Urbane Cowboy

I'm at an internet cafe. There's a gay man with a purple arm cast speaking a variety of languages into his cell phone, watching me. To see if I notice? To see if I'm listening? Now he's giggling with his super-model friend. Cute cute cute. When you're out, you're out.

We went with a friend to sample a possible wedding venue last night: the White Fence Farm. Closed Mondays. So we traipsed Westward, looking for "the Old Country," an Italian place on Union Boulevard. Closed forever.

And then . . . Red Lobster. It was there, it was open, we entered, we ate, we conquered.

Special evenings are those that seem at first to flirt with frustration and boredom but morph into something memorable and fun. My friend had just quit her job and was in the very rare position of being able to tell her icky boob-watching boss to f*** off when he asked her for two weeks notice. I love it! I almost shot lobster linguine sauce out my nose. Funny how being in the right makes us brave and strong.

My cast-wearing neighbor in the cafe is now singing along (out loud) to "Watching the Detectives." He's here, he's queer, he wants us all to know it.

Mimsy

Twas Brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimbol in the wabe.

Scott and I have been gyring and gimboling all over town, tasting wedding cake. We went to Mulberry's bakery on South Pearl Street. Not great, and no coffee. Not even for sale.

Then we took Scott's mom to do a second tasting at Das Meyer - we tasted a LOT of flavors. But we had a nice, eggy breakfast first. So it was yummy. No headache. It's sure looking like Das Meyer is the place for us. (I've been in touch with Whole Foods but they are not very good at returning calls.)

Now all I need is a dress. Eeeeeeeeeek! Very scary thought for Halloween, no? I wonder what size I'll be in July?

Habeas Corpus

"No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land." Magna Carta, Article 39 (1215). This is the "great writ," habeus corpus. In practice it requires the government to actually produce a defendant and try him in a properly constituted court of law before it imprisons him. It prevents the government from making people disappear.

I read a great article this morning: Is Habeus Corpus a Corpse?, Craig Eley, The Docket, Vol. 29, Issue 9 (Denver Bar Association, October 2007). Mr. Eley makes an excellent point about Alberto Gonzales' treatment of habeus corpus:

Mr. Gonzales' position is that, since the constitution doesn't affirmatively grant the right to habeus, we Americans don't actually have that right. Never mind that the constitution says the government can suspend habeus in times of rebellion or invasion. (U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 9.) But by Mr. Gonzales' logic, Americans also don't have the rights to free speech, free press, peaceful assembly, free exercise of religion, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Why? Because the U.S. Constitution doesn't affirmatively grant those rights. Rather, it states that Congress may not abridge those rights. (U.S. Constitution, First Amendment.)

I love it! What a smarty pants. :)

The Girl that Blows Sunshine Tastes Bad Wedding Cake and Lives to Gripe About It

I generally try to find the best in people and situations. I generally try to find a way to turn a bad experience around, find the lesson learned, accentuate the positive, etcetera. In fact, I've often withheld an urge to say (out loud even) that I am offended by people who take offense at what are really just little annoyances.

But sometimes you just have to vent. So here's my moment.

We went to another wedding cake tasting last weekend. We even dragged along a friend to experience the joy / endure the nastiness. Our experience at Das Meyer may have spoiled us for anything else. Rather than bore you with a long diatribe, I'll just give you a list of highlights:

1) These "cakes" were miniatures that she made especially for us. They were too small, about three bites of each flavor. I had made an appointment a month ago, for FOUR of us.
2) In spite of the tiny size, these cakes were more than adequate for the three of us. Because they didn't taste good.
3) They tasted like chemicals and that lovely "these have been inside a dirty refrigerator for a month" taste.
4) The baker-lady had dirty fingernails.
5) There was no coffee.
6) She told us with pride that all of her fillings come from a can or a jar.
7) She told us with pride that her "whipped cream" frosting had almost no dairy in it!
8) She told us with a bit of patronizing scorn that "quinceneras" like a lot of fru-fru and frosting on their cakes. "Isn't that silly. Yee-haw, how 'bout them silly brown people? Ain't they cute?" (Not a direct quote, but that's how it came across.)
9) The baker simply COULD NOT stop talking about herself, even though she had almost nothing interesting to say. Mostly just complaints about other people.
10) These cakes were about 70% more expensive than Das Meyer's.
11) She gave us plastic forks and presented her cakes on styrofoam.

I'll grant you that number 11 is probably not relevant. But once you get me started, it's hard to stop. Hear that, people? I hate plastic forks and styrofoam. So there. :P

Things That are Good, part 3 - Coffee Houses in Boulder

Generally, in order of my preference and/or my experience. (Related tangents, no?)

1) The Trident! Has wireless! But it has no power outlets (yet). It is, of course, on West Pearl Street. Early mornings the back room is a de facto reading room for scholarly types. At night the population generally shifts to a more youthful but mostly studying crowd. Afternoons, well, it's a tangy little melange of adults: tourists, local shop-keepers getting a fix, philosophy talkers, writers, etc.

2) Espressoria, Pearl Street, kitty-corner to Snarf's. Good access to mostly healthy food. Occasionally jammed with dance students.

3) Caffe Sole in Table Mesa, near Weaver's Dive Shop. "Study room" is awesome, in part because the patrons who use it expect quiet and are willing to enforce it.

4) Folsom Street Coffee, at Canyon and Folsom (remember Dunkin' Donuts? That's the spot.) Unreliable wireless, but there are two or three ethernet ports and they may have a cord you can borrow. Very comfy chairs. Jammed with CU students. If parking is an issue outside seating will be an issue inside, so it's good to cruise past and asess the lot before you commit to the inevitable U-turn around the traffic island on Canyon.

5) The cafe in the Dairy Center for the Performing Arts. Very cold air conditioning. Bring a sweater. Always interesting art. Power outlets are far away from the cafe tables - bring an extension cord.

6) Traveller's Cafe - across from the Pulse and the Boulder Bus station. Chairs are made of chain-link type metal welded together. Perhaps an incentive not to stay too long?

7) Brewing Market - BaseMar at Broadway and Baseline. Never tried their internet. I hear you have to re-log every 30 minutes. Sometimes jammed with law students. Excellent access to food - Wild Oats is right next door.

8) Allison Boutique - Pearl street near Foolish Craig's and Mountain Sun. Tiny. Never tried their internet.

9) Buchanan's on the hill. Never tried their internet. I hear there are limited power outlets - bring a splitter and an extension cord.

And if you're a true fan, apparently there's a blog for wireless coffee shops in Boulder -
http://www.nosenada.org/BoulderCoffee/