Rink Rats vs. Politicians

Hockey Night in Aspen is something special.  When the buzzer sounds people from all walks of life show up at the Aspen Ice Garden to "skate it".  Like most athletes in Aspen,the hockey community @ Aspen Ice Garden takes themselves pretty seriously.  Its a diverse group, united by their love of Hockey.  Skating hard at 8,000 ft is not for the feint of heart.

We understand that budget cuts must be made by the City of Aspen.  We understand that development fees collected by the City may decrease by 50% from the recent peak. Closing the smelly but beloved Ice Garden is not the solution.

The smartest guy i know says "if you have an asset that's not utilized, it becomes a liability".  If the Aspen Ice Garden is closed for half the year, as proposed, it will become a liability.  Maybe that's by design.  Is it a part of the City's "master plan"?  Maybe its the first step on the way to converting the recreational facility (enjoyed by hundreds of adults & kids) into employee housing or free-market condos, or a big daddy Hotel or something that will generate more development fees.  Something smells funny; & its not just the incredibly sweaty hockey gear housed in the Ice Garden's groady locker rooms.

Privatization of the Aspen Ice Garden is a good idea, lets make it work.

Caribou Club

Caribou's Billy Stolz and Brenda Barna keepin' it real at the door.Aspen's night life is legendary. The undisputed champion of Aspen After Dark is the extremely private, CARIBOU CLUB.  Aspen has a few contenders and several pretenders, but "the bou" is clearly the "King of the Night".

The super-posh Caribou Club has been a fixture in Aspen for decades. Caribou's longevity is amazing, given that the typical lifecycle for a nightclub in Aspen is about 2 seasons, . Conceived by mythic developer Harley Baldwin who turned lower level "dead space" on the Collins block into the most exclusive club between NYC and LA.  Membership has its privileges @ Caribou. The dining room is renown for its cuisine and can accommodate private parties of any size.  Members can have a cozy dinner for two in one of the elegant banquettes or they can go HUGE in a private dining room.

Vlad has the game to handle Zanna & Jen.After dinner, the Bou turns into the best night-club in America.  Around 11 pm, the tables are cleared, the music begins to pulse and all the beautiful people start to "get after it". The storied dance floor fills up fast with fabulous women and antique men (just kidding guys). Its a party scene that should not be missed. Caribou members always have first priority of course, but temporary members and guests can sometimes make the cut. Proprietor Billy Stolz and his right hand lady, Brenda Barna run an extremely tight ship @ the door. So dress sharp, tip big and if you're  really a playa, maybe, just maybe, you too can experience Aspen after dark the way it should be experienced--- ------at the legendary CARIBOU CLUB.HollyWood playa Pete Berg and reality star Kat Saari feeling the beat @ Caribou. 

Laura Hoffman and Nancy Ho gettin it done-- late night @ the Bou.

Aspen Extreme

Aspen Extreme.  You've seen the movie.  You know u wanna "live the dream" just like T.J. Burke and Dexter Rutecki (a blessed memory).  You definitely wanna bang a super-rich cougar with a killa pad up on Red Mountain (with an indoor pool, over near the Maroon Bells??).  YEP!!   Its all right here in Aspen.

T.I.A.  Detroit---thaz history.

Last night we re-lived the Hollywood version of our real life.  ASPEN EXTREME celebrated its 15th Anniversary with a fund raiser for AVSC@ the Wheeler Opera House.  There were stars and bars and velvet ropes everywhere. It all started with a VIP reception at the new LIMELIGHT LODGE(great event space), followed by a Q & A with the Hollywood folks and then a rowdy showing of the "cult classic" film.  The 90's themed after-party at Cantina was a surreal mixture of fact and fiction as the gloves were dropped and the tequila flowed like beer, which flowed like wine, which flowed like water.  Whatever? It got wild and it was BIG fun, all for AVSC.

 click da pix @  ASPEN EXTREME.

The Aspen Extreme Team click 4 pix in Da VIP. click 4 pix

Aspen Art Scene

Massimiliano Gioni and Heidi Z Jacobson @ AAM.Art is everywhere.  In Aspen, art is especially accessible.  We take advantage of The Aspen Art Museum, it's a big-city resource in our little mountain town.  We recently attended a lecture/ slide show given by super-hot curator, Massimiliano Gioni from The New Museum and The Wrong Gallery in NYC.  WOW he showed off some crazy photos of his special exhibitions from around the world.  Most of his stuff is wildly collaborative performance art and very grassroots.  We found Gioni's rap to be fascinating.

In fact, after the lecture we sought out some of Aspen's local artists.  There's plenty of accessible art right here in the valley:  Each of these Aspen artists is google-able---check it out.

Local pseudo artist Stosh Bellsky & Travis McClain at a recent showing @ Radio Boardshop.

Tania Dibbs at her "live" gallery on Hyman Ave. Mall. photo: Paul Conrad  Local Artist Carrie Kaplan loves the work.

Sarah and Kate Olson ( shhh she's a skier) in front of Stoshs art wall @ Radio.

Aspen Shuffle

Check out the latest entrant into Aspen's on-line universe.  Ryan Chadwick has developed ASPEN SHUFFLE -----   free classified ad's for Aspen.  You can buy, sell, rent, trade --do it all for free @ Aspen Shuffle.