It is probably safe to say that even if you are not an avid skier, snowboarder or adventure sport enthusiast you have probably still heard of Burton Snowboards. Burton Snowboards was founded back in 1977 by Jake Burton Carpenter who started crafting the first ever snow board in a beat up barn located...

With the impending commercialism of Valentine’s Day peeking around the corner I think it is fitting, in an abstract way, to take a more down-to-Earth look at the newest collection from Midwestern folk-indie upstart Justin Vernon who operates under the moniker Bon Iver (pronounced bonny ver). Any singer/songwriter...

Fleet Foxes lead vocalist/rhythm strummer Robin Pecknold looks like a dirty hippie, sings like Pete Townshend, and is aptly backed by an arsenal of harmonics that makes this band’s first full-length record shine bright. Bright as in surprising. Bright as in mesmerizing. The 5-member Seattle band’s...

You may or may not recall that U2’s last album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was released in November of 2004. You may or may not also be aware that their upcoming album, No Line On the Horizon was originally scheduled for a Fall 2008 release. U2 pushed that release back, saying they couldn’t...

I’m a snob…a music snob.  It takes a lot for me to recommend music because I’m so picky.  That said, Erin McCarley’s debut album, “Love, Save the Empty,” is incredibly good. Erin McCarley, a native Texan, is hitting it big on the national music scene.  After graduating...

Let me preface this recommendation with this disclaimer: I am not a hardcore gamer. I’ve never owned an XBox or XBox 360. I do not play Halo. What I do own is a Playstation 3 and what I do enjoy is fairly casual gaming. I enjoy buying games I can playthrough with some difficulty but within a reasonable...

I was introduced to Fosterweld through one of my best friends, who currently resides in Anchorage, Alaska.  He informed me of a good friend who was creating some amazing one-of-a-kind metal belt buckles and that I should check them out immediately. So that is exactly what I did. Fosterweld is the brain...

L.A. based indie-pop quintet Low Vs. Diamond was founded in 2002 at the University of Colorado. Originally a three-man endeavor playing jam band cover songs at fraternity parties, it wasn’t until after graduating and moving to L.A. that the true direction of Low Vs. Diamond began to take shape....

When I think about David Guterson’s newest novel The Other, my mind jumps immediately to a scene that, for me, defines the work: narrator and main character Neil Countryman, a high school English teacher in Seattle, trenches alone through a dense forest in deep snow. He carries on his back a 70-pound...

More than simple fashion, Veritas is a movement.  They’re not just out to make a buck like many fashion brands…they’re out to make a difference in the world.  The vision for Veritas was one that would spread love, truth and passion throughout community with the arts: clothing, painting,...