Posts Tagged ‘home movies’
Mood: | Eh, you know |
Music: | The Mighty Lemon Drops-Happy Head |

Eric Cartman (not real) standing in front of the legendary Casa Bonita (totally real)
Not that you care, but I just remembered this thread on Boing Boing I contributed to almost a year ago. It started off as a spot where past and current residents of Denver (and the Front Range) could post about whatever they loved, hated, or barely remembered from their time spent in our fair city. It’s kind of taken on a life of its own since then and is still going strong (it was posted to as late as yesterday). If you look closely, there are quite a few posts from Bonnie Burton and Kip Winger. For what it’s worth, here’s what I contributed…
Wow, great thread everyone and a really fun topic. I moved here in the summer of ’82 (right before the blizzard) and have lived all over the area (Arvada, Lakewood, Evergreen, and Denver) ever since. Here are some of my memories…
-Yes, KBDI, Channel 12 used to be a lot better, more edgy. Besides Teletunes, does anyone remember the Home Movies show and how they used to broadcast live from the Boulder Mall Crawl? I think it’s a pale imitation of KRMA now.
-Celebrity Fun Center, good times. Why can’t we have a place like that now? I liked the pool and water slides the best, but they had a great arcade. For some reason, I can still recall the arcade’s smell.
-How about the Denver Gold, the USFL team? My folks took me to see Alabama (for some reason) and one of their games one time.
-The UZI store? Wow. I lived with Mari’s brother for about a year. He always had a lot of Foreskin 500 albums around.
-So many great record stores…JB&H was great, I think I’ve been to every Twist & Shout iteration, the first time I went to Chicago as a kid I was like, “Oh, there’s a Wax Trax here too?”
-Casa Bonita, god, the food is so awful but I’m always down to go there a few times a year. We went all the time as kids. I even had my 33rd birthday party there.
-After the Gold Rush-um, OMG, I think that was one of my (then, recently divorced) Mom’s favorite haunts. My Mom really liked KIMN and I really liked the chicken.
-The Gothic, I’m glad it’s still around, but its vibe has changed considerably. I remember seeing Ministry there in 1990 and Nirvana open for Dinosaur Jr.
-The Wet Spot-sooo many post-drunk breakfasts, so many stories. It was sad to see it close down because of the memories and the fact that it was one of the last (maybe the last) example of a California-style diner in Denver. All of the Pete’s restaurants are still really good. Muddy’s and Paris on the Platte (and Poudre) are/were cool. Benny’s is still just about my favorite place for Mexican.
-I was almost too young, but I need to give a shout out to Cinderella City, Nathan’s, and The Organ Grinder. I have vague, but very pleasant memories from each.
Jake Jabbs and Dealin’ Doug are sweet, kitschy parts of our culture but, to be honest, I could go the rest of my life without seeing another one of their commercials. Why does Doug Moreland have to yell all the time?
-Finally, I was away when this happened, but can someone tell me why the Big Three networks stations played musical chairs at some point? I remember how channel 4 used to be the NBC affiliate.
I’m also glad to hear this thread is still going strong…best.thread.ever! Especial thanks to Kip W, I’ve enjoyed your very unique perspective.
Re: #182 – Um yeah…neither Jake Jabs nor Doug Moreland would be classified as men that my mother would approve of. Like I can imagine either of their houses being filled with beyond Trump gaudy gold leaf/lamé everything, numerous stashes of significant amounts of coke, a collection of man-medallions, etc.
Re: #222 – Awww, there it is! Thanks for finding that Bonnie, . I wish they had complete shows up somewhere tho…like the Mall Crawl episodes.
Re: #269 – I was wondering if someone would mention the Kamikaze Klones. They were quite a bit before my time but Jimmy Murphy (the lead singer) served as director for a couple of plays I was in at Evergreen. He somehow convinced me to participate in an improv touring group he put together (The Kamikaze Kids). He had the most adorable children and his wife made really good Kentucky Fried Tofu. Anyway, it was fun to see him again.
And now you know a lot of my childhood trivia…use it wisely.
She and him
Posted Wednesday, July 29, 2009
on:- In: my t zone | near funny
- 10 Comments
Mood: | Grooby |
Music: | Anathema-Eternity Part II |
I eat a long walk for lunch most days. Prior to transitioning at work, I would jog or walk by myself. Since then, I usually walk with a friend from my division who’s office is across the hall.
I like cultivating the mystery as much as the next girl, so let’s think up a nom de plume for my office friend.
How about Fonzie? No, that’s stupid. He’s nothing at all like Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli.
Star Boy? The Captain of Outer Space? Mmmm, no…too Home Movies-y (but I do love me some Home Movies). Nice try though.
What about Ted or Teddy? Hmmm, short for teddy bear, reminiscent of Theodore Roosevelt (our nation’s third-sexiest president), Father Ted, fun to say,…that’s it!
Back to the exposition…My solitary lunchtime adventures always seemed like a sort of exorcism, a time away from my thoughts and demons. Nowadays, walking is an opportunity to connect with another human, laugh, and talk some jive (wow, I actually used “jive” in an irony-free manner).
So, the other day, we’re walking, talking the jive, monkey-shinin’, and Teddy says something about how a person with my old name had something in common with what we were talking about e.g., “Oldname used to walk alone for lunch all the time.” I wasn’t sure who Teddy was talking about. Their are few Oldnames at work and Teddy knows most of them. After a few seconds, I realized that Teddy had spoken of this person a few times before and that this person was probably me. It was an odd realization, a little bit like attending your own funeral. I made a snarky comment about being referred to in the third person then promptly forgot about it until later that night. Later that night (lol), I revisited my snark and unease. I decided that I didn’t like being referred to by my old name when I was standing right there.
Look, I realize that a lot of this is uncharted territory and that, sometimes, rules have to be made up and broken as needed. It’s a weird thing to have to delineate the “before” and “after” in my life and I totally understand if someone messes it up as badly as I do. But still, when you’re talking to me about what I used to wear, I think you can just say, “You used to dress like homeless clown.” In fact, unless we’re talking about something, biologically male, so to speak, I think it’s ok to say something like, “Anna used to love boxing chickens.” I don’t think it’s going to mess anything up.
He wasn’t trying to be mean or insulting, but Teddy justified its use by saying that since I was asking people to accept me as this whole other person, it was only right to clearly separate the “then” from the “hence.” Teddy also believes that people shouldn’t be allowed to change their names or genders on their birth certificates (much more on that later). So, it’s not uncommon for us to “disagree.” I countered with the old, “but I’m still the same person” chestnut. I kind of feel like the same person (ok, not really), but I’m starting to think that’s a half truth, cop out. It’s bedtime (and my cat is snoring, adorable!), so I’ll save the pre- vs. post-transition identity theory for another, possibly nonexistent, point in the future. But, what do you think? How have you handled this situation? Did it get up your nose like it did mine? Do you still feel like the same person?
Yawn. Let’s put a pretty bow on this…when it comes to me and my feelings, logic is always going to have a tough time. It’s prolly easier to just shut up and do what I say. 🙂