Post blogger Jerry Bovino gets behind Jim Perry's idea for an independent investigation to find out what the hell happened at Burlingate.
Post blogger Irish Kit O'Carra, late of Woody Creek, is seeing a whole new world out west. "There is something about the name Cape Foulweather that fascinates me," she blogs. "My mind races with thoughts ranging from the history of the area and wanting to know the facts, to images of a full length feature film of mystery and suspense starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson. I wish there was an actual town of Cape Foulweather. I would consider renting a house there while I wait to purchase my sloop or ketch.... The truth is that Captain James Cook discovered and named the Point in 1778 when he first sighted the mainland of North America...."
The Atlantic blogs at the Aspen Ideas Festival about a subject that remains shrouded in mystery: what does Islam have to say for itself. "I went into the discussion 'Who Speaks for Islam?' assuming that it would be an informative but relatively tame chat between two like-minded people," blogs Jennie Rothenbirg Gritz from Aspen. "The speakers listed on the program--Irshad Manji and Dalia Mogahed--were both women intellectuals raised and educated in the West; based on their bios, it was hard to imagine either one of them advocating anything but a modern, democratic approach to the Muslim faith. But as soon as I glanced at the stage, it was obvious that the discussion was going to be edgier than I'd expected."
Posts filed under 'The West'
Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist of The New York Times, was officially christened as king of the world over the weekend in Aspen—and why the hell not?
He wore the mantle lightly at the Aspen Ideas Festival, in part because he married into the gazillionaire Buxbaum family, who have so far given tens of millions of dollars to the town, with the latest dollop a $25 million downpayment for a spanky campus at the Aspen Music Festival and School. But Friedman’s wallop at the podium has all but nothing to do with Bucksbaum bucks, and everything to do with his prescient ability to package the zeitgeist with the tidiness of a juice box—the kind that comes with its own self-piercing straw.
Continue Reading July 7th, 2008
"America is losing its national identity through mass immigration, legal and illegal… creating 'transnationals' that never fully assimilate into our American society. "
~ Mark Krikorian
Continue Reading July 3rd, 2008
There is something about the name Cape Foulweather that fascinates me. My mind races with thoughts ranging from the history of the area and wanting to know the facts, to images of a full length feature film of mystery and suspense starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson. I wish there was an actual town of Cape Foulweather. I would consider renting a house there while I wait to purchase my sloop or ketch.
The name itself, Cape Foulweather, doesn’t bring the idea of a warm sunny day to the average tourist. The truth is that Captain James Cook discovered and named the Point in 1778 when he first sighted the mainland of North America on the Oregon Coast, and one of the sudden fierce storms, which greeted his arrival, almost put an end to his historical expedition. Captain Cook never set foot on land at Cape Foulweather and couldn’t wait for the storm to pass so he could set sail again and leave this area. I have just the opposite draw to Cape Foulweather, even if there are winds up to 100 mph a few times each year.
I leaped at the opportunity to sail to the Point after we scrapped the idea of our Wednesday Night Regatta in Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon when there wasn’t even the slightest hope of a breeze strong enough to fill the sails for us to race. We placed our bets on the wind currents out at sea, as unpredictable as they always are, once we left the bay under power and raised the sails heading north a few miles to Cape Foulweather. The sea was as flat as I have ever seen it. Barely a ripple slapped against the boat. We were under power while we tried to catch some wind. Finally a whisper of wind became just strong enough for us to cut the engine and use full sails. It was slow going and unusually quiet. Seagulls were passing us the way a Lamborghini zips past a Geo Metro with an 8 watt blow dryer motor.
It was a short trip, even at our slow pace, but it was enough time spent on the sea to remind me that I don’t really care much about regattas and racing as much as I do spending quiet time in reverie on the sailboat. Since 1965 I have had my share of fast cars. But that’s another story for another blog. Boats are in a different category for me when it comes to speed and purpose.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m older, wiser, and no longer in a hurry for my days to pass by quickly. Time seems to stand still when I’m sailing. I forget that there is already an influx of tourist traffic on Hwy 101. I don’t think about how long it takes me to drive home from Newport to Lincoln City. The sun doesn’t set until after 9pm here in the Pacific Northwest. It isn’t dark until well after 10pm, so my days are longer and my nights are very short. I don’t get much sleep and I can use all the siesta time kicking back on the boat, listening to a sail flap when it loses its wind now and then, and I have to do some quick tacking to avoid turning the engine back on.
One of my co-workers who has been sailing for over 25 years here told me he became a little bored with sailing. He said, “What can you do? You leave the bay, you go straight for a little while, then you either turn left or turn right. There’s nowhere to go.” I reminded him that it’s not the destination that matters. It’s the journey. Even if that journey only takes you a few miles to the left or the right. It’s a journey filled with valuable time that rejuvenates the heart and soul of expatriated Woody Creek dreamers like me.
July 2nd, 2008
The Con Man goes from Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, to the false god of flip-flopping, to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow individual ownership of handguns.
Click here for the complete "Con Games with Michael Conniff" for Monday June 30, 2008.
June 30th, 2008
I liked the freedom of setting my own hours. Working for the club was like working for myself. It enabled me to finish school. I had to finish it up at Regis University and finished through their online program. But I definitely found my niche. I was driven to learn, I had passion for the knowledge I was gaining, particularly the study of physiology. I really liked the clients. I like the relationships I was developing. I really enjoyed it. I was sure I’d be passionate about it, though working with people might ruin me liking the exercise thing. But that ended up not being the case. Working with really athletic people is absolutely an advantage to being in Aspen. You’re dealing with performance and not obesity, and it’s one of the better places to be.
Continue Reading June 30th, 2008
We have a good box for you this week and some new recipes, let's
hope! We have Cherries, Potatoes, Onions, Salad Mix, Tomato,
Cilantro, Garlic, Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Sugar Snaps and Snow Peas.
Wahoo! It's looking like summer! I think it will be one more week on
one size box and then next week we will have enough food to split
into half and full size. I may change my mind on that during pack
out, we will see.
Continue Reading June 29th, 2008
Taco Bell my favorite fast food place has decided I as a customer need to know all about their hiring practices in Glenwood Springs. Give me a break right on the counter when I order my food I need to know all about your hiring practices with this big document right on the counter that states we E-Verify? Great you want us all to know your staff is legal.
Continue Reading June 28th, 2008
Big Russ is known for saying "What a country"...here in Aspen it is "What a lifestyle"! Last night I met a friend at Brunelleschis in Aspen. I haven't been to the place since winter and this summer Brunelleschis has open aired the place by getting rid of the windows and offering patio seating. The place was packed last night with locals and tourists alike. It was a fun crowd and the staff was quite entertaining. After explaining to our waiter that I could not take a second glass of merlot as we had three concerts to attend last night he came back with an espresso martini and stated "If you don't like it I will drink it"...well for a non-martini drinker it was wonderful!! It tasted like chocolate milk and kept me awake till 2 a.m.
Continue Reading June 21st, 2008
The Con Man decries the "Nucons"--the nuclear conservatives--then welcomes Aspen Music Festival and School CEO Alan Fletcher for a wide-ranging discussion of the meaning of music, his own composing, and "storytelling" to come in the summer 2008 season.
Click here for "Con Games with Michael Conniff" for Wednesday June 18, 2008.
June 18th, 2008
As soon as the food was gone, the chicks would immediately fall silent and settle back down to sleep. And I’d go back to work. I quickly became addicted to observing the new family, picking up my binoculars a dozen times or more each day. I cherished this routine and the rare opportunity to observe nature’s wonder at such convenience.
Within a week, the chicks began to develop their adult feathers, or ‘fledge’ as it’s called in the birding community. I anticipated watching them learn to fly; jumping out of the nest onto the thickly needled branches of their spruce abode, awkwardly testing their new wings as mom and dad encouraged them to explore the outer branches and eventually take that big leap. But it didn’t happen that way at all. One day they were there and the next day, they were gone.
Continue Reading June 18th, 2008
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