Category Archives: Pursuit of Happiness
Gimme My Grammy?
Nominations for the 61st Grammy Awards are out for the show to broadcast 10 February 2019. Brandi Carlile makes a strong showing across the board, with a nomination for Record of the Year for The Joke with Dave Cobb & Shooter … Continue reading
Russell Lakes National Landmark
US Hwy 285 in the San Luis Valley crosses the Russell Lakes National Natural Landmark. Established in 1975 in Saguache County, the site protects Colorado’s largest remaining bulrush marsh and provides plant and animal habitat in the increasing developed mountain … Continue reading
Americana Music Awards 2018: We Can Do Better
Executive Summary: Jason Isbell won the Americana awards. Again. And he deserves it. The Americana Honors & Awards honored and awarded the toast of Nashville for 2018, as voted by the members of the Americana Music Association. I was once … Continue reading
Pagosa Rotary Independence Day Parade
I love a parade. I helped organize the Pagosa Rotary Club‘s Independence Day Parade this year. We put on a bit of a show for the tourists and locals alike. Like the Librarians and their carts, my personal favorite this … Continue reading
Cloman Park
Archuleta County’s Cloman Park features 120-acres of passive recreation (plus a disc-golf course, but how active is that?) north of Cloman Industrial Park, tucked in behind Stevens Field airport. Take Piedra Road (County Rd 600) to Cloman Blvd and drive … Continue reading
Denver’s Civic Center Park
The Civic Center in Denver, at the intersection of Colfax and Broadway, is the beating heart of Colorado, stretching from the Colorado Capitol to Denver City Hall. The statue on the west steps of the Capitol Building is a Civil … Continue reading
Modernism Overlooking Tradition
Pagosa Springs, Colorado, is a tourist town, and we want to encourage our visitors to stop downtown and admire the scenery…and our shops. Pagosa Springs also has a rich heritage and tradition as a Western, Mountain town, far from fancy … Continue reading
Kukla, Fran & Ollie: A Nation of Immigrants
Burr Tillstrom—the puppeteer behind the Kukla, Fran & Ollie children’s show—is my family’s claim to fame. I missed his centenary last autumn. Franklin Burr Tillstrom was born 13 October 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, and had an older brother Richard (1911-2008). … Continue reading
JC’s Top Tunes of 2017
They say art thrives in the face of chaos, that genius requires difficulty that must be overcome. 2017 was a difficult year for many—to the benefit of roots music, and hopefully, eventually, to the greater good. We lost friends like … Continue reading
2017 Blog Posts in Review—Political Order, Political Decay
Online traffic follows the new. In 2017, JCShepard.com wasn’t so much of the new and our numbers reflect that. But that’s OK. I played a lot of music. I read a lot of books. I didn’t get out to play … Continue reading
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