CON GAMES: World War III

It’s the end of the world as we know it.

Or is it?

Continue Reading 1 comment July 31st, 2006

Shakespeare’s Shaking Aspen

People in Aspen and hereabouts just can’t get enough Will in their world. A “Sharing Shakespeare” group is at the end of year one of a three-year reading of the plays that drew over 100 subscribers. That group at the Aspen Institute has been nothing less than a local focal point for Shakespeare fanatics in the Roaring Fork Valley. Now productions large and small are in the works that just might make Aspen an epicenter for Shakespearean troupes large and small.

Continue Reading Add comment July 31st, 2006

Doing The Art Tatum Shuffle

The beautiful thing about doing the iPod Shuffle is you never know what’s going to intrude on your subconscious. For me, the musician making the most of this particular moment inside my head is the immortal jazz pianist Art Tatum.

When you “discover” somebody anew, of course, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the only question that matters: is he really as good as I think he is? But it took a “Name That Tune” session at the Aspen Music Festival and School to bring Art Tatum all the way home for me. Hosting a Critical Conversations Symposium Sunday at Harris Concert Hall, moderator Douglas McLennan of ArtsJournal.com told the story of how the great classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz “became fascinated at one point with Art Tatum.”

Continue Reading Add comment July 31st, 2006

CRMS Profile On PBS All About Change

The Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s college-preparatory curriculum is the subject of a 15-minute documentary segment to be broadcast this Sunday on Visionaries, the award-winning public-television series. The CRMS-feature segment, entitled “Agents of Change,” debuts at 11:30 am July 30 on all Colorado and New Mexico PBS affiliates.

Continue Reading Add comment July 30th, 2006

Israelis, Lebanese Blog As Bombs Fall

As the war escalates between Israel and Lebanon, citizens of both countries are communicating via blogs.

Already dubbed “the most blogged war” people from both sides of the border have been documenting their thoughts and experiences online since the conflict began.

Continue Reading Add comment July 28th, 2006

Gretchen Takes It Off For A Good Cause

You're young, beautiful, smart, sexy--and you're ours. Well, not exactly. Olympic snowboarding silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler is there for all the world to see in a photo shoot for "Jane" magazine. On newsstands now, Gretch and various other hot babes are doing a celebrity strip for children’s charities in the mag’s August issue.

Continue Reading Add comment July 28th, 2006

Adventures in Babysitting

I have recently started babysitting again. It has been some time since I have done this, but I figure I can use the money and the practice since I might actually have a small human being of my own some day. Thus far I’ve had great families and great kids, but the other night I ran into a problem I’ve never experienced before. Was the child a boy or a girl?

Continue Reading Add comment July 27th, 2006

Not another RUB in a Harley Costume!

Even though there are literally 1000 things to do in Aspen, I'm setting off to see the American west. Yes, every summer I take a road trip to check out a little slice of Americana. This is not just another summer cruise in the shagin' wagon; oh no! This is a 4000 mile haul on a motorcycle through the backroads of America.

Continue Reading Add comment July 27th, 2006

Global Warming Experts Scared, But Optimistic

A booming thunderstorm moved south and the skies cleared just in time for city leaders to speak on climate change at the Gondola Plaza yesterday. Members of the Aspen Global Change Institute and the City of Aspen’s Canary Initiative were on hand to present the findings of a comprehensive study, “Climate Change and Aspen: An Assessment of Impacts and Potential Responses.”

Aspen Mayor Helen Klanderud and Dan Richardson, the City’s Global Warming Project Manager, introduced a number of speakers, all of whom agreed that climate change is a serious problem requiring immediate action.

Continue Reading 3 comments July 27th, 2006

My Non-iPod iPod Has Arrived

Much like Kleenex, Band-Aid, and Xerox, the brand iPod seems to be becoming so popular that it is a generic descriptor of the type of item itself -- an mp3 player. I am not anti-iPod. I think they are great in that they have sped up the developing technology of portable music players tremendously. Apple realized earlier than other companies that mp3 players could be serious money makers...what with the proprietary software (read: itunes, which can only be used with iPods), accessories, and the sale of the player itself. Not to mention, I think iPods have opened up some PC users to the possibility of using a Mac computer.

Continue Reading Add comment July 26th, 2006