New Ventures!!!!!

So starting today, I'm starting research for a new web concept that I'm going to try to keep as stealth as possible, but basically an open source social networkish sight for teaching professionals. It may work, but may not, but hopefully will give birth to a slew of other ideas that could actually generate a cool concept. The goal is to get our site into TechStars next summer here in Boulder, or Y Combinator if they are back up and taking submissions. So its pretty exciting and hopefully weekly updates here will keep me honest about keeping  up to speed with progress on the site. Should be fun.

Response to Dick Morris's : Here Comes Socialism

I wrote down a couple thoughts on Dick Morris's recent article on thehill.com (http://thehill.com/dick-morris/the-obama-presidency--here-comes-socialism-2009-01-20.html)

Dick Morris’s analysis of the future of Obama’s is somewhat sobering. Although I would like to think that Presidents Obama’s economic plan for this country would pull out of the upcoming recession I would have to agree with Mr. Morris’s assessment that the current planned investment not only are illogical but also repeating the mistakes of the past.

            One of the first points that Mr. Morris brings up is increased government regulation. Many economic analysts have argued that it was because of relaxed oversight of lending and financial institutions that many defunct loans were approved bring about all of these toxics assists that the government backed banks, such as Citi Group and BofA, are what’s weighting down our economy currently. This maybe the case, however in economics price floors and ceilings are not the most efficient way to allocate resources. Morris states that if Obama tightens the reigns on lenders making us similar to Japan’s Fed, which has the propensity to make investment decisions on a bizarre hybrid between capitalism, bureaucracy, and socialism that to me sounds horrible. 

            Getting away from vague opinionated terminology, from the most basic model of GDP (Y=C(k,l)+I(r)+G) we know ceteris paribus that GDP here is in equilibrium, however Obama wants to increase G which in turn will increase C(especially in the present case with work programs and new energy technologies) however to maintain equilibrium investment will go down, and increase interest rates making it increasingly more difficult of private firms to generate new business ventures without the assistance of the Federal government, which brings us back to the idea of a socialist reign for the Obama administration.

            Many liberal economists and pundits disdain Dick Morris and dismiss him as a ignorant neo-con. Although I’m not a huge fan of some of his wording, you cant argue with results: Obama announced today that company receiving TARP funds top executives would have a salary cap of five hundred thousand dollars, which he predicted when he wrote this a month ago. Now I think that idea is prudent right now since execs compensation has been controversial topic since the begging of the banks collapse, however this can be the first misstep on a slippery slop toward socialism.

Quick top ten list for last year: Hardcore/Metal Albums

1. Shai Hulud : Misanthropy Pure - This band has always never received the credit that was due to them, for reasons I don't understand. There has never been one phony element of this band: no gimmicks, stupid hair cuts, utterly pointless breakdowns, merch about partying, or another lame pick up line the scene uses to try to pull kids in.  They've played from the heart, and wrote some of the most potent and trend setting songs in hardcore and metal. This couldn't be anymore evident than on Misanthropy Pure.

What really makes me happy about this album is the improved tonal quality. I'm pretty sure on Profound Hatred Of Man, Matt (Fox, guitar) was using marshall solid state amps. Just really bothered me, especially because of the great music. However, this time around Shai Hulud's guitar tone is fantastic, and is mixed perfectly with drum production. Lyrics are a wonderful introspective of the scene over the duration of their existence. Venomspreader should be required reading for every Emmure flat bill kid (if they can read that is).

I also think that if metalcore wants to stay relevant, they should pick up on some of the aggression that is coming out of the hardcore punk community right now with emphasis on the "punk", and the aforementioned  Venomspreader should be guidebook for it, perfectly meshing great metal technical challenging metal riffs while still capturing the punk feel.

I really don't have enough to say about the album, it really needs to be the direction that metalcore needs to head, sadly I think its just not going to catch on with the masses, but will undoubtedly be referenced for influence for years to come.

2. Animosity - Animal : This album really came out in 07 but really was a 08 album, so I'll throw it in anyway. Riff maniacs is what these guys are, at every sense of an ensemble. Pound for pound the most talented band in the genre. What I really love is the band sticking with NYHC style breakdowns instead of dropping the influence altogether like many of their "deatcore" peers. Navene Koperweis is a monster of a drummer, and Franks wha wha solos really round out the overall aesthetic of the album. Animal is one of those albums that will take years of repeted listens to wrap your head around, so much packed in it, its great.

3. Verse : Aggression - We all new Verse was special with From Anger and Rage, and Aggression further solidifies that. Already set apart lyrically from 90% of their peers, musically its fantastic as well. There's probably no better band that melds both the harder and melodic sides of hardcore. Really love everything about this album. Pretty much everything I've said about Have Heart could be applied to Verse as well.

4. Have Heart : Songs To Scream At The Sun - If you don't know Have Heart yet, you need to get real. This band has been paving the way for a restoration of honesty in hardcore for years and it feels like their message is catching on. The personal element of all Have Hearts elements is correcting the course hardcore was going down. The idea isn't necessarily to push an agenda, but that Pat Flynn really bares his soul for the Have Hearts audience creating a personal bond that can only be described by seeing them live. I saw them at the (now defunct) Underground in Denver last summer, and Pat didn't need a mic the whole time. The audience member who truly gets what Have Hearts about will experience a show like they've never seen before, it boarders on spiritual.

 

5. Century : Black Ocean - 90's hardcore has really not got the respect that is due to it, with bands like Strongarm, Refused, and Botch I feel have been lost in the mix and both the more popular metalcore end and the crucial segments of hardcore. However Century gives a big middle finger to all of that non sense and cuts loose with effort. Truly crushing is only way to describe black ocean, great balance of creativity and brutality. My only complaint is to turn down the kick a little, as it match's with every single riff and can get a little repetitive. 

6. Trapped Under Ice : Stay Cold - Definitely my favorite straight up hardcore album of the year, most people who don't know just blow them off as a Terror rip off, which couldn't be further from the truth. The Riffage is truly mind blowing, crusshing, and heavy without resorting to either ripping of Madball or Throwdown which has pretty much encompassed every band breakdowns for the last several years. Theirs are creative but not over the edge, and the lyrics are probably the toughest thing I've ever heard come out of anyones mouth, wow.

7. Cancer Bats : Hail Destoyer - Another band that I was initially really not into, mainly because of the whole southern rock thing, but this just goes to show that good bands will stand out even in the midst of crap. Awesome riffing with great grove and feel, you can party or mosh to this one take your pick, have yet to see these guys live but maybe will soon. Lucifers Rocking chair has to have one of the dopest riffs I've ever heard in it. Check it out.

8. Trap Them : Seizures In Barren Praise - My first experience with this band, as previously I had confused them with Pulling Teeth for some reason (I hate Pulling Teeth) so I kind of disregarded them. But I heard one of their songs on a Deathwish sampler and was blown away. I mean you can def. hear Curt's influence on the album, but its a little more punk and straight ahead than No Heros. Brutal album, great guitar tone, makes me very jealous. However for their next effort I think they need to go with a different producer just to see what happens, maybe Devin Towsend?

9. Misery Signals : Controller - Same case as Underoath I think, however instead of dropping the singing hooks Mis. Sigs picked them up. I'm not quite sure how good the singing is, but I like it. The rhythm's are tighter, however they are sounding like they are running a little low on riffs. The end sound scape section on Ebb & Flow really impressed me, and wish they would have expanded upon that allittle more throughout the album. Great job by Devin Townsend on the production, didn't really like the sounds he got with Darkest Hour, but on this effort really put himself up there as one of the top metal producers.

10. Underoath : Lost In the Sound of Separtion - I'm really impressed with Underoath's  continual maturation process. I do enjoy them for their previous pop esque sensibilities, which they departed greatly from on this album, but gained another level of complexity. If there was a Neurosis of the screamo world they would hands down be channeling the directly.

Honorable mention:

Messhugah : obZen

The Ghost Inside : Fury And The Fallen

The Carrier : No Love Can Save Me

Energy : Invasions of the Mind

In Flames : A Sense of Purpose

The Red Chord : Prey For Eyes

Protest the Hero : Sequoia Thrown

Trouble For the Green Startup Revolution?

With the onslaught of economic turmoil, no industry has remained on the sidelines in terms of being hit financially. Everything from to reduction in overhead, slashing employee benefits or the employees themselves, to a decrease in expansion. The latter has the propensity to hit the private equity world the hardest, seeing as innovation in new business ventures is the life blood of the industry. No where could be more evinced is in the green biz revolution. 

Anyone who is anyone in the PE world (or related to it) has jumped on the band wagon, case in point with Silicon Valley based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers adding green tech as a team and picking up eco beneficial companies left and right. Every other KPCB of shoot has been following in similar fashion with virtually every reputable firm picking green companies. All this increased activity wasn't just because An Invocation of Truth was tugging on the heart strings of general partners all over the country; finance for long-term, capital-heavy projects such as offshore wind farms, solar parks and waste-recycling plants was up 15% to $97 billion in 07, according to New Energy Finance a quasi watchdog group for the green biz. However returns in the following year where dismal, mainly in my opinion to the priority shift in the consumer market from going green to just staying afloat.

There has also been a resurgence investment into the once thought defunct electric car, with Draper Fisher Jurvetson & KPCB making sizable series A funding rounds

to electric car companies in Sweden, India, and California. The primary goal being to dump them off on GM in the US

and Ford and Fiat in Europe, but with the aforementioned priority shift in the consumer markets and the investment world

the electric car may have seem to hit another snag. Which I hope is not indicative of the portfolio as

a whole. Green tech has the possibility to bridge tech fields that could spawn a whole new era

of R&D, and innovative entrepreneurs shouldn't be deterred by the current economic strife.

Here is Rule 13 of Saul Alinksy's Rules for Radicals:

"Pick the target, freeze it personalize it, and polarize it."

Hmm, it sure sounds like a certain voting block in a certain country that I happen to live in, that just happened to elect a new king.

Have you ever something some amazing you almost cried.....this is it jaydiohead.com. If you don't like this, you don't, haven't, or ever will have good taste in music.

Last worthless post via my happy blog trigger: I've started interning at gnip.com ,they're pretty BA.

Thats all, more to come.....