This visit to Cambridge marks the beginning of our remodeling plans for our new home here that will complement our base in Denver.  I've combined two artistic impressions of Cambridge in this podcast, a poem I wrote about the birth of my grandson a year ago, and an anthem sung by the Fellows of the University Choir this morning at Harvard's Appleton Chapel.

John Joseph of Denver responded to an invitation to a podcast interview that I posted through the Mile High for Obama group at BarackObama.com. Having just finished The Audacity of Hope, I was looking for someone to discuss the book with me.  John, who is 27 and a programmer, met me at a Starbucks and shared insightful perspectives on the book and what he thinks may be ahead in the long campaign.  I liked the originality and nuance of his opinions.  For example, near the end of the interview he revealed why, even though he is a huge fan of Obama, he might actually prefer another Democrat to win the nomination this time, with Obama as Veep.  Not that he wouldn't be thrilled to see Obama elected president in 2008.  Anyway, it was great getting to know John through the Obama web site, which is smartly designed to make it easy for Obama supporters to connect and share ideas and activities.

Denver's Su Teatro, the nation's 3rd oldest Chicano/Latino theatre company, is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year with an exciting move to a new and bigger location at 215 South Santa Fe Drive.  At the kickoff this week, I interviewed longtime Artistic Director Anthony J. Garcia and visiting Hollywood actor Jesse Borrego about the importance of Su Teatro's work.  Tony at one point says, "You realize that what you ended up building is what you wanted all along."  This is a terrific example of the power of art to change lives, and I urge anyone interested to consider helping out with Su Teatro's $3.5 million capital drive now under way.

I am working on a presentation to the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs about how we might use Web 2.0 capabilities to advance the arts in Denver.  As part of my cogitations, I spent some time learning about Me.dium, a Boulder-based startup which hopes to transform the way we browse the web.  A more modest Web 2.0 initiative, goodreads, pointed me to possible communities in Denver which could be brought together using these new internet tools.