Ear to the ground

“She loves Christmas even more than Jesus does.”

– A pair of Durangoans discussing a mutual friend who has had the tree up and carols playing since mid-October

Twelve Days of Telegraph

Saint Nick has a little surprise for Durango Telegraph readers this year. He’s springing for a full week off for Telegraphers and giving your reading glasses a well deserved rest.

That’s right folks, there will be no paper under your tree on Thurs., Dec. 24. Instead, our editors, reporters, sales folk and photographers will be enjoying a well-deserved rest.

In all honesty, past Christmas editions have also been a little light on content and advertising. Plus, we kinda liked going on vacation the last two years. As a result, the Durango Telegraph will once again be taking Christmas week off.

But before you pick up the phone, pick up another publication or pick up on a rumor that we’ve gone out of business, rest easy. We will be putting out another stunning, content-rich “double-issue” on Thurs., Dec. 17. That edition will contain all the news, opinion and entertainment you need to weather two weeks of the season in style. We encourage you to give the issue a leisurely holiday read.

However, an early edition also means early deadlines, and the Telegraph will be looking for a little help from its adoring public during these tinsel-filled times. “On the Town” entertainment submissions for the weeks of Dec. 17 & 24 will be due by 5 p.m. on Mon., Dec. 14. Classified advertising for both weeks will be due Dec. 15 at noon.

And as in past years, we encourage readers with grievances about the holiday issue to file them in-person. We can be found somewhere at Purgatory, Chapman Hill, the local backcountry or the beachside in the Dominican Republic.

Suds in space

A cosmic ale rolled off the line in Japan this week. Sapporo has released its extremely limited edition Space Barley, a beer made with barley grown from seeds that orbited Earth aboard the International Space Station.

The seeds spent five months in the the Russian laboratory orbiting Earth. After returning to Japan, the seeds were planted, cultivated and the barley grown from their fourth-generation offspring was made into beer. Sapporo is releasing only 250 six-packs of Space Barley and has already received thousands of orders.

A sixer of Space Barley sells for 10,000 yen, approximately $120 – or $20 a bottle. Sapporo will take orders for the beer until Christmas Eve, and then select the lucky drinkers through lottery. All proceeds ($30,000) will be donated to educational and research projects.