Book Club

I went to my Aunt Ellen's Book Club tonight: "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer.

Summary:
It's the non-fiction story of fundamentalist zealots of the Mormon church. Centering his novel around brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty, who murdered their youngest brother's wife and infant daughter in 1984, ostensibly under God's orders. Telling the story of their violent and virulent beliefs, Krakauer also ties in Mormon history from Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young to the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.

Thoughts:
I wasn't familiar with the history of Mormons. I was surprised to read how they were pretty much run out of town after town until they found the unsettled areas of Utah. During the Laffertys' trial the issue arose of determining whether they were sane since they said God told them to commit the crimes. Krakauer quotes a writer from the Salt Lake Tribune, "Saying that anyone who talks to God is crazy has enormous implications for the whole world of religion. It imposes a secular view of sanity and means that all religions are insane."

Boulder - The Sink

I went to the family medicine clinic in Boulder today to build computer carts. It was myself, Leigh and Raj. Afterwards we took advantage of getting to spend the day together and went for Happy Hour at a cool place in Boulder, The Sink. They have honey-wheat crust pizza; it was very good. They were getting ready to film Jennifer Garner's new movie "Catch and Release" the next day. There were set guys walking around checking lighting. A news report said the Sink is going to be a cyclist cafe in the film.

Camping in Aspen

I went camping for the first time in Aspen this weekend. Spent the day wandering around downtown Aspen - what a pretty place! I loved the Victorian style houses and how close everything was.

Yes, that's a picture of me chopping wood. Except for the rain it was a great first-time camping. experience.

Lindy Hop and Zengo

I had found this cool place on-line called Mercury Cafe; they have dance classes almost every night. I tried their Lindy Hop class. You don't have to reserve a spot. Just show-up, pay $5 and take the class. I was surprised how many people were there and that it was a fairly even group of men vs. women.
After practicing some sweet dance moves I went to dinner at Zengo. At Zengo you order a couple of dishes and share among the table. The Szechwan grilled pork loin was excellent.

Tubing in Boulder Creek

To continue the celebration of Kerri's birthday, a group went tubing in Boulder. We drove there together and met up with Hetal at her house. We stopped at the Conoco gas station (1201 Arapahoe Ave) to buy and inflate our tubes. They don't exactly inflate evenly. We then strapped all 6 tubes to the roof/back of a car. It was a funny sight. Had anyone hit the car from behind, they would have just bounced off. We started further up the stream at the more "interesting" section. The trick is to not let your butt sit all the way down in the tube - otherwise when you go over the falls you'll hit the rocks. I'm glad I had been white water rafting before and knew how to navigate rapids and falls. It wasn't exactly the lazy ride I was used to when shootin' the hootch. It was also FREEZING...uh, I mean very refreshing. My only injuries were some minor abrasions on my inner arms from rubbing against the tube while paddling to control my direction. I also lost my sunglasses. I thought I was keeping them safe by holding them in my hand; the water whisked them away quickly. Compared to going on the Chattahoochee River in TN or GA, I was surprised how "on your own" this was. No safety lessons or requirments, just buy your tube and go down the creek. I would definitely go again!

Lime

Went to Lime to celebrate Kerri's birthday.

Classics in the Park - CO Symphony Orchestra

Megan packed an awesome picnic including wine, cheese, bread, blueberries and chocolate. We went to Wash Park and enjoyed a performance by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. My favorite was their performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Being outside and hearing music brought back memories of my summers at Brevard.

Film on the Rocks

I saw "Unforgiven" at Red Rocks. It was the first time I had seen it. The scenery in the movie fit very well with the view from Red Rocks. A breeze was even blowing at the right times. The audience was hilarious - they cheered when Morgan Freeman first appeared on-screen and after some of Clint Eastwood's lines.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Billy came to visit this past weekend. We spent Saturday at Rocky Mountain National Park. The picture is of Alberta Falls. That evening we went to a Rockies baseball game and watched them beat the San Diego Padres. On Sunday we had brunch at the Fourth Story Restaurant of the famed Tattered Cover Bookstore. I highly recommend the "Sweet and Savory Crepes". Three crepes filled with shredded chicken breast, chorizo and chimichurri crema, topped with fresh peach and thyme compote; it was delicious! In the afternoon we visited the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Compared to NYC I wasn't expecting much, but I was really surprised. Their gem/mineral
collection was the largest I've ever seen, you turned the corner and the displays just kept going and going. We saw the "Mystery of the Nile" IMAX show. It was the first time in history a team successfully completed a source-to-sea descent of the Nile. We didn't see a planitarium show, but they are playing the same ones as in NYC.

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival is held every July 4th weekend. I walked through it with Raj and some of his friends. I picked out two artists that really caught my attention:

1. John Harris - He paints a zoomed in view of waves. When you get up close it just looks like lines of blue and white, but further away it could be a photograph because it's so clear.
2. Jon Smith - He paints scenes from inside museums. It's such a cool idea. You get a painting of many famous paintings, plus the inside of famous museums. You don't see pictures of the inside of museums very often since cameras are usually not allowed. I thought this was a neat way of getting a reproduction of a famous painting without it looking the same as common reproductions that many people have.

Hiking - St. Mary's Glacier

I went hiking with my co-worker, Raj, and his roommate at St. Mary's Glacier. It was an easy hike with the exception of walking on the half melted snow without a walking stick. I was amused by the teeanage boys wearing shorts and no shirts hiking up with their snowboards. The one kid must have been new at it because on his first attempt off the pipe he slipped and fell. I think he was embarrassed because he headed down the hill, and we didn't see him again. When we reached the top of the glacier the land flattened out and was covered in Alpine tundra. The hills reminded me of a scene from "The Sound of Music". I was expecting at any second to see Julie Andrews come twirling over the horizon.

Comedy Works

I went to dinner at Buca di Beppo and a show at Comedy Works. The main headlining comedian was from NY and did a Joe Pesci impersonation. He made fun of the Denver cyclists that dress like they're in the Tour de France just to go to the grocery store.