Free Class On The History of Rock? Yes, please.

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

The Andrews Sisters were pioneers in the harmonization of vocals to emulate the new sounds coming from Big Bands in the late 1930s to early 1940s. Thank you, free online education.

Call it a keeping myself occupied move on my part- I signed up for a Coursera course and am currently listening to the Andrews Sisters sing “Shoo Shoo Baby” (1938) on Grooveshark. But let me back up a second…

…so when I was working at Maryland, once a month I would shadow one of my Center’s social entrepreneurs in residence as they in turn advised students on ideas for new social enterprises (both for-profit and non-profit.) One in particular, my buddy Drew Bewick out of Treehouse Ventures in Northern Virginia, could not stop raving about this new website Coursera. Coursera, Drew told me a number of times, was a depot of 100% free online courses in every college subject imaginable from professors at universities all across the country. Free courses for now, which I suppose new ventures can get away with as long as they maintain the appropriate customer capture/adoption model. Continue reading →

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Puncutated Equilibrium: 9,400 Miles Later, How I Ended Up In Seattle

Posted on May 1, 2013 by

mapWriting from Ballard, a lovely Seattle neighborhood, and for the first time since I left DC I’ve actually put clothes in a dresser drawer. After 9,400 miles, the trip is finally over.

Woke up on my 30th birthday on Sunday and had a reckoning crisis with Denver and how I’d felt since I’d arrived. After 40 days on the road and trying to stay open to anything, I decided that something about my dream of returning to Denver after five years away was not sitting right with me. I was suddenly unsure what my true motivations were to return to a city I’d always associated with a certain period of time that is long over.

With the rare opportunity to make a huge, 180 degree flip with regard to my career and life path, I realized there was some wisdom in starting somewhere fresh with no associated memories, a place I’d been turning over in my mind even as I flitted the Pacific Coast from Astoria to Mexico and then hit every National Park between San Diego and Denver (oh, here is that video). So I drove away from a core group of twenty friends and a promising job with old colleagues to instead head to Seattle as quickly as possible and start a new decade from a blank canvas. There has certainly been a lot of soul-searching, many high highs and low lows, confidence and doubt, etc., and I’ve got to get a better handle on my Facebook confessionals- may even get off the books for a bit starting in a few days.

In general though, people talk about road trips and their great memories getting from Point A to Point B for that great move for school or for a job or for a marriage. I’m not sure as many people talk about road trips where the destination becomes unclear as the odometer rolls on, with dozens of cameos and thousands of miles. We’ve grown into a quite conservative generation where great American adventures and finding oneself plays second fiddle to job security and having a plan. Those are logical things, but there is value to acknowledge in the reality of punctuated equilibrium- we are static until we are not and that is how progress occurs and it is often unclear to those watching from a point of stasis. So I’m in Seattle. I’ve got a meeting about Hurricane Camp Stories in the coming week, I’m familiarizing myself with the social impact career opportunities around these parts, and trying to find an apartment for myself and my dog.

One last thing- this morning, one of my friends I’m staying with left me with instructions to read a line from The Phantom Tollbooth. “Being lost is never a matter of not knowing where you are; it’s a matter of not knowing where you aren’t.” I think if I’m being honest with myself as a man entering a new decade, for the first time in five years I don’t feel lost at all.

Guillermo’s Spring 2013 Ramble (March 19, 2013-April 30, 2013)

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Days 29-30: Riverside and Vista (California)

Posted on April 27, 2013 by

Hi all! Got a new video set-up, check it out if you got a chance. Hanging out with Catholic Nick at his non-profit (Growcology) as well as his eco-village EVO where he, his lovely wife Bianca, and their beautiful son Manny reside. Enjoy! Still working on the video for my national parks tour with Joe Denson (which was utterly fantastic.)

In the meantime, in Colorado, enjoying my last day of my twenties hanging out with three dogs in Arvada, and getting ready to start my own non-profit consultancy. Life is good.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=966627558466&l=2083407560273829584

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Give Us Back Our Oranges by Nate Senge

Posted on April 21, 2013 by

We were trolling up the queue that now stretched far back into the highway. The border was still a good quarter of a mile up the road. The geese were flying off the inland sounds and circling overhead and I decided it was time to rehearse. 

“Three days in Whistler,” I said to Clay and held up three fingers. 

“Three fingers,” Clay nodded. 

We settled into the back of the slow snake twist of cars and idled our way along. A jet-black Jaguar with Washington plates made a sharp left cut into the neighboring lane and scraped the bumper of a white Jeep Cherokee with British Columbia plates. The Jeep driver jumped out and rapped on the tinted window of the Washingtonian, who was putting forward unawares. He rolled down the window and there was a lot of quick nodding, and then the Washingtonian got out and a great scene of frantic hand gesturing began. 

We creeped by the altercation, which was sending our nerves high, and slowly approached that radar-lasered rubicon spot where your license plate is photographed and the great trial begins.

I began to sweat, a lot, as we putted meekly into the booth and rolled down our window and the man inside swiveled around on his little stool until his gaze landed squarely on us. It was a hard stare with thin eyes and I knew immediately that this would not be easy and I suddenly wished we had shaved.  Continue reading →

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Day 34 Update From Cedar City, Utah

Posted on April 21, 2013 by

Hi all- I’m on Day 34 of my biggest road trip ever (a totally random coincidence that Janos and I were traveling around the same time) with Helicopter by my side and most recently tournament voter Joe Denson (he flew into San Diego to do SD to Denver with me.) Along the way I’ve been making these videos of all the places and people I’ve seen, mostly done to music. For example, here’s the one of my trip from San Francisco to Santa Monica (Day 22-24):

You can view the rest of my videos of the trip under the “Adventures” tab in the homepage banner at “Guillermo’s Spring 2013 Ramble.” It has been a fantastic and wonderful journey to be 6,800 miles into the biggest road trip of my life, living on the road for over a month and trying to stay open to the world showing me what comes next (I quit my job at the University of Maryland and my entire life and my dog are traveling around in my Corolla. Whose name is Panda.)

Whereas I feel like past younger ramblings, like those that constitute Parts 2 and 4 of Hurricane Camp Stories (which I finished my draft of a month ago,) were about running away from something frustrating, this trip has been more of a road toward something new and better. And after over a month of conversations, sights, encounters, and reflections, the Southwest US National Park stretch has brought me some answers. I’ve started settling into the skin of what my next steps in my career will be, and I’m very, very, very excited about it.

I’ll try to update everyone another time I have internet, maybe in Moab? Until next time, keep living the dream.

Zion Canyon, this morning (Day 34)

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Opening Tracks and Radio Songs: Championship Round!

Posted on April 8, 2013 by
Whatever the results below bear out, the best closer of all time is probably the Wild Thing.

Whatever the results below bear out, the best closer of all time is probably the Wild Thing.

A joyous 3.5 weeks on the road came to an end today. I’ll have much to post about it- travel adventures, photos, and even videos.  But all that in due time.

We’re on the verge of picking the best opening track and best song about the radio.  It’s been a tournament with sparse voting, with some regulars complaining that the themes have been a little esoteric.  Next time either of these topics come up in conversation, however, you’ll have LTD voters to thank.

Last round I had a listening party with members of Midnight Spin when we were all camped out in Boulder, Colorado.  The band became intrigued about what constituted the best closing track of all time.  We spent about four hours deliberating on nominees for a 32-song tournament, and they’ve been playing that tournament on their long drive across the heartland.  Below I’ve included the finalists for that tournament, which all LTD voters can jump in on.

The playlist is here and the bracket is here.   Votes are due by midnight on Friday, April 12.

Best Track One, Side One

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana, Nevermind vs. “Come Together”, Beatles, Abbey Road

Last round Nirvana took out the Who’s “Baba O’Riley” and the Beatles vanquished “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones.

Best Song About The Radio

“Caravan” by Van Morrison vs. “Radio Free Europe” by R.E.M.

Last round Van Morrison defeated “Roll Over Beethoven” (Chuck Berry) while R.E.M toppled “Video Killed the Radio Star” (Buggles).

Best Closing Track

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed
vs. “Redemption Song”, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Uprising

UPDATE: Congratulations to our latest music tournament champions, 

Best Opening Track: Come Together, Abbey Road (Beatles)

Best Song About the Radio: Radio Free Europe (R.E.M)

Best Closing Track: Redemption Song,  Uprising (Bob Marley and the Wailers)

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Opening Tracks and Radio Songs: The Elite 8

Posted on April 1, 2013 by
When legends collide...

When legends collide…

The Elite 8 basketball games that were on yesterday included the savage injury to Kevin Ware, and at LTD we send positive thoughts his way.

Obviously being on the road has been more grueling than Guillermo or I expected.  We never did rendezvous, missing each other in Seattle by about four days.   I compose from here in Boulder, a charming college town.

Today’s playlist is here and the tournament bracket is here. Listen and vote by  11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Friday, April 5.  We are down to four radio songs and four opening tracks, so all the tracks below have earned broad support so far.  I direct your attention to the second Track 1 match-up, which features a classic Beatles vs. Rolling Stones showdown.  It is fitting that these opening tracks are doing battle in 2013, and these albums rivaled for attention when they were released in 1969. 

See you in the comments!

Track One, Side One

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana, Nevermind  vs.  Baba O’Riley, Who, Who’s Next.     Last round Nirvana defeated “Modern Love” by David Bowie, while the Who took out “What’s Goin’ On” by Marvin Gaye. 

“Come Together”, Beatles, Abbey Road vs. Gimme Shelter, Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed.  Previously, the Beatles defeated U2, while the Rolling Stones knocked off Bob Dylan.

Songs About The Radio

“Roll Over Beethoven,” Chuck Berry vs. “Caravan”, Van Morrison.
Last round, Chuck Berry ousted the Clash, while Van Morrison ended Thievery Corporation’s run.

“Video Killed the Radio Star”, Buggles vs. “Radio Free Europe”, R.E.M.                                       The Buggles vanquished Rush, while R.E.M. denied Queen another tournament victory.

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