Lifestyle

Steve's 2009 Publicity Shots 022 What has TV celebrity Steve Spitz cooked up for the Telluride AIDS Benefit

TV lifestyle celebrity Steve Spitz describes his upcoming new program, "Live with Steve Spitz" this way: "People don't need to find another lifestyle show. They need to find style in their own lives. My program helps them to do just that: find it, nurture it, get their freak on and party with it like Paris Hilton before celebrity rehab."

For a sneak peek at the party Steve has planned for the Telluride AIDS Benefit on Tuesday, February 24, 6 p.m. at a private home in town, check out the mouthwatering menu, then call 970-728-0869.



Telluride's New Sheridan Hotel, Restaurant and Bar partners with Med Center's FEAST

She was the heart of the social scene back in the days Telluride's streets were paved with gold. About 117 years later, however, she was clearly overdue for some major "work."

Telluride's new plastic surgeon, Dr. Jeff Ptak – also the dermatologist at the Telluride Medical Center – had nothing to do with the New Sheridan Hotel, Bar & Restaurant's $7 million facelift. Credit for the handiwork goes to world famous interior designer Nina Campbell, who returned the grande dame of Main Street to her original Victorian splendor.

Among the elements that make Telluride "Telluride" are community involvement and the spirit of volunteerism. Nowhere are these more apparent than among our young citizens. Emma Gross and Brittany Altman were Rizzo and Sandy in the recent SAF Young People's Theatre revival of "Grease."...

[Click "Play" button to hear Susan's interview with Steve Spitz]

Steve Spitz  cooking up something special for Telluride

Steve's 2009 Publicity Shots 027 In the Obama age, when the issue on the table is HIV/AIDS, prevention education should be back on the agenda, trumping the Bushies' abstinence only stance that has been proven not to work, especially with young people.

But forget abstinence altogether when lifestyle TV personality Steve Spitz returns to Telluride for the fourth year in a row. On Tuesday, February 24, 6 p.m., in support of the Telluride AIDS Benefit's big week, Steve is once again producing a not-to-be-missed wine and tapas pairing at a private home in town.

Steve was drawn to TAB's cause because of an altogether different kind of pairing: HIV and kids; six or seven years ago, AIDS killed a first cousin. Also several friends in the gay community were lost to the pandemic. A chance meeting years ago with former TAB director Betsy Adler at the Santa Fe Wine and Chili Fiesta convinced Steve to throw his considerable weight and imagination behind the nonprofit.

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

Barclay Daranyi and husband Tony are now the proud owners/operators of the of popular CSA farm, Indian Ridge, in Norwood, Colorado – and regular contributors to Telluride Inside...and Out with recipes and words of wisdom about sustainable food practices.

This week, Barclay is digging in the soil, where her roots, literal and metaphorical, lie.

Smith-Daranyi PA and NJ 2007137 Barclay grew up on Caretaker Farm, started by her parents in 1969 and now one of the oldest organic farms in Massachusetts. Barclay's parents,Sam and Elizabeth Smith, are retired, but still live on the farm as part of the arrangement with the conservation trust, established to ensure the place remains  a working farm, affordable to future generations of farmers. Caretaker is now being worked by Don Zasada and Bridget Spann.

"Properly managed, grazing animals can actually reverse desertification and greatly increase the soil's ability to hold CO2.
Living soil holds the key to the future and our survival on this planet."

To hear more from Barclay on the subject, including the role meat plays in the Big Picture, click the "play" button to hear her podcast.

Flap our gums, as is our wont in the Telluride community, about the need for expansion and new equipment,  at the end of the day, for a key player in this area such as Kristin Holbrook, it is a no-brainer: through her store,Two Skirts, she is a big time supporter of the FEAST, or Fund for Expanding and Supporting Telluride's Medical Center,  because she is here for the long haul and wants to be assured of state of the art medical services for her young family. Watch the video below to preview the Two Skirts' shopping spree, one of the auction items.

The facts on the table seem plain enough: The Telluride Medical Center has outgrown its existing building.  Between 2001 and 2007, TMC’s emergency service volume grew 81% and  community population projections indicate the TMC’s primary service area should grow by 39% over the next 10 years. With a new facility, the TMC would be able to double the capacity of the ER, and add specialty services such as pediatrics. 

by Dr. Susanna Hoffman

Susanna hoffman with kalea Dr. Susanna Hoffman returns to Telluride Inside... and Out, with her Chicken Pot Pie in Filo Crust with Onions, Nutmeg, and Saffron ("The Olive and the Caper," Workman Press)

There hardly exists a nation where the mere mention of chicken pie fails to evoke homage and hunger. Greece is no exception, especially in the chill days of winter. The chicken pie of Greece, though, doesn’t arrive sunk in a deep pot and crusted on top (France) or crusted both under and over (America), both entailing the troublesome necessity of making, chilling, and rolling pie dough. Rather its dense stuffing lies between sheets of easy to use, pre-made, and available in the frozen food section: golden, crunchy filo. Inside the stewed chicken is infused with saffron and mixed with a wealth of amber-hued sauteed onions. On top of that, a dash of nutmeg combines with dill and lemon to open up all the flavors.    

by Dr. Susannah Smith

Our Bond with Animals

"The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men."
- Emile Zola (1840-1902)

"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened"
-Anatole France (1844-1924)

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."
-Will Rogers, 1897-1935

OD Storm As young psychology students, we were taught not to "anthropomorphize," meaning that we should NEVER attribute human characteristics to animals.  Animals were not people.  The general consensus was (is) that humans are the "superior" species, and certainly the only ones who have a soul.  And yet I was a child who talked with all animals, and who felt pain when an ant died.  I knew "they" were wrong, as a student and now.
 
When my mother was dying and quit eating, the doctors wanted give her food  through tubes.  When I suggested that I thought this was cruel – that all animals stop eating when preparing to die and that fasting reduced pain – only one doctor had the courage to agree.  He furtively told me that most people would tar and feather him for calling a person an animal.