December 2009

[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with Donald Pinkney]

Untitled-8 Cornell Gunter's Coasters co-star with Marvelettes at Telluride's Opera House on New Year's Eve. The evening is a dance party that also includes light fare, a champagne toast at midnight, and party favors. Along the way, expect a few yucks.


The original Coasters were an American r&b/rock and roll group which enjoyed a string of hits in the late-1950s. Beginning with the hits "Searchin'" and "Young Blood" their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting/producing team of Leiber and Stoller. Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo-wop, their recordings were so frequently imitated, they became an important part of the doo-wop legacy through the 1960s.

It snowed in Telluride for my birthday. Snowed hard, and kept it up all day. After a dry spell, that's a good thing.Another good thing?  When one is pleasantly surpised by the generosity (particularly the generosity of spirit) of others. The James family lives...


As Telluride Inside... and Out completes its first full year, we thought it might be appropriate to take a look back at 2009. We traveled outside Telluride from time to time, and covered some of those trips, but this article is just about one memorable year in the San Miguel Valley.

This is probably a good time to provide a "road map" to those of you who may be new to Telluride Inside... and Out. "How do I navigate this website?"



Bruce Gomez was the very first artist Will and Hilary Thompson, owners of the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, signed for their stable when they opened their new gallery on Main Street (130 East Colorado) in 1985. Will Thompson first saw Bruce's work in a Denver gallery, but the timing was not right to work with a pastel artist. Will was buying and selling original graphics exclusively, but he recalled thinking: "This kid really has something."

by Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerMake me more breath than gasp,more glide than grunt, more thrust than thud. Slide me, fly me, soar and coast me, skim and skate me. Rush and whoosh me. Give me wings in my feet, give me race in my thighs, give...

by Kris Holstrom

It always surprises me when the end of year sneaks up and taps me on the back. I’m convinced the speed of life accelerates annually. Regardless, the end of the year and end of a decade is an excellent time to look back at what was accomplished and to look forward to the work to come.


TNCC highlights in 2009:

December 24 to 31, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Saturn  Evening: Mercury and Jupiter

Feliz Navidad - Merry Christmas!

XmasCowboy I'm south of the border, down Mexico way, celebrating Christmas on the shining Sea of Cortez. Cactus, tortillas and guacamole, que viva!

I can't believe this magical, mystical world. The Mother Earth presents us with the most awesome presents of swaying palms, sparkling snow, glistening oceans and jagged peaks. I'm stunned by the abundance of this incredible planet. Whether we're in Telluride skiing two feet of powder, snorkeling in Cabo Pulmo or dancing under the waxing Moon, we are an living and breathing the love and life of our true Mother, the Mother Earth.

Feliz Navidad - Merry Christmas!

[click "Play" to hear Farrah's conversation with Susan]

Unknown Everything old is new again New Year's Eve at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House. The gala celebration is a walk down memory lane –  "50 years of Motown featuring The Marvelettes & Cornell Gunter Coasters" – plus small eats, champagne, and party favors.


In the white picket fence Eisenhower era, America had all the trappings of rama-lama-ding-dong innocence, but the headlines suggested otherwise: Communist witch hunts, polio, the hydrogen bomb, the Korean War, racial segregation, James Dean and "Rebel Without a Cause," Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Oh, and Doris Day and Ed Sullivan.