Bobby's blog

Are You Chicken?

Submitted by Bobby on July 6, 2011 - 4:39pm

Raising backyard chickens (and ducks and goats) just became a lot easier in Denver thanks to a recent City Council vote.

The Food Producing Animals ordinance took effect June 24th and allows residents to raise 8 chickens or ducks and 2 dwarf goats after obtaining a one-time license. See the details here. Curious about the potential joys and pitfalls of having backyard livestock? Grab your overalls and get started with these great resources.

Chickens:

Best Albums of 2011...So Far

Submitted by Bobby on July 6, 2011 - 2:18pm

The year is halfway complete and the best albums of 2011 lists are starting to appear so I thought I'd add my two cents and highlight some from our fantastic music collection.

Knowing how fickle my tastes can be, it will be interesting to see how many of these will survive into my year end lists when December rolls around. Some of these have a lengthy request queue, but worth the wait in my opinion.
What are your favorites so far?

The Epic Novel

Submitted by Bobby on May 27, 2011 - 1:02pm

Summer is supposed to be a time of long sunny days and carefree fun. Why in the world would anyone want to bog themselves down with a thousand-plus page novel? A valid question for sure, but I don't think I'm alone in taking on an epic novel this summer.

My poison of choice, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, a polarizing brick of a book full of nonsequential chapters, more characters than you can count, and 100 pages of fictional footnotes.

Music of the Sahara

Submitted by Bobby on May 26, 2011 - 11:45am

I've been recently enjoying the "desert blues" of Saharan Africa. When you think about the harsh climate and political history that peoples of this region have faced, it seems only natural that powerful and soulful music would emerge similarly to American blues.

This music combines guitars with traditional African instruments such as flutes and harps and finds structure around percussive rhythms that stay with you long after you shut off the stereo. Although you probably won't understand a word of the lyrics, you get the strange sense that you know what they're singing about purely through their emotive tones.

Avoiding the Sophomore Slump?

Submitted by Bobby on May 2, 2011 - 9:10am

It must be a daunting prospect. Your debut album exceeds all expectations of acclaim and now you're faced with trying to follow it up? Can you avoid the "sophomore slump" that plagues so many bands who find themselves in this situation. A batch of young artists are now releasing their second efforts with thick anticipation from the music world.

Here are some notable ones: