Red River College Magazine Trade Fair 2013

There's a reason why I haven't been blogging as much lately, and that reason is because I've been up to my ass writing, editing, designing, and promoting a magazine with three other people.

At the beginning of this semester, our first-year Creative Communications program was assigned the task of creating a magazine. Our class was broken up into groups of four or five members and could choose any theme, granted it was targeted to a specific audience.

We chose curling.

That's right, the guy who loves basketball and who has never curled in his life was on-board for a curling magazine. And I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the experience. The people in my group are great, the magazine was fun to put together, and the promotion has been exciting.

So am I only talking about this magazine on a basketball-related blog to pat myself on the back? You got it. But I'm also blogging about the mag because we have an up-coming trade fair.

The fair is on Thursday, March 28 at Red River College's Exchange District Campus from 12 - 4.

We'll have some curling swag (is that a thing?) to give away along with free popcorn and some Hack Magazine t-shirts on sale. Even if curling isn't necessarily your thing, there will be a bunch of other magazines created by some very talented people to check out.

Here's a sneak peak of what you can expect at the fair.


Our magazine's cover: 

Our promotional poster:

And finally, Ace Burpee rocking one of our t-shirts:

March Madness and Miami Going for History

March Madness

The madness started up about a week and a half ago and I'm ashamed to say that I never watched one first- or second-round game. Apparently some 15 seed from Florida upset a two seed? I never watched but it's because of a tournament result like that that I'm glad I didn't put a bracket together this year.

Since grade seven I've put together a bracket and have never come close. By the end of the tournament I usually feel used, have low self-esteem, and struggle to look at myself in the mirror. Not this year. I conscientiously made the decision to refuse the evil temptress that is NCAA basketball for the sake of my emotional health. I shunned the tournament, and spread nasty rumors about it to others.

Of course none of this is true.

The only reason I didn't make a bracket this year was because I was so invested in school that I found out the tournament was starting the day it actually started. To any of my two readers who have ever questioned by basketball credibility: you win.

I've tried to watch as many games as I could. I watched a few third-round games and what I've seen so far has been pretty damn good. Games are close, the tempo is quick, and Aaron Craft is hitting game winners. I watched UNC jump out to an early lead against Kansas while I was working only to have the channel changed to a rerun of Bar Rescue. I don't know what's worse: that someone actually changed the channel from a tournament game between two big-name programs, or that I didn't object whatsoever because I can't get enough of Big Jon Taffer. My only beef with him? The success of his show spawned the unwanted bastard child Car Lot Rescue. Give your head a shake, Spike TV, Tom Stuker isn't fooling anyone with that cowboy hat.

I'm so behind this year with the tournament that I probably won't start taking it seriously until the Elite Eight. That's still a round a half away so I have some time to prep.

The Heat going for history

Miami is going absolutely nuts right now, having won 25 games in a row. They're only eight more wins away from tying the all-time record set by the 1971-72 Lakers. Can they do it? Is Lebron James the best basketball player ever? Did my response phrased as a question add any meaningful insight to this topic? Probably not, but with how well Lebron and the Heat are playing right now, my money is on that they'll at least tie the record.

If Miami beats Charlotte tonight, which they should, their only "scary" game is against the Spurs in San Antonio. I put scary it quotations because aside from maybe Denver (the Nuggets are on a crazy win streak of their own), I'm not sure any team can run with the Heat.

I want Miami to break the record only to say that I was alive when it happened and witnessed it.

Selfish? Does a duck have wings?

Let's be honest

The Raptors won't make the playoffs

We're getting close to crunch time in the NBA regular season, and the Raptors are sitting in ninth place in the East, seven and a half games behind the eighth seed.

The Raps have 16 games left to play in the season, 10 of which are against teams with winning records. And as per usual, it's looking like the eighth seed in the East will probably need a .500 or close-to .500 record just to make it into the playoffs. The Raptors record is 26-40, meaning they would have to win 14 of their next 16 sixteen games to break even for the season.

The Raptors are not making the playoffs.

This has been a yearly occurrence for the team for the last five years. And once again another year has went by where the Raptors have some promising young players (Valanciunus and Ross), a potential cornerstone of the franchise (Rudy Gay), and a complete disappointment (Bargnani).

Toronto won't be playing for anything other than pride for the rest of the season, except for Gay who'll be playing for a reported extension from the Raptors. Colangelo has a tendency to sign horrendous contracts -- Turkoglu, Bargnani, and Fields. Those sounds you'll hear in the off season when Colangelo signs Gay to a max will be my uncontrollable screams as I cry like a baby.

Speaking of crying like a baby: