players and admiring the clever talents of each eco-friendly crafter.

Developed and organized by Denver locals Kylie Manson, 24, and Matt Gettleman, 25, the HaHo Market is an alternative, bartering-based marketplace for community members to showcase and exchange their passions for art, crafts, music and locally produced food.

“It’s all about small producers being able to share their goods,” said Manson. “It allows people to really connect with each other and share skills and knowledge and to see that there’s this greater community of people in Denver who are making things at home and growing their own food.”

Manson and Gettleman started the HaHo Market in Boulder last May and had two events there before relocating the project to Denver where it is held once a month.

Since its formation, the number of vendors has doubled, and local consumers have increased along with the awareness and popularity of underground markets.

Bartering allowances within this system let vendors and consumers experiment with localized economics to demonstrate the potential for laissez-faire business development that includes all sizes of businesses as well as broader forms of acceptable currency.

The given prices for each product are suggested donations, and, of course, old-fashioned valuables swapping is encouraged to revive the integrity of what people can offer through exchanged craft or service.

Between the merchants themselves, all sorts of things were circulated and traded: meals for shirts, patches for tea, wool for ice cream and even haircuts for apricots.

“The purpose of our business is to earn ourselves independence from the current [economic] system,” said Ciara Dugas, 24, co-owner of The Idle Goat, where she sells homegrown vegetables, homemade masala chai and original screen-printed shirts. “It’s really important to create an alternate exchange of goods that re-localizes our economy and pulls away from a system that doesn’t favor people like us.”

The vendors at the HaHo Market come to represent their small, usually individually owned and operated businesses outside commercial markets where financial constrictions have ostracized them from participation.

“Our dream is to buy some acreage and raise food and animals that we live off of and contribute that to society,” Dugas said.

Lack of capital does not debase the quality of products at the HaHo Market. Ingredient labels for all purchasable items listing the materials and their origins are made available for the convenience and information of consumers — also to legitimize and account for the products themselves.

“For me, this is a validation of some really deep-rooted artistic inclinations that I’m not able to express otherwise,” said Labrys Weaver, 59, owner of Kurgan Farms where she produces organic ice cream, cream cheese and hand-woven rugs and blankets. “The environment here between all of us is wholesome and helpful.”

The city was ready to move. Fast, rolling rhythms from African long drums bounced between the buildings, and red, green and gold banners whipped and swirled in the high winds before sunset, July 17 at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Amphitheater on Park Avenue West.

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company performs the final dance at the Mile High Dance Festival July 17 in Denver. Photo by Steve Anderson

Inside the studio next door, 40 performers from five culturally and stylistically diverse Colorado dance companies prepared to take the stage before hundreds of lively community spectators to begin the first Mile High Dance Festival honoring the 40th anniversary of CPRD.

This milestone event also happened to be Robinson’s 62nd birthday, and, in her immutable fashion, she danced and swayed with the crowd from introductions to clean-up.

“My inspiration is creativity,” Robinson said. “Seeing people be creative and positive and seeing the power of action through movement is my life. It is my love.”

The free-admittance celebration was integrated into Robinson’s 16th-Annual International Summer Dance Institute, a five-week intensive dance immersion program that features a master’s week where internationally renowned instructors guest teach the students at CPRD.

The Mile High Dance Festival was conceived by Robinson and CPRD to specifically showcase Colorado dance masters. Each studio performed a brief dance set that reflects various dances of the Americas.

“I always wanted to do a festival,” Robinson said. “I’ve been doing the International Summer Dance for years, and I always bring in international artists, but I felt that we need to really focus on our local artists in this forum.”

Devin Baker, left, Christina Taylor, Kendell Dempster and Edgar Page rehearse a dance before their main performance at the Mile High Dance Festival July 17. Photo by Steve Anderson

Represented at the festival, along with CPRD, were Sweet Edge and the Hannah Kahn Dance Company, both Denver-based modern dance studios, as well as Fiesta Colorado and Groupo Folklorica Sabor Latino, specializing in traditional Mexican Folkloric, Flamenco and classical Spanish dance, respectively.

The program began with an African-inspired performance by the elite, 12-member CPRD Ensemble entitled “Move.” Six boys and six girls dressed in glamorous, red leotard costumes paired off, flipping and twirling each other in waves around the stage.

“I thought it was amazing,” said Metro senior and CPRD student Katie Rye. “I came for their performance and Robinson’s birthday. They always do such a great job.”

The second exhibition, presented by Sweet Edge, was an interpretive dance narrated by the bodies of Artistic Director Kim Olson and her performers. The piece featured interwoven moves where dancers crawled toward, leapt, fell and wrapped into each other to convey emotion with the music.

Fiesta Colorado, lead by Artistic Director Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero, took the stage in a stomping force of Mexican and Spanish traditional dance, wowing the crowd when the dancers juggled swords between their legs.

Before her students graced the stage skipping, spinning and kicking over each other, Hannah Kahn addressed the crowd.

James Olguin and Alisya Rodriguez of Fiesta Colorado pose for the crowd after a traditional latino dance at the Mile High Dance Festival July 17.. Photo by Steve Anderson

“My system as a choreographer is to try to make up ways to move the body that I’ve never seen before because I’m obsessed with movement,” she said.

In fascinating cultural contrast, Groupo Folklorico Sabor Latino performed a dance called “Son Jarocha Veracruzano,” which honored the Mexican-African Jarocha people of Veracruz, Mexico.

“The people in this region are very proud and unique,” said Artistic Director Lorenzo J. Ramirez. “You should feel the African influence in the foot work that we do.”

The program ended with a high-energy, West African-inspired dance by the CPRD Ensemble called “Yemaja.” As the dance progressed, Robinson invited the dancers and everyone in the crowd to come on stage to, as she said, “move with us.” Moving has always been her forte.

Beginning her career as a dance director at the fresh age of 21, Robinson had an inextinguishable passion for music and art.

“We danced wherever we could. We went to Air Force bases, Army bases, daycare centers, senior centers, and we taught at Metro for years,” she said. “We were their summer dance program, and we taught hundreds of kids that were bused in every day.”

Growing up in Five Points in the 1940s was an inspirational, alive time for art and music (especially jazz). Robinson grew up with the influences and perspectives of artists of all backgrounds.

“Jazz, I would say, was my greatest inspiration,” she said. “I think that I grew up in an extraordinary time in Denver. I remember bonfires and musicians playing in our basement — but that’s what we did; we played music, and we danced, and we sang and we created.”

Her father was an actor and loved to dance, and her mother was a musician with the San Diego Symphony. They both instilled a lifelong instinct in her to cherish and enable the music and movement of life.

“I will never stop dancing,” she said.

The newest trend to emerge between young couples is biting. Rather than just leaving hickies on each other’s necks, couples have begun biting to show affection and ownership of their partner. The rumor is, as some believe, sharing blood is a deeper ritual of claiming affection than other rituals such as kissing and leaving bruises on the surface of the skin with hickies, etc.

After watching “Good Morning America,” July 9, I discovered this trend actually existed when they dubbed the biting as “The Twilight Effect.” Vampires are the newest craze taking over America, and young couples are using biting not only to show possession of one another but also for the adrenalin rush and to feel powerful, according to Michael Kaplor, 16, who was interviewed on “Good Morning America.”

Though I understand that biting has become popular due to vampires in pop culture, what I can’t wrap my mind around is the dangerous aspects that come from performing such an act. One thing to consider when biting your partner is not only that this new wound become infected, but sharing blood means sharing blood-borne diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis and other pathogens. Along with infections and diseases comes the scarring, which may not go away.

I find myself astonished by this new craze because, after having viewed most of the pop culture references made above, I have yet to see where the vampire bites his love interest. In my mind, I see that as counterproductive, given the idea is to not bite the still-human love interest. However, fangs, aggression, biting of other characters and possession from the vampire to his lover are all common scenes, so I suppose it is easy to make that connection.

Though I am of the hickie generation, I find any sort of physical wounding of your partner unnecessary. However, there are those out there who obviously enjoy the rush of deeply showing their fondness for another.

Experts discuss opposite topics, audience attempts to link

What do Bigfoot and the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung have in common? That was left to an audience to discuss after the July 9 Mixed Taste at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Mixed Taste, being the new form of contemporary art for the museum, is currently celebrating its sixth year with all 10 of its shows sold out. The idea behind Mixed Taste is to invite two different speakers, who are accredited in their field of research, each Friday night from June 18 to Aug. 20, and have them present information that is important for an audience to hear in one sitting. Each speaker is allowed 20 minutes to present. At the end of both rounds, the audience can then ask questions about either topic or both and attempt to sew together how they are related.

Dave Johnson, researcher for the Big Foot Field Researchers Organization, gives a presentation at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Mixed Taste series. Photo by Steve Anderson

Dave Johnson, researcher from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, spoke on the evidence that proves the existence of Bigfoot for the first 20 minutes. Nancy D. Wadsworth, assistant professor for the Department of Political Science at the University of Denver, spoke on the notable research of Jung’s psychological philosophies for the second 20 minutes.

“I’m leaving it up to you to make the connections between Jung and Bigfoot, and it is killing me to not do it!” said Wadsworth to the audience before beginning her presentation.

Johnson presented evidence for Bigfoot’s existence such as sound clips from the 1970s of researchers who, according to Johnson, interacted with a family of Bigfoots for some time. This, along with other evidence such as molds of what Johnson said are Bigfoot’s imprints, were also presented.

Johnson ended his argument stating the true evidence science needs in order to prove the existence of Bigfoot is, a body. According to Johnson, it would be cruel to kill a living Bigfoot, and their deaths happen so quickly that it is hard to find a dead Bigfoot before nature has taken its course in decomposition.

“It’s extremely rare to find the remains of a bear, and we know they exist. Animals crawl into protective places when they’re sick, and then they die there,” Johnson said.

Wadsworth spent her time discussing the three levels of consciousness Jung spent his time researching, those levels being the conscious mind, the unconscious mind and the shadow. The shadow being, according to Wadsworth, the deepest level of consciousness, which forces us to project the characteristics in ourselves we don’t agree with onto others. According to Wadsworth, Jung believed it was important for one to possess some personality trait of evil and acknowledge that it exists.

At the end of the 40 minutes, audience members took the opportunity to ask both speakers questions, drawing the conclusion that Bigfoot may be the projection of the subconscious beast that resides in man.

Milos Novotny, a Denver hydrogeologist, participated in his second Mixed Taste claiming that the shows are entertaining but not something he would attend more than twice in one summer. However, he enjoyed attempting to make the connection between Jung and Bigfoot.

“At first I thought Jung had big feet, but it’s more than that. Bigfoot is everything we deny in ourselves,” Novotny said. “Bigfoot is Jung’s Shadow, the archetype.”

Wadsworth believes the MCA’s Mixed Taste is one of the most intellectually challenging forums in Denver. According to Wadsworth, the challenge is for both the speaker, having only 20 minutes to present, and the audience, having to connect two un-relatable topics.

This was Wadsworth’s second appearance at Mixed Taste, her first being last summer when she discussed Niccolo Machiavelli. Johnson participated in his first mixed taste July 9 but believes he would return to discuss Shamanism if invited back.

Water into wine is a well-known Miracle, but now, it’s a “miracle” you can create yourself.

More than four years ago an urban winery was introduced to Colorado by the name of Water 2 Wine. It’s not your typical winery, though, because customers choose, make, bottle, cork and label their own wines.

Derek Handley, owner of Centennial's Water 2 Wine, sits in front of the store's wine selection June 18. Photo by Steve Anderson

“It’s a ‘Build-a-Bear’ for adults,” said Derek Handley, owner of Water 2 Wine in Centennial. “We get your hands dirty in the front end, then we work the wine through fermentation and filtration, then we schedule you to come back with some friends and you fill, cork and label the bottles.”

“[You can make] a little more than six gallons. It depends on how much you consume while you’re bottling,” Handley said. “We call it research and development!”

Water 2 Wine works with 100 different vineyards in 13 countries. Through distribution these vineyards sell off grapes, which are crushed.The juice and skin are shipped to the stores.

First, customers pick their wine. The flavors range from sweet, fruit compress-style wines, like peach-apricot chardonnay, to heavy cabs and blends from all over the world. Everything is available for tasting before you make it.

Next, customers mix the skin and juice with yeast and other key ingredients in large buckets. Handley and his team take over from here, allowing the grape juice to ferment. The dirty work takes 45 days, then customers come back in to bottle and cork the wine and have a glass or two. For the final step, customers apply their custom-made labels, which they design with photos, drawings and fun names.

Water 2 Wine highly encourages customers to bring in food like cheese and crackers and drink up while creating their bottles of “heavenly spirits.”

Because Water 2 Wine produces wine in-house, all of the beverages are low-sulfite and contain no histamines. Sulfites are a preservative put in wine to add shelf life, but it can give people headaches. Since Water 2 Wine goes without the sulfites, their bottles have a shelf life of two to three years

Water 2 Wine’s Centennial store has won 50 awards in four years.

“We are not a traditional winery, nor are we a wine bar; we are in between,” Handley said. “We do after-hours events, and the third Wednesday of every month, we have live music and appetizers.”

Water 2 Wine welcomes people to come in for lunch and happy hour to sip on the store’s wine without having to work for it.

“We realize that you can buy wine from wherever you want, so our relationship [with our customers] has to be better. A big part of our business is that our customers come to see us,” Handley said.

“The fun part for me is the people; that’s why I am here,” said Erin Hess, an employee at Water 2 Wine.

Handley is focused on making a great atmosphere at Water 2 Wine, a place where people can relax and enjoy a glass of wine.

“[When] people come in for a tasting I don’t want to interrupt them because they have such good conversation,” said Hess. “That’s what wine does. It just brings people together.”

Because Water 2 Wine puts such an emphasis on the atmosphere and customer service of the store they often go from stranger to client to friend with their customers quickly.

“We try to take all the snobbiness out of wine, I think people are kind of put off by that, they get bombarded with ‘you can’t have a good bottle of wine unless it’s $50 or $100’ and that’s not true,” Handley said.

Water 2 Wine is a cozy place. They consider themselves small, making 25,000 bottles in 2009. The holidays are usually the busiest with people wanting to make wine as gifts, but Water 2 Wine is a great year-round hangout.

“I really like wine. I like the social aspect of it. I like the complexity and variety of it,” Handley said. “It’s a fun business. People walk in with a smile and walk out with an even bigger one.”

Photo courtesy of Starz Film Center

Nothing terribly exciting happens in this film, and it tends to drag in parts. However, when you are in a relationship where you think you know your mate so well, sometimes it takes a few days alone together to realize you know nothing. This is where they keep your interest. The viewer gets the taste of intimacy that you only find in your own home.

Writer/director Maren Ade films the majority of the scenes in medium shots. You are part of the conversation and whispers. This personal assessment of a couple that is far from perfect and may not know each other as well as they thought is deep but not always interesting. With camera work and silence, it gets more into the characters heads, forcing the viewer to not only read the subtleties but also closely watch the character’s faces.

Through the film, Chris and Gitti seem to go through a lifetime of emotions from childish courting through age-old betrayal. It doesn’t seem like there would be enough time together to experience this range of emotion, but they do — another key to how new they really are to each other.

“You’re such a bad actor,” she says to him.

“Why?”

“You’re trying to put your arm around me. You never do that.”

Her pure shock that he wanted to walk down the street touching her makes you wonder how long they’ve been together and what will happen in their future. While invited to two pivotal dinners with a couple of aquaintances, it is then that you see the real test in the relationship.

Minichmayr and Eidinger are perfect for each other in this film. The chemistry is real and raw. The love scenes are filmed tastefully and privately in the dark. It’s almost embarrassing when they look at each other because you feel like you are invading someone’s privacy. Their connection is fitting for the film and for each other.

Viewers must be able to make it through all the movie’s subtitles with their eyes open. If you can get through some of the slower parts of the film, where you may just as well be watching someone’s personal home movies, it is an interesting examination of how a couple works, or a lot of the time, doesn’t work.

On any given summer’s eve at Charlie Brown’s, a customer may find a relatively empty bar area. But they will quickly note a packed, outdoor patio where a late-night happy hour can wash down some expensive food and cheap conversation.

The point is, Charlie Brown’s isn’t a dive. Within the vacant barroom is a kind-enough barkeep, a well-dressed waiter, a rollicking piano player and just enough history to make a drunkard wonder where exactly they are drinking.

Located below the Colburn Hotel for nearly 90 years, is Charlie Brown’s. The likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassidy have raised a glass at its barstool. Perhaps they each admired the Old West charm the bar retains today.

There is an antique cash register and an exceptional piano man who energetically sings every cover he plays. People can gather around the top of his baby grand and sing along in their inebriated swagger. Even if those three “muskateers” of the beat generation never saw this edition of Charlie Brown’s, they got hammered just the same.

Of course, anyone can enjoy Charlie Brown’s; the happy hour offers a “two-for-one” deal on the first round of drinks. Plus, with five or more people, a birthday boy or girl can get $30 worth of free drinks.

Aside from all this special treatment for heavy drinkers, any hungry hotel patron or starving socialite can peruse Charlie Brown’s wide array of menu items to find a great meal.

Charlie Brown’s culinary eclecticism truly dispels any “bar food” notions an eater may have. From Mexican fare, Greek Gyros, Surf and Turf and American favorites, there are plenty of edible options.

However, the overall price of a dish may hinder one’s appetite. A steak of any cut is $18.95. Lobster or crab legs equate to $23 or more. Gyros and wraps are around the $9 range. Sandwiches are the cheapest, totaling out at $8 for a cheeseburger or a Reuben.

While drinking and dining go hand-in-hand, one must pay the price at Charlie Brown’s. But this toll goes toward the atmosphere and keeping the menu full. Owner and manager, Tess Andrianakos, mentioned the renovations on the patio will be fully finished by the early fall. It will include a partial covering and an open end perfect for those who cannot be cooped up inside.

So the next time Denver’s nightlife is calling, stop into Charlie Brown’s and give the food and drinks a chance. Either way, their patio is a nice change of pace for absorbing history and overall good vibes. And be sure to tip the piano player; that guy works hard.

Urban Dare hits Denver for its third year, sending 50 teams on a city-sized scavenger hunt

Anticipation grew as teams slathered on sunscreen and attached numbers to their shirts. Participants made sure their cameras, phones and maps were in check. They were gearing up for Denver’s third-annual Urban Dare race.

Urban Dare founder Kevin Keefe asks questions of participants July 17 at the Urban Dare race in Denver. Participants must answer correctly to begin the race. Photo by Steve Anderson

Pat’s Downtown Bar and Grill on Market Street was home base for the race, July 17.

Urban Dare is a race where smarts are combined with speed. Fifty teams of two spent hours navigating their way though Denver in a part trivia and part photo-hunt physical challenge.

“I wanted to create the ideal race for me,” said Kevin Keefe, founder of Urban Dare, which began in 2005 in Washington, D.C. “I am a puzzle junkie, so I take a [city] and I make a puzzle out of it.”

To play, participants must solve 12 clues, which will lead them to checkpoints scattered around the city.

Checkpoints included taking photos and performing dares like ladder golf and blowing a bubble from the bubblegum you must hunt for with your mouth in a mound of whipped cream.

Ryan Ruddell and Chris Baker of Denver, best friends since high school, were the winning team.

“[We do this race] because it’s fun and it’s motivational when we are trying to stay in shape,” Baker said. “It’s fun to mix the intellectual challenge with the physical and technological challenge.”

Ruddell and Baker like to map their route as efficiently as possible by calling friends (which is encouraged) for help with clues and maps.

“There wasn’t a clue today that really stumped us, so getting all of the answers was pretty fast. But figuring out the path is the tricky part,” Baker said.

The two guys are regular competitors; they have completed four races this year alone and always compete together.

Races have taken them to different states like Arizona and Louisiana, and even to Nationals, where they lost the grand prize of $10,000 by two minutes.

Ryan Carlson digs through whip cream to find bubblegum as part of a dare July 17 at Denver's third-annual Urban Dare race. Photo by Dacia Johnson

Urban Dare, along with similar races, will take the top winners in each state and send them to a national race to kick up the competition and the prize.

“There is a community of teams, and we know a few of them,” Ruddell said. “It’s mostly friendly competition, but it’s intense because everyone wants to win.”

Urban Dare’s biggest races are held in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas and New York City, each holding around 200 teams.

Running, walking and public transportation are allowed, but no bikes or cars may be used. Races take between two and four hours and cover as much as seven miles.

Urban Dare also has a family category for those who are looking to be a bit less serious. Ryan Carlson raced on his 17th birthday with his mom and dad.

“It was fun, but toward the end we were like ‘why did we do this?’” Carlson said, due to the 100-degree weather Denver had that day.

“It gave our family some memories to laugh about!” said Erin Light, Carlson’s mom and a Metro alumna.

“Everybody came back [to Pat’s] in good spirits,” Keefe said.

This year, races will be held in 32 major cities all over the U.S., and five percent of proceeds go toward the fight against breast cancer.

“Sixty percent of my participants are women,” Keefe said when choosing a cause to raise money for.

Some races are bigger than others and some are more lighthearted than others and encourage costumes. Urban Dare and other similar races come through Denver every year. Either way, there is a race for everyone.

The National Veterans Wheelchair Games brings men and women from around the country together annually to participate in games similar to the Olympics. For the brothers the games are fun for competition, but they are also important because of the friendships they have developed during the years.

“It’s fun to meet new people and to renew relationships,” Daniel said. “Over the years, you see somebody one year and don’t see them for another year or they miss a couple years. You see them two or three years later … you develop a lot of friendships.”

After serving in the Army for 13 years, Daniel crashed a single-engine plane in September of 1980. Twenty-five years later, in 2005, while taking a family trip, David, who spent four years in the Navy, lost control of his car when it hit black ice.

Both were left with injuries to the Lumbar segment of the spinal cord, which controls the movement of the legs. Daniel suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury, so he is still able to walk with the help of a crutch. While David’s injury was complete, leaving him unable to walk, his wife and two kids were unscathed by the accident.

“My brother got me involved in [Paralyzed Veterans of America],” David said. “I go to a few events each year. I do more sports in the chair than before my injury.”

Daniel started competing in the games in 1982. He’s competed in almost every sport including track and field, slalom (an obstacle course), 8-ball and 9-ball billiards. This year, he participated in basketball, softball and earned the gold medal in bowling.

Since joining in the PVA games, David has participated in 9-ball and softball. This year he competed in 10K hand cycling and won the bronze medal in table tennis and gold in bowling.

This year about 650 people participated in the games, which were hosted by VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver and the Mountain States Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America.

“The biggest one so far,” Daniel said. “Out of [the 650], 350 are bowling.”

Participants competed in 17 different sports including rugby, basketball, bowling, weightlifting, swimming, billiards, track and even kayaking. Events were held throughout Denver, including places such as Invesco Field, Brunswick Zone, the Convention Center and the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum at Lowry.

Daniel and David have never competed against each other in the games because of the difference in their injury levels.

“We are in different classifications,” Daniel said. “It depends on the level of your injury. I am a class four and (David) is a class three. I have more balance so I am a higher class. But on team sports, like basketball and softball, they mix them. They put real athletes and they put some quadriplegics — people who can’t use their arms and legs very much. In that case we could be competing against one another.”

For team sports, the teams are organized at random but matched fairly.

“It’s all by luck of the draw or whatever they call it,” David said. “It’s not like they say that guy’s good we’ll put him on that team. The teams are evenly matched.”

Each year, the games are held in different locations. The brothers have visited places like Omaha, Neb.; Milwaukee and Puerto Rico. Additionally, groups from Britain and Puerto Rico and delegates from South Korea participate in the games each year.

“The reason the games started back in 1981, was to introduce newly injured guys into different sports,” Daniel said.  “It’s to show them what they can still do … and of course you want to win.”

Adrien Brody, who put on 25 pounds of muscle for his role of Royce, was chosen to lead an elite group of warriors to hunt and kill the merciless alien race, known as predators, on their planet.  Brody says, “This is a game preserve, and we’re the game.”  Unfortunately, that was virtually the entire plot, but certain elements from the 1987 original were inserted into this version, such as the musical score.

After waking up and falling from the sky, Royce lands on the predators’ home planet, with other heavily armed people arriving shortly after, which commences the blood fest. Adrenalin can be felt rushing through your veins because this film is a “cat-and-mouse” game.  After managing to avoid booby-traps, the group runs into dog-like aliens and is attacked, but the aliens retreat after a whistle calls them.

Later on, the group meets Laurence Fishburne’s character, Noland, who warns them about an ongoing conflict between classic predators and “super” predators.  This is now a struggle for survival for the group.

After escaping from an abandoned mining station, where they originally hid with Noland, they make a break for ship they were told about when one of the predators catches up to them, forcing the character with a katana to stay behind and hold off the predator.  This scene seemed to originate from Sonny Landham’s confrontation scene in the original “Predator.”

After a major secret about Topher Grace’s character, Edwin, was revealed, it was up to Royce to kill the last “super” predator.
Overall, this film was relatively interesting, but some of the content wasn’t original.  With a $40 million budget, this film could have been better.  The new predator creatures were cool, and the art direction was solid, but the supporting cast, beside Brody, could have been better in terms of acting.  There was also some somewhat unnecessary sexual humor here and there.

As a whole, however, this film will satisfy “Predator” die-hards, as well as anybody looking for a film with plenty of action.  If you’re looking for a film that offers high-adrenaline action that will keep you engaged with the film the whole time, then this film will meet that criteria.  This was a good B flick, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary.

The villainous Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) tries to rope lovable orphans Edith (Dana Gaier), Agnes (Elsie Fisher) and Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) into his nefarious plans. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Steve Carell is able to transpose his personality from flesh to cartoon through his character Gru.  Gru aspires to be the best villain in the world, so he plans on stealing the moon.  Getting in his way are the most adorable and intellectual girls you have ever seen on the big screen.

Agnes (Elsie Fisher), one of the little girls, instantly captures your heart with her adorable voice and sense of purity.  But the main representative of the girl’s side of this film is Margo, played by Miranda Cosgrove from Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.”

Cosgrove has come a long way from playing the little girl in “School of Rock” opposite Jack Black in 2003.  She headlines her own television show, stars in movies and has even released an album.  Cosgrove’s character Margo is the backbone of the three girls in “Despicable Me,” and she takes care of the other two.  Margo tends to be too realistic with her sisters, occasionally popping their bubbles when she feels it is needed.

The villain, other than Gru, is Vector, who is played by Jason Segel, who we know as the smooth guy from “I Love You Man” last year.  In “Despicable Me” he is Gru’s arch nemesis with a soft spot for cookies.  Vector out smarts Gru on occasion but doesnt think twice about his actions. Segel is hard to recognize in the film because Vector is pretty uncharacteristic from his normal personality. Segel described on his website that playing in an animated movie was freeing:

“All of a sudden you get to be something that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a 6′ 4″, kind of lumbering dude … all of a sudden I could be 5′ 3″, wear an orange jumpsuit, and be nerdy. You know in real life I’m, like, SUPER good looking.”

“Despicable Me” hits the audiences’ hearts from all angles.  It has the bad guy who isn’t as hard as he makes himself out to be alongside the three cutest girls the silver screen has ever seen. Even though I haven’t mentioned it before, the utterly hilarious Minions who help out Gru almost steal the film. The Minions speak a different language, but it is still easy to connect to them and even want to take them home.

All in all “Despicable Me” is a fun movie that brings any audience member back to childhood.  If you have younger siblings or kids please take them to watch this film; it will not disappoint even for a second and will give them something new to talk about for weeks.

Walking by booth 118, the rich earth-tone metal work combined with stainless steel ramps and falling marbles caught art enthusiasts’ eyes, but the true attraction came from the clinking and clanging as gravity forced the balls down through the artwork.

Artist Jeffrey Zachmann stands with his kinetic art July 3 at the 20th-annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Photo by Luke Powell

“I don’t think we need to go anywhere else today,” Rebecca Knapp, a Denver landscape architect said. “My 5 year old is transfixed! Who needs TV? We just need this in our living room.”

According to Zachmann, the kinetics of the piece work simply by gravity. Several marbles, or other spheres of similar size, are placed at the top of the piece on a stainless steel ramp. From there the balls go through a series of twists and turns while dropping from ramp to ramp until they reach the bottom of the piece where they wait patiently for a motorized lift, such as a basket, to bring them back up to the top.

It appeared like a mini rollercoaster, except these pieces have an artistic touch with varying metals creating contrast and depth in the background.

Though all of the stainless-steel ramps are created from brand-new materials, the other metals are usually scrap-metal found in junkyards. According to Zachmann, one of the larger pieces on display was created from an old corn picker found in a scrap yard. After the ramps are complete, Zachmann then adds the different pieces of scrap-metal as he sees fit.

As a child, Zachmann created similar pieces out of dirt outside his house. When studying ceramics at Morehead State University he attempted to create tracks for marbles to fall down; however, according to Zachmann, clay shrinks and cracks and is therefore unreliable. From there, Zachmann moved on to using metals. At his third art show he displayed his work at the Smithsonian, and he said it just took off from there.

Zachmann has pieces on display and is known worldwide. He said his most notable piece is on display at the Brisbane Airport in Australia. That particular piece is about 10-feet high, six-feet wide, took almost six months to create and has been on display for just more than a year.

Another notable Zachmann created is stationed at the children’s museum in Pueblo and is 12-feet tall.

Smaller pieces, such as the ones that hung from the walls in Zachmann’s booth, are anywhere from two to four-feet tall and two to four-feet wide. According to Zachmann, all pieces are one of a kind, handcrafted by himself and can take anywhere from two days to two weeks to create. However, larger piece, such as the ones in Australia and Pueblo took months to assemble.

Children watch Jeffrey Zachmann's active art July 3 at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Photo by Luke Powell

“I just love doing this stuff,” Said Zachmann.

Zachmann attends many art festivals throughout the year across the nation and enjoys it the most when art enthusiasts travel to visit him.

“It always amazes me,” Zachmann said. According to Zachmann, visitors from places such as New York and Wisconsin will show up randomly to see his pieces.

Zachmann, however, said what truly inspires him is clients contacting him years later to describe all of the new things they are still discovering with the pieces he created.

Zachmann has had a display six years at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, although not consecutive. He attended in 2009 and placed third in metalwork; previous to that, however, it had been several years since his attendance.

Zachmann hopes to return to the festival next year for a seventh round of displaying his kinetic art. Zachmann believes the festival is one of his favorites to attend.

“There are great people who both attended and work the festival,” Zachman said. “It’s a lot of fun to be here and people buy art!”

The problem is Shyamalan, who undisputedly had complete control over this film as director, producer and writer.  Before “The Village” viewers got ecstatic about Shyamalan’s movies and flocked to the theaters like sheep.  Shyamalan has hit the threshold with these films so instead of audiences getting excited about his productions they now wince in pain a little when hearing about his involvement.

“The Last Airbender” is not a total flop by any means, but with a $150-million budget, more is definitely expected.  The visual effects are great especially, in 3-D, and the fighting choreography is top notch.  The young actors pull off the fight scenes fairly convincingly, but the acting in this film is sub par to say the least.

One of the main enemies in the film, Prince Zuko, is played by “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel.  In Slumdog, Patel is mind blowing and even took home several awards and numerous nominations.   But in “The Last Airbender,” Patel is just another cast member under the direction of Shyamalan.  With the weak screenplay and awful direction of Shyamalan, Patel is forced to water down his performance to fit the rest of the movie.  It is a sad situation because audiences have seen both Shyamalan and Patel at their best, but neither could deliver in “The Last Airbender.”

“The Last Airbender” has the possibility of becoming a great trilogy like “Lord of The Rings” but not without better direction and screenplay.  For children this movie will be enjoyable unless they are big fans of the original Nickelodeon cartoon.

The characters look almost nothing like the original cartoon characters, and the character personalities don’t exactly match, either.  Shyamalan went out of his way to cast anything but Asian actors and a majority of Indian actors and extras, all practicing Kung Fu.  Dante Basco, who is the original voice over for Zuko in the cartoon, was interested in playing Zuko in the film, but was ignored by Shyamalan.  Basco is now boycotting the film for opening weekend, stating on his personal blog:

“It’s not fair at all; the tables are tipped unfavorably for ethnic actors.”

The last thing to touch is the retrofitted 3-D added to the film after its full production.  The 3-D in this film is totally unnecessary and takes away the clear and realistic technology we have come so far along with in the film industry.  Unless a film is made to be in 3-D all it does is make the film look like we are watching it out of a VCR.  After watching “Clash of the Titans” and “The Last Airbender” I say death to 3-D unless the movie is filmed with 3-D as a fore thought or it is a computer graphic cartoon for kids.

The film is based on M. Night Shyamalan’s  “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” an animated-television series — not to be confused with James Cameron’s ” Avatar” — which aired 60 episodes from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon.

For thousands of years, four powers have divided the world into equal nations: the Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. In each group only a few individuals, called Benders, have the ability to control their element using magic or martial arts. The nations coexisted peacefully until the Fire Nation initiates a war to control the world. Only one person is left who can manipulate all of the elements and stop the Fire Nation. But the Avatar has disappeared.

A century passes, and there seems to be no chance of stopping the Fire Nation’s conquest. Until waterbender Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), happen to find the lost Avatar who has been encased in an iceberg for 100 years. The last airbender, Aang (Noah Ringer), is a twelve-year-old boy who must learn to master all of the elements, stop the Fire Nation’s rampage and restore order to the world.

Rated PG for violence, “The Last Airbender” is a live-action movie filled with fantasy and adventure. The film spans 95 minutes and is available in 2-D and 3-D. Check theater listings for times, including early 12:01 a.m. screenings the morning of July 2.

The film “Invisible Voices,” which debuted June 21, 2010, captures the essence of those who have to live with their disability and reveals the confusion, depression, everyday struggles, tears and even laughter.

While some of the cast members’ disabilities were caused by accidents, others were born with their disability or suffered a worsening of their condition over time.

Billy Allen, Sandy Lahmann, Rick Modderman, Rebecca Shields, Kevin Peti and Kelly Tobin all live in Colorado and make up the stellar cast of “Invisible Voices.” It is easy to associate them among the bravest of the brave for sharing their lives. From their family and friends leaving them, to their willingness to succeed, each of their stories make them powerful beyond measure.

Rick Modderman, who worked for a Wall Street-based brokerage firm, has lived with his paralysis for the past 22 years. Growing up as a child he led a normal life. He loved to party and played golf regularly. In high school, he played competitive golf and even planned on going pro.

One night, he and a friend decided to ride motorcycles in the dark. As Modderman caught up to his friend, he suggested they take a ride through the golf course where he worked and often practiced. These were roads that Modderman knew all too well so they agreed to go.

While riding along the golf trails, Modderman noticed the roads were darker than he thought. His friend had already sped along and was no longer in sight. He pushed his bike, trying to find his way back onto city streets, but his tires lost traction causing him to lose control of the bike.

As the bike fell to the ground, Modderman’s legs touched the back of his head, breaking eight ribs, and causing multiple lacerations, as well as paralysis.

It would take Modderman years before he could finally overcome the pain and depression and acknowledge the mobility of his lower limbs was gone forever.

Twenty-two years later, Modderman is now a regional sales manager for a medical-supply company based out of Denver.

“I would not wish to walk again, but for everyone that isn’t confined to a wheelchair [should] have to live life for three days in a wheelchair so they would have a new respect for the man or woman that has to spend the rest of their lives in [one],” Modderman says whenever he is asked if he wishes to walk again.

Rebecca Shields has lived her entire life legally blind. Throughout life she has managed to make a way for herself all on her own.

When her first son was born, the hospital threatened to take him away because of her disability. She refused to give her baby up for adoption and wouldn’t leave the hospital without him. The doctors kept trying to tell her it would be an unsafe environment for a newborn baby because both parents were blind.

No matter how hard they tried to coerce Shields into putting her child up for adoption she refused. Using the only option left, the hospital allowed her to take her baby home and assigned a social worker to do a follow-up report after the baby was released into the custody of both parents. When the social worker arrived she was completely amazed.

“This is the cleanest and safest house I’ve visited all week,” she said.

The social worker commended her for her courage and never returned. Since then, Shields has birthed two more kids and adopted two, as well. She manages to provide for her family, giving them the essentials that are needed for survival: food, water, clothing and shelter. She is undeterred by her disability but driven by it to accomplish more.

Her oldest now lives alone in an apartment and attends college. She has two that are in high school and one who is in junior high. She married twice, provided for her children and herself and she even took the time out to get herself a service dog named Rizzo.

“It’s time to take care of me,” Shields said.

“Invisible Voices” helps those who do not struggle with a disability to better understand those who have to live with disabilities every day.

To get your copy of “Invisible Voices” go to: Invisiblevoices.org and enter special code ADA2010 to get the special price of $25 until July 15, 2010.

My husband and I were running to the Barnes & Noble off Colorado Boulevard last week. As we pulled into the parking lot I noticed a line coming from a newly built shop that stretched down the sidewalk and around the corner. I pointed to it thinking, “What is that?” before a child like shriek came from across the car — it was my husband screaming, “Oh, Pinkberry! It must be new!” Sure enough it was, brand new as of May 27, 2010.

I decided to return, without my husband, to Pinkberry Frozen Yogurts in hopes that it would be my icy delight for the summer, and I can honestly say I am glad I did. It’s the perfect indulgence for cooling down on summer days and also a trendy and enjoyable place to hang out, no matter the weather.

When I first arrived, the line was so long the door had to be propped open with a bungee cord, strapped to a nearby trash can, in order to keep it open.

I had never experienced frozen yogurt before. I personally love ice cream and gelato so much I have deliberately avoided it; but, with the snazzy modern music coming from inside, the fun, chic design of the store (not to mention the smiles on each person’s face in line) and the idea of a cold treat, I had to give it a go. It took 30 minutes to get my mini chocolate frozen yogurt with kiwi and strawberries, but the richness of the chocolate blended with the tart flavors of the fruit was absolutely magical.

I realized that everyone in line was smiling because of the end result; no matter how long the wait, it would be worth it. My mini frozen treat was finished all too quickly, and I found myself wondering, “Why didn’t I get the large?”

If you need a cold cure from the summer heat, as most do, then feel free to crawl out from under that rock and join me in line at Pinkberry; with more than 20 different topping choices and six seasonal yogurt flavors, you’ll find the perfect combination to suit your taste buds, feel cooler and experience a cold treat unlike any other.

You can luxuriate in Pinkberry seven days a week from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. at the Glendale location on 1000 S. Colorado Blvd. or on the 16th Street Mall.

I do not condone diets, which is why My Fitness Pal is great!

Step one is to sign up and enter your goals, current weight and some personal information if you want to. The site is set up like Facebook, you can upload a photo, make friends and tell everyone “what’s on your mind.”

You can also see your friends’ statuses, as well as the goals they have reached; for instance, “Jane Doe burned 295 calories while walking for 60 minutes at a 3.0 mph moderate pace,” or “Jane Doe completed her food and exercise diary for the day and was under her calorie goal.”

These blurbs are good motivators to see what other people are doing to stay healthy.

Step two is to enter the food you have eaten throughout the day. Simply type in a food like “pizza” and about 30 options pop up, such as “Pizza Hut hand-tossed pepperoni” or “Papa John’s thin-crust veggie.” Then, enter the amount and the site will tell you how much one serving is. You can then see how many calories you have consumed as well as carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Step three is to enter your exercise the same way. Type volleyball in the search and three different options pop up like “indoor court competitive,” “outdoor 6v6” or “beach volleyball.” Simply type in the time you played, and the calorie counter will tell you how many you have burned. Then your log will automatically update the amount of calories consumed and the calories burned giving you how many calories you have left for the day.

This site is great to help you understand what and how much you eat every day. There are also tools like iPhone apps and body-mass index calculators. There is a community tab where you can meet people your age, in your area or with the same goals, which is another motivational tool.

I highly recommend this website whether you want to lose weight or stay in shape. In the end, it is all about eating right and exercising, and this site makes those steps much easier.

Check out the Wellness Woes blog

To better prove my point, I will tell everyone reading out there what this humble food writer does for wages: pizza. Although I will not disclose the name or the location of the local restaurant at which I’m employed, I am proud to say that it does have good pizza. Yet after a day of slinging slices or kneading the dough there is nothing further from my mind than consuming pizza. At times, it is just ugly, misshapen and unappetizing. It becomes a conflicting and confusing turn-off for a pizza fanatic like myself.

So, when a truly beautiful pizza comes along, everything changes. The flame is rekindled, the craving is coaxed out and the beauty must be tasted. This is where City, O’ City enters, swiftly clarifying any pizza confusion one may have.

As a vegan-centric restaurant that is often misperceived as a trendy coffee shop, it is hard to have any definite expectations about this eatery. On one half, there is a bar, but parallel to that is a cozy area for reading and conversation. One of the chipper waitresses could offer you a steaming cup of coffee and a gluten-free cookie. Another could interest you in a “Max” veggie burger with a sweet Session Lager. This is the yin and the yang of City, O’ City. Undoubtedly it keeps drawing people in, vegan, vegetarian or neither.

However, after one dining experience it is easy to see City, O’ City’s centerpiece. It all comes down to the pizza — the gorgeous, gooey pizza. Take the Urban Cowgirl, with chipotle marinara as the essence, then pineapple, green peppers, cilantro and onion rings as the flavor enhancers, it tastes as exotic as it sounds.

The Bismark stands out nicely as egg is infused with caramelized onions and arugula to create a rich, zesty entrée. For $11, anyone can have the Bismark in a 10-inch size. Other prices range as high as $23 for an 18 -inch pie, and diners can build their own outrageous masterpiece for the right price.

Because the mainstay of processed pizza won’t be changing anytime soon, eaters should really start asking themselves, “When was the last time I saw a really attractive pizza?” The era of subjecting our senses to bland tasting and unsightly cardboard pies must end. Understand City, O’ City’s imaginative approach, stop in for a taste and finally cry out, “Pizza, O’ Pizza! I sanctify thee!”

Music, food, shopping and people of all ages, races and sexual orientations — welcome to PrideFest 2010! PrideFest celebrated its 35th year in Denver June 19 -20, and hundreds of thousands of people gathered to help celebrate and advocate for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community.

A young boy entertains a small crowd June 20 during the 35th-annual Pride Festival. The festival, said to be on of the top 10 pride festivals in the country, attracted more than 300,000 people over the weekend. Photo by Steve Anderson

“I’ve been [coming] here since I was 21. This is my fourth PrideFest, [and] I just love everyone getting together for one big party. It’s really neat seeing everyone come together like that.” Grant Scobel, 24, said. “It’s an expression of, in a sense, freedom. It’s enjoyable and a way to meet nice, new, interesting people.”

This year some celebrated their first trip to PrideFest. Hali Noftsger, 16, said, “I love being able to dress [in colorful cotumes] without people starting [stuff].”

Members of Henrys Salon ride on a float June 20during the 35th-annual PrideFest parade in downtown Denver. The parade and festival attracted more than 300,000 people over the weekend. Photo by Steve Anderson

Activities included a family field day, live entertainment, parades, an erotic art exhibit, karaoke and body painting.

“We (the Genders and Sexualities Alliance) had a table set up last year, but it’s fun to [just] come out and meet new people!” said Jeremy Vanhooser, a senior at Metro and an officer for the GSA at Auraria.

“I come to PrideFest because, it’s PrideFest!” said Paul Frazier, a Metro graduate who is currently getting his teaching degree. “It’s the only time I can be myself and see other gay people. It’s nice seeing a lot of people who are proud of the fact that they are gay and proud of who they are.”

Two spectators, who wish to remain anonymous, watch the end of the PrideFest parade June 20 atop of the The Yearling near Denver Public Library. Photo by Daniel Clements

Civic Center Park was home to this gathering of friends and advocates, and people from all over came to join the festivities and support the GLBT community.

Heather Draper, communications and marketing manager for The Center, a nonprofit community center dedicated to providing support and advocacy for the GLBT community said, “The event went great. We had huge crowds both days. I’d estimate 100,000 people came Saturday and 200,000 people on Sunday.”

This year’s parade was the largest in Denver’s PrideFest history. The Center, a major sponsor of the event, chose 24 grand marshals to be in the parade representing the different decades of GLBT activism to show how far the community in Colorado has come, Draper said.

A stretch limo from LimosEtc rolls down Colfax during the 35th-annual PrideFest parade. The parade drew more than 200,000 spectators and participants to Denver. Photo by Steve Anderson

“Over the years it has become easier to come out, and a lot of people straight people come as well,” Draper said.

PrideFest continues to be a free event in Denver, unlike many other cities, which helps keep people coming, Draper added.

Every place has their urban legends, and Staten Island is no different. As a kid in the 80s, living in Staten Island you knew the urban legend of an escaped mental patient who lived in the tunnels under the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution who would come out at night and snatch little children. Or at least, that’s what your parents told you so that you would behave.

Though details may differ from family to family, you knew he was out there to take you away. This is the story the directors of “Cropsey” want to share with filmgoers.

Directors Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio both had grown up on Staten Island. Though they didn’t know each other, they each knew different versions of the Cropsey legend. They chose to look into the stories, attempt to find the truth and film this documentary.

In 1987 Jennifer Schweiger, a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, went missing and the community worked together to find her. The “boogeyman” from Staten Island seemed to be real. Schweiger was just one of five children who disappeared over the decade, and the community wanted answers.

Though the evidence in Schweiger’s case was circumstantial, when they found Andre Rand, a homeless man who lived in the woods around the abandoned institution, the neighbors pointed to him. Once they found Schweiger’s body buried in the forest where Rand slept, authorities felt it was enough to put him away.

During the filming, Rand was to be tried for another disappearance that happened 20 years earlier, so they actually had recent footage of him and contacted him during the trial. Rand is downright frightening. He had some of the scariest eyes in history and it’s quite clear that he is not all there. Why wouldn’t you blame the crazy guy with the psychopath eyes? One witness for the current case said, “He’s a creep. Just look at him.” He’s crazy so he must have done it.

It’s always interesting to research urban legends and see what parts of them may be true. However, ignorance is bliss. Some of the more disturbing parts of the film aren’t of the kidnappings but of the footage from a television exposé about the institution before it was shut down. To see the mentally ill children in that situation was truly heartbreaking. The fact that it took 10 years after the exposé to close it down was worse.

The footage of the filmmakers walking through the building at night is comparable to the likes of “The Blair Witch Project” except this is real. When different details such as the possibility of Satanists being involved in all the kidnappings start popping up, the viewer is left to question whether the right person is in jail or if he’s the only one that should be.

These people just want closure in their community and lives, and it’s hard to see if they will ever get it. Is it possible that the real Cropsey is still out there and they just haven’t found him yet? It’s difficult to look away from the film because you might miss part of the story. It would be a sin to miss this real-life mystery that keeps the viewer guessing.

Two metro students find the diversity of Denver a reason to call it home

Running out of gas may set a damper on a road trip for most people, but for two queer women it was destiny.

Between the cultural meccas of L.A. and New York City sits the diverse melting pot of Denver, a city where Metro students Allegra Powell and Kara Anthony found a place to call home, where they could be themselves.

Allegra Powell, front, and her girlfriend Kara Anthony embrace in front of a Pride flag June 23. Photo by Daniel Clements

Powell and Anthony met at a Betty Desire drag show at Rumors Cabaret in Bellingham. Powell said she looked across the room and caught the eye of Anthony.

“She was this absolutely gorgeous drunk girl staring at me,” Powell recalled with a laugh. Anthony blushed slightly with a smile.

To make what Powell called a “cheesy romantic story” short, they chatted on MySpace a couple days later, went on a drive together and instantly clicked.

A year later the couple decided to take all their money and go on a road trip to Georgia. When they ran out of gas in Denver on their way back to Washington, they decided to stay in Glenwood Springs with Anthony’s parents and later moved to Longmont. Deciding they wanted to go back to school, they applied to Metro and moved to “the first apartment [they] found on Craigslist” in Denver, Anthony said.

“Denver is the first place I’ve lived where I felt OK to just be,” Powell said. “I don’t have to put on a front. I don’t have to be anything else. I don’t have to try to impress anyone or anything like that.”

Anthony added that she felt safe in Denver and has not been “bashed for being who [she is].”

Joined by hundreds of thousands of other people, Powell and Anthony took part in festivities at Denver’s 35th-annual PrideFest celebration.

“When we first got there it was really nice to just walk around and see how many people actually showed up,” Powell said. “The different outfits — everybody dresses up. There was this adorable little boy with balloon wings, and he just made my whole day.”

Powell said PrideFest was a colorful event with colorful people — literally. Some people dressed up in elaborate and brightly colored costumes, some pushed the limits wearing barely more than pasties and others wore their everyday clothing; everyone expressed themselves and illustrated the diversity Powell and Anthony have found in Denver.

Powell said she can see how some people might feel uncomfortable with the flamboyant costumes and lack of clothing, but jokingly said after being “oppressed for [so] long it’s a wonder they’re wearing anything at all.”

This was their second time attending Denver’s PrideFest. Powell said she has also attended events in Seattle and Bellingham.

“It’s pretty cute,” Powell said of Bellingham’s Pride celebration. “They get really into it. And bless their hearts they really try. Downtown is a block long if that says anything.”

“It was just such a relaxed environment,” Anthony said of Denver’s celebration. “It’s great to see how everyone can come together and have so much fun and just be themselves.”

Local artist draws inspirations from the ups and downs in life

In the far left corner of the brand new BOOM Gallery on South Pearl Street, bright bursts of orange and patterned fabrics cut into teardrop-shapes sprawl like a lily pad over the concrete floor, shooting wildly up the walls and baseboards in all directions.

This untitled installation is the newest of 16 pieces created by Suchitra Mattai specifically for her surreal Spring 2010 exhibition, Hypomania.

Artist Suchitra Mattai poses in front of one of her "psychological and topographical" pieces of art June 22 at BOOM Art Gallery on South Pearl Street and Louisiana. Photo by Luke Powell

The title Hypomania refers to a limbo-like psychological state during which a person can experience the effects of mania illustrated by the emotional dualism of bipolarity.

“I found it to be an appropriate title for this body of work because the pieces explore the relationship between the psychological and the topographical,” Mattai said. “The intense colors, fractured landscapes and distorted realities are meant to relate to this particular psychological state.”

Mattai’s conceptual perspective of bipolar disorder stems from her personal experience with the condition. The puzzling scenes and settings in her collection allude to devastating natural disasters which are interwoven with associative symbols of powerlessness and confusion — a relatable, moving interpretation.

Mattai spent many hours developing her untitled, free-form piece into the characteristic cornerstone of her exhibit, spotlighting her dominant themes of disorientation and abstraction.

“I’m most excited and most critical about that piece,” she said.

A lifelong artist, Mattai began her professional career in 2003 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with her Master of Fine Arts, specializing in painting and drawing. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings, a bimonthly exhibition journal that showcases only 40 painters per issue.

Additionally, Mattai was accepted into the Drawing Center’s Viewing Program and Artist Registry in New York. She has shown her art in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Denver.

“I love her work,” said Wynne Reynolds, a Denver artist also represented through BOOM Gallery. “Her palette is so interesting to me. I don’t consider my own colors to be bright, but, these really bright, bright greens and brilliant oranges are just striking to me.”

Full of electric colors, Mattai’s paintings are like vibrant dreams where detached thoughts blend together, creating harmony and vision in chaos.

“My wife’s work has … kind of engaged a playful dialogue between these disparate concepts,” said Mattai’s husband of eight years, Adam Graves, a philosophy professor at Metro. “She uses abstract landscapes but tries to imbue them with certain features that have a psychological bend.”

Graves, acting as Mattai’s most supportive yet harshest critic, actively discusses her art and helps her to develop her inspirations cohesively.

Coupled with their two sons, Devananda, 5, and Dhilan, 2, family and motherhood has absolutely impacted the imagery of her art in the liberal utilization of fairytale elements and mythical structuring.

There is no single inspiration from which Mattai operates. The central elements in her work are drawn from a collective bank of her memories, folklore and popular culture, which she codes in her own language of symbolism and translates to the canvas in exciting, energetic and thought-provoking forms.

International transience is one deep-rooted explanation of influence over her work. Mattai has lived in Guyana, India, Canada and the U.S.

“Living within multiple cultural spheres has placed me in a state of disorientation, and I want to express both the positive and negative effects of this,” said Mattai. “The landscapes are often from places I’ve visited or lived in, and the ornamental elements are intuitive but rooted in South Asian textile designs.”

Mattai’s work can be viewed on her personal website, suchitramattai.com and purchased at boomgallery.com.

The man is Salim Hamdan and they are asking the identity of his wife and daughter. What could be more frightening than being interrogated about your loved ones?

A scene from Laura Poitras' "The Oath." Photo courtesy of New Directors/New Films.

Hamdan was a driver for Osama bin Laden, and he was in prison for his alleged involvement with the September 11, 2001 attacks.  It is Hamden’s innocence that is so disturbing, as he is also the first man who faced the controversial military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay.

Hamdan’s brother-in-law, Abu Jandal, is the central protagonist in the film as he tells his stories from his taxi cab and his home in Yemen.  As one of bin Laden’s former bodyguards, it is Jandal who introduced Hamdan to bin Laden in the first place.  Jandal seems like a warm, loving father, a truly religious man and caring person — not at all the kind of person you would believe would have anything to do with terrorism.  While Jandal lives with his wife and family in Yemen, Hamdan waits in prison, going through some questionable interrogations, writing letters to keep in touch with his family.

It is Hamdan’s letters that act as a ghost as they are read in voice-over through the film. Though Jandal is stoic throughout, he obviously carries the burden of his brother-in-law being in prison. Jandal’s current life is featured against press footage of Hamdan’s trial and his fight with the Supreme Court on his civil rights and prisoner treatment.

Jandal is difficult to read as he does a number of television interviews. His opinions seem to differ on who he is speaking to and, seemingly, who may be watching.

While he flip-flops on his opinions, he also tells an outright lie to one of his customers about the camera in the taxi.  He discusses how he has left the Jihad; however, he feels he still has a position where he should educate about it.

One of the scariest moments in the film is where he is speaking with some young men about Jihad.

“Why does Sheikh Osama love the guys, and why do they love him? Because he treated them like his sons, and they treated him like a father.  A lot of youth missed a father figure.  But they found it in bin Laden.  I was one of those men.”

It’s difficult to believe that bin Laden could have any humanity at all with the damage that he has done, but he served as a mentor to these young men.  He filled a gap in their lives.

“The Oath” is a civil rights movie first and foremost. Director Laura Poitras allows you to question the protagonist but lets you see his humanity at the same time.  She shows you how our country was looking for justice but allows you to see that we don’t always go about things the right way.  It is an open-minded view into the 9/11 attacks where she tries to show you all sides of the situation and gets you thinking about who we all are.

“The Oath” plays at Starz FilmCenter June 18-24.

Fortunately for the youth of Denver there is Rainbow Alley.

“Rainbow Alley is a drop in center for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) youth ages 12-21, open year round, Tuesday-Saturday,” said Rainbow Alley Program Manager Andi Lyons.  “We provide regular support groups, social programs like dances and drag shows and education ranging from healthy sexuality to leadership to LGBTQ history.”

Since the young people who attend created Rainbow Alley, they are the ones who shape the activities.

Every June, Denver produces one of the biggest PrideFest celebrations in the country, and the youth community is not left out; Rainbow Alley hosts Youth Alley every year.

“Youth Alley started three years ago to provide a distinct space for young people, 12-24, who attend PrideFest,” Lyons said.  “The area has games, booths and resources that are geared towards youth, providing HIV testing, youth stage entertainment, a party on Saturday evening specifically for youth with food and a DJ and a safe space to hang out while at PrideFest.”

Youth Alley was created by a coalition of groups who noticed more and more youth at Pride who needed a more unique space to enjoy the weekend.

“We also wanted to create a space that was drug, alcohol and smoke free for young people who do not want to or cannot participate in these activities.”  Lyons said.

This year Youth Alley is featuring a “Neverland” theme and is expecting a larger crowd than ever.

“We will have a stage with programming on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, booths with games and prizes, HIV testing, a Saturday evening party with free food, photos and giveaways,” Lyons said.

Rainbow Alley is just one more little step in helping kids get that extra lift that they need to help understand how important they are to their familes and the community.

For some, it is a sense of accomplishment, and for others it is simply about who they are.

PrideFest will celebrate its 35 years in Denver June 19 and 20. The event celebrates both the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and what they have accomplished.

Alexia Gayton waits for the Denver PrideFest Parade to start Sunday, June 28, 2009, at Cheesman Park. Gayton rode on a float by El Potrero, a Mexican restaurant and night club located in Glendale. Photo by Leah Millis

“PrideFest is a weekend where the GLBTQIA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and allies) community and their families can come together to celebrate pride in who we are as human beings and also have a lot of fun doing it!” said Lakewood resident  Dave Adams .

It’s been 36 years since the raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York City. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the first parade and festival to celebrate the liberation that Stonewall began for the GLBT community.

For many, it’s a celebration of friends, even if they themselves are not specifically recognized.

“I am going to PrideFest to show my support to all of those people in the world that get up every morning and have to fight just to be who they are,” said Denver resident Nicole Dukups. “Even in this day and age there is still discrimination, and PrideFest is just a small step to opening peoples minds to help end it.”

While the GLBT community still faces discrimination, groups like PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), act as a strong support support system.

“I have always gone to events in support of the GLBT community even though by definition I am straight,” said Denver resident Natasha Alekzander.  “I see gay rights as being synonymous to the women’s rights movement. Gay men, and men in general, are called derogatory names whenever they take on any type of femininity. So that means being feminine in and of itself is a bad thing in our culture. Gender roles affect us all.”

With so many different people supporting the community, it is bound to be a good time with nothing but love and support surrounding Civic Center Park.

“It is like a holiday for GLBT people,” said medical student Josephine Brissette.  “It is a special event where we can go and feel safe, meet up with friends we have not seen in a while and show support for each other.”

PrideFest is a time to celebrate every person, no matter who you are.

“I will go for the sense of equality, the idea of celebrating who you are, in whatever form that may be,” said Denver resident Brian Son.  “A day of enjoying life, taking in the beautiful weather and being open.”

Most experienced moviegoers would tell us younger generation movie watchers it has been decades since Hollywood produced a western film. After watching “Jonah Hex” it is impossible for us to disagree.  What happens when you have mediocre actors, an inexperienced director and terrible writers?  You get “Jonah Hex,” the hands-down worst film of the year.

Megan Fox in "Jonah Hex."

The actors in this film prove to viewers why they can never be taken seriously.  Megan Fox has already started the timer on the bombing of her acting career, but this film will cut the red wire and bomb it in advance. Fox shoes how unimportant she thinks acting is to being a movie star.  She plays a hooker in the film, which is unbelievable because of how amazingly gorgeous she is.  It’s hard for audiences to connect with her character because the writers forgot to explain why she is in love with Hex or what her purpose even is.

Josh Brolin plays Jonah Hex who is a rugged confederate army traitor helping out the American government.  In “No Country for Old Men” we all cheered for him while he ran from a notorious killer.  In “Jonah Hex,” however, viewers want the main character to fail just so the movie can end. Brolin tries his best to carry the film on his back but fails to say the least.

Simply put, “Jonah Hex” is awful.  This film should have never been made and makes me wonder how much money Hollywood producers have just sitting around waiting to be wasted.  If you don’t believe me, send your worst enemy to this film and see how much more the situation escalates afterward.  “Jonah Hex” is the longest 72 minutes ever recorded on film.

I not only dislike the film, but the fact that this film was even approved to be produced by filmmakers.  I don’t understand how this film has passed through so many people’s hands without being cut from being shared with the public.  “Jonah Hex” should anger its viewers because it is a direct attempt for Hollywood producers to rob viewers of their money for an exchange of 72 minutes of garbage. We must demand better from Hollywood so we never have to experience a film like this again.

In 2006 it was “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift;” in 2008 it was “Never Back Down” and “Kung Fu Panda.” Towards the end of the film the main character goes from being zero to hero and makes an incredible comeback to become the drift king, tournament champion or savior of the village.

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in the 2010 remake of "The Karate Kid."

I know I’m missing a million other films that have a similar plot, but for me 1984’s “The Karate Kid” was the original.

Yes, the 2010 “The Karate Kid” is a remake, but the plot almost exactly reflects the original Mr. Miyagi version. Because it is, similar viewers won’t be disappointed. What makes this movie better than the original film is Will Smith’s son is the main actor.

Jaden Smith blows the audience away in this film.  Ralph Macchio as the original “The Karate Kid” was weak to say the least; the only thing that saved him was the great onscreen chemistry with Pat Morita.  But Smith has chemistry with everyone onscreen, which reaches far beyond chemistry into well-rehearsed skill.   Smith is far from riding the coattails of his father and mother, who are both blockbuster stars, but “The Karate Kid” is going to show Hollywood how much money the Smith household can bring to a film when hired.

Will and Jada Smith produced the film and promised to keep the film closely related to the original.  The Smiths showed audiences that remakes could be done well if delivered well.  “The Karate Kid” delivers its audience great acting, great writing and top-notch producing.

The only downfall I could find was Jackie Chan’s performance.  In “The Karate Kid,” Chan tries his hardest to play a decrepit man who can barely move.  But he’s freaking Jackie Chan!  No matter how much you pay Chan he can’t play a normal old man who doesn’t kick ass.  It’s a little too much to ask the audience to believe the former Bruce Lee stuntman can’t kick butt all day everyday.

When going to this film expect excellence.  It is a remake I know, but it was put together so well, and the actors perform so convincingly.  “The Karate Kid” is definitely not a hardcore-action film; it’s more of a film you can take the whole family to — little ones included.  Most family films you go to bore the major demographic, but “The Karate Kid” hits all the nails on the head.

The four city blocks of Larimer Square were packed June 5 and 6 with thousands of pedestrians tip-toeing between the large squares of chalk art pieces, stopping every so often to point with awe at an artist and their creation.

Stephanie Andres talks to passers-by as she draws a self portrait June 6 at the eighth-annual Denver Chalk Art Festival on Larimer. Photo by Tiffany Kassab

For Manea Von Griffyn, a chalk artist, poet and spiritual leader, this was her fifth year at the festival, and she spent the two days re-creating a piece by Leonid Afremov titled Blue Rhapsody. According to Griffyn, she chose this piece because she wanted something colorful. Griffyn’s re-creation was only a general inspiration, as she put it, because the original painting used oil, and chalk does not work quite the same as the original medium.

Griffyn’s work has also been found amongst the concrete of Auraria Campus. She has created many pieces on campus for different events, her most recent piece being a portrait of a Metro Student Government Assembly presidential candidate C.J. Garbo and vice presidential candidate David Crumbaker in April.

Griffyn enjoys participating in the festival each year because, according to her, she doesn’t like to be isolated, and with her love for art she can share her passion for people and chalk art at the same time.

“I’m addicted to chalk art,” Griffyn said.

The Denver Chalk Art Festival is hosted each year by the Larimer Art Association, a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to promoting art awareness and education to the Denver community, while also creating cooperative art programming for up-and-coming artists. In order to gain donations, the artists at the festival were sponsored by varying businesses in the Denver metro area.

Nini Eckels, a chalk artist who also paints pet portraits and works with art restoration, had three squares with chalk art creations in order to increase her sponsorship.

“The sponsors are the big guys,” Eckels said.

Eckels believes that due to the economy, people can’t or don’t wish to participate in charitable organizations; the festival provides a way for the community to participate in a charitable event without having to donate unless they wish to.

However, according to Eckels, the best part about the festival is the participation from children. Eckels believes children are lacking art in school, and the festival is a great outlet for children to view and create art.

Manea Von Griffyn sits in shock after spilling chalk dust over the corner of her newly finished piece June 6 at the Denver Chalk Art Festival. Photo by Tiffany Kassab

“The kids are really getting the benefit from it,” said James Brinkman, another artist working with Eckels.

The Denver Art Festival provided a sectioned-off kids corner where children could create their own chalk designs free of charge. Along with the four covered pavement blocks of Larimer, the festival provided different types of entertainment like wine tastings and different kiosk that sold hand-blown glass and other amusing merchandise. Also, for the first time, the festival had a stage with many live bands provided by the Denver Theater District.

The festival attracted art enthusiasts from all over Colorado. Steve Grant and his wife Stephanie, both having a passion for different forms of art, journeyed down from Longmont to see the chalk creations.

“This is amazing talent and we love that visual and musical art are combined,” Steve Grant said referring to the live music. “Most people think that art is dead, but then thousands of people come out to see it.”

Debbie Freiheit stands in front of a piece re-created by ManeaVon Griffyn, a chalk artist, June 6, at the Denver Chalk Art Festival. Photo by Tiffany Kassab

Both artist and enthusiast had the opportunity to vote on a square they thought to be the most outstanding, and awards, plaques donated by sponsors, were handed out on the final day of the festival.

Though most artists want their creation to be recognized, for some artists like Eckles, who has returned to the festival seven years in a row and produced more chalk designs in order to gain more sponsorships, this event was really about creating beautiful art pieces, sharing those pieces and giving back to the art community.

Using the voices of Will Sasso from “MADtv” and Molly Shannon from “Saturday Night Live,” the show brings to life the trials of the Hellman family on Earth. “Neighbors from Hell” follows a family of demons who are sent on a mission by Satan to Earth to stop the company Petromundo from drilling into the center of the Earth, where Hell is located. Along the way, the family deals with crazy neighbors and being in a new place where they can’t use their powers.

Created by the producers of “South Park” and “Madagascar,” this original series lacks originality. The show makes the world’s customs seem outlandish, while the family’s customs are normal, similar to “The Addams Family.” Following the same lines of the new-neighbor motif, the Hellmans try to act normal, feel they don’t fit in and struggle with being in a suburban area. It keeps characters types of the social teenage girl, the father who’s missing a few screws, the rude boss, the strong mother and strange grandpa. Even more of a rip-off, it uses the character similar to Brian the talking dog from “Family Guy” with the family pet, Pazuzu.

The show does have moments that will make you chuckle. For instance, Baltahazar tells the family to watch shows like “The Cosby Show” and “Family Ties,” to learn how to act like humans, then turns to Pazuzu and says he should watch “Alf.” For the most part, the humor is similar to shows like “Family Guy” and “South Park.”  The show repeatedly relays the message the family is from hell with parodies like hex messaging for text messaging and of course just by the family’s name.

If you like shows like “Family Guy” and “South Park” you will like the this show. It seems like the faces are different but the story lines and character lists are same. While the show does not use vulgar language, it has the same dry humor as “Family Guy and “South Park,” which can be taken offensively, so viewer discretion is advised.

You have just walked into Immersion, an art show  in north Denver that combines music, water, light and sculptures to create a “multi-sensory experience like no other,” as the event’s tagline read.

Immersion takes place at the Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery and is a collection of art from husband-and-wife team Dorothy and Mel Tanner. Mel Tanner died in 1993, but Dorothy continues to create art and celebrates it at shows.

The event begins with a 30-minute guided meditation followed by a blast of techno music and drinks from the bar to enhance the viewing of the vibrant art.

Angie Johnston, 25, said she heard of the event on Facebook.

“I love the art; I could look at this stuff all day long,” she said. “I like the way they are three-dimensional and lit up. When you get far away it looks like one picture, and when you get closer it’s a totally different picture.”

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe some of the pieces in here,” Kyle Signs, 22, said.

They both agreed the meditation helps to open one’s senses for better viewing of the art.

The lady behind the art, Dorothy Tanner, is a Brooklyn, N.Y. native. She and her late husband established studios in New York City, Miami and the newest studio in Denver.

Tanner said Immersion was created for people who honor spirituality and positive change.

Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery offers a variety of shows and events incorporating the art of the Tanners. The studio can be rented and can easily be turned into a dance floor with a DJ and drinks to encourage a party atmosphere.

For more information and a list of upcoming events, check out Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery’s website.