Monika's Blog

Coming this Saturday is TEDxBoulder at Mackey Auditorium. I have never had the opportunity to attend a TED or TEDx, so I am really excited that I finally get to go to this one!

You have probably heard of TEDx, but in case you haven’t, here is the definition from the TEDxBoulder website:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations). Check out some video’s from last year’s TEDx Boulder.

Speakers will be talking about anything from changing how we feed our children, to weather forecasts, to Biomimicry (no, I do not know what that is either, which is just more of a reason for you to attend!). Full speaker list (and definitions on the talks) can be found on the TEDxBoulder website.

Two that I am excited to see:

Here are videos from past TEDxBoulder presentations (and the reason I am so excited for Saturday!).

Grant Blakeman:

Brad Feld:

Even if you have plans on Saturday night, come out to TEDxBoulder first to connect with others, learn something new, leave inspired and, of course, listen to some music!

This Wednesday kicks off Boulder Startup Week 2011. I was out of town for Startup Week 2010 but was able to attend one event, beer and bloggers, which ended up changing my life in Boulder. While that may seem a bit over-dramatic, it is the truth. If I had not attended that event at Mountain Sun, then I never would have been introduced to Joni!

It seems that most people who came to Startup Week 2010 have similar stories to share about this event and how it changed their lives. I will have to work during the day, but hope to make it out to some of the events, including the Pizzeria Locale Tour and Tasting on Wednesday afternoon from 3:00-4:00 pm. Pizzeria Locale is a great new restaurant on Pearl Street that serves traditional pizza from Napoli in the heart of Boulder. This is one of two paid events, but it will be worth it as you get food, drinks, a tour of the kitchen and an amazing goody bag full of stuff from local businesses.

For a list of all events this week, visit the Startup Week Plancast page. I cannot wait to watch all the geeks compete in Tech Jeopardy, and Ignite 15 will surely be full of more laughter and learning.

I have lived in Boulder for the past 8 years (minus my brief stint in Fort Collins), but every day I spend here immersed in the tech community, the more Boulder feels like home. Boulder Startup Week 2011 is sure to show everyone else why we have been named Happiest Place in America.

I hope to see a ton of new faces around Boulder this week.

During SXSW About.Me had a booth in the convention center where they had a professional photographer taking head shots of people to update their About.Me profile. Jana made an appointment for her and I have our photos taken and hers turned out so well that they are using it in their new promotional email for their deal with Moo business cards!

She is also featured on their homepage:

UPDATE: Here is what my cards will look like on the Offers page:

I guess I have no excuse for not having my own personal business cards now that About.Me and Moo have made it so easy!

…with ear plugs

My love affair with ear plugs started innocently enough. While at a concert during SXSWi I realized I had received some free ear plugs that were conveniently located in the humongous purse that is permanently attached to my shoulder. After minutes of digging in my purse to find them, I finally located them. Eventually I was able to get them into my ears, and I was in heaven! Considering I generally find myself next to the speaker (always on the right side too) the ear plugs gave my ears a much needed break from the show.

For the rest of my time at SXSW I wore ear plugs similar to these at all the shows (except Foo Fighters, because come on, who wears ear plugs to Foo?):

Over the past month I have been diligent about wearing the ear plugs to every show I go to, and my ears have thanked me in return by not ringing incessantly for days after (like they did after I saw Bouncing Souls and Bad Religion).

Now I know that my current ear plugs of choice (free ones) are not the best for sound, so I need your help in finding good ones that do not distort the concert, just dull it down to a degree that my ears can tolerate.

So tell me, what are the best ear plugs out there? (besides custom of course)

One of the education panels at third annual FoCoMX was on how to book a show. The panelists covered best practices, band etiquette and took many questions from the eager audience.

Below are the notes I took on my iPad while I was attending. They are live/really rough notes, which is why it bounces around a lot, but there is some great advice in here for bands. Enjoy!
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Since the release of the Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth is today (although limited) I figured I would finally post all of my pictures and video from their secret show in Austin during SXSW last month.

My brother, Stefan, and I were lucky enough to get to see the early preview of the documentary. It was the same day as my iPhone debacle. While I was running around town, Stefan waited patiently in line for the Foo Fighters documentary. As I was running back to the hotel to shower, he called and said I had to get down to the theatre ASAP because they were giving out wristbands that gave you entrance into the ‘secret’ show after the movie. Foo Fighters took precedence over my hygiene (I didn’t look that bad, I swear), so I flagged down a pedi-cab and made my way to the theatre.

Luckily I made it in time to score one of these awesome wristbands:

The documentary was incredible. You felt like you really got to know the band on another level as they recounted their history. While the movie was longer than expected, I still craved more. Thank god there was a free concert afterwards at Stubb’s.

This whole day continued to work out serendipitously, as Stefan and I were able to get into Stubb’s early, get free tacos (which were the worst tacos ever, but we were starving) and a free beer AND front row seats for the show.

Foo Fighters came out and played the whole album, from front to back, after proclaiming:

We are fucking movie stars down here!!

I would have been satisfied with just the new album, but the Foo Fighters continued to play their biggest hits for the next hour. This was not even supposed to be their concert! They hijacked the SXSW Interactive closing party and played for 2 hours.

I was so excited when they played my favorite song Stacked Actors:

Words cannot accurately describe how amazing of a day this was for Stefan and me. Even after all of these years, the band looks like they genuinely like each other, but not only that, they love rocking out with each other night after night.

You could just see the chemistry and friendship between Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins throughout the show (although it doesn’t quite translate in that photo above). I also had to include that image of Dave Grohl, because who doesn’t want to look at him and his tattoos?

Those are just a few photos I took during the show, you can see all of my Foo Fighters photos over at Flickr.

While Foo Fighters’ new album Wasting Light isn’t out just yet, you can preview the whole thing here:

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters

I recommend listening on repeat. Enjoy Foo Fighters Tuesday!

Not sure what took me so long to back projects on Kickstarter. I have been aware of them for quite some time, and I send a lot of projects to my dad who has backed many of them, but I am proud to say I have finally backed my first of many Kickstarter projects -Record Monsters.

Andrew Hyde gave me a sneak peek at these records at SXSW and I immediately loved the idea! My dad is an entomologist and I remember putting together wooden mosquito puzzles when I was younger, so I was nostalgic when I saw the Record Monster.

I cannot wait to get my record so I can put together the little monster.

Now that I have popped my Kickstarter cherry, what are some other projects that I should be checking out?