On the Road Again

Take a drive thru scenic Southern Maryland - actually northern Calvert County and the very southern tip of Anne Arundel County while Willie Nelson warbles his classic "On the Road Again" live at Billy Bob's Texas!

The Luray Caverns Experience

Let's take a walk thru the enchanting Luray Caverns located in picturesque Luray, Virginia, about two hours or so outside of Washington, DC. Relax as we journey down below the surface to experience the majestic handiwork of nature's relentless effect on subterranean solid rock .... Designated a U.S. National Landmark, the Luray Caverns is a natural environment, the result of seeping water and shifting soils ... in many places resembling a giant underground cathedral or a quiet lonely moonscape with protruding stalactites and stalagmites ... large and small, jagged and smooth .... Take the journey ... experience the mystery and otherworldly majesty of Virginia's Luray Caverns!

Christmas Snowfall 2009

Take a trip thru the snow-covered landscape ... see the snow that covered the Mid-Atlantic region in December 2009 just before Christmas. Quiet and forlorn, grey and gloomy, the frozen tundra shot in and around North Beach, Maryland while the snow was still falling and during the aftermath the following day or two ... still, the spark of Christmas, at times, shines thru ... perhaps there's something meaningful here. We decorate our homes and towns with colored lights to chase away the early wintry darkness and to prepare for the celebration on the 25th, but then the skies darken and the wind whips cold and two feet of fresh powder are dumped down from above upon us all ...

Watts: Great American Rock-n-Roll!

I discovered the band Watts some time ago when I was reviewing new original independent music online (and briefly in print) for a previous incarnation of Raging Smolder News. I was mesmerized by the band's CD "Flash!" which seemed to encompass everything great about American rock-n-roll. My favorite song on the disc, "Sweethearts of the Radio," is a kind of sentimental (or not so sentimental) look backward to a time when just one song could represent everything right and good (or bad and ugly) about life at that particular time. For those of us who have drifted deeper into adulthood and grown-up responsibility, this song is a reminder of the urgency (sometimes desperate) of our earlier days - when life seemed to be experienced on a grander emotional scale, when we were free to feel things (good and bad) and run with those passions. So, I invite you to listen to the track, posted right here and just a click away ...

Sweethearts of the Radio

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The band is still playing in the Boston area and here are links to the latest updates and other relevant info:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wattsrock

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Watts/16866253871?ref=nf

CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/watts


Here’s my original review of Flash! as published in Raging Smolder Music many moons ago:

With earnest vocals and strong gutsy melodies, Watts’ straightforward rock-n-roll (self-described as “retro-modern rock-n-roll stew” and “the finest in retro-modern punk-pop-n-roll”) grabs the listener in the general region of the heart and presents a collection of finely crafted highly compelling and, at times, deeply moving, pop tunes. Watts is the real deal! Watts’ music has been described — accurately — in the media as “intense power pop songs that harken back to the glam of the early 70s, pop of the 60s, and punk of the late 70s.” Bouyant, alive, and driving with Beatle-esque energy thru-out!


Here’s the blurb from the band’s MySpace page:

Watts “make a superb retro rock ‘n’ roll racket,” says Rob Forbes (Leicester Bangs). A dynamic four-piece aptly named for the gentleman drummer of the Rolling Stones, Watts’ sound combines all the best elements of ’70s glam, old school punk, new wave, British Invasion and straight up rock-n-roll to create a timeless amalgam that is at once familiar and fresh. The band was recently named one of 2008’s “Bands You Must Hear” by the UK’s Classic Rock magazine, and their latest record, “One Below The All Time Low,” has been receiving raves from critics worldwide since its release in September 2007.

Hope you enjoy! If you're in Boston tell'em Riff says hello ...

A Decade of Self-Delusion

Right winger and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan unleashed a screed against Bush administration policies and the disastrous decade of the 2000s. A Decade of Self-Delusion posted on the Human Events.com website slams the fall from grace (and leadership and other important stuff) experienced by the United States of America during the first decade of the Twenty-First Century.

Some sample quotes:

"According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States began the century producing 32 percent of the world's gross domestic product. We ended the decade producing 24 percent. No nation in modern history, save for the late Soviet Union, has seen so precipitous a decline in relative power in a single decade."

Youch!

"The United States began the century with a budget surplus. We ended with a deficit of 10 percent of gross domestic product, which will be repeated in 2010."

OMG!

"Between one-fourth and one-third of all U.S. manufacturing jobs have disappeared in 10 years, the fruits of a free-trade ideology that has proven anything but free for this country. Our future is being outsourced -- to China."

Funny, they really shove free trade down our throats in biz school - as a panacea for almost everything!

"We sold ourselves a lot of snake oil about the Global Economy, interdependence, free trade and 'it doesn't make any difference where goods are produced.' The George W. Bush Republicans ran up the deficit with tax cuts, two wars and a splurge in social spending to rival the guns-and-butter of the Great Society."

Apparently, the Republican "borrow-and-spend" modus operandi is somewhat flawed. Perhaps, the more honest "tax-and-spend" wasn't such a bad thing after all .....

There are a lot more goodies in Buchanan's diatribe. Don't wait! Go read this article now! If you're an American citizen, I suggest that you read it twice and email it to everyone. Good luck and Godspeed!

The Daily Caller or Leaning Tower of Pisa???

I'm going to do something that I hadn't planned on doing. I'm going to plug Tucker Carlson's new Internet gig - The Daily Caller! Seems Mr. Carlson has managed to set up a news website with three million investor dollars and a small staff of reporters. He says, "This is primarily a news site. We see our core job as straightforward: Find out what’s happening and tell you about it. We plan to be accurate, both in the facts we assert and in the conclusions we imply." Okay, we'll see how that goes. Carlson told Wash Post columnist Howard Kurtz: "Our goal is not to get Republicans elected. Our goal is to explain what your government is doing." Despite his reassuring words, I'm betting that The Daily Caller tilts so far to the right that people will mistake it for the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

On blogging ....

Publisher Update: Raging Smolder News is going to be a hodge-podge of different (and hopefully) interesting things - a kind of online all-purpose zine. It's possible that one day the blog might transition to an actual online news/mag website with different sections for each type of content. Right now, though, I'm just going to keep uploading this eclectic potpourri for the general amusement and enlightenment of RSN visitors ....

Raging Smolder is interested in your perspective. We invite you to send in your thoughts and ideas. RSN is especially interested in re-posting short video of historic and/or cultural places and events. We are also looking for new independent musicians and artists of all styles and media. Please send links or video showing us what you do. We'll post whatever strikes us as unique and/or compelling.

Riff

Pensive Cat: Mired in a chess game or his MBA studies?

For a creature that's little more than an animated stuffed animal, this cat sure looks like he's concentrating hard on something important. Perhaps he sees a mouse, perhaps he's a grad student deep in study, or perhaps he's analyzing a complicated chess game ... or perhaps he's sitting on a lap waiting for someone to scratch his ears ....

Straight Up - Solo Acoustic Version

This has got to be the coolest acoustic version of Paula Abdul's Straight Up that I have ever seen! The song is performed by Dave Werner (aka Okaydave), the Creative Director at Minor Studios, an independent video game company with offices in San Francisco and Buenos Aires. Way to go Dave!

What I Learned In Business School ...

Business Strategy

If you have been following my Tweets, you would already know the following about strategy.

"Strategy is about winning." - Robert M Grant, 2008. (Glad someone cleared that up!)

Successful strategy requires effective implementation of simple and consistent long-term goals, profound understanding of the competitive environment, and objective appraisal of resources.

Successful strategies consist of clear goals, understanding the competitive environment, resource appraisal, and effective implementation.

Strategy is the link between the firm and it's external environment (competitors, customers, & suppliers).

Strategy is about doing things differently. The essence of strategy is making choices: Where to compete and how to compete.

Corporate strategy = Domain selection. ("Where to compete?")
Business strategy = Domain navigation. ("How to compete?")

Economic Profit can be defined as Economic Value Added (EVA), or net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) less cost of capital.

Value of the enterprise = The sum of free cash flows in each year, discounted at the enterprise's cost of capital (WACC of equity & debt).

Maximizing profit = Maximizing enterprise value (see above)

The most consistently successful companies in terms of profits and shareholder value tend to be motivated by factors other than profit.

Profits are essential for the existence of the corporation, but they are not the reason for its existence. (Dennis Bakke, AES)

Long-living companies build strong communities, have strong sense of identity, commit to learning, & are sensitive to the world around them.

… an enterprise needs sustainable societies in order to protect its own sustainability … (BP CEO John Browne)

Riff

North Beach Polar Bear Swim 2010

January 1, 2010: This is how folks in North Beach, Maryland celebrate the new year - the annual North Beach Polar Bear Swim. Air temperature was a comfy 40 degrees Fahrenheit - an otherwise pleasant January afternoon! Of course, one wonders why anyone would want to plunge into icy cold water in January, but hey, to each his own! I guess there's some value in defying Mother Nature by presuming to challenge the bitter wintry cold by doing the unthinkable - jumping into frigid water wearing only a bathing suit and a grin.

Welcome to Raging Smolder News!

Raging Smolder News will be home to a variety of content - news, events, music, musings, etc - presented with pictures, video, and some commentary. If you see anything you like, let me know. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I make no promises about updates, new posts, schedules, etc. I'll be adding stuff when I have time or when I stumble onto something interesting. Whatever I can grab with my iPhone will show up here sooner or later.

Riff Gibson, editor & publisher
Raging Smolder News