HickinHuff

Denver mayor John Hickenlooper hypes Denver and the DNC in the Huffypoo: "Convening a National Conversation About Democracy and America in Denver":

The Convention also coincides with Denver's 150th birthday -- a century-and-a-half of progress and innovation since its birth at the height of the Colorado gold rush. A hub of opportunity for people seeking new frontiers, people come to Colorado seeking much more than gold these days. The spirit of visionary zeal and limitless possibility is as strong as ever in the New West. So it's fitting that as the Democratic Party marches toward its own new frontier, it will do so through Denver.

Sacking and pillaging along the way, no doubt (oh wait, that's R68). Anyway, Hick also hypes the DNC's short film competition, Cinemocracy (amply if not obsessively mocked in these pages), and another competition which until now has slipped under the D-blog radar but has got to be every bit as horrible: "America: Live and in Person." The DNC website explains with its usual fatuous portentousness:

Your personal story is an important part of the great American story. Every single person in our country is affected by democracy in a different way. Whether you were born in the heartland, or moved to the U.S. from somewhere far away, we want to know what America means to you (Democrat, Republican, or Independent–everyone).

It’s like “Open Mic Night” on a really big scale.

Oh, no. No. Please. Just kill me.

You are invited to tell us your personal story of what America means to you. It can be a big idea – like how being an American has affected all the things you’ve done in life. Or it can be a small moment – something that symbolizes to you what America is all about. It can be touching, funny, inspiring or thought-provoking. It just has to come from your heart.

Kill me I said!

We want everyone to be involved. (That’s what is great about America!). So we’ll have submissions uploaded online for people to vote for their favorites. Best submissions will be showcased on the Convention’s Host Committee website and throughout the city at locations to be disclosed soon. Plus, you’ll be eligible for great recognition. Keep checking this website for more details coming soon.

Okay, nobody's killed me, so I guess I'll have to read/listen to/look at/vomit over all the entries--more than 60 of them. Let you know what I find.