USA Boxing

A few frames from the 2009 USA Boxing National Championship.

USA Boxing - Images by Nathan W. Armes

Cheers,

Nathan

Poor Man Mine

"Lately, a hard-rock miner has been little more than a landlord waiting for prices to change.

Tom Treadwell and Al Mosch have waited long enough. Silver prices are setting records these days, and so every shovelful of muck Treadwell scoops from a blocked shaft of his Poor Man Mine brings him 3 inches closer to glory.

Silver futures went up 27 percent in May, the largest monthly gain since 1983, hitting $15.60 an ounce. Economic uncertainty and the cheapened U.S. dollar have pushed both silver and gold to tantalizing highs, enticing multinationals and grizzled mountain men alike to assay old claims and dream big."

Tom Treadwell works to clear mud, rock and broken timber from a shaft in the Poor Man silver mine, which sits high above Idaho Springs. You conquer Mother Earth a little bit at a time and see what treasures she has for you, said Treadwell.

With silver prices now high again, longtime miner and mine-tour operator (L) Al Mosch has re-opened an old silver shaft he owns above his Phoenix Gold Mine in Idaho Springs, CO.

Read the story [ here ]


Cheers,

Nathan

Where the Wild Things Are No More

The heads of large cats sit on shelves in the warehouse outside of Denver.

Specialist Doni Sprague, right, explains the cataloging system used to identify and track each piece of contraband to intern Jen Behrendt, a student at Metropolitan State University.

Elephant ivory pieces from Africa, where ivory is heavily traded in violation of international law.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specialist Doni Sprague holds Saiga antelope horns. Her job is to sort and document the items before wheeling them through the warehouse doors and into a dusty oblivion.

Look at the bag closer and you will see a pillowcase sized plastic bag filled with the horns of over 500 individual antelopes. This small, innocuous and dusty parcel represents a former herd of mammals.

The surrounding industrial metal shelves house hundreds of these bags representing thousands of mammals, reptiles and birds.

"Domestic and international laws protect roughly 5,000 animals against exploitation and extinction, and the National Wildlife Property Repository is the endpoint for all that is caught and confiscated by federal agencies in this country.

Held for educational purposes, future undercover operations and possible use by the Smithsonian or other museums, the items in this building represent, in the words of one agent, nothing less than "the evil in mankind."

The federal government may give the repository a fancy name, but it is really a mausoleum, a tomb for nearly 1.5 million mammals, insects, reptiles, birds and assorted sea life, testimony to one of the largest illegal, if not creepiest, trades in the world -- third behind drugs and guns -- worth an estimated $20 billion annually."

Read the LA Times story by Thomas Curwen [ here ]


Nathan

Westword Music Showcase

The Westword Music Showcase featured over 50 Denver bands and acts on over 10 different stages Saturday afternoon. Here are just two of the bands sampled during the all day long showcase.

The band 'Alan Alda' performs at Bar Standard on Broadway near downtown Denver June 13.

The Still City take the stage at a packed Bar Standard Saturday afternoon during the festival. Thousands of music fans roamed the streets of Denver hitting venue after venue in an effort to catch as many bands as possible.

Cheers,

Nathan

It Takes 250 To Tango

Denver dance club, Tango Colorado, held a "milonga" (or gathering) where about 250 people gathered to dance outdoors in the Cheesman Park Pavilion.

As I've said in earlier posts, I wish that I could dance. And no, the shopping cart does not count.


Shuffling along,

Nathan

Canyonlands National Park - Utah

There is a calm that envelops us as we venture into a remote desert valley.

It’s a calm rarely felt in today’s society. The calm from knowing that your cell phone gets no signal or when you turn your headlamp off the only light comes from the moon.

You leave the world on the canyon rim. It will still be there when you get back, that shit can wait. Turn the phone off and put on some extra SPF.

Canyonlands National Park is one of Utah’s most visited parks, but at night you would think that you’re the only person on the planet.

When morning comes the breathtaking vistas greet you with pre-dawn light as soft as the sand under your feet.

It’s memorizing, but give the soft light a few hours to become harsher, jagged even and you will soon wish for a shady tree or a cool pool to sooth your burning feet.

You scan the parched valley for a shady spot, but you only find the ripple effect from heat reflecting off that once cool and welcoming morning sand.

Harsh and dry, nature is trying to tell you to go away. Plants are prickly. Bugs bite. The sun scorches. Go home.

We knew the desert did not welcome us but we longed to stay longer.

We all needed one more day to drink in the calm.

You can see more photos from the trip [ here ]

Cheers,

Nathan

Senior Prom

For these seniors, the secret to a long and healthy life is found on the dance floor.

Volunteer students from Mullen High School - along with parents and faculty - hosted Denver's active senior community when they celebrated the 16th Annual Senior Citizens Prom in the school's gym.

Hal Cole, 85, dances with Mullen High School junior, Kirsten Hess, 17.

Charles Ghilimo, 89, is penned with a corsage as he makes his way into the prom.

Prom King, Glen Beichley, 92, is crowned at the 16th Annual Senior Citizens Prom.

Al Bruno, 86, and his friend, Elsie Rude, 85 share a light moment as they dance the night away.

Learning to dance,

Nathan

Back To Health, Hoof By Hoof

Farrier Rod Cameron trims the badly overgrown hooves of Topaz, one of 200 mustangs removed from 3-Strikes Ranch in Nebraska, as veterinary technician Katie Luggen soothes the mare Wednesday at Zuma's Rescue Ranch in Douglas County.

Wyomie stands with her colt (hiding behind his mother), Bad Boy Bandit, at Zuma's Rescue Ranch in Douglas County, where six rescued wild mustangs were brought.

You can read the read the story [here]

Cheers,

Nathan

snapshots from mexico

Finally getting around to posting a few images from my recent trip to Mexico and Mexico City.

The following photos are just snapshots, that barely scratch the surface, of a very diverse and growing country at odds with their past while the populace carries the burden of an unknown future.



For centuries, the Mexican people have struggled, many no longer care, but many more fight hard to tell a story of a Mexico that is more than just a drug war, a gruesome headline shouting of the street violence or gringo hot spot for Spring Break partying.

They are proud to tell you of the Battle of Puebla, the cultural bright spots, and the food.

Cab drivers roar with lighthearted belly laughs when you tell them of too much cerveza the night before or when you mix a word of local dialect or slang with a 'proper' Spanish word.

There is so much I will never understand about this wonderful country because I am not comfortable with the spoken word.

The secret door leading deeper into any culture is opened through language.

Finding the key is not as simple as enrolling in a Spanish class at the local community college but for right now it’s the most logical direction and first baby step.

There will be more trips, more Imodium and of course more snapshots that barely scratch the surface.

Cheers,

Nathan

Maggie's Farm

Bob Dylan, giving the suits hell since 1962.

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin' me insane.
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.
Well, he hands you a nickel,
He hands you a dime,
He asks you with a grin
If you're havin' a good time,
Then he fines you every time you slam the door.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
Well, he puts his cigar
Out in your face just for kicks.
His bedroom window
It is made out of bricks.
The National Guard stands around his door.
Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.
Well, she talks to all the servants
About man and God and law.
Everybody says
She's the brains behind pa.
She's sixty-eight, but she says she's twenty-four.
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am,
But everybody wants you
To be just like them.
They sing while you slave and I just get bored.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

Bob Dylan - 1965 'Maggie's Farm - Bringing It All Back Home'

ar·ti·facts

Final Edition. Presses fell silent. Shuttered. February 27, 2009.

Artifacts from an era of booming profits, record readership and huge circulation numbers are all that remain of many newspapers.

Artifacts, be it a copy of a final edition, memories, a yellowed newspaper clipping in the family scrapbook or a now eternally empty rack lining a Colorado street corner are all that remain of the 149 year history of the Rocky Mountain News.

Even as papers fold, many reporters and photographers still fight armed only with a thirst to tell stories that shape their community - be it for a small daily or for a major metro with international scope.

A scoop is a scoop. A great photograph is a great photograph.

Someone garners knowledge from that hard work that leaves those artifacts that we so value.

My thoughts go out to the Rocky staff and those in the community who looked forward to visiting the daily headlines armed only with a curiosity of the world around them and a hot cup of coffee.

***

Below are images taken since the news broke regarding the closure.

Violinists play in the Denver Newspaper Agency building on Thursday, Feb. 26 prior to the awards ceremony for the Society of Professional Journalists. The Rocky won over 35 awards.

The Final Edition, Feb. 27. The back page listed all newsroom staff members as of Final Edition.

The news of the closure scrolls by on a marquee at the Denver Newspaper Agency building Sunday morning. Rental space sits empty below the marquee. Other news of the day noted a rise in unemployment and national economic distress.

The words, 'Rocky Mountain News' and 'Scripps' have been removed from the Denver Newspaper Agency building.

A man reaches for 'The Onion', a free, satirical newspaper early Sunday morning.

Final Editions of the Rocky Mountain News sit unsold, among multiple tabloid magazines.

The words, "Rocky Mountain News', once perched high above Colfax Ave, on the Denver Newspaper Agency building, lay strapped to a flatbed trailer.

Food Stamp Delays

Cindy White-Gant, a 51-year-old disabled former Wal-Mart employee, has waited for a food-stamp card from Adams County since December. With the help of family members she currently has food, for herself and daughter, but not enough to last the weeks between being issued food stamps.

You can read the story [ here ]

Nathan