Most of us have at least one person in our family who has served in the military during wartime. These men and women live amongst us, some suffering more than others, some not suffering at all. As they age their sense of self worth comes into focus, and they struggle to explain themselves to younger family members. Talking about traumatic events experienced during war is stressful and exhausting. So the question is “Should we dredge up old painful memories? Are our grandfathers and fathers too old to heal?” Apparently Frazier Sheppard and Laverne Shimanek feel you are never too old to heal. Sheppard (US Army, Vietnam) and Shimanek (US Marine, Korea) are both veterans of war and now they r

Mark Bean, the managing director of C7, and Josh Hilliker, the director of social media at Intel-GE Care Innovations, sat on a panel moderated by 3Fold’s Gordon Fowler to discuss whether or not social media’s return on investment (ROI) is measurable. Turns out, it is. As was revealed over the course of their discussion, there’s a plethora of tools out there for everyone to track just how effective their social media presence is. There are a lot of dated measurements (i.e. number of clicks or time on site), but they don’t quite carry over into social networking very well. Some of the newer tools include Hootsuite and Tweetdeck for the smaller businesses, or Radian 6 and Crimson Hexagon for

UC Davis law professor Anupam Chander spoke to a large crowd at the California Museum on Tuesday, April 19th about the role social media has played in the recent uprisings around the globe, and how it could be a key player in making the world better. Just prior to the professor taking the stage, a wonderful meet-and-greet was held in the lobby of the museum. Politicos, business leaders, media experts, teachers and others chatted over mouth-watering hors’doeuvres provided by Blue Prynt and wine provided by Grace Patriot Wines. Professor Chander was there to discuss a new paper that he had recently published called Googling Freedom. His presentation came in three parts: (1) is social media

ABBA they are not. Stop by Harlow’s this Friday to see Swedish psych-rockers The Soundtrack of Our Lives as they make a quick run up the West Coast before heading back to tour Europe. Influenced by ’70s psychedelia, prog and classic rock, the six-piece from the land of IKEA and Absolut found critical success in the United States with their 2002 release “Behind the Music,” which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards. At the time of its release Noel Gallagher of Oasis proclaimed “Behind the Music” to be “the best album to come out in the last six years.” TSOOL followed up that success with 2004’s “Origin Vol. 1,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Swedish ch

DGC/Interscope band Escape the Fate will headline the Dead Masquerade tour at Ace of Spades this weekend, joined by support acts Alesana, Motionless In White, Get Scared and Drive A. Las Vegas-based hard-rockers Escape the Fate are touring in support of their self-titled third album and recently released “Issues Remix” EP, featuring remixes of their first single "Issues" done by Jakwob (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lily Allen), LA Riots (Tiesto, The Ting Tings), Wolves At The Gate (The Cure) and Does It Offend You, Yeah? (Muse, The Raconteurs, Bloc Party). The band currently graces the cover of Outburn magazine, which declares, “the band’s new album is a compelling modern day masterpiece.” Bassist

Social media enthusiasts from around the city gathered Tuesday night at The Urban Hive for the Sacramento Social Media Club Relationships and Social Media presentation. With Valentine's Day just behind us and the ever-increasing role of social networking in our day-to-day lives, relationships via the online frontier was a timely topic for discussion. Four speakers headlined the evening, and the audience was filled with some of Sacramento's most active facebookers and tweeps. Up first at the podium was independent marketing consultant Paul Ardoin, who discussed facebook privacy settings and how to manage them. "facebook is a for-profit entity; every decision facebook makes on your privacy

San Francisco art-pop band Deerhoof kicks off a new tour at Harlow's Thursday in support of the hot-off-the-presses LP release "Deerhoof vs. Evil." The quartet is recognized by many as pioneers of improv-style experimental pop, with its distinctive sound influencing many others: Sleigh Bells, Of Montreal, Xiu Xiu and more. Count on a striking sonic mix of poppy melodies, waves of noise, and chaotic fun from these former Radiohead tourmates. Potentially challenging, but sure to be fresh and different. Deerhoof performs at Harlow's at 9 p.m. Thursday, and tickets are $12. Nervous Cop opens.

Before he was a political activist and lecturer, Krist Novoselic was a founding member and bassist of Seattle-based Nirvana, one of the most influential bands in history. After Nirvana ended when lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, Novoselic became proactive in politics, using his celebrity to draw attention to his causes, which include promoting election reform and increasing voter turnout. Thursday night he spoke to a group of roughly 150 in the University Union ballroom at Sacramento State. Free and open to the public, the chiefly student audience was a mix of the politically minded and curiosity-seeking. “The last I heard about Krist Novoselic was that h

The Submarines are an indie-pop group comprised of married couple Jack Dragonetti and Blake Hazard.  Touring with drummer Jason Stare and new bass player "Scott," they passed through Sacramento on Wednesday night, playing a small show at Blue Lamp. If you don't recognize the band name, you would certainly recognize the music. Their songs have been featured in Nip/Tuck, Weeds, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, and in maybe the most well-known placement, the songs "You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" and "Submarine Symphonika" were used in Apple commercials for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. Originally working as solo artists in Boston, Dragonetti and Hazard played in each other's bands and were romant

There was a lot of fishnet at Blue Lamp on Wednesday night, which could mean a few things, but in this case it was lo-fi pop quartet Dum Dum Girls visiting Sacramento in support of their debut album I Will Be. Dum Dum Girls is led by Dee Dee (real name: Kristen Gundred), the creative force behind the all girl group, á la Trent Reznor. The name of the group is a nod to both The Vaselines' album Dum-Dum, and the Iggy Pop song "Dum Dum Boys". The 27-year-old singer/songwriter started recording songs in her bedroom and eventually looked to her friends to take the show on the road. The debut album I Will Be was produced by Richard Gottehrer, who is responsible for writing 60's classics "My Boy

The Northern California Social Media Society is a new organization that aims to provide its members “access to a broad ecosystem of support to help you grow your business, enhance your leadership, and expand your impact as a socially responsible business leader.” Its launch party was held last Tuesday at Mix Downtown’s rooftop location at 16th and L streets. It was a sunny, comfortable setting for the introduction of the media society as well as good conversation among the enthusiastic attendees, who enjoyed light refreshments and raffle prizes donated by the leadership team and fans.   The team includes Nicole France of Buzz Sense Media, Beth Diebels of A Social Media Group, Peri R. R