Blog-o-rama: Citizen journalism to global warming

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

One of the links in our weekly blog-o-ram leads to a blog about U.S. Forest Service efforts to develop a new paradigm for public land management.

Jackson Hole news

This week’s blogorama begins in Jackson Hole, where ski resort officials said skier days dipped about 5.6 percent from last season to a total of 413,684 — not as bad as it could have been, given the poor snowfall in the northern Rockies and the still-shaky economy. That’s the assessment from our blogging friends at JH Underground, who also reported that Mother Nature finally stepped it up a notch in early April, delivering 5 feet of snow in the past week. Jackson Hole president Jerry Blann also said spending by guests climbed enough during the second half of the winter that the resort will move ahead with some on-mountain improvements that could include a snowmaking upgrade. The April powder prompted Grand Targhee to stay open an extra week, through April 18, with $39 tickets for adults and $19 tickets for pre-teens. Get the details at JH Underground.

JH Underground also took a sharp poke at former VP Dick Cheney in a blog post based on reporting in the Times of London, a conservative paper that charged Cheney colluding to keep innocent people imprisoned at Guantánamo. The Times report is based on statement from a former chief of staff to Colin Powell, filed as part of a lawsuit by a Guantánamo detainee. The gist of the report, as recapped by JH Underground, is that the Bush administration knowingly kept innocent people in prison for political ends. “Remember that next time you bump into Cheney at Kmart or Whole Grocer,” JH Underground concludes. Read the post and subsequent comments here.

Denali-bound
Over at Lou Dawson’s Wild Snow blog, the team is still preparing for a Denali climb. One recent post include great detailed information on a Denali repair kit and advice on practicing stove repair at home, where it’s easier. The Wild Snow blog stream as always includes great product reviews, including this riff on Colorado-made Icelantic skis, and another post on the quest for super-light backcountry skis.

More blogorama after the break … (more…)

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Blogorama: Hot dogs, tulips and right-wing rants

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Redesigning the great American tubesteak ...

Redesigning the hot dog, right wing rants and so much more …

Bear blog
SUMMIT COUNTY — We begin this week’s perambulation through the blogosphere by pitching our own Bear Blog, part of the regular news feed on Summit Voice. As part of our efforts to maintain friendly relations between Summit County’s human residents and their furred and feathered neighbors, we’ve partnered with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to promote the Bear Aware campaign. In the bear blog, we scan headlines and science reports to bring you the latest ursine news from around the world. We’re hoping for a few guest blogs from notables like Smokey, or Yogi, but we’ll see if they respond to our request. Click here to check it out.

Grand Traverse
For some in-depth coverage of the Grand Traverse, we turn to Colorado Mountain Journal, which featured an up-close interview with Bryan Wickenhauser, a member of the winning team. Wickenhauser and his partner, Brian Smith, won the race, which usually traverse the Elk Mountains from Crested Butte to Aspen. But a powerful spring storm forced a last-minute route change, leading to some confusion. Read the Colorado MoJo interview with Wickenhauser here.

The Petal and Bean offers flower arrangements and much more.

Tulip time!
If you’re feeling that tingling spring sensation, swing by the Petal and Bean blog, where the latest post features some outstanding tulip photography, including shots from the Denver Botanic Garden, where spring apparently has already sprung. Checking this out inspired us to search for some other tulip blogs, not knowing what we would find. but lo and behold, here’s a link to the Keukenhof Gardens, Ground Zero for tulips as far as we can tell. And then this blog, with some cool aerial shots of tulip fields in Holland. More blogs after the break … (more…)

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Blog-O-rama: Uphill skiing & wine, women and song …

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Reality Sandwich, one of our favorite blog stops, posted some information on how to help victims of the floods in Peru's Urubamba Province, around Machu Picchu. Please click on the image to learn more. PHOTO VIA CREATIVE COMMONS.

This week we check out a wine bar in Breckenridge and revisit the scene of a deadly backcountry avalanche in the Tetons

Wine, women and song
We’re starting out this week’s blog-o-rama with another guest riff by Ashley Dickson, the Gypsy Journalist, who recently paid a visit to D’Vine Wine, a wine bar on Main Street in Breckenridge for some music, merlot and massage, along with live music by Naked Pete (don’t ask).

Here’s an excerpt from Ashley’s blog:

“Suddenly, this whole experience was starting to feel like summer camp, but with booze.

The speakers came to life and Naked Pete began blasting out all the classics on requests, “American Pie” by Don McLean, “Gin and Juice” by Snoop Dogg, and my favorite Neil Diamond sing-along, “Sweet Caroline.”

A purple balloon suit fashioned to look like a bunch of grapes came out and a free glass of wine was promised to anyone who would put on the suit to attract more customers from off the street. I passed on the street performance but somehow didn’t shy away from jumping up to help Naked Pete  belt out a few songs, whether he wanted the help or not.

Before I knew it, there were two bottles of empty One Tree red in front of us, with another one on the way, and things were starting to get blurry … This was not your typical stuffy wine bar, and as I looked around at folks starting to get tipsy and rowdy, I realized this place had the heart of a local college hang out with the soul of a boisterous Irish pub.”
Read the rest of the story at the Gypsy Journalist blog.

Get the rest of this week’s blog scan after the break.

(more…)

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Blog-o-rama: Dancing chimps, ninja wings and good tequila

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, is getting some attention because there may be some water beneath the surface. PHOTO COURTESY NASA.

This week we feature a new Breck eatery, a local photoblog, dancing chimps and news from deep space. We are in the blogosphere!

Wings with a ninja kick
Every week we take a gander around the blogosphere to see what folks in Colorado have on their minds. We start in Breckenridge, where Ashley Dickson, who blogs as the Gypsy Journalist, checked out a new eatery recently and reported that Northside Pizza dishes up some tasty pies at reasonable prices, along with wings that pack a ninja kick.

Here’s an excerpt from her post, describing her boyfriend’s first encounter with the wicked wings:

“Jake had talked a lot of game before the wings arrived, and after he shoved one in his mouth, he went completely silent.

“This is just wrong,” he pleaded. “My whole body is sweating. I feel messed up. Look, I’m shaking. Who would do this to themselves?”

No amount of water or bread could cool the fire, and I watched the boys writhe in agony as they waited for the heat to subside. I admit, I was laughing at their pain, and I couldn’t help but think of the guy from Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. No wonder that show has garnered such a fan base. it’s kinda fun to see grown men cry over chicken wings.

The bartender wouldn’t reveal the secret mix of spices that gave the Double Black Diamond their ninja kick to the gut, but he admitted that the peppers registered into the hundred thousands on the Scoville heat scale. To put that in perspective, a jalapeno pepper comes out to 5,000 on the scale.” Read the rest of the blog about Northside Pizza here.

(more…)

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Strolling down the boulevard of blogs …

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

One of our regular reads around the Colorado blogosphere is Outta The Cornfield, which this week features a link to powerful essay by Audrey Rose about life and loss in a resort community. Click on the image to visit Outta The Cornfield.

Welcoming Mr. Summit County, Gary Lindstrom, to the Summit Voice blogroll, and we’re also stopping in to visit with the Gypsy Journalist, who is advocating for global womens rights, with Jackson Hole Underground for look at Wyoming climate changes, and Wild Snow, where Lou Dawson’s crew is prepping for a Denali expedition.

It’s time once again for our virtual weekly stroll through the blogosphere, where we, in the spirit of Web 2.0, encourage you to click often and click hard to explore all the nooks and crannies of this wonderful thing we call the internet. We know, there are some sites out there that are all about keeping you on their proprietary content, but to us, that’s fighting against the essence of what the web is all about. We say the more links the better and would like to start by welcoming Gary Lindstrom, aka Mr Summit County, to the virtual pages of Summit Voice. Who better than Gary to bring you little pearls of daily wisdom from the high country? We’ve added Gary to our blogroll (over in the right-hand sidebar, just scroll down a little way), where you can click on his blog every day, and we’ll check in on his blog from time to time and post a link when we find something we’d like to share.

A few days ago, Gary wrote a riff on contrails that probably speaks to many of us who have looked up at the sky and wondered where all those planes are coming from and going to. Read more of his blog here.

And check out the rest of this week’s blog-o-rama after the break … (more…)

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New blogs at Summit Voice

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Scotty Bondo, newest blogger at Summit Voice

Ever wondered why your cats are staring at you? Scotty Bondo thinks he has the answer: He’s pretty sure they want to eat you.

We’re psyched to add Scotty  to the Summit Voice blogroll. Not only can he be philosophical about his cats’ apparent desire to eat him, but he can ride a unicycle and juggle at the same time. Following is an excerpt from his latest blog post, but be sure to click on the “read more” link to check out the full story. Then scroll down for a wonderful photographic tour of Japan and much more.

We’ll follow Scotty’s blog adventures and post links when we see something we like, but suggest that you subscribe to his blog so that you don’t miss anything.

By Scotty Bondo

Ever catch your cat just staring at you? They are just waiting…and watching . Cats tolorate your annoying habit of still living because you can work a can opener and they cannot. So they wait. Every day they will crawl up on your lap or on your chest and get their face right up in yours. We think it’s cute, or a sign of affection, but no…they are seeing if you are still breathing. They take a little sample of your breath and caculate how much longer you may have. Do you think your cats are licking on you with their little raspy tongues because they like you, or need salt, or are just “grooming” you like their mothers did? NO…they are tasting you and wondering what wine will go with you best. My cats will wail and cry if you shut them out of a room if even for a few minutes, they are afraid I am going to die in there and they will not be able to get in. Every time I lie down on the bed or couch they are both on top of me in an instant, holding me down, waiting…watching.

Read more here …

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