Mike Pascoe, M.S. is a PhD student in the Dept of Integrative Physiology at CU Boulder. He’s currently working on his dissertation in the Neurophysiology of Movement Lab under the direction of Roger Enoka PhD with an emphasis on studying the consequences of healthy aging on the production of human movement.

Mike will be speaking about his research at a departmental seminar series coming up on April 29th. He started a NeuroBlog about his work when he was selected to cover the 39th Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting and hasn’t stopped since. Mixing science with technology, Mike enjoys being immersed in social media and even has a podcast where he posts the lectures he has given to undergrad and graduate students.

Born and raised in Westminster, CO, he’s one of those rare Colorado natives on the Boulder campus. He’s had countless rewarding experiences through his journey as a teaching assistant and can easily see himself holding an instructor position in the future. To keep on pace and stay on track with all of this, one can now see why two brains would come in handy.

[About this Shoot: I had several interactions with Mike through email and twitter (follow him @mpascoe) before our meeting and was excited to meet this energetic, mad scientist in person. We met outside Carlson Gymnasium and casually walked up to his second floor lab. A quaint space with cubicles, desks, and bookshelves of science books and binders. "This is too....normal....to be a lab", I thought.

Wait WTF is that? A room within a room? A small 8'x8' metal box with what appears to resemble an electric chair placed in the middle and surrounded by racks upon racks of electrical equipment, ekg-esque leads hanging from the walls, and a real human brain floating in a small bucket of preserving fluid. Now we're talkin!

Given the close proximity of the room, I used a super wide angle lens and shot Mike in the chair holding the brain, as if he's telepathically communicating or conversing with the remaining core of a person who once was.

Mike explained to me a lot about the room and equipment and every bit of information went directly over my head and is still floating about Boulder somewhere, so I won't be able to relay any of it to you. After leaving, I was also weirdly curious about the brain; who's was it, male or female, what life did they lead and what was their story? Maybe Mike can answer some of this and any questions you might have through the comments. Feel free to badger him for explanations.]

Apply to the Boulder Program: Deadline is March 22, 2010.

TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program. They run a three month long program in Boston (MA), Boulder (CO), and Seattle (WA) once each year. Applications for the Boulder program is currently open for submission. They’re very selective – hundreds of companies apply and they only take about ten companies per city. These companies get up to $18,000 in seed funding, $6,000 per founder up to 3 founders. Each program involves three months of intensive top-notch mentoring and the chance to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program.

As Brad Feld puts it, “While the seed funding is nice, the real value is the advice, mentoring, and connections provided by TechStars.” They have a very laid back and friendly atmosphere, working hard late into the nights while preparing for early morning meetings. 39 companies have received investment since 2007. Getting into the program is hard and it means something special but you can’t find out if your startup is among the best unless you apply.

[About this Shoot: I worked with Andrew Hyde on this days booking for TechStars. While we originally wanted to do a group portrait of the TechStars crew here in Boulder, the logistics of rounding everyone up considering the recent launch of the application process proved to be too difficult.

My solution was this. I pulled photos of all the Boulder Mentors that advise all the startups throughout the program. I cropped, retouched, and created a contact sheet. After printing the contact sheet out including thumbnails of all the mentors, I took some foam board and cut out the TechStars logo from it. I then overlayed the the foam board on top of the contact sheet so the thumbnails of the mentors showed through. I photographed the result and retouched again to present the final piece you see here.]

David Brier is the recipient of over 300 industry awards and holds the title of “Chief Gravity Defyer” at DBD International. Under his direction, clients across the US and internationally have seen the power of design and its ability to help their products, events, and services rise above the noise.

He’s produced a strong portfolio as a master designer with clients such as the New York City Ballet, Legacy Chocolates, El Paso Chile Company, and VAO VAO Chocolate to name a few. He says that design cliche’s will kill a brand dead. David zigs when others zag, he rocks when others roll, and he inspects to uncover the unique qualities that others miss.

In addition to writing widely published articles and having a blog on Fast Company’s website, David has authored of a number of books. David’s latest book is entitled “Defying Gravity and Rising Above the Noise” covering the 8 principles to achieving brand elevation.

This is the first in a series of three articles. Be sure to check out the article on DBD International here on Jan. 20th and one about David’s book “Defying Gravity and Rising Above the Noise” on Jan. 25th. Click the links below and get in contact with David to see how you can elevate your brand to a whole new realm.

The World of DBD International
Defying Gravity and Rising Above the Noise
Follow David on Twitter – @davidbrier

Play the In Card: Mention oncemany.com as a referral and get 1 Week Free Classes at Boulder CrossFit, 3101 28th St., Boulder, CO. – 303.704.3142

Have you made a New Years resolution to lose a few pounds, exercise more, or stay fit + active? I’ve found the perfect solution to keep your goal on track. Boulder CrossFit, owned + coached by Jeff Sadler, is a different kind of strength + conditioning program than you might be used to (with better results).

The CrossFit program is unique in that, by design, it’s a broad, general, and inclusive workout. It’s designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. The workout is scaled for load and intensity and becomes the sole reason the program benefits anyone from an elder with heart disease to a trained cage fighter.

The great part about the experience is that it’s something new to target everyday. While the muscles you worked in a previous session are healing, you’re working a different area of the body for total balance. A schedule is posted on their website to highlight the Workout of the Day. Possibilities include working with Kettlebells, Medicine Balls, Rowing machines, Olympic free weights, Pull ups, Push up, Sit ups, Running, Jump Rope, or Gymnastic exercises to name a few.

CrossFit will optimize your body in ten fitness domains including: Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy. With Boulder CrossFit you get the structure of a customized + coached workout to keep you on track and performing the exercises correctly.

I visited yesterday’s 4:30 – Workout of the Day class to find them concentrating on Hand Stands and using Medicine Balls. A few people warmed up on the Rowing Machines while others did some Walking Lunges. Jeff pulled out the mat and acted as a spotter for some handstand practice exercises. It was then time to jump into the workout which consisted of 5 rounds. Each round would have the person doing 5 handstand push-ups against the wall into 15 reps of tossing a medicine ball up onto the wall and catching it. It took no more than 10 minutes for everyone to complete but each were visibly spent.

No longer do you have to walk aimlessly around the gym wondering what’s the best workout to try. Boulder CrossFit has daily plans all laid out, you just have to show up.

Play the In Card: Mention oncemany.com as a referral and get 1 Free Hour of Tutoring.

Today I feel lucky to tell you about No Excuses Tutoring, an independent tutoring company servicing students in the Denver + Boulder areas. Started by Grant Grigorian in 2008, No Excuses Tutoring offers its services to students of all ages and provides a completely customized session based on each student’s needs.

Looking for a tutor with a specific background or expertise? Chances are they’ve worked with someone in the past that fits but if not, they’ll interview, check references, recruit, and hire a perfect match. All included at no extra cost to the student. This is the value added bonus of using the boutique, independent, and local tutoring service of No Excuses.

By obtaining a tutor with them, you are essentially helping educate the less fortunate as well. For every 10 hours of tutoring service, they will donate 1 hour of free tutoring to Tutor for Love which helps students who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford the services.

Grant would also like to extend the offer to everyone. If you contact them and mention oncemany.com as a referral you’ll receive 1 Free Hour of Tutoring. Don’t Wait, Go Now. Contact them to schedule a tutor.

I met Grant at the beautiful Norlin Library on CU’s campus in Boulder. After a slow tour of the facilities and great conversation, Grant and I found a perfect spot to setup for the shoot. We played around with various poses and compositions and I think we pulled off a shot to represent a student deep in study and overwhelmed by books. Grant’s a great guy and sharp as a tack. You CAN’T go wrong when booking his tutoring services.

You can also find Grant on Twitter @GrantG9. Give him a follow and feel free to ask him any questions about No Excuses Tutoring.

“I have no company, no promotions. I’m a photographer who liked your idea and I never get my photo taken.” -Jessyel

That’s how it usually begins, a blank canvas of sorts, the start of collaboration between myself and client, neither knowing any exact outcome but both excited to create.

Jesse lives in Denver, CO with his wonderful wife and emotional wiener dog. He’s a passionate photographer himself and you can view the progress of his work, his visual journey through life, on the photo blog Daily Snap or follow in on Twitter – @jessyel.

He had the idea, while he shows his face everywhere, to do a portrait piece where he remains anonymous. We began discussing the possibilities of location and appearance. He wanted to incorporate a small smoke cloud, contained and covering only his face. We also toyed with the idea of using a paper bag with a drawn on face or creating a mask from burlap or fabric. To add more intrigue to the photo, I wanted him to dress in something different than everyday casual and suggested a suit or go a little crazy with wild bright colors.

Ultimately we decided to do the shoot at an alley location in Boulder where the brick wall is painted with bright colors and he would wear a business suit. As for the cloud effect, he researched small smoke/chalk bombs but wasn’t able to acquire any before the shoot and brought a cigar to experiment with. We did several shots with him slowly blowing the smoke out as to cover his face.

When I began retouching the photos, the smoke effect wasn’t turning out to my satisfaction. I came up with the idea to implement a mushroom cloud, most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, with the stem of the cloud replacing his neck.

I personally love the theme of anonymity and the results we were able to attain. Having the opportunity to meet people like Jesse and mix our ideas together to create an interesting composition is the largest factor that drives me forward through this project. Everyday is something new with an adept and interesting person to meet.

If it’s New + Cool, you better believe Andrew’s somehow involved in it. He’s a self proclaimed startup enthusiast who’s got his hands on so many projects that I’m not sure when he sleeps. (I assume the coffee helps with that)

He’s the Community Director for TechStars, the finest startup accelerator around. TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program operating once a year in Boulder, Boston, and Seattle. Got a game changing cutting edge startup idea? Check out the details over at TechStars.org and Apply for your chance at incubation.

You can find Andrew blogging about all the projects he’s involved with, the in’s and out’s of living in Boulder, and his travels abroad at his personal spot http://andrewhy.de

He founded Startup Weekend, a 54 hour startup event that provides networking, resources, and incentives for individuals and teams to go from idea to launch. He also launched VCwear, a t-shirt company that aims to bring humor to the givings, or lack thereof, of Venture Capital and startup pitches. Go grab a couple now!

An upcoming event that Andrew helped organize is the eighth installment of Ignite Boulder. A night of presentations with a twist, Ignite Boulder provides a stage for speakers to present on a subject of their choice. Each speaker has exactly five minutes to teach something, enlighten us, or simply inspire—backed by twenty slides auto-advancing every fifteen seconds. Tickets for this event on Feb. 10, 2010 go on sale TODAY! Grab a few while they last. This event is sure to sell out quick.

I met Andrew at Trident Bookstore + Cafe for this shoot. We decided to do a fun, tacky, portrait style piece; and after playing for a bit in the snow and wood pile out back of Trident, I think we pulled it off. Super excited for the opportunity to meet him and learn more about all his involvements. Keep your eye on this one.

Tom is essentially my de facto brother in law, which is a fancier way of saying he’s my long time girlfriends brother. Born in Texas, 23 years ago today, Tom has since lived in London, England; Gabon, Africa; Jakarta, Indonesia; Cocoa Beach, Florida; and he’s currently finishing his undergraduate degree in the Appalachian beauty of West Virginia.

He’s always had a passion for the water as he’s a certified scuba diver and an avid surfer. Today’s photo comes from time I spent with Tom and the family in Florida this past summer. I thought it to be a perfect shot to represent him doing something he loves and gift him with a print for his day.

I was standing on a nearby pier snapping shots of Tom as he surfed at Cocoa Beach, Florida in late June, 2009.

Happy Birthday Tom, the print is in the mail. Everyone feel free to wish Tom a Happy Birthday in the comments.

Today I’m proud to announce the recent engagement of Jeff Cowherd + Anna Kirsch. Jeff’s a long time friend since High School (Class of ‘97, Nitro, WV – Wildcats) and it was an honor to create this piece for he and Anna. They’re currently livin’ it up in the Lower Haight section of San Francisco and you’ll often find him peddling delicious scones at the local bus stops there. If you ever stumble upon him, say hello (and congrats), as you’ll be hard pressed to find better conversation.

After Jeff first booked the day and contacted me about the announcement ideas, I knew right off it was going to be a challenge to interpret this day. We began discussing themes and various symbols in their relationship in order to bring meaning to the piece. He informed me that he proposed to Anna during the holidays as they were on a boat trip. He also wanted to incorporate the Grand Canyon into the theme as this was the spot he became settled with the idea that he would spend the rest of his life with Anna. He was by himself on this trip and from gazing into the canyon with its stacked layers of sedimentary rock, a visible timeline of growth and progress, the enlightenment of the symbolism between life + relationship was revealed.

Sailboats, Grand Canyon, Engagment and eventual marriage. How in the hell was I going to pull this off, I thought. I tried a couple different things before settling on this idea. I printed one of my photos from this summers trip to the Grand Canyon and folded it into an origami sail boat. I found an image of Jeff + Anna from his facebook page, which coincidentally was taken at a friends wedding, and printed it out. I cut them out of the picture with scissors and placed them in the boat. I wanted to represent their journey and path towards tying the knot (a date still to be determined), so I placed the boat on a river of rope, heading towards the knot. Setup the scene in a lightbox and began shooting. (special thanks goes to my lovlely assistant and girlfriend, Ami Boslaugh, on helping me create this)

Everyone wish Jeff + Anna a big congratulations in the comments. I wish them health, happiness, and longevity. Hope to see you both soon.

I had a blast working with David on this shoot. He’s an Internationally recognized photographer whose work appears in many magazines + ad campaigns; so to have the camera turned at him was a rare occurrence.

After he booked today for his shoot, I emailed him to get his comments on what exactly he wanted to represent. His own personal work comes off as strange, deadpan, and invokes curiosity. Following this same theme, he came up with the idea that since he booked the 7th we could correlate that number with a portrait series for the 7 deadly sins, shot subtly from the shoulders up and using just expressions. (Pride, Envy, Greed, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth)

After meeting David in Boulder and grabbing a quick cup of coffee to further discuss the project and ideas further, we setup in his new office for the shoot. It was great to work with another photographer as we could feed off of each other’s ideas and ended up directing each other throughout.

David’s home is Boulder, CO but his freelance work can take him anywhere. Check out his work and website at http://davidmejias.com and definitely consider him for your next advertising or marketing campaign. His work is astounding.

Today I bring you Preston Shomo, one of the greatest artistic talents I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and a good friend for many years. His creations don’t stop at tattooing and his skills spill over into drawing, painting, collectible toy design, street art, sculpture, glass work, metal + wood work.

Wish I had a link to give you for examples of all this, seriously amazing stuff. He definitely needs a website. It’s sad when raw talent slips through the cracks, largely undiscovered. Maybe, I’ll add that to the charitable to-do list. Nevertheless, your next tattoo should come from this man. He’s setup at the Bent Schrader tattoo parlor in South Charleston, WV and its worth making a special trip from any spot in the world for his work.

National Solar simplifies the benefits of solar energy to businesses and non-profits, maximizing Return on Investment through innovative technology and the latest renewable energy financing techniques.

National Solar is an employee owned small business and full service commercial solar integrator. They sell, design, install, finance and service solar power systems for businesses and non-profits who use electricity.

They combine their technical expertise (including their patented technology) with financial engineering methods (monetizing incentives and rebates) to help their customers achieve the benefits of solar without the big up-front costs.

Every commercial property can take advantage of solar energy right now. They will assess your properties’ solar opportunity and provide you with a detailed estimate of what Solar can do for you. Furthermore, they will assess your needs and your solar resource opportunities and provide you with a detailed proposal of what benefits Solar can provide to your business and your community.

Their patented commercial systems and integrated energy efficiency measures provide higher Return on Investment from the efficient use of the Suns energy. National Solar provides low cost and no cost solar installations through solar leases and power purchase agreements to qualified customers.

National Solar operates and services the Eastern US and Caribbean.

If your going to be in the Merritt Island, Florida area this year, you definitely want to consider staying at the Merritt Island Guest Quarters. Short stay or Extended, the price and amenities sure beat a hotel or condo.

Stay in the totally self-contained Mother-In-Law Suite, The Island Bungalow attached to the house. The owner, Terry Boslaugh, says her home is quiet, safe, and private. It is for the serious minded traveler. Smoking is allowed outside and Pets are allowed in The Island Bungalow.

Share the private fenced backyard, with screened pool area, hammock, swings, bicycles, and beach stuff. Within a few minutes of the house you could walk or run alongside the Indian River.

With rates as cheap as $250 per week, it’d be crazy not to check in if available. For more details and photos of the space, please visit the website http://theguestquarters.com

Paige Burhorn has secured her day to pay tribute to her favorite Denver Nuggets player Chris “Birdman” Andersen. Birdman is the 6′10″ center/power forward for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and garners his nickname from the now famous wing tattoos on his inner biceps.

Paige graduated from CU with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Biology. She is currently attending CU working towards her Masters in Special Education. She interned at the Kempe Center in 2006 where she worked with battered and abused children.

Being Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s #1 Fan, Paige created Bird Sleeves which are nylon/spandex arm sleeves that slip easily over each arm and bear large Blue + Gold wings. She says Bird Sleeves act as a symbol, inspired from Birdman’s tattoos, and represent a fun and interactive way to support a player and team that is a testament to success through hard work and dedication. Bird Sleeves act as an example and were created in recognition of overcoming challenges, obstacles, and adversities in all aspects of life.

The Head Changers are a 4 piece jamband hailing from the mid-ohio valley. Their style of music can best be described as an eclectic form of psychadelic rock created by fusing electronic influenced jazz and funk with melodic groove. Their shows are full of energy and emotion from start to finish. As with most bands that fall under the jamband title, improvisation is a key part to their show and overall sound. Almost never is their material performed the same way from show to show.

Members:
Josh Dick – Electric Guitar/Vocals
Austin Alexander – Acoustic Guitar/Vocals
Will Chrichton – Bass
Eric Ramey – Drums

Check em out at any/all of the following:

ReverbNation
MySpace
Facebook Fan Page
THC Website
theheadchangers@gmail.com