The Best Architecture of 2010
Boulder County Fire Training Center by Roth+Sheppard
‘Tis the time of year when architecture critics pause and reflect on what the year has meant for the built environment. The Denver Post’s Ray Rinaldi, in “Tough Year, Soaring Looks in Denver Architecture,” believes 2010 will “go down as the year ambition counted just as much as brick-and-mortar success.” I agree with many of Rinaldi’s opinions, expecially his praise of Roth+Sheppard’s Boulder County Fire Training Center, pictured above. What I do have trouble with his appreciation of the new headquarters for Xcel Energy at 1800 Larimer, what appears to be just another 22 story box if you strip away the giant patches of dark glass applied about its glass and concrete bands in a seemingly random fashion. Rinaldi seems to praise the building on its “risk-taking,” suggesting that it might offer hope and faith to what’s to come in Denver. I’m all for pushing the envelope, which this building may or may not do, but what risk have the developers taken? Rinaldi is never very clear. He also suggests that the project takes an approach so “advanced” that “we may not get it for years to come.” Well great for those who get it, but what about the rest of us?
Here’s a sampling of some other year-end architectural reviews from around the country:
“Notes on a Year: Christopher Hawthorne on Architecture” Los Angeles Times
“From Towers to Plazas, a Year of Standouts” Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune
“Positive Changes around S.F. and Environs in 2010″ John King, San Francisco Chronicle
“It Wasn’t All Bad: Bright Spots in LA in 2010″ Frances Anderton, KCRW
“10 Best Architecture Moments of 2001-2010″ Jacob Slevin, The Huffington Post
“New York Architecture: The Events of the Year” Paul Goldberger, The New Yorker
Wednesday’s Links
- Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City: A New Musical
It’s almost 2011 and time for Alastair to get back on the DOD wagon. Seriously. My apologies for the extended absence. I’ve been real “busy and important” as a good friend liked to say. There’s no excuse. In any case, before I head off to San Francisco to rest, relax, and celebrate the New Year, I thought I would devote this long, long overdue installment of Wednesday’s Links to the City by the Bay. Kay, that’s all. Enjoy!
- The New York Times took a recent look at “How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now,” a new exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I’m very much looking forward to checking out this sensory experience which was designed by New York-based architecture firm Diller Scofidio +Renfro.
- Speaking of wine… Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently listed their top 25 brews of 2010. Seems odd. As one might expect, there are a number of Colorado reps to be proud of. But, the Bay Area received its fair share among the top selections. Hmm. Thirsty? I am.
- San Francisco filmmakers Michael Stabile and Ben Leon recently made a documentary short, featuring John Waters, titled The Smut Capital of America. Nice. I especially love John Waters discussing his time in SF in the 1970s, and in particular the bar in the Tenderloin called The Trap. “It wasn’t a gay bar. I don’t know what it was. It was psychopaths and criminals.”
- Looking to spice up 2011? Just ask “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Make Spicy Fried Chicken Bites with Derby Dip, of course! This has got to be one of my Oklahoma gal pal’s favorite recipes. Seriously. I’m going to be spending more time dressing up and staying at home in 2011 and this is just the recipe to keep me and my company happy.
- The world premiere of the musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, which boasts music and lyrics by Jake Shears and John Garden of the Scissor Sisters, will take place in May 2011 at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre.
The Anti-Blizzard of 2010
While Blake has been experiencing the Blizzard of 2010 and San Francisco has had its very own (though under recognized) Fogpocalypse of 2010, Denver has been seeing some rather unseasonably warm and sunny weather… For the time being. Now, I’m not a big fan of blizzards. In fact, I’m still haunted by memories of the Storm of the Century aka the (Great) Blizzard of 1993, a large “cyclonic storm” that occurred on March 12–13, 1993, on the East Coast. Yes, yours truly traveled north to Providence and Boston for Spring Break, unlike those who headed to warmer climes. You live. You learn.
In any case, all this talk and reminiscing of snow and blizzards has made me wish for a little winter wonderland all of my own… Something I will not be experiencing as I head off to the City by the Bay for some New Year celebrating. So whether you’re socked in snow, fog or sun, we hope you are spending this New Year’s Eve with someone you love. Wishing you all the best in 2011!
Blizzard of 2010
Impassable Driveway
View in front through wet glass
Greetings, loyal readers, from the other side of the Blizzard of 2010. Forgive the DOD silence, but I’ve been celebrating Christmas in northern New England. Above is what we woke up to yesterday morning. We were trapped! But trapped surrounded by ample leftovers and endless Christmas cookies; we had more than enough food, water, and firewood to survive. And the power actually remained on, which is rare in a storm like this one.
By this morning, the plow had come through and it was possible to get out. My almost full 8-passenger flight left on time (after the most rigorous airport screening I have ever experienced) and I’m now camped out at Logan awaiting my second, and final, flight home. Despite all kinds of dire warnings about overcrowded airports and delayed planes, things are remarkably calm here. And thus far, no word about my own flight being delayed. Fingers crossed…
She’s Baaaack!
Tabatha is back on Bravo on Monday nights. And of course Alastair and I tuned in for the season premiere last week. Alastair had just returned from almost a week in SF, where he explained that he’d been eating too much. So we decided to forgo our regular pizza and ordered Thai. So healthy. Well, it would have been if we hadn’t included the fried potstickers and deep-fried shrimp in our order. Oh well…
Tabatha in PJs with 3 Phun Sisters
But food was not the main event and Tabatha was! What can I say? Except that she’s as wonderful as ever, if ever-so-slightly softer around the edges (in terms of personality, that is, not somatically). Last week’s episode had Tabatha taking over a salon in San Bruno, CA run by four sisters (well, run by two of them, employing the other two). The softer side of Tabatha: she went to their home (all 4 live together) for a slumber party and we saw her in her pyjamas! All pink. Cognizant of her usual outfits, she asked, “You didn’t think I slept in black, too, did you?” She also confessed a real fondness for the Phun sisters at one point, hoping that they would get it together to run their salon successfully.
What I love about Tabatha, aside from how blunt and profane she is (though I love both of those things as well), is that in the land of vapid reality television, she stands out as intelligent. She has a brain. When one watches a little too much of the housewives of various locations, one encounters a gaggle of women who take themselves very seriously. And are also very seriously dumb. Not so Tabatha. She knows her stuff, she’s funny, and she’s one smart cookie. The fact that she’s also a lesbian endears her to our DOD heart even more. Check her out tonight at 8 PM MST on Bravo.
Gay Ornament Party!
Alastair’s out of town for the weekend so I was hanging out with my gal pals Tony and Tina. We headed to LoHi SteakBar for a lateish supper. After a couple glasses of Malbec we were seated and proceeded to order. Tony had the Highlander Burger (mushrooms, swiss, and Bearnaise); Tina the Rock Shrimp Po’Boy, which our waiter helpfully informed him was not the traditional southern po’boy; and I had the SteakBar Steak with the blue cheese butter. Satisfaction all around. LoHi was actually the very first restaurant that Alastair and I reviewed on DOD a whole year ago. And I ordered exactly the same thing. I should probably branch out a little, but at a SteakBar, one feels obligated to order a steak. Well, this one feels obligated. The fries were as good as I remembered, and quite plentiful. The steak was tender and juicy. The only downside was that the blue cheese butter didn’t really taste much like blue cheese. Same deal last year. Tony ‘n’ Tina were also impressed with the generous burger and po’boy. Bravo, LoHi.
We were then on to the evening’s final destination: a gay Christmas ornament exchange party. Yes, you read correctly. A party hosted by gays where the activity would be an organized Christmas ornament exchange. Each partygoer was requested to bring a wrapped Christmas present. I was deeply skeptical and Tina clearly was having none of it, so Tony bought and wrapped our ornaments. Part of our dinner discussion revolved around activities at parties. Attitudes at the table ranged from tolerance to disdain. You can probably guess where I stood. I am of the opinion that all a party really needs is interesting people, food, and alcohol. Activities not necessary.
Thoroughly Revolting
As it turns out, the party was actually a lot of fun, largely because the ornament exchange only took up about 10 minutes and was not a big public spectacle. Each attendee was given a sticker upon arrival. Your job was then to find the person who had the matching sticker and exchange ornaments with him or her. But it all happened simultaneously so we didn’t have to unwrap before an audience and oooh and ahhh about what was revealed. It was quick and dirty and got you to talk to someone you probably didn’t know. And you got a new ornament. (I gave mine to Tony because he had shopped for mine. And because Tina had broken Tony’s accidentally. Oops.)
Ceviche!
Among the highlights of the party was the food! Chilled shrimp cocktail, a variety of cheese and crackers, a whole ham, chips with salsa and guacamole. Best of all: homemade ceviche. I kid you not. An enormous bowl of it. And it was really delicious. You’d think that my steak frites would have filled me up. You would be wrong. I ate and drank enough to leave me feeling not only full but a wee bit hung over this morning. Recovery has involved watching episodes of House Hunters at Alastair’s house. I call it housesitting.
Hop on the Bike!
Tomorrow is your last chance to ride your Denver B-Cycle before winter is upon us and B-Cycle goes into hibernation for the season. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-40s tomorrow, so hop on that bike and use it for holiday shopping (they come complete with baskets), visiting friends, or just for a loop about town.
Denver B-Cycle, we’ll look forward to seeing your familiar red self about town starting March 1st of next year!
Thoughts on Glee
So the main reason that Alastair and I have been so mute is that we’ve been boring. Not so much dining out or carousing about town. Big A is now in San Francisco so maybe he’ll have some stories to share. Alastair? I, on the other hand, have still not done anything interesting. I did go to Boston for Thanksgiving and that was lovely, but it did not produce any DOD-worthy tales to tell.
I did, however, watch last night’s episode of Glee during my lunch break today. And I had a good time, almost as good as when Gwyneth guest-starred (see above), which I enjoyed much more than I thought I would, not being the biggest fan of GP normally, finding her a little self-satisfied. But I enjoyed last night’s episode far more than the bullying episode that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, which was egregious on any number of levels, some of which I noted, and some of which YOU noted. A few thoughts about this most recent episode:
1. I love it when the show-within-a-show decides not to feature Finn and Rachel (Finchel) so much, because then we get to see other people sing and dance. And sing and dance they did!
2. Blaine, plasticized as he may be, does a good dancing and singing number himself. Two questions: Could it be that Kurt is a horrible back-up dancer? When are these two boys going to get it on? Or is Blaine, far cuter than Kurt, using him for some nefarious purposes? Though that seems doubtful, given the doe-eyed looks he shoots at Kurt every time he sings and the fact that Kurt isn’t getting solos so clearly isn’t being taken away from New Directions to be used by the Warblers for his voice. (OK, that was three questions and then some.)
Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.) and Brittany S. Pierce (Heather Morris) on Ryan Seacrest
3. LOVE Brittany S. Pierce and Mike Chang. LOVE. Love Brittany’s dialogue, love Mike’s cardigan in the final number (too cute!), love their dancing best of all. Want. More.
4. Also loved the Hipsters singing Mike and the Mechanics’ “Living Years.” I admit it; I teared up a little bit. And promptly downloaded the original song to add to my “Old Guys Who Make Me Cry” iPod playlist. (Yes, I have such a thing; maybe I should speak to my therapist about it. Who else is on it, you ask? Don Henley, Steve Winwood, Marc Cohn: 80s pop rock. I can’t explain it; don’t ask me to.)
5. Also loved that Tina got a chance to sing at the end, and with Mercedes, who of course belted it out like she always does, making me smile as I always do (not as much as when she and Santana did Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High,” of course, but that was a moment to be savored for years to come.)
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