Boise ain't half bad

I'm in Boise, ID right now. I've been learning how to facilitate Customer Experience Design workshops, and in the process, learning more about the end-user training needs of LaserJet MFP copiers than I EVER wanted to know!

Fortunately, the people at the workshop are super-nice, and the town is remarkably hip and fun. Yes, I know that Boise does not conjure up images of trendy chicness, but rather, potatoes and possibly Huckleberries, but it does have a certain quaint charm to it.

The downtown is not too busy, and in the midst of an urban revitalization. They have downtown malls and lots of little pubs and restaurants. I had dinner at a Basque place, and am struggling to breathe from the two leg/thighs of duck confit that I ate, even though I KNOW I should have just had one... Sigh -

But they were doing a little gig where they have music in a downtown circle, and lots of folks were out and about. I liked it!



The big news today was that Cheney was in town. Even in BOISE there were protesters and lots of police action And this is like the reddest of the reds!

It just seems like an increasing percentage of the country is in an ever more explosive state of disgust against the current administration. I wonder if this is a bit like what Vietnam and the 60's felt like?

In any case, Boise was the perfect place to watch Ricky Bobby. Judging from the prolific Nascar attire, big belt buckles, and trucks in the parking lot, this theatre more than RESEMBLED the film's not so subtle satire - I was amazed that at least one person walked out of the theatre after the extended liplock between Ali G and Will Ferrell... I heard him muttering on the way out, "It was a good movie up until then, but why WHY did they have to go there?" - Just an interesting little slice of Americana, I guess...