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TIO's Eileen Burns was out and amongst 'em in Telluride on New Year's Eve.She passed along a few photos to celebrate the beginning of 2009. Mayor Stu Fraser is shown with Town Council Member Andrea Benda and his wife, Ginny.  ...

[click play button to hear Art Goodtimes interview]

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Art & Rio

I created “Doers” in February 1993, when Tony Daryani and Mike Ritchey asked me to write a weekly column for their newborn Telluride Daily Planet.  

The column continued to appear every Friday during Telluride’s high seasons of winter and summer until August 2008, when my career took a sharp right turn into the blogosphere. By then I had profiled 462 local notables and international celebrities.

(At #500, Will Thompson of the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art , “Telluride Inside… and Out’s” first official sponsor, has threatened to throw a major shindig for any Doer still kicking around town.)

“Doers” now continues in “Telluride Inside…and Out” – TIO for short – a blogazine all about the zazz of the region: what makes Telluride and surrounds such a unique address on the planet.

For a snowsnake's eye view of the annual Christmas Eve torchlight parade down Telluride's Coonskin Run, check out this video. If you missed it on 24 December, there will be another on New Year's Eve.For the record, I didn't have to carry a torch. ...

James Colt began skiing with the Telluride Adaptive Sports Program last season. In the Autumn of 2006, James had just finished a two pitch climb in Ophir, Colorado, when he was struck by a large chunk of falling rock, which resulted in a serious traumatic brain injury. A long and painful recovery left him with extensive paralysis of his entire right side. In view of his injuries, his progress at the beginning of last ski season was remarkable, but related injuries prevented him from continuing- a major disappointment for him (and for me, as I had been his instructor).

Over the Summer, James put in countless hours on his rehab, including huge miles on his recumbent 3-wheeler, and an equally impressive number of miles walking. At the end of November, 2008, we began again: a full day learning again to maneuver in ski equipment that had once been so familiar, and beginner work on the Magic Carpet.

Scrooge. Tiny Tim. Bah -- humbug! The words from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol hang in the frosty holiday air like our chilled breath. More than a century and a half after its publication in 1843, the story of the miser-turned-humanitarian remains a fixture in the tinsel-strewn landscape of the season.

Peter Ackroyd is the foremost living biographer of Dickens and chief literary critic of The Times of London. He also wrote the Foreword to the most recent Christmas gift book put out by Red Rock Press, A Christmas Dinner. Ackroyd weighs in on the enduring popularity of Dickens tale and its grizzled protagonist.

[Click the play button to hear]

Jeb Berrier
is Robin Williams on skis: a deranged lunatic with exhibitionist leanings and talent to burn.

During the Christmas season, the actor/director likes to hang with a few of his close friends, fellow actors, and put on a holiday play at the historic Sheridan Opera House. In general, we are talking tour de farce.

Case in point, this years romp: Bob's Holiday Office Party.

Office Party is a lewd, crude alternative to standard holiday treacle such as Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life.

Showtime is 8 p.m., December 18-22, at the Opera House.

In this irreverent, crude, fast-paced, ferociously funny production an insurance ace Bob Finhead (Jeb) prepares to host yet another annual holiday boozefest. His guests are his neighbors, the genetically challenged denizens of Neuterberg, Iowa, a paean to small-town America, where life happens. And all is not well.

I grew up in and around New York, a place known for ethnic diversity, where a handle like "Smith" is as rare as a street with no traffic or trash. The name smacks of white bread and white linen.

OD 2 Susannah is anything but. She is a kaleidoscope of colors. However this true introvert does not announce her many gifts. She unwraps them slowly or obliquely in conversations over time, casually tossing over her shoulder (like discarded peanut shells) the fact she is a practicing clinical psychologist, executive coach, systems consultant, author, composer, soprano, and one-time pilot.

Susannah does not take herself too seriously: she is who she is.
We on the other hand are honored to call her friend and confidante.

Dr. Smith has agreed to join "Telluride Inside…and Out's" team of writers. She will be contributing a weekly advice column, beginning now with her first "Shrink Rap."