January 2010

[click "Play" to hear Lawry de Bivort speak about his lecture series]

DSCN0693 Ldb stream Tride CROP When this part-time Telluride local opens his emails in the morning he finds the same daily reminders, sales, Oxfam, Moveon.org, we all find. There might also be a message from someone on the Obama team asking him to rethink an aspect of our government's policy towards Israel and Palestine. Welcome to the world of Lawry de Bivort, PhD., whose mission is life is to give CPR to those magical elements of human existence that have temporarily succumbed to darkness.


Scott Doser, program coordinator at Telluride's Wilkinson Public Library, managed to convince de Bivort to do a series of lectures on his current obsession: the future of the human species and how we can ensure a beneficial future for it.


Legendary guitarist and gypsy Tim Reynolds is in Telluride to perform with his trio,TR3, at the historic Sheridan Opera House on Wednesday, January 20. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

Out of the gate, Reynolds got spoiled by adoring fans. As the child of pious, fiercely conservative parents, he began playing electric bass in a gospel band at age 12 before writhing congregations of ecstatic worshippers. Reynolds performed at church three times a week  – over 1000 times – until his high school graduation.

IMG_8474 It was snowing lightly in Telluride this morning, with more snow in the forecast, as the judges made their rounds to pick the winners of this year's CoolSculpt contest.

The finished products were indeed something to behold: beautifully executed, and very imaginative. In the end, the judges must have had a difficult time deciding.

IMG_8482 IMG_8480 The First Place winner ($850) for 2010 is "The White Castle". by D. O. Double-G's, sponsored by Telluride Ski and Golf. This entry featured a castle, complete with towers, stairs, and a dragon clinging to the ramparts. The castle was also attractive to young and old who climbed up to view the Plaza from the walls. Well done, and congratulations.


When I got to the Mountain Village Thursday morning the big blocks of compacted snow had already been delivered. Telluride's CoolSculpt was underway. On Saturday afternoon, January 16, I went back to see what the artists were up to.

I spoke to Colin Sullivan, who was on hand to turn the Ah Haa School's block of ice into a giant Space Invader, complete with a girl with a handheld controller.

6a00e553ed7fe18833011570134a4b970c-120wi Jennie Franks' Telluride Playwrights' Festival owes a debt to the Bard. Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare is still the most popular playwright in the world because his every word, every phrase offers dozens of possibilities for the pace, rhythm and trajectory of every scene. Directors and actors only have to get out of the way for the structure of the whole play to reveal itself. The Telluride Playwrights' Festival is all about words, not the production.



Talk about flights of fancy.

To celebrate 51/2 months of wedding bliss, on January 6, Telluride locals Eliot Brown and Mary Sama-Brown, a broker with Telluride Real Estate Corp, headed to Las Vegas for a romantic getaway. Only Eliot and Mary did not have to deal with the hassle of booking a flight. The happy couple simply commandeered their own Twin Commander/Grand Renaissance 840.

Eliot's day job is operator and chief pilot of MayaAir, a Telluride-based air charter carrier. The Grand Renaissance became his airplane of choice for its all-around reliability and performance. This bird is just as strong and flexible as the acrobats in Cirque du Soleil, which the Browns saw on their trip. (Word is "Zumanity" is both funny and sexy, very sexy.)

Tuesday evening, January 12, it was the Wailers filling the Telluride Conference Center . There were people waiting outside in case anyone left early. And the Wailers kept everyone moving until time to turn out the lights.  The Sheridan Arts Foundation and the Telluride...

Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel shows us a training session with his one year old Labrador retriever, Mae. TIO has watched Mae's progress from an eight week old puppy. She continues to impress.A well-mannered dog, attentive and anxious to please, is...

[click "Play" to listen to Erika Gordon speak about Sunday at the Palm]

Endurance.11x17 The Telluride Film Festival's Sunday at the Palm series kicks off the 2010 season with the award-winning docudrama, "The Endurance: Shackleton's Lengendary Antarctic Expedition," back on Telluride’s big screen for the first time since its Telluride Film Festival premier in 2000.

Vain-glory-mongering or scientific curiosity? A desire to get there first? What motivated Ernest Shackleton matters less than the fact that, when all was said and done, after 22 harrowing months, he emerged from his dangerous and failed adventure a hero, having led 27 men to safety.

[click "Play" for Kristin Holbrook's take on leather] From London to New York, Milan to Paris, leather looks were big this past Fall on the red carpet and fashion runways. Leather jackets, skirts and accessories continue to be hot this...