Back on The RSS Bandwagon · Wednesday September 1, 2010

A couple of years ago, just went Twitter was starting to really transform the tech industry, I did something pretty bold. Well, not really bold, but in the Web Nerd industry, it’s quite bold.

I abandoned my RSS Feed Account.

By the way for those not familiar with RSS and RSS Feeds, it’s essentially a handy way to get the most recent posts or updates from a particular web site directly to your computer, you know without actually visiting the site. I know it’s a bit more complicated than that, but for those uninitiated that’s a bit of a laymen’s breakdown.

Back on track. Two years ago, with Twitter acting as my personal industry watercooler (thanks to Andy for that term), I started to get incredibly overwhelmed by the 40 or so RSS feeds I had.

I found that my RSS Feedreader was nothing more than a reminder of all the articles I didn’t have time to read. Then with Twitter, it really started to feel like an obsolete tool. All the most interesting posts were already being relayed and I found myself launching my RSS feed only to hit the Mark All Read button.

So I deleted my RSS feeds, abandoned the Reader and felt a huge sigh of relief.

Fast forward to now and I’ve found myself in an incredibly odd predicament.

Over saturated by the constant barrage of Twitter posts and Facebook links, I’ve been feeling incredibly overwhelmed by information. Generally disconnected from the small group of sites which make the internet awesome I set about the nerdy quest of reviving my RSS collection.

But unlike the first time, I’ve decreed that I am aiming to limit my RSS Feeds to just 15 subscriptions. And if I add a new site appears it’s gotta be worthy enough to replace another feed. I am also aiming to keep this list of feeds to sites that I want to stay informed on. Sure the golden staples of the web are on the list Kottke.org, Dooce.com, Poploser.org, Kanye West (come on this is a designers dream) and Airbag Industries.

But for this new list, I’ve also added a couple of new sites that I think are worthy enough to share.

• Trenddown – Run by local designer Adam Goetz, trenddown is an eclectic collection of everything tech and design. Always a great source of fantastic articles.
• DCist – DC and to an extent Arlington is my new adopted home, so of course I need to find something that shows what’s really going on in the District. Sure it’s apart of the Gothamist network, but for a daily blog it’s incredibly informative. From stories on what’s going on to coverage of the latest DC crazy, it really is a gem of a site. (Plus the daily photo is always stunning)
• CalgaryisAwesome – Albeit very similar to the concept behind the DCist (and the overall ist network). Calgary is Awesome is a great way to keep my other foot planted in to the hear of what’s going on in Calgary and all the great things the city has to offer. Consider it a focused online version of FastForward.
• Fuck Yeah YYC – If CIA is the site you go to find out all the good and amazing things going on in Calgary, Fuck Yeah YYC is the site for everything surreal and ultimately quirky about our beloved city. With contributions from poploser, splorp and myownbiggestfan you know the content is going to be hilarious.
• The Big Caption – all the beauty of Boston’s The Big Caption but with witty commentary. Yes, I’ve already linked to it multiple times in the past, but you really have to add it.

So there you have it. If you’ve got a solid suggestion feel free to leave it in the comments.

Categories: The-Blogosphere, The-Soapbox,

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Random Thoughts For The Single Greatest Pop Song · Friday August 27, 2010

Okay, so you’ve probably all already seen this video.

But as a duty to the musical street cred of this blog and my love of everything Gnarls Barkley this double whammy of Random Thoughts starts off with Ceelo’s F**K YOU.

Oh Ceelo, If only this triumphant piece of mastery was around in the early 2000s.

First – An beautiful exhibition of eclectic skateboard designs in San Diego

Second – An interesting little story about Stock Photography from the view point of someone who was unsuspectingly used as the face of an unemployed generation.

If you’re like most people you might be asking what Stock photography is.

It’s a essentially low-cost license free images that any designer or publisher or web site can use on their sites. Two of the biggest players in the stock photography world are actually sitting in your own back yard (of course that’s if your backyard is in Calgary). So if you’re curious check out iStockPhotos and Veer.com to get a better understanding.

Third – I’m sorry, but Facebook humour absolutely kills me.

Similar to the link I posted in the last round of Random Thoughts, here’s the Facebook status updates of some major Historical events

Julius Ceaser: My Boys pulled together a lil’ get together at the casa tonight. It’s going to be killer
Brutus: Oh, it’ll be killer alright

Fourth – Everyone remember the incredibly story of Pat Tillman.

He was the star defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals that walked away from millions of dollars to go serve in Afghanistan, only to be killed in action… Well now, it’s being revealed that there is far more to the story that what was initially reported. And opening up soon is a heart-wrenching documentary which explores the controversy swirling around The Chomsky-reading NFL star’s death.

He emerged as a mixture of qualities that seem simultaneously liberal and conservative, all-American and heterodox. He was a football star and avid outdoorsman who read Emerson; an agnostic or atheist who read the Bible, the Quran and the Book of Mormon out of intellectual curiosity; a man who relished the high-testosterone simulated combat of sports, and excelled at it, while also maintaining an introspective personal journal he allowed no one to read

Fifth – A fascinating look at the quiet and secretive success of the Trader Joe’s Supermarket Franchise.

Sixth – Here’s some more music for my music starved friends. It’s the new track from The Thermals – I don’t Believe You.

Who from all accounts killed Sled Island this year.

Seventh – Shining Force and Streets of Rage are now available for the iPod Touch and iPhone

Holy Fuck

That’s all I’ve got to say on that. (thanks to dwarnott for the heads-up)

Eighth – Has there been a bigger bad ass in the history of man than this guy?

I’m sorry, but this guy looks like some sort of hybrid extra from a Punjab remake of Planet of The Apes and Blackhawk Down…

Ninth – Scott Pilgrim’ Versus The Unfortunate Tendency To Review The Audience. A great article on ever reviewer’s tendancy to analysis the audience rather than the movie. (via. musiccriticca)

Tenth – A fantastic post by Julien Smith entitled – The Myth of Behind.

Read it, think about it and start changing what you’re doing today.

Categories: The-Random, The-Music, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Craziness, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The Southern Neighbours, The VideoGames

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An Outsiders Take on The 2010 Civic Election · Wednesday August 25, 2010

Before I start in to my spiel, here are some caveats of note.

One, I have been closely watching the 2010 Calgary municipal races from quite a distance. Earlier this year, I was asked to help out with the online entity for a potential campaign run. Unfortunately, that campaign did not see the light of day, but it did give me a great excuse to spend far too much time analyzing the current issues surrounding the race and the challenges of getting a candidates message out.

Two, Although, I will not be able to vote this year, I am an open supporter of Naheed Nenshi’s campaign for the Mayor’s office. I really believe that people need to spend a bit of time reading his thoughts and vision for a modern Calgary. (Why I mention that off the top of a post, I’ll get to a bit later)

So with those tidbits out of the way, let me begin.

October 18th, 2010

In my honest opinion, October 18th, 2010 will be looked upon as a defining moment in the history of Calgary.

After, what seems like, an eternity of guidance under Dave Bronconcrete, we Calgarians are set to usher in a new era of civic policies. There is the potential for major upheaval in the aldermanic roster of city council and of course a new mayor, who will dictate a new direction for the city.

The city is almost breaking the 1.2 million population threshold and as a city we are looking to make major headway in the lower rungs of the Global City sphere. Couple that with the recent maturation of Calgary into one of the key centres for cultural and economic development in Western Canada and you can quickly see why this is an important election.

We are at a defining crossroads and this election will ultimately define this city’s direction – for better or for worst. Will we become a sustainable and vibrant city or will we continue on a rudderless path? Will a new mayor really understand what this city needs or continue to regard it as 800K western outpost?

But unfortunately, municipal politics for most citizens is a bit of an afterthought.

If we are to be honest with ourselves, municipal politics is just a more professional extension of High School Presidential elections. We all see the signs and promises, but typically the average voter only votes based on name recognition and popularity. The only deviation which may occur is when, a candidate comes highly recommend by our best friends.

Which is a shame because the decisions made by our municipal representatives have a greater impact on our daily lives than our Provincial and Federal counterparts.

Where Traditional Media is Failing

Unfortunately, this misconception of civic politics is only being enhanced by the current election coverage from The Herald, The Sun and what’s left of the local television networks. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the mailed in notion of a two horse race is not only damaging the potential discussion, but undermining the potential of this city.

The casual voter needs to be better informed of the vast spectrum of candidates. There is without question more to this race than Ric Alderman NO McIver and Barb Higgins. There are extremely viable candidates for mayor in Naheed Nenshi, Kent Hehr, Bob Hawsworth and Joe Connelly, etc., But if you only listen to the snippets and quotes from the traditional media, this glorified two horse is race is all your going to hear about.

From a traditional media outlet standpoint a high profile two horse race, easily sells more papers and T.V. ads than a 13 Horse marathon. Again, we’re back to the notion that municipal politics is just a glorified extension of High School politics.

Luckily for all of us though, there are others who are working to counter act the Traditional Media outlet’s misguided handling of this election.

One only needs to look at the daily discussion evolving on the #yycvote stream on Twitter or even look at the local political blogosphere to see the great discussion that is evolving. Even the Calgary Metro is doing a far better job covering the election than the traditional power houses of the Herald and The Sun. DJ Kelly, a prominent civic activist and blogger has touched upon this issue in his latest column for the Calgary Metro. (After your done shifting through my rant, please go back and read this link. It’s well worth your time).

You Are The Most Important Tool in This Election

While I could go on and on about the battle for information brewing between Traditional and Independent Media factions, I want to talk about the most important factor in this election and that is you.

Yes, you. The one with the coffee stain on your shirt. (Sorry I had to point it out).

Your opinion and recommendation matters more in this election than anything else. More than bumber stickers, twitter accounts, press releases, billboards and misguided editorial pieces.

Three Degrees of Influence and Connected

In Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape our Lives Christakis and Fowler discuss how we are all connected by Three Degrees of personal influence. The gist of the book is that you directly influence and are affected by a sphere of influence which reaches all the way to your Friend’s Friend’s Friend.

In such a hyper-connected world, where we have more interaction with our circle of friends on a daily basis through our daily internet usage than we ever did. It’s almost impossible to ignore the importance of your own personal recommendation.

Vanyerchuck calls it the Thank You Economy, but your opinion and your personal beliefs have more influence on your circle of friends and by proxy their circle of friends than ever. So when you make a stance on a topic or recommend a cool article, it will inevitably have a strong influence on a large group of people. Just look at the speed at which Ceelo’s F**K YOU has become the unofficial hit of the summer as a great example of the power of recommendation.

What Can You Do?

It’s still pretty early in the race and the polls that have been released suggest two things. One name recognition is predominate factor in this election, yet again. Two, at least 40% of voters are still unsure of who to vote for.

So here’s the challenge, if you are passionate about a candidate – whether it’s Barb, Naheed, Joe, Wayne or pretty much anyone else besides Dr. No – make a public declaration of support to that candidate. Especially if that candidate isn’t one of the big two.

It’s far too early in the race to be aligning your vote to combat someone else vote, as many have noted as a reason to vote for Barb. Rather, now is the time to make a declaration for a candidate.

By making a declaration, you will directly influence your group of friends. Who may or may not recognize your opinion, but if another one of their friends makes a similar declaration, they are more likely to take note. Because of which the preconceived perception surrounding the election as a two-horse race will start to shift and some viable discourse will start to happen.

It’s quite easy to turn the tide and one single ripple can start change. And of course that all stars with you.

Categories: The-Calgary-Vibe, The-Blogosphere, The Soapbox

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Coffee Shop Confusion · Tuesday August 24, 2010

If you’re one of the many unfortunate souls who follows me on Foursquare or better yet, Gowalla, you’ll notice one thing in regards to my check-ins.

I spend a vast majority of my time in D.C. in a coffee shop. What can I say, when you’re spending a lot of time blogging and online, there’s nothing like great coffee and free wi-fi to make your day that much better.

One of the coffee shops I’ve been able to check out is a small little place near U Street and the Shaw District – called The Big Bear Cafe. I had a meeting with the DC Food For All guys there a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across it. It’s a neat little place, in a crazy neighborhood that’s going through some massive urban changes. But without question the place is the epitome of a hole in the wall hipster hideout.

Try to imagine will you, a coffee shop in London opening up it’s door mere days after being bombed during the World War II air raids. Now imagine that same place packed to the rim with hipsters, bipsters and MacBooks. That’s the vibe of Big Bear.

So you’ll understand my surprise to see the same coffee shop as the back drop of all things, a Comcast and NBC merger commercial.

A Hole in the wall Hipster Hangout and Global Corporate Merger, together at last? What is this world coming too?

Categories: the-dc, The-Blogosphere,

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50 Seconds To Mars · Wednesday August 18, 2010

Yesterday, while touring Washington with two little rugrats and the family in town, we decided that in a pinch we’d eat at the legendary HARD ROCK cafe Washington. As with all Hard Rocks, except the Vegas one… It’s pretty much a HARD ROCK cafe.

You, know filled with random trinkets and some what meaningless artifacts from bands like Boston, Foreigner, Collective Soul and Hoobastank. The food is mediocre at best, but one of the things that always caught my attention was the looped music videos they play. In particular, the videos showing the preordained legends of ROCK from each generation – Eric Clapton, Sting, The Police, Chubby Checker, The Who, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and 30 Seconds to Mars….

Wait, did I just say 30 seconds to Mars?

I sure did. In particular yesterday, it was the song Kings and Queens with all of Jared Leto’s manliner goodness oozing from it.

Now, I know I’ve already spent a fair bit of time mocking Jared Leto and 30 minutes to Mars in the past and I admittedly enjoyed elements of this song and video… But that being said, I feel bad for the naughts generation. For this to be one of their cherished anthems… it’s just somewhat depressing.

Sure it’s filled with elements of every teenage generational anthem before – angst, imagery of the man literally crushing our youth, and a proclamation of people not understanding us… But there are other elements that scream of cheese. A city on fire, the slow motion dreamy eyes of Jared Leto, a blatant homage to one of Bansky’s most famous pieces of work, the wide open arms of Jared Leto and a white horse trotting through the mean streets of L.A. and soooo much more.

There has to be better songs – even the cheesy commercialized tracks – to represent an entire generation? We at least had Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Thom Yorke and Scott Weiland to preach to us. How can a generation connect with an ex A list actor and his angst? Hell, how can his band even connect with him? I’d love to ask one of the hundreds of thousands of naughts who’ve proclaimed this song the best they’ve ever heard, but I fear it might involve spending to much time flipping through someone’s dreary journal.

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

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