Rocky Top MBA

CMM July 13th, 2010

Broke from my “don’t stay out past 9pm on a school night” rule and went downtown for The Whigs and The Hold Steady at The Square Room.  It was great to be out and meet up with a grad school buddy, who in addition to being an entrepreneur, is also the keyboard player for local rock favorite The Dirty Guvnahs.

We came over to the show right about the time that The Whigs started their set. Unfortunately, the bass player had a personal issue and was unable to make this show. Since the band is a power trio (drums, bass, guitar/singer) they were seriously undermanned. The guitarist/singer did a few man-and-his-guitar songs that were pretty impressive, including a Sparklehorse cover. The drummer was selling merchandise in the back of the venue, but he joined for the last five songs. They recruited the tour manager for The Hold Steady on bass, and frankly, they sounded awesome. I’ve seen The Whigs a handful of times, and they never fail to impress. Even a man down, last night was no exception. These guys remain the standard for edgy power rock. They are great guys, very approachable, and just love their audience. There’s no fake angst, rocker fatigue, or ego with these guys. Just some great rock-n-roll. Check out this video for “Right Hand on My Heart”

When they finished and were leaving the stage, I told my buddy that I could have done with another hour of The Whigs. It’s the truth.

I wish I could say good things about The Hold Steady, and I’m sure they’re great, but the sound was so poorly mixed that it was painful. It was too loud (yes, that is possible), it was mixed poorly, and the band noise overpowered the singer. I mean you seriously couldn’t hear, let alone understand, the lead singer. As for the band, it just sounded like a bunch of noise and I don’t think I heard the keyboard after sound check. It was very disappointing because they seem like a great band, but they need to fire the sound guy. We left and walked down the street to another little hole-in-the-wall, where we chatted and listened to a local group.

Overall, The Whigs continue to rock… The Hold Steady may rock, but I have no way of knowing.

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CMM January 28th, 2010

So, much has been going on for the past few days, but in my late night writings I’ll stick to the really important stuff… what movies I’m looking forward to this year.

Clash of the Titans–Yes, I know it’s a remake, but the original was a favorite growing up as a boy. I remember watching it on TNT when spending the night at my Granny’s house. I recently asked/forced my wife to watch it and she made it through the whole movie, which is an accomplishment for her. I’m really hopeful that the remake is going to do it justice, and I think the special effects technology has reached the point of really giving us some cool scenes.

The Rum Diary–Hunter S. Thompson is someone that I’m fascinated with. His writing, his political views, his musical taste… all of it. Jonny Depp playing Hunter is even better (he played him in the film version of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” also). This is one of Thompson earlier books, before he got REALLY into the psychedelic drugs. It’s actually enjoyable without making excuses for the incredible talent hidden in sloppy jargon and syntax.

Jonah Hex--Two beautiful ideas meshed into a glorious product–comic book and western–in this post-confederate graphic novel. To boot, Megan Fox plays the gunslinging harlett and John Malovich plays the bad guy. Take your wife to this movie and you’ll probably lose move picking rights for a month… but it would be worth it.

The Wolfman–Also made my list in 2009, but release of the movie was delayed. This may be the movie I’m most excited about for 2010.  It’s another remake, but it looks fantastic. And the casting is incredible–Anthony Hopkins and Benetio Del Toro.

Tron Legacy-Combined with Clash of the Titans, 2010 is the year of movies from my childhood. If only Cloak and Dagger would make a return, but alas… The trailer looks awesome and the casting is true to the original. Also, the story sounds like a good way to explain the 30 years between the first and second movie. My only question, why make us wait so long?

Shutter Island–It’s hard for me to admit this, because I think DiCaprio is over rated, but this movie looks phenomenal. And after The Departed, I’m willing to accept that I may be wrong about DiCaprio. Murder, mystery, and Scorsese sounds too good to be true.

Robin Hood–I loved the original one, even with it’s cheesy Bryan Adams theme song, but this remake looks equally amazing. The casting is fantastic with Russell Crowe as the lead and Siene Miller as Maid Marrian (with a lot less emphasis on the maid portion than we’re used to). I get the feeling this will be a blockbuster budget action movie that will blur over some of the finer political points of the Robin Hood story… but I expect it will be so good that I’ll maybe forgive it. Did I mention Ridley Scott directs?

Honorable Mention: Alice in Wonderland looks like it will be beautiful in that Tim Burton kind of way; Iron Man 2 because RDJ was awesome in the first one and its hard to screw up a super hero movie with that solid of a lead; Toy Story 3 because they are that good, even for a kids movie; Harry Potter Part I of the Last Book and, yes, I’m glad they broke it into two movies.

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CMM December 4th, 2009

I love to read. It’s probably no surprise that my job requires reading dozens of business plans, industry reports, market analysis, and other professional literature. I’ve almost always got a book or two by the bed, and I try to read for 30 minutes to an hour every night before going to sleep. The office closet in my house is packed full of boxed up books because we don’t have the book shelf space in the house (yet). My wish list for Santa this year (yes, I said Santa… got a problem with it?) includes Thunderstruck by Edward Larson, Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, and What Goth Hath Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe. I think you get the point… I love to read.

I stumbled across a list of 50 Books for Our Times from Newsweek. I’m not really a fan of most media outlets, and certainly not your watered-down-for-the-masses types, but my love for reading pulled me to this page. The number one book they recommended was a satirical novel from the 1870′s– The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. I wasn’t familiar with the book or the author, so I did the normal thing. I googled it.

The book is written to capture the general dishonesty of British society during the Victorian-era. The reviews call it a satirical criticism of the commercial, moral, political, and intellectual dishonesty of the age. The more I read, the more I thought about current events. Do we live in an age of rampant dishonesty? I’m not sure, but I can say that I personally feel so disengaged because of the sheer complexity of things. From social to economic to environmental challenges, I’m having a difficult time discerning fact from fiction. Frankly, I feel that  so many issues are driven by disinformation, often in the form of hidden agendas or conspiracies. How do you take your news? Bias parading as fact? Or opinion-driven with a factual grounding? In the digital age, the exchange of information has increased, regardless of value or quality. It’s like the old saying that a lie makes it halfway around the world before the truth even gets its shoes on… Take national security, institutional religion, health care, global warming, the financial system, etc. You spend most of your time digging, looking for something that you can build on. In the end, you’ve got postulations, theories, and eloquent speeches… but do you really have substance? Or just some well constructed theory? So much of it is just smoke and mirrors.

Life deserves to be lived with a sense of honesty. Honesty comes from the truth. Truth comes from questioning.

• Life , personal
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CMM May 5th, 2009

My life has been a blur over the past few weeks, which is why I haven’t posted anything. Thanks to a little prodding by a MBA classmate, I thought I’d jot down a few things.

Here’s the story, if you care…  I remember a time in my life when I felt like superman. I was juggling lots of responsibilities at work with an active social life and  still finding time to work out, read, and stay current on issues. At the time, I was working 80+ hours per week, running every other day, reading significant books on a weekly basis, and still finding time for weekly trips to my favorite watering hole/music joint– Elwoods Dixie BBQ and Blues. Somewhere between there and here, some things changed. I lost some things and I found others.

Few years ago, I was constantly pushing forward with my career and life. It was as if I was driven. Ironically, I didn’t have a good goal that was directing my actions. I certainly didn’t have any goals that compare with my current state. Now, I can clearly tell you what my personal, professional, and spiritual goals are. What changed?

So, my dilemma is balancing this change. Many of the things that changed I like. Specifically, I don’t want to lose any ground with The Girl or my involvement with church. In comparison, I’d like to get back that “fire” that got my going every morning, had me immersed in my work, and drove me to exercise regularly.

Today, I’m not exercising, I’m very distracted at work, and not getting the “win” I want. I could make excuses, but that’s not going to help. So, as I come up on my 29th birthday and another summer in East Tennessee, I think its time to identify a new destination. Of course, this means setting a new course and preparing for the trip. In the end, there needs to be some changes– mostly “tweaks” but some “shifts”– in my life. I’m not sure exactly what that looks like, but here are some first steps:

• Priorities– figure ‘em out; stick to ‘em
• Get rid of the clutter/junk– got to figure out what this includes
• Vacation in late May– chance to recharge and examine priorities
• Read, read, read– try to read every night before bed
• Exercise– no lofty goals, just get back in some kind of routine including stretches
• Work–on going challenge… find a way to make meaning

Closing thought, I’m not aiming to be that guy that is always working and busy. I’m just evaluating my lifestyle and trying to figure out what kind of purpose do my actions support and what kind of meaning I’m making.

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CMM March 4th, 2009

I flew into a snow covered DC last night, a city that I’ve long had a love affair with. With the political structure, the museums, the culture, the universities… I’ve always been swept up by the conversations you can find in a coffee shop or at the bookstore. If you know the right places, merely keeping your ears and eyes open can bring you face-to-face with some of the most respected and powerful people on the planet. To top it off, the city is an incredible congregation of 20- and 30-somethings. I grabbed drinks with a friend (and DC blogger) from a former life last night, chatting about politics, the district, policy, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things about this city that irritate me (local government, the ideologues, etc)… but it will always have a place in my heart.

As I landed, I couldn’t help but wonder what could have been? Instead of Knoxville, why not DC? Instead of UT, why not American, George Mason, or GW? Instead of venture capital, why not public policy or legislative affairs? Of course, I know the answer to those questions. In the long-run, I’m just a country boy that likes a simpler life. And I don’t have the patience for bureaucracy.

So, I’ll sip my fancy organic (and complimentary) coffee while watching CNBC in my fancy hotel room (provided by my employer) right off Capitol Hill. I’ll attend my conference and meet with House members and the new SBA administrator. I’ll keep my mouth incheck as my more liberal colleagues share their opinions on the new administration and congress.

While I’ll love my time here, I’m already missing The Pup and The Girl. Besides, how can Washington, D.C., in all its splender, compete with football season in Tennessee? Or mountains? Yes, I think three days is long enough.

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