Denverite recently published a neat little piece on the Federal-Colfax “cloverleaf” interchange. If you have ever lived in the Denver metro, you’ve probably passed over or under this interchange. It’s a rare bit of transit infrastructure: neither Colfax nor Federal are interstates or highways, so the exchange always comes as sort of a surprise. An … Continue reading On the Federal-Colfax cloverleaf
Category: Cultural Comment
On the winds of Wyoming
Despite working for a design firm with an office in Wyoming and loving John McPhee, I’d forgotten this passage from his seminal Annals of the Former World: The most inclement stretch of [Interstate] 80 is east of Rawlins where it skirts the top of the Medicine Bows, where anemometers set on guardrails beside the highway … Continue reading On the winds of Wyoming
On doing stuff on NFL Sundays
I never noticed it when we lived in New York City, because there were just too many people living too many different kinds of lives. But out here in Colorado—where it’s a little more mono- and a lot less multi-cultural—I notice it: A lot of people disappear on Sundays in the fall. I offer that … Continue reading On doing stuff on NFL Sundays
On a slice of downtown Denver
I took a walk in Denver today. Just a 10-minute circuit of a few blocks near my office, in the southern corner of downtown near the Civic Center. This is a rather bleak part of the city—and one become only bleaker post-COVID. In following local politics, the concerns about downtown Denver sometimes seem a little … Continue reading On a slice of downtown Denver
On celebrating eight years as a cat person
My wife and I celebrated eight years of cats this week—we adopted Lizzie and Jane on 9/11/15 and I have been a cat person ever since. This was a little weird because, before adopting two kittens, I was a dog person. I had my doubts about cats. I had no cats growing up, only dogs. … Continue reading On celebrating eight years as a cat person
On what a music critic can do
I have a weakness for music criticism. I find myself…easily convinced. A compelling review can send me listening through an album multiple times, even when I’m certain on first listen I don’t like it. Knowing this weakness, I try to keep in mind a few things that a music critic may aim to do: Change … Continue reading On what a music critic can do
On construction everywhere and nails in tires
While waiting at the Discount Tire today to replace a tire that had gotten a mail in the sidewalk, I watched—aghast—as five people after me wandered in with the same problem. “Colorado roads!” joked the manager. “I live near an intersection with construction sites on three corners,” the customer replied. “Construction is all around me.” … Continue reading On construction everywhere and nails in tires
On talking to people you don’t know that well who are wearing sunglasses
Is something I don't like. The post could probably be as short as that—wouldn't that be fun?—but I feel like the emotion deserves at least a little explication. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to trot out a favorite (but overused) expression: The eyes are the window to the soul. Besides the expressivity of the … Continue reading On talking to people you don’t know that well who are wearing sunglasses
On watching an R-rated film on a commercial flight
I was on the plane when I saw a man slit another man’s throat. On someone’s iPad, of course—but it was still pretty shocking. I’m old enough (though barely) to remember when in-flight entertainment was still a thing. When screens dropped down from the overhead luggage compartments and showed popular, inoffensive films during flights. The … Continue reading On watching an R-rated film on a commercial flight
On living somewhere without a sense of place
I didn’t know that a sense of place was important to me until I moved to Colorado a few years ago. It’s an odd premise—a sense of place. It’s hard, impossible even, to define precisely what I (or anyone else, for that matter) means when invoking it. But however we try to pin it down, … Continue reading On living somewhere without a sense of place
Taylor Coe 