Why Denver, and what 'things' are there to do? - Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) Discussion

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Darth_Polyp 19 years ago

Well, I'm not keen on Kerouac's writings, but if that's what this movie's referencing it to, then I still think it fails on that level because I felt this movie had more Film Noir aspirations than Beatnik ones.

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[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Darth_Polyp 19 years ago

Even so, why choose an obscure Kerouac novel as inspiration when the tone of the film is obviously Noirish and more metropolitan than Denver will ever be?

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[–] covenant1978 17 years ago

Obscure Kerouac Novel????

last time I checked, "On the Road" was anything but obscure...

and evidently, when you "Lived and Worked here for awhile", you didnt go to any of the right places..

not going to find any "Noir" aspects on the ski-slopes, which, since you're an out of towner, is where i assume you spent your time...

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[–] Redbeard-5 19 years ago

The title comes from the 1991 song from Warren Zevon, "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead."

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[–] twrage 18 years ago

I had always thought it was ginsberg line, but i thing now it must be the howl line in ginsberg was referring to the On the Road line. Course im not that up to beat on the beat poets and the time table of this or that. Aside for Howl i find the entire movement disinteresting compared to Plath or a bit earlier modernists...nevertheless it IS a beat reference in one form or another.

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[–] phantom2-2 12 years ago

perfectly correct, it's just a cool sounding title. there really isn't anything denver-ish in the movie, it could be cleveland for all the film cares, and nothing in the film has anything to do with the lyrics in the song.

interestingly, netflix cut out zevon's song over the end credits (yet it's still listed in the credits). huh?!?! (great song, btw!)

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[–] cowboytex90 17 years ago

you lived and workd in denver a breif period. that right there means you dont know the character of the city i was born and raised right by denver and it has more noir elements then el paso. you must not have been in denver but boulder or asspen where all the other people that ruin my home go to

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[–] TequilaMockingbird5150 15 years ago

I have been spending time in Denver since 1985 and even have lived there for a year. Architecturally, it is a very interesting city, but it has changed dramatically over the years.

The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. Samuel Beckett

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[–] rpdevo-2 15 years ago

I lived there from July 1990, to late 1993, around the beginning of December 93'. I'm originally from New York, so it was a death sentence for me when I lived there. I lived in Southeast, Denver, they called it Unincorporated Arapahoe County, whatever that means. There was no city to speak of when I lived there, you really couldn't call it a City anyways, absolutely zero to see, or do in their "City". Don't get me wrong, the place is gorgeous to look at, especially Boulder, Manitou Springs, Glenwood Springs, Cripple Creek, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, as well as other spots that I've heard were simply breathtaking like Winter Park, Estes Park, Aspen, Telluride, and other spots. But Denver, downtown Denver and morely all of Colorado has nothing for a hard core New Yorker to wrap himself around. I couldn't wait to get out of there, deadsville, the movie is top shelf, especially Andy Garcia's Jimmy the Saint Tosnia, but there ain't *beep* to do in Denver, except waiting to die sooner or later from boredom!

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[–] Gdub33 12 years ago

Wow you lived here 30 years ago for 3 years? You must be an expert on the city of Denver!

I'm sorry our city wasn't up to your standards. Were the people too nice? Was there not enough trash and grit in our clean city? Was there not enough crime to your liking? Were the people to thin or good looking from what they're like in New York? http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-favorite-cities-20 09/6

Denver has changed very much since 1990 lol. Anyone wishing to visit don't listen to this ignoramus, there are plenty of things to do and the people are very polite unlike New York http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-rudest-cities/2. I'm sure it was sort of boring in 1990, but is a great place to visit now days.

So definitely don't listen to this "hard core" New Yorker and don't let him turn you off from visiting.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-underrated-cities /16

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S you in your A's Don't wear a C and J all over your B's

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[–] drnossal 7 years ago

As a city, Denver has always had a very serious inferiority complex. It has famously been described as Omaha with mountains.

90% of the city didn't exist in 1970. There is little character or history. Go to Aurora and look out over the miles of tract houses that stretch to the horizon. A downtown filled with unvarying, featureless steel and glass skyscrapers built in the 1980s.

Most of the people who live there aren't from there. A Denver native is about as rare as a Boulder Republican. There is no common history or culture. The sprawling suburbs were known by their builder, not their municipality. I don't live in Engelwood, I live in Ken Caryl Ranch. Some lady in Aurora nearly lost her home because she desperately tried calling the Mission Viejo Fire Department when her house caught fire.

Desperate for character, Denver borrowed (stole) liberally from other places. The Rockies lineup was the Blake Street Bombers, aping the Yankee Bronx Bombers. New York's Soho became Denver's Lodo. A portion of the city of Aurora renamed itself after a TV mini-series. The Super Bowl failures of the Broncos crushed a city that so badly wanted to be taken seriously, but instead became the butt of decades of pop culture jokes.

I worked and lived all over that city for 13 years and I still visit every couple of years. Denver has its fine points and there have been plenty of changes in the last couple of decades, notably the gentrification of North Capitol Hill and Park Hill and the revitalization of the northwest 38th Ave neighborhood and the old Lowry AFB area. But the city of Denver will always be the younger sibling trying very hard to look and act bigger than it is, and generally looking foolish by doing so.

"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"

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[–] pro_aris_et_focis 15 years ago

i think since the movie is associated with the mafia (though a very cheesed-out portrayal of mafiosi in general) denver was chosen for its high mob activity during the 1920's all the way up until the late 1970's. there were and still are many crime families residing in northwest denver (sunnyside, highlands).

denver is also low key, its quiet and is nowhere near the murder ratio of cities like dallas, chicago, ny, and memphis and overall is a decent place to live. the wonderful topography of colorado attracts many young college educated people with a love for the outdoors that are from other regions of the u.s. originally.

combine the two, old denver mafia working inside the world of the newer yuppie generation, and it makes for an interesting (depending on your own preferences of course) plot/backdrop you dont see a lot in film.

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[–] mr_superlove69 15 years ago

Why not Denver? Darth Polyp obviously has no clue about the city or it's history. Hopefully he has moved on. One less bozo in this town. I have something rpdevo can wrap himself around! One less New Yorker in this town is fine by me.

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[–] princessrich771 13 years ago

There ain't dick to do in that half ass city, It's home to the Aryan Brotherhood, as a matter of fact, the officials actually encourage the triple K's, and the AB to march around city hall, telling people it's their right to assemble! While I lived there, you could see the entire city of Denver, I guess the call it LoDo, Wow, really creative, you mean something like SoHo, or NoLita, anyways, the Denver nightlife, if it can be labeled as such is way beyond beat, like I said but didn't finish up, you could 'see' the entire city of Denver in half a day, tops! Ain't stugotz to do their, they call it a growing city, last time I lived there, when I asked a local where the closest Subway was located so I could get downtown for some important papers and garbage like that, the clueless cowpatty kicker replied with a, "You mean you want a sub?", or hoagie, not a hero like an New Yorker would call it, those yokels called it a hoagie, anyways, no subway transportation, and this is from experience, when the Broncos lost that sunday afternoon, the ENTIRE state of Colorado went into a deepened state of depression, I ain't lying Son, no b*llsh@ttin'! The place was like a morgue or mussoleum! I remember going food shopping after a Broncos loss, and the entire Safeway Supermarket was quieter than a library with a little old lady at the ready looking for whisperers! Everybody was put into a strange, surreal state of despaired depression! If I wasn't around to witness this, I wouldn't have believed it, if someone I trusted had told me this type of behaviour! That state was Backwards, and I'm quite sure it's just as full 'half-assed' to this very day in time. I do like that when I was there, procuring a gorgeous weaponry of my choice (Glock, H @ K, Sig, Walther PPK, whatever was available at the many gun shows back when I was living there) was a simple step of choosing your iron, asking the freight, and a simple exchange, and Viola! Walking out and about with a beautiful piece of the lovely 2nd Amendment! Thank You Forefathers, God Bless You All! AMEN!!!

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[–] Gdub33 12 years ago

You are ass backwards and an idiot. The officials encourage the KKK? LMFAO! Once again I must restate this, you are an idiot.

Hey idiot, LoDo stands for Lower Downtown Historic DISTRICT, and that is not the entire city of Denver (as it's a DISTRICT). When was the last time you visited 1890? Because yeah, back then that was the whole city. You must be real old and ugly if LoDo was the entire city last time you visited.

Also, we have the light rail, not a subway you idiot. You are a completely numskull for even asking that and the person who you asked that to probably thought you were the idiot you are. You should maybe research a city about it's transportation, etc. before you move to it, just a suggestion. Anyway, You sounded stupid asking, and the person was confused by your idiot question and politely answered accordingly thinking you wanted to eat at Subway fast food restaurant. Next time, ask for the nice and clean Light Rail, instead of the dirty, rapisty subway and you won't confuse the polite Coloradan you ask.

We call it a hoagie, omg that makes us yokels and pieces of trash (very fit and attractive pieces of trash at that). The majority of the country uses "sub" or "hoagie". You need to get out of New York and get away from the Eastern Sea Board once in a while, the rest of the country is pretty amazing, and it might help you open your mind to different culture.

I'm sorry we're passionate about our sports teams, I didn't know that wasn't allowed. I guess having pride and believe in something is a bad thing that we should all be ashamed of. Did you happen to see us Broncos fans act the way you described when we lost to the Jaguars in the '97 playoffs(one of the worst upsets and heartbreaking games in Broncos history)? If not, you probably saw us act this way after a playoff loss or a regular season loss that eliminated us from the playoffs? Because if not you're over exaggerating to a point that's almost incomprehensible...

And it doesn't seem like you've lived here recently because most people expected the Broncos to lose the past few years. The hardcore fanbase from the 90's and early 00's has dwindled, although Tebow had caused a resurgence of die hard Bronco's fans. I guess Peyton Manning likes the passion of the fans. Have fun benching Sanchez next season for Tebow in New York.

A mussoleum? You mean mausoleum, SON? You need a muzzeleum for your mouth.

And for it being half assed, your whole post is half assed and you need to take some English classes. New Yorkers are known for their stupidity, and Coloradans for their intelligence, so it's not your fault. Maybe you could come take an English class at the huge campus in the heart of downtown that three colleges share. Now it takes about a day just to transverse that. Oh and after class you can walk across the street and watch a Nuggets game at the Pepsi Center. Yeah there really is nothing to do in this backwards town, you're totally right [/end sarcasm].

And the winner is...http://www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-cities/2009/city/com pare/denver/vs/new-york

http://www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-cities/2009/city/compare/denver/vs/new-york

Coloradans don't really like ignorant New Yorkers like the princess above me, so if you are like him please don't visit, you're not welcome here.

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S you in your A's Don't wear a C and J all over your B's

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[–] BleedingRed77 12 years ago

Not taking sides as I thought both posts were intentionally funny. But I have to say the winner has to be the person that wrote "You need a muzzeleum for your mouth." That was pretty great. I also like how gdub 33 made sure to include "fit" in his description of Coloradoans(?), as they are perpetually #1 body weight/mass/index of all States in our ever expanding waistline we call USAmerica.

the only thing i could do was be me and keep on keeping on, like a bird that flew...

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[–] Gdub33 10 years ago

Haha I was kinda drunk when I made that post but that dude just ENRAGED me! I am so proud to be from Colorado. It may not be the "most populated/filled with douchebags" cities in America but we have heart. I've been to NYC and I will never travel there again. Chicago is where my family is from yet just because they're a huge city they don't think they are necessarily the center of the universe. They are proud people though, and I guess it's in my genes to be proud of my own city.

I thought my post was pretty hilarious when I made it, thanks for having the same sense of humor as me. And if you are from New York, LA or Boston it's ok, you seem like you have a great sense of cultural identity and can understand the differences this other bozo can't.

Anyway, this was definitely one of my favorite posts, I loved backing it up with polls and facts and just making it funny for people to read but also to rip on the idiot who made the original post.

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S you in your A's, don't wear a C, and J all over your B's.

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[–] BleedingRed77 12 years ago

First off, on a personal note, mr superlove69, did you take your moniker from the great Asspony's song "Mr. Superlove"? If so, kudos to you forever. That is supercool in my book. Finding someone that has heard and loved the Asspony's is rarer to find than someone who knows and loves "Things To Do In Denver..." If that is not your reference source, you should find the record, it's great.

As far as Denver being the title city, I have always thought of it as an interesting choice. Outside of the easy flow of it rolling off your tongue, the alliterative stretch to do so with the 3 D's (Do, Denver, Dead - wouldn't quite feel the same if it was "Things to do in Santa Fe When Your Dead" or Cleveland, or Tulsa or New York. Those actually sound like really bad tourist pamphlets.), but the fact that few if any people associate Denver with mob activity or noirish storylines or even (no offense intended here Denver-ites) rich or expansive culture, make it the perfect setting for this story. Making a mob movie set in Chicago or New York is nothing original and in fact actually brings baggage by way of history, experience, books, movies, etc. with each viewer to the film. No such issue with Denver, and consequently the filmmaker could create his own slang for the movie without a thousand people screaming foul on this post for innaccuracies. Also, it's much the same as having a jheri-curled hit-man referencing Green Acres (and even knowing the name of the pig) and Kung Fu while also quoting the Bible. It's interesting and original.

As far as the things to actually do in Denver...well, run around like crazy to try to save your compatriots' lives, drink milkshakes, and seduce and bed the girl of your dreams...pretty good list, we should all be so lucky...

the only thing i could do was be me and keep on keeping on, like a bird that flew...

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[–] gtbarker 12 years ago

I do wish people wouldn't just blindly state meaningless comments like 'the film failed on many levels' without giving their reasons why. No film is perfect, but I fail to see how this excellent film had more failings than usual.

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[–] kidmansshootingstar1994 11 years ago

Colorado itself is just like New Jersey, in a lot of ways. They are both "Cultural Wastelands". Getting at Colorado itself. Damn place is 'land locked', can't go for Fluke, or Flounder, or Blue Claws. Just how many streets are there in the entire City of Denver? Are they allowed to sell Sabretts? Do they know what Sabretts is? Ain't got no Public Transportation to even get 'Downtown', no Subway system to speak of, dag that would take brainpower, and don't dare tell the Colorado powers-that-be to do something that would benefit them in the present and future. "We've been doing it like this forever, and it we wanna stay ignorant about it, don't y'all Yankees come into our heartland and try and tell us what to do". This is the exact feeling I used to receive when I lived there back there. Them dirtfarmers didn't even know the proper way to tip a waitress, or anyone that worked for tip money on top of their salary. If Martin Marrietta ever closed down, that whole land-locked debacle would cease in a heartbeat! When the Broncos lost, the entire town would go into a state of depression. No lie! I would go to King Soopers to go food shopping, and if the Broncos lost that Sunday, you could actually feel the gloominess, so thick, you could slice it with a knife. In 1990, there wasn't any 'Snapple Ice Tea' to speak of, One Bagel Shop, excuse me, One decent Bagel shop on Havana Avenue, in Aurora. Fools didn't know that bagels were some nice breakfast grub. Pizza was ground zero as far as taste went.LoDo,y'all bull testes eating fools gotta be pulling my dick! Yeah, I only know SoHo, NoLita, DUMBO, Tribeca, so I guess us Easterner's don't know too much. Aside from that state where the motto is, "You don't like the weather, then wait 10 minutes" Cause it'll go from 85 degrees in the early afternoon, down to 40 within a little over an hour! I've lived outta New York, and I made a mistake and major league screwup when I moved to Colorado in 90'. Aside from the fine felines out and about that Colorado can definitely boast, and the awesome gun laws, which with me being silly Pro-Gun, Silly Pro NRA (You'll never stop weaponry foolish liberals, so don't even go for it!!!), and Boulder being a sweet place to haunt down to, Colorado ain't much to bring up!!!

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[–] Gdub33 10 years ago

WOWWW! I have a very huge BONE to pick with you!! Not only do you seem to steal comments from everyone else who posted against Colorado IN THIS TOPIC, but you are the worst idiot I think who's posted here....

Cultural Wasteland? Try a mixture of Southwestern, West Coast, And North US (cowboys and S***). We have a very STRONG culture here! And while it's somewhat mixed between a few different areas of the US, that in itself creates a unique culture.

Streets in Denver? MHMMM Hundreds???? Do you think we're like some small capital like Wyoming or something? You do realize that our Urban Corridor is the 8th largest in the US right? If you take off from DIA in any direction you will see lights from suburbs for 30 minutes as long as you're not going south (and think the average speed of a jetliner).

Sabretts? WTF is that? I don't give a s*** if it's some kind of fish because we sell beef 'round here booi (if you want me to act in YOUR stereotypical fashion..there ya go coooowboooi). BTW, you have Chipotle or Qudoba out where you live yet? YOUR'RE WELCOME! Straight from COLORADO!

"ain't got no public transportation, even to get 'downtown'?" Are you F'ing kidding me!!!! We have one of the best transportation systems in the United States!!!! It's called RTD, and we just opened a lightrail track reaching all the way to the foothills and it will soon be completed all the way to the airport which is in the middle of nowhere because the growth of the airport is expected to grow 50% in the next 20 years. Our transportation system is ELITE. way better than any big city I have ever been to! And btw our airport is in the top 10 busiest airports in the world. With your sickening comments I just hope a twister wipes you away straight onto some pointy mental object. bleeehuuhh is the sound I imagine you making.

Lol Coloradans stupid? Don't got neoowh brainpowah? You complete imbecile!!! We are one of the largest telecommunications and electronic manufactures and creators in THE US! Lockheed Martian has headquarters here you complete waste of human life! Please go up in the message board to see Colorado's ratings from my previous post. Our technology is almost better than ANY other state! Plus ur probably a lil chub bub fat ass while we are skinny cuz we like our outdoor environments 20 minutes away from the city. Living here really is like living at a resort (except for the winters, but they're still beautiful).

Once again, as I stated in my above posts about the Broncos. WE are MAJOR fans of our teams. Sorry in New York that your choice for teams is so diluted you don't care when one team loses or another wins....f'ing pathetic...spoiled NY sh**. We love our sports teams. why do you think were one of what...4-9 states that has every single Major professional sports leagues. Yet we only have us in our medium to large sized market? It's COLORADO PRIDE DIPs**T! We have all the big sports for a reason, we actually care. And there is no difference on Sundays in King Soopers when the Broncos lose unless it's similar to last years heartbreaking catastrophe against the Ravens or the 1996 loss against the Jaguars IN THE PLAYOFFS. No other time than that have I noticed any difference in the citizens. And it is actually a good thing that we are so devoted to our sports team u dumbass.....We will keep all of them as long as we stay devoted and we love our state and our teams. I mean you are ridiculously ridiculing us about caring about State pride..Get your mind checked you scumbug.

We have bagel restaurants all over the place... Our pizza is great. Maybe actually look up at places that have great pizzas before trying one from some gross restaurant. I really blame tourists for not even looking up "best pizza places around denver". There is some AMAZING pizza around here that rivals (yet copies) Chicago and New York, but still it's great.

Snapple is in every single gas station and convince store so you're just a fat gross liar.

You wanna know what I find really interesting about you? Martin Marietta swapped a mine that is close to the land that my family runs their restaurant on. In fact MM owns the amusement park that we have our restaurant on. And they suck d(((!

And I'll give you the weather can change drastically in a few hours...doesn't it everywhere dumbo???? The thing that most captivated my attention is that Colorado gets 300 days of sunshine a year....more than ANY other city in the US!

And btw Aurora is really gross. I piety the day when Aurora and Denver become one like St Paul/Minneapolis.

However you are really mixed up on Colorado. It is such a beautiful place and there is SOOO much to do I can't believe that anyone who visits here couldn't fall in love with it.

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S you in your A's, don't wear a C, and J all over your B's.

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[–] Lothar_Quint 10 years ago

I'm convinced, I want to move to Colorado.

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[–] chilone 8 years ago

Quiet gdub!!! Colorado sucks!!! (wink wink) New York, LA, Chicago, they're all WAY better and you would hate it here *wink* *wink* lol!!

I'll chime in as an ex Angelino. I moved to CO from out in California (I love how everyone says "out" in California and "back" east) in 2005 and I love it! I actually live just a bit west of Colorado Springs where I work but I visit Denver regularly. Colorado Springs is very cool but a lot smaller so as I get the urge for some Los Angeles type vibe from time to time, I head to Denver. I don't know what that NY guy was talking about but Denver is HUGE and very diverse. Being from LA, that's saying a lot. I love the many and diverse museums in LA and Denver comes fairly close. The art museum especially. Lots of great places to eat including world class fine dining, a great zoo and the Denver Botanic Garden is rated in the 10 best in the WORLD and if I'm not mistaken, the most visited in the US. On that note, Pike's Peak is the second most visited mountain in the WORLD!!

And as was mentioned, there really is a LOT to do in CO for just about anyone. The urbanite, sports fans, art/theater/music fans, skiers/snowboarders, mountain bikers, hikers, equestrian enthusiasts, race fans, etc., etc., etc. Colorado outdoors activities are too numerous to list and second to none.

As far as the weather goes, what's wrong with a diversity? I like the changes. It was summer like weather two days ago and snowing today. That beats the crap out of the winter rains in LA that seem to last weeks and the same with the long spells of snow "back" east lol!!

But yeah, Colorado sucks!! Do yourselves a favor and stay where you are. You'd hate it here. I know I do! *wink* *wink*

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

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[–] drnossal 7 years ago

Indeed. Back in the 80s, Colorado residents saved their ire for loudmouth Texans who came to ski, get drunk and act all-around obnoxious "nice state, ya'll, too bad it isn't more like Dallas!"). Colorado, in its usual understated way, retaliated with the Annual Colorado-Texas Tomato War (look it up, although like so much of cultureless Colorado, it is a stolen idea).

By the '90s, it was the Californians fleeing the state they'd made mostly uninhabitable. Of course, once they reached CO, they set up the same sort of policies, with the same results. Legal weed, homeless people everywhere, high taxes, unaffordable housing, Bloods/Crips and the usual blue state hell.

I got so fed up, I moved. To Texas.

"You didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya?"

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[–] Burning_Sosobra 8 years ago

You have such a hard on for Colorado. Calm down already. Take your meds and try thinking and conducting yourself in a sane and calm manner next time. Thanks.

"I hear drinking beer makes you stupid."
"No I'm...doesn't!"

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[–] Gdub33 8 years ago

Yeah I guess I could go smoke some legal weed...😉

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