- A new book explores the evolution, style, and intrigue of the running shoe. Read
- Here?s a look at new releases. Read
- Colorado Springs will soon have a new place to party. Read
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and Coloradans aren’t off the hook. Read
- Entrepreneur Dan Bilzerian, known as ?The King of Instagram,? launches his next product. Read
- Brand Costa del Mar found a smart solution for Florida’s 640,000 tons of discarded fishing nets and gear problem. Read
- Our editor-in-chief?s hottest hits of the month. Read
- An app with 2,000 trained listeners who aren?t there to offer advice or give feedback. Read
- Don?t wait until Denver Restaurant Week begins to make your reservations. Read
- Chuck Lorre to receive the Art Directors Guild award for cinematic imagery. Read
Calling All Sneakerheads
A new book explores the evolution, style, and intrigue of the running shoe.
In Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture & Cool of Running Shoes, author Brian Metzler delves deep into the stories and hype of shoes and brands that have made running cool?and certain kicks that are collectible-worthy. He examines every facet of this lucrative, innovative, and massively popular industry with insider access, following the rise and innovation of running shoes through major cultural fads, attempts at injury prevention, and techy experiments done in the name of speed and performance.
To research the book, Metzler went overseas to factories where shoes are built and into brick-and-mortar shops facing extinction. Adding to the wealth of shoe intrigue, he interviewed Olympians, ultrarunners, and other celebrities of the sport like Kara Goucher, Scott Jurek, and Deena Kastor, who add personal anecdotes around their own favorites. Metzler is a sports journalist who has tested more than 1,500 pairs of running shoes and has raced every distance from 50 yards to 100 miles.
Coming Soon
Here?s a look at new releases.
With the awards season in full gear, it?s also a time for some fun new releases in film and TV. On the big screen, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn gives new meaning to female prowess with Birds of Prey: The Emancipation of Harley Quinn opening February 7. This long-awaited female-led film will throw you into a seductive, violent tailspin that will feed your need for a strong badass movie, welcoming you back into the DC Comics universe. Releasing that same day is a dark and bloody indie horror flick starring Elijah Wood called Come to Daddy. In the vein of reviving the past, the film Fantasy Island (inspired by the 1970s TV show) will release on Valentine?s Day, and it?s anything but campy. Guests are invited to the most seemingly perfect island to live out their fantasies, but what they?ve asked for is dark and twisted and will push them to their limits. Keep your eyes peeled for the long-awaited remake of The Invisible Man, written and directed by Leigh Whannell. Opening February 28, the film stars Elizabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
Netflix releases Locke and Key on February 7, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You on February 12, and Season 2 of Narcos: Mexico on February 13. Hulu releases the premiere of High Fidelity on February 14, Starz releases the long-awaited Season 5 of Outlander on February 16, and AMC releases Season 5 of Better Call Saul on February 23.
Party With The Gods
Colorado Springs will soon have a new place to party.
Veteran-owned Red Leg Brewing Company is building an $8 million, 14,000-square-foot playground with a brewery, taproom, food court, and outdoor event center on two and a half acres near the entrance to Garden of the Gods Park. The new space for sips is expected to open this summer.
Red Leg founder Todd Baldwin says the project ?cements our dedication to make Red Leg a permanent fixture in our community, not just as a brewery, but as an operation that all of Colorado Springs can enjoy and be proud of.?
Red Leg?s mission is to ?serve those who serve,? and the company is named for the red stripe that Civil War artillery soldiers wore on the battlefield. North of Douglas County, its beers can only be found at Buckley Air Force Base.
Red Leg Brewing / redlegbrewing.com
Heart of the Matter
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. If you?re thinking, Yeah, but not Colorodans, we?re fit folks, you?re not wrong. But that doesn?t get you off the hook. In the Centennial State, heart disease is the second leading cause of death after cancer, according to the most recent data
It?s American Heart Month, and not just because of the candies demanding you to Be Mine. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute teams up with The Heart Truth to celebrate by motivating Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles to prevent heart disease. This year, the campaign centers around four week-long themes: Be physically active together. Eat healthier together. Track your heart health steps together. Manage stress, sleep better, and quit smoking together.
Notice a theme? Together, we?ll figure it out. Because it really is simple. Get it together, get together, and move more.
As little as 60 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity?a brisk walk does the trick?helps your heart. For major health benefits, aim for at least two and a half hours a week, or amp up the intensity to a more vigorous activity. You?ll get the same benefits from 75 minutes spent playing basketball, running, or jumping ropes.
Can?t carve out a lot of time in your day? Chunk it. Try getting 10 minutes of movement a few times a day. Get outside and walk for five minutes, turn around, and walk back. Dance like no one is watching for three songs. Being active can protect your heart (even if you have heart disease), improve blood flow, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and give you more stamina and ability to cope with stress.
Make being active part of your everyday routine. Take a yoga class with a friend. Go for a walk with your neighbor. Do strength exercises while watching TV. Drop into a plank when you?re waiting for the microwave to warm your tea. Take the stairs. Just do it. Wearing Nikes is optional.
Ignite with Flavor
Dan Bilzerian, known as ?The King of Instagram,? first built his empire using social media marketing. In 2017, he launched Ignite, a line of CBD products, which has since expanded to include vapes, drops, toothpicks, topicals, pet products, gummies, and lip balm. Flavor profiles include blood orange, lemon, cherry, lavender, and tropical fruit. Its all-natural CBD drops are blended with essential oils. Topicals are made with 100 percent plant-based ingredients. Its newest products are the 350 mg full-spectrum drops and bath bombs.
Available online at ignitevapes.co.
Untangled Cool
We continue to treat fragile ocean environments like a trash heap. Case in point, an estimated 640,000 tons of discarded fishing nets and gear clog up the seas. Florida brand Costa del Mar found a smart solution to this mess: make its sunglasses for sport anglers and ocean lovers out of at least some of that plastic trash. Costa?s Untangle Our Oceans program takes discarded fishing nets from commercial operations in Chile, turns them into plastic pellets, and then uses that material to build sunglass frames. There?s no sacrifice in quality. The resulting material, which is available in five styles, is durable and the polarized glass lenses cut glare on the water.
$199?$219; costadelmar.com
Sensibilities
By Stephanie Wilson, Editor in Chief
1. Primary Focus
A New Hampshire law requires the Granite State to be the first presidential primary in the nation. This election cycle, that goes down on February 11, after which my home state becomes irrelevant for another four years.
2. Leap of Faith
While the calendar year is 365 days, it takes the Earth 365.24 days to orbit the sun. Every four years, we add an extra day to the month of February because without it, the calendar would be misaligned with the seasons by 25 days after just 100 years.
3. Born This Way
The odds of being a ?leapling??a person born on a leap day?is 1 in 1,461.
4. Right On
On February 29, some places celebrate Bachelor?s Day or Sadie Hawkins Day?both a nod to the old Irish tradition that gave women the right to propose marriage to a man on leap day. If he declined, he was required by law to pay a penalty, often in the form of gloves so she could hide the shame of her bare ring finger.
5. Modern Love
Since we?re not all Irish, but we are all feminists (because we all believe in the equality of the sexes, of course), any of us can propose to whomever our heart desires whenever we want. Except Valentine?s Day. There?s no law prohibiting it but, sweetie, pay-as-you-go forced romance is anything but romantic.
6. PETA Violation
The origins of the canned-love holiday are as cruel as a red rose delivery in February is clich?d. According to NPR, V-day traces back to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a brutal fete during which naked men sacrificed dogs and goats?and whipped women with the animal hides. Stop, in the name of love.
Come On, Get Appy
Going through something? We all experience moments when we could use some support. Some of those moments are life-changing, while others are a part of everyday life. If you need to get it off your chest, you need to get Happy, the app.
Described by Vice as ?like Uber but for ?Happy Givers,?? Happy connects you to one of more than 2,000 trained listeners who aren?t there to offer advice or give feedback. They?re just there to support you and make you feel heard. They?ll give you the space to speak openly, anonymously, for as long as you?d like.
February is American Heart Month, and the path to a healthier heart should be filled with warm-hearted companions. For every individual caller referred by the American Heart Association through May 31, 2021, Happy will donate a free first-time call valued at $24 to the American Heart Association?s Support Network, for a minimum donation of $50,000. So download the App now. Call, get support, and be happy.
Available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play happythemovement.com
Taste of the Town
Don?t wait until Denver Restaurant Week begins to make your reservations.
It?s the most wonderful time of the year. Denver Restaurant Week?it actually runs for 10 days?kicks off February 21 and runs through March 1, during which time hundreds of top restaurants offer multicourse dinners for $25, $35, or $45.
This is your chance to sample local favorites, up-and-coming establishments, national chains, even spots showcasing the culinary prowess of James Beard award-winning chefs. The best spots started booking up weeks ago, so move swiftly to get one of the town?s coveted tables. Go early, go often, and if you find a spot you love, go back again and again.
While Denver?s restaurant landscape exploded in conjunction with the city?s growing population and popularity over the last decade, some chefs fear the market is oversaturated and underreported. And it?s getting even more so by the day now that Eater, everyone?s go-to resource for info on where to dine and drink in town, has ceased covering the Mile High. Without updated Heat Maps, how will we determine where to brunch?
We?ve got some ideas cooking. Keep an eye on this space. denverrestaurantweek.com
Born to Entertain
Chuck Lorre to receive the Art Directors Guild award for cinematic imagery.
If you?ve watched TV in the last couple of decades, it is likely you have seen the name Chuck Lorre in the opening credits. Creator of highly successful television shows, including The Big Bang Theory (the longest running multi-camera comedy in television history), Two and a Half Men, Mom, and Disjointed, as well as the recently acclaimed The Kominsky Method, Lorre has had an impressive career. The Art Directors Guild agrees wholeheartedly, and on February 1, Lorre will be presented with the 2020 ADG Award for Cinematic Imagery.
?Chuck Lorre is one of television?s most prolific and successful writers/directors/producers,? says ADG President Nelson Coates. ?[His] storytelling prowess as a showrunner is amplified by the significance he places on production design in the creation of the worlds his fascinating characters navigate.?
The ADG?s Cinematic Imagery Award is given to those whose body of work in the film and television industry has richly enhanced the visual aspects of the viewer?s experience. In addition to being one of the few showrunners keeping the multi-camera sitcom alive, Lorre also established The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation in 2015, focusing on supporting innovative and compassionate organizations in the areas of education, health, and the arts.
The ADG was established in 1937 and represents 2,700 members who work in film, television, and theater as production designers, art directors, set designers, model makers, illustrators, and matte artists. To learn more, visit adg.org.
