Day One
August 25th, 2008 – 11:14 AM by James Lileks. . . or day six, or four, or ought, depending on how long you’ve been here. Officially, Day One. For most, the fun begins today, and the hangovers begin tomorrow.
Or so the National Journal’s special convention edition warns us all. A special editorial tells Denver n00bs that it takes impossibly long to get intoxicated at this altitude. Apparently the body metabolizes alcohol more slowly up here, so people keep pounding ales wondering when they’ll kick in. Eventually, they do, of course, and then spins and moans of regret, followed by the blacksmith’s chorus in the morning.
>We should come up with our own variant for the RNC – warn people that our northern latitudes make the body metabolize beer so quickly they will have to buy two instead of one. It’ll do wonders for the trade.
>I can vouch for the usual effects of coffee, though. Coffee works just fine.
Denver is an impressive city, and to tell the truth I’m somewhat nervous about how the Twin Cities will compare. Turns out Denver has a pedestrian mall as well. It was jammed. Picture the Nicollet Mall twice as long, packed, and full of actual stores and restaurants from start to finish. Since the RNC won’t be anywhere near the Mall, it’s going to look rather thin. And there’s nothing around Xcel in St. Paul that compares to the dining and drinking options near the Pepsi Center. Why did we bid on this? What were we thinking?
Yes, I know, calm down. We’ll do fine.
Sunday was interesting – between the roving protest down the Mall and the chance to wander around the Pepsi floor and watch Katie Couric pick stuff our of her teeth before going on. Note: if ever you want to be famous, consider being Katie, standing under the lights, working out a fragment of recalcitrant broccoli, with dozens of star-struck people holding up camera phones to take a picture. That’s fame. Or course, being paid millions is part of fame, too. We ran into Chris Matthews, who seemed taller than expected and just as rumpled as expected; people were taking cellphone pictures of him as he spoke on a cellphone. I took a cellphone pictures of the people who took the pictures of him.
Today? No idea; we’re just making this up as we go along. Maybe some man-in-the-street stuff, although we’ll probably do it on the sidewalk so he doesn’t get hit by a car. Or a pedicap: lots of rickshaws around here. Do we have rickshaws in the Twin Cities?<
No? Dang.
25 Responses to "Day One"
James,
This is great information, and exactly what I’d expect from the Strib.
I know I’m not alone wondering what Katie Couric, and Chris Matthews are doing, if fact, I believe Katie’s rating are about where your paper’s ratings are.
How about some meat instead of coddling what few remaining readers you have?
I guess you could begin by asking the candidates to be a little more specific when proclaiming “change.”
I would like some meat, too, but I’m worried about the effects of Denver’s elevation on my metabolism. Will I already be wolfing down my fifteenth Big Mac when I realize, too late, I’ve overdosed on beef?
Oh, Mr. Grant.
You may not have notice but, Lileks is a humor columnist. If he is not funny, criticize that.
Really?
Why would he be sent to report on the DNC?
Why not send someone from the strib who is qualified like……..well, nevermind.
Hey BG Bear, oh fellow Buzzerati…
Fargin’ Ditto!!!! : )
Kim : )
James,
My sincere apologies. I didn’t realize you were a “humorist.”
I’m sure you can gather all sorts of funny tidbits from this group. How about the way Biden described Obama before he realized he was getting his ass handed to him in the presidential race, (you know, cute black guy, etc.), or if Ted’s sober enough, maybe he can tell you about that crazy night he killed that woman in Chappaquiddick. So many fun stories to tell.
Michelle Obama has said some really funny things as well, but I sure hope you are able to track down that gut-buster, Rev. Wright. He’s hilarious!!! I love the way he talks about the country I fought for.
It just makes you proud, doesn’t it?
Thanks for the sweet shout out to our fair city, Mr. Lileks. Be sure to appreciate the “whimsical” art that pops up all over downtown. My favorite is the big blue bear.
I’m sure Minneapolis is going to be a terrific venue too. But Denver sure is a nice place to live. We dialed up some nice weather for you too.
Don’t forget, afternoon thunder and lightning showers are always possible in August. But anyone who books an outdoor event knows that…
Hey Robert Grant:
This is not only a humor columnist’s blog. It is pre-convention coverage. Look at the picture. See any candidates?
Please find another house to haunt. About a million blogs will be reporting on the convention. I’m sure you can find more than one whose coverage is more to your taste. Most of us are looking forward to Lilek’s take on things, just as we enjoy Dave Barry’s.
Right, Robert Grant. Get a clue - the damn thing doesn’t even start until over three hours from now - do you think the candidates are lining up to speak to reporters and bloggers right now?
I’m enjoying Lileks’ take on Denver, since I live in Colorado. And most everything I know about the Twin Cities has come from his various writings. I can’t imagine a more entertaining read on the convention than that which will be provided here, and I’m looking forward to it!
Lileks on location
… in Denver
Metro columnist James Lileks will be covering the Democratic National Convention as only he can.
You can read his observations in this blog throughout the day each day, and read his columns from the convention in his column archive.
Wally,
This is from his own blog site. Not sure what you’re trying to say. It seems as though James will be covering the convention, therefore the candidates. One would assume the blog discussions would be political in nature.
Robert,
I’m not sure if you’re trying to engage anyone here in a serious political discussion, provoke an arguement or are just being rude but if you don’t like what you’re reading here, nobody is forcing you.
Note to Robert Grant:
“Lighten up, Francis!”
Why is the Pepsi Center decorated with red stars on the outside?
Robert Grant is just like any of the numerous other right wing trools like dare 2 say it, and others who don’t actually have anything positive to add to the conversation. They just enjoy riling up everyone else and then sitting alone in thier basement revelling in thier awesomeness. Like any other troll on any other site, ignore them and they become fed up, and usually attempt one last large flurry of even more offensive whiny posts to to try with one last gasp to get someone to respond to them making them feel revelent once more. Ignore then further and they go away, however this is normally the step where someone faisl and engages the troll encouraging more offensive, ignorant hate filled posts that in turn make him happer and cause more annoyance to anyone who actually likes civil conversation.
Minneapolis used to have a wonderful pedestrian mall - a mix of art galleries and local restaurants stretching all the way from the convention center through downtown. Then Target and other business interests stamped all over it.
Tanya,
I would like to discuss politics, however this paper’s forum is limited, and one sided.
I would like more details about Obama’s plan for “change.” I’d like to know what people think about Obama’s choice in Biden. I’d like to know if Biden’s previous comments regarding Obama are now not hypocritical.
There are all sorts of questions I have, and would like to discuss them, so let’s all ask some real questions.
I’ll begin; How do you all feel about Obama’s affiliation with Wright, Farrakhan, and Rezko?
“I guess you could begin by asking the candidates to be a little more specific when proclaiming ‘change’.”
What candidates? The convention hasn’t started yet, and neither of the two candidates are speaking until later in the week…
Aside from setting the scene I’m not sure there’s much else to report on from Denver at the moment.
Do any of you think the potential first ladies were asked questions at their respective conventions in the past, or would you like to talk about burger joints?
Pretty sure Michelle’s around. Perhaps you could track down Pelosi, and ask about the approval rating of the Democratically ruled congress, or ask Al Franken about his legal troubles, but from this news source, I expect a lot of fluff.
What a beautiful city. How’s that?
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like our politicians to answer to us, the people they are supposed to represent. I’d like answers to questions, rather than vague and meaningless responses preaching “change!!!!!!”
Oh Robert Grant you don’t give up. Good thing the Buzzerati are here to lighten the day.
Your criticism is rather fluffy indeed, much like cotton candy at the State Fair. I prefer corn on the cob myself.
It’s so sweet and full of butter, I’ll probably wash it down with cookies. You can get a whole bucket of those for cheap and use them as projectiles later–erm, I mean gifts.
Maybe it’s just me, but I demand less “questions!!!!!”
Off topic (sorry, Robert ; ) ),
I was in Minnesota in 1995 - are you saying that the gorgeous downtown, where you could walk from the Convention Center through the “habitrail” (my term) to the rest of the area is now decimated? : (
I loved that part of the city and haven’t stopped telling folks about it for 13 years.
Sigh.
Hey Eric,
Make that deep fried corn on the cob! : D
Eh, whadda buncha whiners. Come on down here to the Springs - my house is 1K higher than Denver and I work at another 1K above that.
Odd that you go down to the Springs but up in elevation.
Seriously tho, drink lots and lots of water.
Kim, if you’re talking about the convention center in Minneapolis you’re in the wrong city. Contrary to what others in the rest of the country seem to believe the convention is being held in St. Paul and it is indeed a seperate city from Minneapolis.
And yes, some of us St. Paulites tend to get a bit prickly about the subject, why do you ask?
And I second that deep fried corn on the cob!
Tanya,
Thank you for clearing that up - I did think the convention was in Minneapolis : 0
We have the same thing here. People say “San Francisco” when the event is actually in “Oakland”.
The funny thing Robert, is that James is one of the few conservative thinkers at the paper so technically it sounds like he would fall on your opinion side. If you want more info on that see lileks.com and look for the screedy comments on the bleat. As for the pre-report - are you sure it is not Arugula in Courics’ teeth? That stuff is sticky…