The film industry is in the midst of a sea change, ushering out the century-old motion picture projection system for new digital technology.

For two local theaters — Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House and Carbondale’s Crystal Theatre — the coming two weeks are a pivotal time in the transition, as the Wheeler celebrates its last film screenings and the Crystal pushes to raise money to keep itself afloat and convert to digital.

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Orchid Show at the Jerome
Did you know that the number of orchid species on earth quadruples the total of mammal species and doubles the number of bird species on Earth?

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After years of frustratingly inconsistent play on the links, I finally got a taste of consistency on the greens recently, thanks to a new grip that I demo’d.

An Aspen golf pro shop employee was kind enough to lend me the putter belonging to head PGA pro of the municipal course, David DiMartino, to try out a new grip called the Super Stroke. DiMartino had re-gripped his traditional putter grip with the “Fatso” model.

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Iremember after "Kite Runner" came out in 2003, and it seemed like almost everyone had read it, people started coming into the bookstore looking for more of Khaled Hosseini’s books and writing. People were astonished to hear that it was his first book and were very disappointed to find that there was not more available from him. This went on for years. Every so often I would return to the book-search sites to seek information about any upcoming projects or publication dates of new material. We waited for the sequel.

And then there was "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (2007), which joined "Kite Runner" as one of my favorite all-time books. There are passages in "Suns" that, even though I have read them many times, still bring tears to my eyes.

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This weekend in Aspen is shaping up to be one of those magical weekends of lore, where a three-day weekend combines with bluebird skies and 70-degree temperatures, Independence Pass is open for business and the road to the Maroon Bells is clear, Aspen Skiing Co. is opening the top of the mountain for skiing and boarding and the Roaring Fork River is flowing hard for rafters and kayakers. And that's not to mention all the other summer sport fun to be had.

It's not uncommon to find locals doing two, three, or even four outdoor activities in a single day around these parts — and that's without trying very hard. The days are long and the options are plentiful. See how many of these 10 activities you can pull off this weekend.

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Food shapes a culture and a culture shapes food. Much of traveling revolves around sampling local fare, from deep-dish pizzas in Chicago to crepes in Paris. For hosts, it’s like laying out a welcome mat and inviting people into their homes—quite literally sometimes too.  

The most important thing I learned to say while visiting Thailand earlier this month wasn’t please or thanks, but “aroi ka.” It translates to “that’s delicious,” but it was the equivalent of jumping across the table, giving the server a giant hug and saying “you are such an amazing and wonderful human being.”

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Last week I attended the sixteenth annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, which was held on the grounds of the GoldenEye Winery on the edge of tiny Philo, Calif., in the beating heart of Mendocino County's Anderson Valley.

In case you haven't caught on in the past decade or so, this valley and its wine production really has its mojo working. As the three-day festival kicked off, so too was the brand new issue of Wine Spectator touting — with cover story and all — this valley and its progression of high quality, some almost otherworldly, pinot noir.  

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Rapper. Actor. Producer. Father of gangsta rap.

The legendary Ice Cube graces the stage of Belly Up on Tuesday, May 28. A rap icon and undoubtedly one of the most talented and influential MCs of all time, Ice Cube these days is known for live performances that maintain his street cred and pluck the best of his hard-hitting rhymes from his nine albums. Meanwhile, he’s carved out a pop culture niche as a family-friendly actor in the “Barbershop” and “Are We There Yet?” franchises — achieving crossover success on a level no other rapper has touched. And he didn’t even have to use his AK.

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