I look around these days and see all these 24 Hour Fitness, Bikram yoga, Crossfit, LA Boxing and kettle bell gyms and think, “what the hell happened to the days of Arnold, Joe Weider, Frank Zane,…
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“Let’s not stand on ceremony here”
I happened to be watching The Dark Knight Rises again and it occurred to me that The Joker from the last movie gets all the praise (i.e. Heath Ledger’s epic performance).  But the League of Shadows produced a great movie villain in Bane – in my opinion (you never see Tom Hardy’s face as Bane in TDKR but he does a marvelous job). The Bane in this movie was dominant. He dominated Batman. He dominated the movie…the way he should have. Many people don’t realize the history of Bane.  He was haunted by Batman in the comic books and killed his first victim at 8 years old.  It was his fate to be the only person to “break the bat” as he did in the comic books and the movie.  This brings me to the Joker in the The Dark Knight.  You can watch that movie anytime and never get sick of Heath Ledger.  I think the fact that he died right after the film contributes to the mystique.  Both characters commanded both movies and made them what they were. Not to take anything away from Christian Bale. Had the Joker in that movie not been so legendary I think the Bane character in The Dark Knight Rises would be the benchmark of the series. Still, if you saw the movie like we did, the day after the Aurora Theater shooting, this Bane had perhaps even more mystique In the end. “It doesn’t matter who we are.”
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino said: The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts. Describe the ghosts that live in this house: 
Image credit: “love Don’t live here anymore…” – © 2009 Robb North – made available under Attribution 2.0 Generic
Spotlight on Denver Architecture: The Brown Palace
One of our favorite pieces of architecture in Denver is the historic Brown Palace Hotel.
It is the second-oldest operating hotel of Denver and is one of the first atrium-style hotels ever built. Henry C. Brown built the triangular-shaped hotel at 321 17th St. in 1892, and it is the city’s second-oldest hotel, after the Oxford.
The Brown Palace was one of the first to incorporate an atrium-style design. Over the years, it has hosted several U.S. presidents and other dignitaries, including members of the Beatles.
The hotel is located at 321 17th Street between 17th Street, Broadway and Tremont Street/Pl in downtown Denver behind the Republic Plaza. The main entrance door is on Tremont Street.
The hotel was the site of the high profile 1911 murders in which Frank Henwood shot and killed Sylvester Louis “Tony” von Phul and accidentally killed an innocent bystander, George Copeland, in the hotel’s “Marble Bar.” Henwood and von Phul were rivals for (or shared) the affections of Denver socialite Isabel Springer, the wife of wealthy Denver businessman and political candidate John W. Springer. The murders culminated in a series of very public trials.
Tradition runs deep in the Mile High City and the Brown Palace is no exception. Due to a long-standing association with the National Western Stockshow, the Brown Palace has a tradition of displaying a grand champion steer in the atrium lobby during afternoon tea each January. Recently a bee colony was constructed on the roof, helping to pollinate various plants in Civic Center Park planted by the hotel. The honey harvested from the colony is used in both the spa products unique to the hotel and in tea service and specialty culinary offerings. As of 2013 the hotel was up for sale.
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