Denver Needs A Good Wash Every So Often

Confluence of Cherry Creek and South Platte River at Confluence Park, Denver, 09/12/2013

It has been raining for nearly three days straight now, and at one point the rain was coming down at a rate of an inch an hour, with a number of areas recording 10 inches of rain in the past 24 hours.

That's a lot of rain. How much rain? Well, if it was snow, which it would have be if this storm hit two months later in the year, it would be the equivalent of approximately 10 feet of snow. 

So, yeah, the Denver metro area is getting a bath.

The bad is the danger of flash flooding, which has claimed the lives of at least 2 people in the past two days. The areas north of Denver are really getting hit hard, with the cities of Boulder, Longmont, Broomfield, Thornton, Commerce City, Aurora and a few other places getting drenched to the point that roads have become impassable and non-essential government offices, schools, and businesses shutting down.

The good is the replenishment of lake, river, and reservoir levels (which is also bad, as reportedly 12 dams are overflowing as type). 

This morning I had to go out to east Denver, near Aurora. From my home in Lakewood to my destination on Chambers road, a little over 23 miles, took nearly two hours. The main west to east artery, I-70, was flooded along the right lanes of the highway in several areas, which forced bottlenecks that backed traffic up for miles.

The parking lot of the warehouse had more than a foot of water in it when I pulled in. The truck made it through the small pond to higher ground well enough, but getting through the parking lot to the front door required a bit of hop, skip, and jumping.

The rain alternated between torrential downpour and light drenching for the five and a half hours I was in east Denver. By the time I headed off for home, the rain had let up to a drizzle, which made it much easier to negotiate the road.

Much easier, but not any faster. There were so many detours due to closures I actually had to stop in downtown Denver to take a break and get a small snack. One hour driving 2/10's of a mile an hour is no fun at all.

The rain is expected to continue through tomorrow. Hopefully, everyone who may have been in danger has reached higher ground and the only thing anyone will have to deal with when the storm is finally over will be cleaning up the mess.

Deep Chrome Turquoise

The rain isn't interested in anyone's plans 

For a picnic

Or working in the yard this afternoon

It has a schedule of it's own it must keep

And so it falls

From a canopy of gray it falls

Pooling on the ground, in the streets and in the gutters

Filling up the ponds, reservoirs and lakes

Quenching the thirst of every single blade of grass

And the weeds that were not 

Invited to the party

Gardens become marshes

Trees rejoice 

The oil stains on the asphalt

Become a thousand damaged LCD monitors

Like Jackson Pollock splatters

of deep chrome turquoise

Decorating the drive

Skillet Sizzles, Shinedown Blazes, Carnival Of Madness 2013

The Carnival Of Madness tour was making a stop at Red Rocks on the 10th, and as luck would have it, Brad had scored some choice comp seats. Plans were made for us to meet up after we left our respective places of employment and catch whatever acts had yet to play.

The COM Tour is somewhat of a mini nu-metal festival, and features We As Human, In This Moment, Papa Roach, Skillet, and Shinedown.

Truth be told, I was not too familiar with any of those bands, though I had heard Papa Roach's Scars on the radio, and Shinedown's Second Chance. 

The show got underway at 5:00pm, but being as how I had to work until 6:00pm and had to stop due to a minor accident in front of me at an intersection on the way home, we did not get to our seats at Red Rocks amphitheater until 7:30pm, right after Papa Roach had wrapped up their set.

Which was a bummer, sure, but on the plus side the rain had let up so we could take off the portable-humidifier-esque rain gear and enjoy the fresh cool air of the foothills after a late summer shower.

The band Skillet took the stage just after 8:00pm. As I mentioned I was not familiar with the band, so I decided to take notes on my phone. Here are the notes I took:

Epileptic seizure inducing strobes @8:12pm

Canons shooting smoke @8:12pm

Frontman working the crowd...We're called Skillet...encourages the crowd in a sing along...If you're feeling good, sing...if you're feeling bad, sing...you sound good! @ 8:13pm

Large video screen backdrop...shows video captures that remind of the The Jams Sound Effects album cover @8:14pm

Tried and true video montage @8:15pm

Preaching hope and love to a metal crowd...raise your hand if you're sick, if you're sick of it...@8:16pm

Well dressed band, lead vocalist is looking a little like Billy Joe from Green Day in a black vest and striped tie @8:17

White-clad violin and cello players take center stage @8:18

Has to be the 50th or so band I've heard state that this was their first time playing Red Rocks. Must be a feather-in-the-cap for bands @8:22

Skillet's lead vocalist and the keyboardist doing an Evanescence-esque thing @8:30pm

Video screens show cartoons depicting people using slingshots to overcome hate and fear represented by armies of skeleton/death-like figures @8:31pm

Video is now a girl walking through cemeteries, drowning, being pushed off a cliff by death? @8:32

Video has two ballet dancers one dressed in black one dressed in white @8:32

Lots of images of young girl as victim who overcomes horror movie imagery @8:33

Frontman works the crowd, pushes new album Rise, says next song will be a slow song...says it was written about a girl he knew who wanted to commit suicide...poignant song...slow intro, builds to anthem @8:36

Slow heavy song would work as a soundtrack selection Michael Bay film @8:36

Lead guitarist throws a little Eddie Van Halen Eruption riff into song intro? @8:44pm

Video of the band beating up a clown with red hair, wearing red jumper with white polka dots - WWE wrestling moves and leaps from turnbuckles @8:49pm

Frontman asking the crowd Do you feel like a monster...Mitch Hedburg reference? No it's the song @8:49pm

Frontman thanks his #1 man Jesus. Is this a Christian metal band? @8:53pm

Violin and cello player on risers now rising @8:54pm

Frontman thanks everyone profusely @8:55pm

Those are all the notes I made on my phone as I watched Skillet. It may not be apparent from those notes, but I truly enjoyed the band's performance. I had no idea they are a Christian metal band, all I thought when they first took the stage was that they were a little lacking in tattoos for a metal band, and they were very professional.

The older I get, the more I appreciate professionalism in a band. When I was younger I'd put up with bands making the crowd wait an hour and half before taking the stage, or the band members being too fcuked up to actually play coherently. Now, I much prefer the pros.

The headliner for the COM tour is Shinedown, and they took the stage about 30 minutes after Skillet's set. Here are my phone notes made during their performance:

Holy moley huge jets of flame for Shinedown. Carnival performers on stage juggling flaming batons too? @9:32pm

Carnival Of Madness logo on video screen @9:33pm

Frontman says Colorado make some noise...round of applause for Carnival Of Madness performers @9:33pm

Crowd encouraged to look at person to left, person to right, shake hands with them @9:34pm

Video shown as if looking into a porthole...video shown is a rotoscope of band members fighting at a band meeting? @9:39pm

Drummer has long dreads? Eye black makes him look like Uncle Creepy @9:43pm

Narrator of video is from Great Dictator? Charlie Chaplin @9:44pm

Audience sing along...ever been caught in a sea of despair...put your hands in the air...audience has hands in air as lyrics request @9:46pm

Depression era newsreels? WWII? Vietnam protesters? National Guard rescuers after flood? Tornado? @9:47pm

Singing I took all your pictures off the wall wrapped them in a newspaper something something...I recognize this song, like it @9:50pm

Crowd doing a Purple Rain like wave @9:51pm

Every song sounds like an anthem @10:04pm

Put your fist in air thing looks too much like a fascist salute @10:09pm

Guitarist and drummer showing off some serious skills @10:10pm

Frontman talks about the power of Rock and Roll...Rock was there when you needed it...That one song...Rock saved you time and time again...Rock and Roll is not a genre Rock and Roll is a way of life @10:19pm

Rain coming down pretty hard again @10:26pm

Tesla and Edison in video...seems like tribute to both...most people take sides in that debate...this seems to give each his due...Fritz Lang's Metropolis? @10:33pm

Encore acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man...crowd sing along...call and response @10:39pm

Encore...video has name of Amanda Michelle Todd with birth and death dates...she was victim of cyber-bullying in Canada who took her own life...very dramatic...video is the one she posted on Youtube with flashcards that described her ordeal @10:47pm

Pyrotechnics galore, big finish @10:53pm

Band thanks everyone...says this is not goodbye it's until we meet again @10:54pm

There you go, the notes I made during Shinedown's performance. Again, while this particular style of music is generally not my cup of tea, this band was both professional and very entertaining. I was initially hesitant to attend the show, and in fact I sent a pic to a friend of the stage covered in tarps while a light rain fell when we first got to our seats, with a text sentiment equivalent to "Meh, but I'll put up with it."

But I didn't have to put up with anything. Both bands put on shows far superior to many I've seen by much bigger names. A great time was had, even with the advent of a deluge near the end of the show.

Afterwards Brad and I paid a visit to Jose O'Shea's for a few beers and some bar food. Yeah, we enjoyed the show so much we decided to chance the Jose O'Shea's late night taco bar...may the lord have mercy.

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It...Within Reason (Dreaming Of Flying Doesn't Warrant A Jump Off A Cliff)

If there is one sentence I think would look great following my name, it would have to be "...is not only an accomplished landscape painter, but is also known to have extensive investments in several successful businesses and is a highly regarded racquetball player"

And if asked to choose what sentence I'd like to hear preceding my name, "This years award for best director goes to the man who also took home the award for best original screenplay..."

Everybody imagines bigger and better things for themselves, don't they? Isn't it natural to go Walter Mitty on occasion and create little harmless fantasies about being a hero, a captain of industry, a heavily compensated star-of-the-show, or some such inspirational character?

There have been sound arguments made that it is actually something that must be done, this imagining of oneself as a bigger and better version of oneself, in order to become properly fixated on the goal one wants to achieve.

Visualization is the term used by the multi-degreed professional types. The use of the mind to map out how you want your life to be - I've read quite a few books that suggest that by merely imaging what your life will be when you achieve your goal, i.e., how you'll dress, talk, eat, etc., you'll put yourself on the path to that goal.

It's a technique used by athletes too, so I've read. Again, the premise is to imagine crossing the finish line first or hoisting the winner's trophy or being doused in celebratory champagne, etc.

When I first read of these techniques one of the first thoughts that occurred to me was, "What if every athlete participating in professional football is using the very same motivational fantasy - that of winning the Superbowl. Doesn't it stand to reason that, since only one team consisting of 53 football players wins the Superbowl every year, 1,643 professional football players are not fantasizing correctly?"

Hmm...maybe that could be a new career for me..."Visualization Consultant". I can fantasize like nobodies business, wouldn't be too hard to show a few guys how it's done.

After all, I fantasized about writing this while I was at work today, and it turned out perfect.

Everybody Wins...Sometime

Thinking that you will never write a song as good as
I Will Dare
Imposes limitations that really aren't there
Trying to draw a woman as playfully sexy as Dave Stevens could
On his worst day
Will only convince you you're not any good
Not everyone is going to start in center field
For the Yankees
The world only produces so many All-stars
Some of us have to settle for mac 'n cheese
Instead of Filet Mignon
But as long as you're drawing breath
And eating dinner
You have a chance my friend
To be a winner

So go for it

Beam Me Home, Scotty

Some people think we need to explore space
I say we first solve the problems in this place
Look deep into the night sky and view the stars
And wonder if we have earned the right to leave ours

Those people, the ones who want to ride in rocket ships
And spend trillions of dollars on interstellar trips
Don't seem to notice that this planet is in need of repair
Maybe before we leave we can spend a few dollars here

Me, I don't desire anything esoteric or bizarre
I don't need to go anywhere I can't get in my car 
However, it would be nice to drive on a 10-lane freeway
Going more than 5 mph at the end of my workday

Just Like In The Handbook

When, after a few months of getting to know each other
The time came that they removed each other's clothing
He saw for the first time the tattoo
Of the gun on her thigh
Like that of a dance hall girl in a B western
And she saw for the first time the pithy adage
Tattooed across his right shoulder
"Fortune Favors The Prepared"
So she asked him
"Did you bring protection?"
And he replied
"Of course."
Then, she smiled and put her arms around him
Saying with a mischievous grin
"Looks like tonight's your night, Boy Scout."