Ideas/Weymouth: "Print is still very, very strong. We have a million readers a day."

Ideas/Sullivan: blogs can have more impact than books. More repetition, more conversation, more readers.

Andrew Sullivan on blogging: "This kind of a new medium comes along once in a lifetime."

Tryangiel of Time.com: "Internet advertising sucks." "It just looks cheesey."

Calacanis of Mahalo: "We as the audience are becoming part of the journalistic process. And it is a better process."

Online opportunities: Manager of Time.com says more people reading Time than ever before.

Goolsbee: we were very close to a depression.

Ideas day 2: Wessel of WSJ on economy "things are beginning to heal."

John Holdren taking questions: said good to have Prez "who gets it and who can explain it," meaning urgency of "global climate disruption."

Holdren: China now sez on climate: when US leads, we will follow.

Climate Czar Holdren: Senate must pass cap/trade 4 C'hagen to mean anything.

Ideas Fest staff says turn off phones during talk, due to audio interference. No Tweets!

Mercedes is a sponsor of the Ideas Fest this year.

Pleasant eve in the land of ideas.

Ideas Fest registration underway. Idea: let's go hiking, it is beautiful out

The sidewalk in front of Paepcke Auditorium It is not likely to look so empty the rest of the week, that's for sure. The event starts tonight at 5 p.m. with a session called "What's the Big Idea" and goes through next Sunday. There are still tickets available for some public events. The first "bold face names" will be out on Tuesday morning, when Sandra Day O'Conner speaks at 9 a.m. about the criminal justice system and Maria Bartiromo of CNBC moderates a panel discussion at 9 a.m. about the financial system. And on it goes from there. Aspen's in fine form for the festival. Hot sun much mo bettah than steady drizzle, yes?

Summer weather arrives

It looks like it will be a beautiful week leading into the Fourth of July this Saturday. Temps in the 80s with few clouds and just a light chance of showers. The last two days have been silky feeling with sunshine and warmth and near-perfect days. The Ideas Festival starts Monday and should pump up the volume in town along with the second week of the Music Festival. There is a sense of optimism in the air. But then, when the air is just perfect, it is hard to be a pessimist.

Sun returns for Aspen FAC.

Excuse me sir, but could you please stop choking your monkey?

Okay, this is isn't really fair. He's a nice guy. I asked if I could take his picture. He said, "Sure, but give me a minute" and he finished building his balloon monkey by putting its head on. Guy is an artist. It would take me a week to build a balloon monkey. He has a nice shady spot across from the playground on the mall. The kids like him. And since he made the monkey, he can do whatever he wants with it.

Jazz Aspen Snowmass JAS Academy band playing a tune Friday called "Antics." Perfect kind of jazz for a mellow and wet early afternoon. Not your average downtown scenario.

Rainy Friday on the Hyman Ave mall with its happy flowers.

Cooler today in Aspen, on opening day for music festival. Now it is summer.

Expensive field of green with long-weekend jets taking off behind the view.

Morning rush. Hot blue-sky day unfolding along the RF River.

Summer shows up in the valley with a hot streamside day. Hooray.

It really was a beautiful day. The first of summer, really. It arrived on cue with warm winds, sunshine and a general sense of Rocky Mountain bliss. Long overdue, that feeling.

Commuting with legends

Was toiling up Highway 82 Friday, coming around the dump curve, and there were suddenly scattered taillights and slowing cars just ahead. Couldn’t tell what was up, but the VW van easily slowed down. A little faceless sedan suddenly zoomed up in the mirror and cranked into the left lane only to be instantly confronted by another car also darting into the left lane. Ah yes, just another little life-threatening moment on Killer 82 to start the day. More brake lights now dead ahead. What? Two cars had slowed nearly to a stop. A black one was on the shoulder. A gold one was in the right-hand-lane, crawling up the highway. What? The gold car then swerved halfway onto the shoulder, then all the way over, cutting aggressively in front of the black car. Inside the lead car, a photographer strained forward, his lens against the windshield focused on two cyclists riding steadily uphill toward Aspen, on a highway shoulder rarely used by recreational bikers. With the commotion, it has to be…Lance and Levi, out for a training ride on a beautiful June morning. Up ahead on the shoulder, two black leather figures were climbing off a sleek motorcycle. One held a large video camera and was prepping to capture the legend’s ascent. It looked like a paparazzi battle, with teams of drivers and cameramen determined to capture the scenic sideshow of Lance in Aspen. And so the Lance Effect continues to grow, sending out ripples from Aspen to the cycling world.

Finally, sunny and in the 70s in downtown lanyard zone.

Aspen opens for the summer party season with a sunny warm day.

Jazz band working a groove on a cool Aspen Thursday.

If you’re coming for the weekend (and don't you think you should be?), bring fleece and a rain jacket! The forecast for Friday is for mostly cloudy skies with a high near 73, which should be pleasant enough. Highs on Saturday should hit 70, but there is a 40 percent chance of rain. Sunday should be less cloudy, with a high of 72. The nights at the music tent for the jazz will be cool, with a low of 43 Friday night and gusty winds on Saturday night. Fleece blankets will be highly prized in the tent during the shows.

Fryingpan River rolling coolly through town, awash in rain and spring energy...I will follow.

Chilly eve in Aspen,where summer has still yet to show. Maybe manana.

These boys are ready to go Jeepin'

More soon from the Aspen/Basalt Pet Patrol...

The little Aspen dogs of summer have arrived.

It is beginning to look a lot like summer, with the little spoiled dogs returning, like the salmon of Capistrano.

Rain-swollen Colorado River in Glenwood Springs Tuesday morn.