Peter Derk

Host at Helpful Snowman Radio

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Opinion: Peter Derk: I emailed the Broomfield City Council to ask about Greeley’s Cascadia

1 week ago | greeleytribune.com | Peter Derk

Broomfield’s 1stBank Center has come up a lot in reference to Cascadia/West Greeley/Catalyst/Catheter (I made one of those up, see if you can guess which one!) because, eerily similar to Cascadia, 1stBank Center was an expensive, city-owned arena, set to host a minor league hockey team, and it’s currently being demolished after never being profitable. I emailed Broomfield’s City Council to see if I could get some advice from someone who had been there.
Opinion: Peter Derk: My $500 million pizza oven idea for Greeley

1 month ago | greeleytribune.com | Peter Derk

After seeing the bizarre high level of support for the Cascadia project, which is a total boondoggle and a waste of a massive amount of your money ($1.1 billion in tax money, the largest single expense the city of Greeley has ever taken on, and it’s not one that will be up for public vote), I’ve decided that I should pitch my special project.
Beowulf Is The Greatest Classic Book, And I Will Not Be Taking Any Questions At This Time

Sep 26, 2023 | litreactor.com | Peter Derk

Header images: Books, Barbarian There's always someone out there trying to prove that one book or another is the all-time, stone-cold-est, greatest classic book of all time. And they're all fools, because unlike me, they didn't pose Beowulf, which is absolutely, 100% the greatest classic book. It’s Simple Monster kills people, badass from another land kills monster, monster’s mom gets mad, badass kills mom, cut to many years later, elderly badass fights dragon, the end.
Robert Kirkman's Non-Walking-Dead Comics

Sep 22, 2023 | litreactor.com | Peter Derk

Header image: Pixabay Robert Kirkman is in a weird spot. Because The Walking Dead was such a cultural phenomenon, it’s what he’ll be known for forever, the first line in his obituary, FOR SURE. And it’s a little tragic.
Why Progressive Kid's Books Suck

Sep 11, 2023 | litreactor.com | Oliver Jeffers |Peter Derk

Header via Pixabay While I was browsing the library a bit back, I came across a little book: Feminist Baby. I hated it. Not because I hate the politics of the book or feminism or hate women or have strong opinions on trans athletes in women’s sports or hate babies. Not because I hate the politics of the book or feminism or hate women or have strong opinions on trans athletes in women’s sports or hate babies.
Chuck Palahniuk's "Not Forever, But For Now": It's Both

Sep 4, 2023 | litreactor.com | Chuck Palahniuk |Peter Derk

Before you read Not Forever, But For Now, know that you’re doing it wrong. Because for years now, so many readers have read Palahniuk’s books all wrong. Let me explain: Chuck Palahniuk has said, more than once, that he takes a certain pleasure in being wrong. At a party, he’ll talk about how Sylvia Plath wrote The Bell Curve. Now, Chuck is well aware that Sylvia Plath wrote The Bell Jar, but saying it wrong is a little troll, a little fun. And it’s a little something else.
Jonathan Safran Foer's "Tree of Codes": Gimmick or Great Read?

Aug 30, 2023 | litreactor.com | Peter Derk

Photos by Peter Derk Let’s take a moment to talk carnivals. I promise that this relates to Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer. When you walk through the aisles of food stands, the section of a carnival for people like me, people with taste, you might come across walking tacos. This is the name given to a dish where you basically put a taco, minus tortilla, into a bag of Doritos, smash it all up, and then eat it with a fork. If you’ve never eaten this, I highly recommend it.
Jonathan Safran Foer's "Tree of Codes": Gimmick or Great Read?

Aug 29, 2023 | litreactor.com | Peter Derk

Photos by Peter Derk Let’s take a moment to talk carnivals. I promise that this relates to Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer. When you walk through the aisles of food stands, the section of a carnival for people like me, people with taste, you might come across walking tacos. This is the name given to a dish where you basically put a taco, minus tortilla, into a bag of Doritos, smash it all up, and then eat it with a fork. If you’ve never eaten this, I highly recommend it.
10 Years Ago, Librarians Predicted What Today's Library Would Look Like

Aug 21, 2023 | litreactor.com | Peter Derk

image: pixabay In 2010, a group of library professionals got together and wrote essays that answered the question: What will the library be like in 2020? Before you get too excited, no, nobody predicted a global pandemic would kill a bunch of people. Also, nobody predicted that a subset of doofuses would attribute the ravages of this virus to the introduction of faster wireless network speeds.
The Don'ts And Definitely Don'ts of Writing Stupid-Funny Books

Aug 11, 2023 | litreactor.com | John Swartzwelder |Peter Derk

Image: pexels Most of my writing advice is questionable, but if you want advice on writing incredibly stupid, incredibly fun books, I’m your Dingleberry. Or Huckleberry. Whatever berry you like, I’m that. Off to a stupid start already. Let’s keep this rolling. Quick Definition A stupid-fun book is a book that's meant to be fun, funny, and when people call it "stupid," you have to agree, it's pretty stupid.