As a vendor for the “Denver Voice,” Aaron Godfrey is easily recognizable as the soft-spoken kind-faced man who stands in front of Walgreens on the 16th Street Mall hawking the newspaper dedicated to Denver’s homeless population.
But to many passersby, Godfrey is invisible. The unseen. He who shall be ignored.
When photographer Stephen Bostwick was challenged by a friend to take a photo of someone he didn’t know, he shot a portrait of a Denver Business Improvement District employee dressed in a purple shirt, purple hat, purple coat with a purple bike standing next to a purple trash can on the 16th Street Mall.
“I gave him the picture,” Bostwick said about the beginning of a project that would end up in the sold-out book “Not Invisible.”
If “every picture tells a story,” the one on the book’s cover of a buttoned-up business man averting his eyes from Godfrey selling papers from his post as the man breezes by speaks loud and clear. I know the feeling. I’ve done it.
“If you just acknowledge them with a smile, it does a lot for their self-esteem and for making their day,” Bostwick said. “This project has been very rewarding for me.”
Bostwick’s portraits of homelessness are posted in an exhibit (through Friday) at Café Options, 1650 Curtis St., a casual eatery staffed by trainees in Work Options for Women, a welfare to work program that trains women skills for employment in the hospitality industry.
“One thing I always did was that I remembered their names and always brought them a copy of the picture,” Bostwick said about the subjects he captures with his camera. “Through my pictures, I’m able to humanize homeless people. They are not bums. Some of them are not (homeless) or their own volition. They’ve lost jobs or (acquired) bad habits that made them hit rock bottom. It’s rewarding to see those who are pulling themselves out of it.”
Stephen Bostwick’s pictures of vendors of the homeless newspaper, the Denver Voice, are featured in a photo exhibit at Cafe Options in downtown Denver. (Stephen Bostwick photos)
Let go my logo!
When Colorado’s new logo and tagline were unveiled Thursday at The Colorado Innovation Network Summit, Facebook comments lit up the Internet like the City and County building during the holidays.
Denver City Council candidate Roger Sherman posted the new logo on his Facebook and invited comments, most of which were overwhelmingly opposed. Some said our state’s new symbol reminded them of a hazmat warning.
One poster said, “(I’m) quite underwhelmed. Chemical warning label. All it needs are flames on the top and a red strike though it.”
Another said, “I’m disappointed. As a former CDOT employee, I will be sad to see the iconic logo changed on all the trucks :(.”
And a third naysayer said, “Hate it. I am quite angry that the history of this state has been overlooked … Now we are reduced to be a warning sign for carbon monoxide. By the way I think we are stealing from Sugarloaf. Really really disappointed. Considering ‘egging’ it whenever I see it.”
Tami Door, an eternal optimist and head city booster for The Downtown Denver Partnership countered the pooh-poohers, “OK … I will continue my mantra here … I like it. I like the concept of the brand. I like the look and I believe that if implemented correctly it will be an awesome new tool.”
What do you think? Email me at penny@blacktie-llc.com.
Foxy
Chinook Tavern, 6380 S. Fiddlers Green Circle in the Regis University building in Greenwood Village off I-25 and Arapahoe, is the new venue for this year’s edition of “The John Fox Show” debuting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on 7News.
For the first show (head coach Fox will appear via a taped interview because of the Broncos schedule), Broncos Ring-of-Famer and all-time leading wide receiver Rod Smith will join host 7Sports anchor Lionel Bienvenu live from the restaurant.
Each week, different football guests will join Bienvenu and fans will have the opportunity to be a part of the live show.
“Everybody knows the Broncos have an incredible hold on the heart of our city, and this is an exciting way for Chinook and our guests to go ‘inside the huddle’ this season, which could be a very memorable one for Broncos fans,” said Clemens Georg, Chinook general manager.
Ample free parking with convenient access to Chinook is provided at a large attached parking garage.
“The John Fox Show,” featuring the Denver Broncos coach, debuts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on 7News. The show is shot live at Chinook Tavern in Greenwood Village.
Valley girls and guys?
Colorado is fast encroaching on Silicon Valley’s crown as the king of incubators for tech startup companies, according to entrepreneur.com (www.entrepreneur.com/article/227829).
According to the story posted last week, “Four of the top 10 metro regions in the U.S. with the most tech startups are in Colorado: Boulder, Fort Collins-Loveland, Denver and Colorado Springs. That’s according to a report released (recently) by technology policy coalition engine and entrepreneurship research association the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.”
The research defines high-tech startups as “new businesses with a concentration of employees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.”
Here’s how Colorado cities stacked up in terms of metro regions with the highest ratio of tech startups compared to the national average:
1. Boulder
2. Fort Collins-Loveland
3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (aka Silicon Valley)
4. Cambridge-New-Framingham, Mass.
5. Seattle
6. Denver
7. San Francisco.
8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va. Md.
9. Colorado Springs
10. Cheyenne, Wyo.
Subscription drive
Do you know folks who aren’t subscribing to my Blacktie-Colorado column? Say what?
How ’bout if we give them some incentive to sign up. On Wednesday, one lucky subscriber will win two VIP tickets to Denver Food and Wine, the most fun you can have under a tent, from 11 a.m. (VIPs get early admission) till 4 p.m. Sept. 7 on the grounds of the Metropolitan State University of Denver campus.
Here’s the catch: To be eligible to win the tickets, you MUST be a subscriber. On Wednesday, Blacktie’s accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCooper (see, just like the Academy Awards … hee hee), will draw the name of the winner, who will be notified and announced in my Sept. 6 column.
To subscribe, go to www.blacktie-colorado.com/pennyparker. Click on my icon, then click on “subscribe.” VIPs at Denver Food and Wine get a respite from the heat with umbrella-clad tables, fancy fare from The Brown Palace and fine wines in a private area. Ticket value: $250.
The seen
According to a Twitter post on Sunday, Jesse Luken, Colorado Springs native and one of the stars of the film “42” was spotted at the CU-CSU game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High sitting in section 136 wearing a CSU shirt.
Luken is a 2006 CSU grad and has appeared in several popular TV series, including “Justified,” “The Mentalist,” “Last Resort,” “Glee” and “NCIS.” Most recently he played the role of second-baseman Eddie Stanky in the movie “42,” chronicling the life and story of Jackie Robinson.
Actor Jesse Luken, a 2006 Colorado State graduate, was seen at Sunday’s CSU-CU game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Luken appeared as second baseman Eddie Stanky in the film about Jackie Robinson, “42.” (Warner Bros.-Legendary Pictures/D. Stevens photo)
Eavesdropping on a CultureHaus board member to the CultureHaus chairperson: “My water broke, so I won’t be able to make it to tonight’s meeting.”
“Oh, the joys of home ownership!”
Did you hear that I have a new column, “Mile High Life,” in Colorado Community Media’s 17 weekly newspapers circling Denver? Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com. Want to advertise your business here? Contact Trisha at trilind@hotmail.com.
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