He really has a way of creating pop songs that don't sound overly cliché, yet still retain that classic feel that slaps you in the face with joy.

These two videos of him are worth checking out as well if you're interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuGtZ98eWiE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfgB3bX0sLg

I'm glad you like Denver! It really is a wonderful city. There is something for everyone, and the mountains for when you need to get away from everyone :D

And good luck at the occupation this weekend. I hope your experience will be as refreshing as mine has been.

I'm sure I'm late to be asking this question, but how is Apple handling the passing of Jobs? I don't own any Apple products, and don't follow "Mac culture" so I'm generally ignorant about the subject. I had never realized how much influence Jobs had on every little detail of absolutely everything Apple. Had he been a hugely influential figure for long enough that there are others now that can match his passion, or will the brand lose direction and be assimilated back into the standard consumer electronics market?

Also, the way he became upset over the ugly oxygen monitor while in the hospital is absolutely insane.

We had a pretty large snowstorm yesterday actually, and apparently a few people were treated for hypothermia. The police have been regularly tearing down the tents at night, and last night they destroyed an igloo they had built.

I really don't know how or if they'll make it. The winters here are just too long and harsh. The marches on the weekends are growing every week though, and with no foreseeable end to the movement, that might have to do for the winter.

I think at this point the biggest thing we can do is just to educate people. Those who get their news only from the corporate media tend to be either severely misinformed, or still in the dark about the movement (this incident in particular has been avoided like the plague in the mainstream media).

You could also check to see if there are any events or occupiers in your area. I've been marching with Occupy Denver every weekend, and while it certainly isn't as big or high profile as some others, it does have everyone around town talking about it. The media would like to frame the protesters as lazy hippies, but it becomes more difficult to convince people when they've seen first-hand that they are actually from all segments of society.

I definitely think you'd have to listen to it a few times if you aren't comfortable with the genre. A lot of math rock likes to play heavily with polyrhythms almost to the point of absurdity, and a heavy amount of tapping on the guitar. Most bands like this are a simple trio of guitar, bass, and drums, but almost all three are treated like the lead. I guess what I'm getting at is don't just listen to the vocals and loudest melody; listen to the interlocking rhythm of the guitar, drums, and bass.

A more accessible example might be Don Caballero [http://youtu.be/UaQwOAFCXo8].

This is not at all what I was expecting when I saw that it was a video about juggalos. I didn't know being a juggalo went beyond owning a few ICP albums and some black jeans with chains. It is really strange how it is formed around a band, yet no one really seems to care about the music that much. They all say it is about family, but at this gathering at least, it all seems to be about excessive but socially acceptable intoxication of any form. There are juggalos who claim they don't (I still don't know if I believe that loopy girl), but the overwhelming majority seem to be very fucked up.

What I don't completely understand yet is just, WHY? I mean, there are a lot of bands that have extremely die hard followings, but none of them morph into this. As most participants seem to be of modest financial backgrounds, does this juggalo brotherhood serve as some kind of social safety net? Am I looking too far into this?

Sorry for the ramble, this video just left me with a confusing mix of emotions.

I think a significant portion of the problem comes from a period where the technology greatly outpaced the regulations. They managed to scoop up an unreasonable amount of political and economic power in a relatively short amount of time (~35 years) to ensure that increased regulation and taxes would be met with stiff opposition.

This article does a good job of relating this incident to the wider problems of our prison system. After release, they are in no way prepared to become a functioning, productive member of society. Furthermore, even if they aspire to reform once released, they will find that few will want to hire them, which in turn leads back to crime.

Here [http://www.princeton.edu/~pager/race_at_work.pdf] is a PDF that focuses on the racial issues of the NYC job market for released inmates. While it is mostly about the difference between white and black/Hispanic job applicants, the methodology of the study is particularly revealing of a problem that many seem to think is nonexistent.

I deleted (as much as you can, at least) my Facebook account about a year ago. I think the main reason it took me so long to go through with it was the fear that I would somehow miss out on events, or that many of my friends I don't have the opportunity to speak to daily would be upset. Looking back it seems silly, but the ability of Facebook to hold onto users through social pressure (either real, or imagined) is remarkable.