Music on my Playlist: May 2012 Edition Thursday May 10, 2012

Well, hello there. Did you think I forgot about you? Of course not, I can’t quit this blog.

Yes, it seams like every few months I go on a bit of a hibernation with the old c.t.overdrive. This time I plan on blaming it on the Alberta Election, Alberta Tweets and of course our impending move back to the great white north. But don’t fret, I’ll be back writing again soon enough. Look for a handful of final blog posts regarding our wonderful time in The District, with my series of ode’s to this wonderful screwed up capital of the world.

… but in the meantime, I thought I’d get the creative juices flowing by sharing what’s been hammering on my playlist for the past few weeks. I’m sure there will be something on this list that perks your interest.

Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid

Of course, not much more needs to be said about this band that already hasn’t been said.

Fitz and The Tantrums – MoneyGrabber

We stumbled upon Fitz and The Tantrums through some odd ghetto show called The Stoop. Anyways, it’s a bit of a throw back to Hall and Oates and of course the motown sound. A great band which we were lucky to catch live at The Sweetlife Festival a couple of weeks ago…

Plus any band where the lead singer looks like Jean-Baptiste Emanual Zorg automatically gets street cred in my books.

Explosions in The Sky – Trembling Hands

Another reference to this year’s Sweetlife Festival (which as mentioned last year is a one day festival put on my a local Salad company… yes, a salad company), but we had the pleasure of catching Explosions In The Sky live and is easily one of our musical highlights over the past few years. Friday Night Lights fans will already know what we’re talking about…

Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness

Poser/Inside joke alert: True confession, we could have seen Kid Cudi at the Sweetlife festival, but instead decided to head home early. So I can’t actually admit that I’ve seen him live, but since that weekend I’ve spent more time listening to his record trying to figure out why the kids like this guy, which is very, very solid record.

Gotye – Someone Who I Used To Know

It’s probably a travisty to post the Walk The Earth cover, but it’s a really well done cover and hey, the video is an incredible smash sensation. If you haven’t already heard this song, then I’m sorry for you as it’s probably one of the most infectious songs to have comeout in ages. Similarily the whole record is pretty solid.

Wugazi – Slow Like That

One of the biggest travesties of my “music reviewing career” was not including Wugazi on my top five records of 2011.. hopefully this makes up for it.

Categories: The-Music, The-Pop-Culture,

Dale Hunter 4 - Vancouver Canucks 0 Wednesday April 25, 2012

Alright, it’s been a crazy week, but seeing the Caps win tonight was a great way to cap it off. One of the best side stories of the entire series was the Barrack Obama/White House vs. Tim Thomas story line. Needless to say, twitter blew up once Joel Ward scored to eliminate Thomas and the Bruins… I know it’s wrong, but this was the tweet that took the cake.

Did Obama just score the game winner? Tim Thomas is gonna be pissed tonight

— Count Bettman (@CountBettman) April 26, 2012

Categories: the-dc, the-capitals,

The Turners are Taking Their Talents To... Tuesday April 3, 2012

…Ottawa

A little over two and a half years ago, I revealed that my wife had been accepted into the Masters program at George Manson University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolutions. I talked about the excitement of the move and all the emotions that came with leaving Calgary for the capital of the United States.

Well, now it’s time for another change.

As of this month, my wife accepted a full scholarship to Carleton Universities’ prestigious Communications Ph.D program. My wife won’t admit this, but this is an incredible feat, with only five to seven students admitted each academic year. In essence, it’s the culmination of two and a half years of struggle, hard work, and amazing support from our friends and family. It is a fantastic opportunity for my wife who will be able to take her current passion for social media and political upheaval, to the next level in the academic world.

As with the move to Washington in 2009-10, this move is just as emotional. On one level, we’ve absolutely fallen in love with The District; with all it’s warts, insanity and unbridled electricity. Washington DC is an amazing city. Yes, people love to say it’s a second rate step child of New York, but DC truly is in a league of it’s own. Whether it’s wandering through Chinatown with Caps fans, slumming it at RFK to see DC United, stumbling along U-Street to get a Ben’s Chilli Dog before heading to the Black Cat or spending an afternoon walking down the mall – the city really is like no place on earth.

Yet on the other hand, as a couple, we’re extremely tired. I don’t mean on the level of we don’t sleep enough, eat horribly, don’t get enough exercise and are far too busy… wait… on second thought, actually I do mean that. Washington is an incredibly high paced city. But I also mean tired in a way that many will never understand. The past two and a half years have been amazing, but we’ve also grown weary of Gluten Free Mac N’ Cheese and Ham sandwiches for dinner. I won’t delve into it too much, but as visitors to this fine country it’s been a constant struggle and the financial pressures have been quite difficult to deal with. As a couple we contemplated staying in Washington, but the allure of a more stable and simplistic transition back to Canada won out.

This isn’t a formal farewell to Washington, much as Calgary will never be out of the picture, but for the time being the allure of universal health care and a more enticing environment for entrepreneurship is too much to pass up. We’ve spent the past two years taking advantage of the amazing opportunities that DC has provided us. We understand that some of the things we’ve done during our stint here would never have happened if we didn’t move across the continent. In turn being in DC has allowed us to grow as couple professionally and emotionally. So as my wife promised the Honourable Brian Mulroney last year, we are indeed taking our brains back to Canada.

So What’s Next For The c.t.overdrive

I know I’ve rambled on about my wife and our decision, and a few of you may be wondering what’s in store for me.

First off, for those who knew me in Jr. High and High School will find the connection between Calgary, Washington and Ottawa hysterical. Just for shits and giggles, I might have to resurrect the ratty Sens cap from it’s diseased ridden coffin. But on a more serious note, we couldn’t be more excited to for this next step.

Some of you may remember my video blog post two years ago, where I talked about my intentions for my tenure in DC. I was planning to use these two years, to really refine my craft and my career. Luckily for me I was able to do that and more. Not only am I a more confident designer and entrepreneur, but I’ve also been exposed to a new and engaging element of my industry. I’ve had the chance to take in some amazing conferences and talks, heck I’ve even had the opportunity to speak in front of High School kids and University Students on my work as a web designer, investor and mini-entrepreneur. So in essence, DC has been the perfect elixir for my career.

But now we’re moving back to Canada and as a 32 year old man, it’s time to take the shackles off and lay the bricks for a solid future.

Frequent readers will have noticed a dramatic change in my content on the site . It’s true that the political climate of Washington has infected me. And how could it not, I’ve always been a very politically engaged citizen, but by being immersed in the political hot bed of western society it was inevitable that it would take over. And in a way, being in Washington has made me even more passionate about Canadian politics. In a way, by seeing the pitfalls that has engulfed the American political climate, I am far more motivated to do what I can to help thwart this inevitable notion in my home country. Canada is a fantastic country, but one slowly being dragged down into a world of complacency and apathy. An element which is critically disappointing when it comes to the fundamentals of democracy.

The company made it’s first volley into the political realm last year and with AlbertaTweets.ca, we’ve made a more public declaration. The opportunity to move to Ottawa only further goes to solidify this decision. I’m not sure entirely which path I will take, the company will still continue to play a bit part in our lives. But the direction and focus may shift from solely web work to political campaigns and the world of web data both in Calgary and Ottawa (another huge benefit to moving back to Canada). Similar to what I’ve been able to do in Washington, I am planning to leverage my time in Ottawa to reach out on a federal and local political level… and with that who knows what lies ahead… might be nice to see the Turner name on a yard sign one day.

Either way, it’s an exciting time for the Turners. Yes, we are again leaving a city we absolutely love, with people and a lifestyle we won’t let slip away. But it’s on to a new adventure and the next stage in our lives. As Calgary has formed an element of our personalities, so to has Washington.

So in two months, it’s goodbye DC.

Herrrrrow Blottawa!

Categories: The-Canada-Vibe, The-Personnal, The Southern Neighbours

I Know Smart People... Thursday March 29, 2012

So last year a good friend of mine from the Calgary tech community, Sarah Blue, asked me to help her redesign her site iknowsmartpeople.com. It’s a very cool interview site, where Sarah, a fantastic and very well connected person in the tech community, asks a series of questions to some interesting and influential people. And as always with a project like this, I was more than happy to lend a hand redesigning the site and taking it from it’s Posterous roots to it’s new WordPress home.

Towards the end of the project, Sarah asked if I would like to be interviewed for the site. And of course I was humbled to be asked, especially to appear with some of the great people already on it such as Conrad Whelan and Grant Hutchinson. Anywho, in conjunction with the launch of the redesign Sarah has posted my interview on the site.

It was a lot of fun and I got the chance to wax on about running Armadillo Studios (and finally explain why I called it that), what it’s like to start your own business and some of my personal aspirations for the future. I hope you like the interview. It was a lot of fun to work with Sarah who is a fantastic person.

And while you’re at it, make sure that you check out some of the other interviews on the site, there are some great insights on there.

Categories: The-Blogosphere, The-Personnal,

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2012 Saturday March 17, 2012

Ah yes, it’s that time of year kiddies. St. Patrick’s day

A couple of links to get you in the mood today. Of course, it wouldn’t be a St. Paddy’s day with out some fighting so let’s get you in the mood with this classic opening scene from Gangs of New York.

And then find out some proper guidelines for celebrating the day, with this fantastic site – Paddy, not Patty.

And last but not least, if you don’t want to tempt fate and make your own Shamrock Shake, you may always tempt fate with the real thing from McDonalds.

Have a great day.

Categories: The-HomeLand, The-Pop-Culture,