The Cougar Show

Reality TV has hit Aspen. Yup, its true,a VH1 / MTV production team is in town filming a pilot, tentatively called "Tough Love". We've heard it called, The Cougar Show. Several local ladies were chosen by VH1 to get "mic-ed up" and "followed" around Aspen. Each of the women are nice, attractive, social, sexy and stylish. Whether their lives make for compelling TV, that is yet to be determined.

For the record, WE LOVE ALL the GIRLZ, ---individually, together and as often as possible. We just hope the camera-men and the beanie wearing, walkie-talkie-wielding producers (led by Brett Weinstock) don't turn their lives into a sh*t show. BE CAREFUL GIRLZ; REALITY BITES.

We attended a few of the groovy parties that were "staged" for the show. We'll come right out and say it, LOUD and CLEAR: We prefer to party FREE-STYLE.But everybody wants to be on TV, right?. So we slicked it back, put on a blazer (?) and showed up to the alcohol (?) fueled "reality" parties. It was fun to observe the production, and see how the "stars" reacted to the red light, but it was far from reality. With equal parts fascination and nausea we watched and snapped a few.

Click REALITY BITES to see some pix.Aspen Reality TV: Click 4 Pix

Reality Bites: Click 4 PixWe've also heard rumours about BRAVO casting a reality show of a similar genre in Aspen."More of a character study" said one insider, right?. Also talk of a Cougar movie, zzzzzz. It'll be interesting to see if either of the shows ever see the light of day.

The BOYZ are BACK / Gay Ski Week in Aspen

Gay Ski Week in Aspen.It's Gay Ski Week (GSW) in Aspen and the BOYZ are BACK.

In Aspen, it's time to "rock out with your c*ck out". Let your rainbow flag fly and "jacuz with dudes".  As always, GSW is a rowdy, party filled week of fun, decadence, and pleasure.   While competition from other GSW's (namely Whistler and Telluride) has dwindled the numbers in Aspen, these  guys (and a few gals) definitely know how to "get after it".   The skiing, the roving cocktail parties, gallery night, a gay vs. straight hockey match, the "drag" ski parade on Ajax, and the BIG DADDY of them all, the POOL PARTY make for a raucous weekend.

Hey --- its all good.  Boyz will  be boyz (and girls) in Aspen.  They shop, they dine, they drink to excess and they spend big bucks.  Then---- poof---they're gone. 

Lift 1A / Kiss Your Sister

Aspen: The town with 2500 voters, 5000 residents and 100,000 opinions.

Aspen Spin stepped off the party train for one night to attend the "special" City Council meeting regarding the Lift 1A development controversy. Political commentary is not normally our milieu, but we are concerned with the ongoing QUALITY of LIFE in Aspen.                                           

                                        WLift 1A on the hot seat.e're totally against the COWOP approved plan to build approximately 300,000 square feet at Lift 1A. City Council's stalemated vote of 2-2 will put the fate of the project in the hands of Aspen's voters in May. Remember one thing when you send in your absentee ballot from Mexico, this project is all about the Benjamins, not quality of life.

In our opinion the chief negative of the current plan is the MASSIVE SCALE proposed. To clarify, we're not against growth or progress or community improvements. We are against GREED, TRAFFIC, NOISE POLLUTION, a 500 CAR GARAGE, and more FRACTIONALIZATION.  The SUPER-SIZED proposal that developers claim they "need" to make their project "a go" seems ill conceived, overly complex and waaaaaaaaay to big for the 8 acre site.  Is there even a real market demand for such a project?  In 2009, the answer is no.  Will the demand be there in 2012----maybe, who knows? Can they even get financing for such an ambitious project---that too is up for speculation, but it won't be easy. There are a lot of unanswered questions.

We've all borne witness to some HUMONGOUS developments around the Valley.

Base Village     So huge it blocks the sun,demand has dried up, completion on hold.

Stage 3             Partially complete and on-hold, nice skeleton on Main St.

RLN                   About a year behind schedule, lawsuits galore, a visual eyesore.

LimeLight          Moderately priced rooms w/ reasonable scale. Seems to work.

Highway 82       The most expensive bus lane in history.

Whole Foods      Gigantic hole in the ground, maybe it will get done someday.

Ute Ave Home    Have you seen the carnage to the Mountain over there?

Highlands            The Dark Village.

Hyatt                   Seems to fit in.  Better than the Continental Inn.

Aspen doesn't need a project like the 300,000 sq ft. one that is currently proposed at Lift 1A. We need tastefully designed "lodges" with reasonable density, moderate heights and preservation of open space. Maybe Aspen needs "hot beds", but please don't allow another edifice to greed to be erected at the base of Lift 1A.

You decide for yourself. We vote no!!

WinterSkol 09

ACRA in Action: click 4 Skol pix.WinterSkol in Aspen is always a special weekend. "Winter fun since 1951"!! When our Aspen fore bearers came up with WinterSkol it was to attract tourists to Aspen during a traditionally quiet period in January. It's not quiet anymore. The Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) always does a stellar job of creating a non-stop weekend of fun----for all ages. ACRA's WINTERSKOL 09,  POWDER DAYS and STELLAR NIGHTS ruled.

Whether you're into music, food, art, science, animals, parades, partying or just chillaxing--- WinterSkol 09 had something for you. We put the 58th Annual WinterSkol in the category of-- "if u ain't havin' fun now---what's the deal-yo?"  Loosely translated: Go BIG, or go home. Aspen Spin attended many of the scheduled events and we even went "too legit to quit" and judged the WinterSkol parade. Niiiiice!

See the WINTERSKOL 09 action. Click: SKoL Brother.

SoupSkol always rocks. click 4 Skol Brother pixOne small item: Is anybody elsegetting tired of fireworks in Aspen? Yeah they're cool & all, but is the environmental impact, noise pollution and thousands of freaked out pets really worth it? I dunno?

Kenneth Mark, M.D.

FACT: AspenSpin has never had a botox treatment.

FACT: Kenneth Mark M.D. F.A.A.D.is a highly trained professional dermatologist.

FACT: Extreme mountain conditions can cause havoc with your skin.

FACT: If we were gonna cross over---Kenny Mark would be the guy we'd choose to perform all of our cosmetic surgeries, botox injections, derm. abrasions etc, etc.

 We trust Kenny Mark.  Dr. Mark has been an Aspen semi-local for several years. He skis with the Bell Mountain Buckaroos, the infamous local ski gang and he never inhales in the bucket. His primary practice is based in Manhattan ----and we're all familiar with the high-maintenance clientele that hails from NYC --- but he has office hours in Aspen too. He's known as the best "skin Doc" in town. Trust us, Kenny can get you dialed in.

So whether you're a hottie cougar, a raging metro-sexual who wants to suspend the aging process, or just a 'beautiful person' who needs to get a little "tune-up" on your appearance----Call or Click: KENNETH MARK, M.D. F.A.A.D. He's the best---tell 'em AspenSpin sent you.

Dr. Kenneth Mark (right) is the Top Skin Doctor in Aspen. He'll work wonders with your skin.Click to Contact Dr.Kenneth Mark.