I SWEAR I'm Not Dead

Things are getting hectic, kinda.
Along with my overwhelming lack of drive to finish this last month of school, I've also been hit with the payment of the website, where currently nothing of note resides (www.andymac.ca) On top of that, you are looking at the now sole owner of www.fictionalcharacters.net ! something I've worked toward for sometime. But my electronic publishing class has an assignment where I will have to put up a live website as part of my online identity (think: online resume of awesomeness) so andymac.ca will pay off for me in the future!

As I stated before my tumblr blogs are my primary focus currently, it's just too easy to not blog there all the time.

The forecast says 14C lets keep our fingers crossed!

I write about Hockey!

I say it, and I'll probably keep saying it. I love hockey! All kinds of hockey I enjoy, but tonight's game will certainly become one of those stories I one day tell the mini-MacDonalds all about. They will hear about how for 2 weeks my friends set aside their differences (Leafs & Habs & Pens) to stand united against the world.
More than anything else I wanted the Canada, Russia game though. I will not be phased by anything else that happens in this tournament. The games of the Summit Series are a distant memory, but something that I enjoy watching because of the connection to the history of the sport and this nation. I was delighted by the game. I couldn't believe that I was watching the same team that had so narrowly escaped the Swiss. Finally there was some meshing of the players. There is a lot riding on this tournament for all of Canada, and there was a lot riding on that game. Canada came out on top by a wide 7-3 margin. Sweden may be next... but I got what I wanted to see tonight. Goodnight hockey fans! I'll be wearing the old Red & White, Rouge et Blanc tomorrow for sure!

I'm not dead!

This is what I've been working on this last month, since I've been back to school the vast spreading of my online presence has made it slightly more difficult to update this page. So here they are

School and the People In It! is a website I started to post online the growing swarm of quotes that my class has come up with. I'm going to be making a book out of them. Kind of a yearbook for P02. (also contains swearing)

This is my more personal blog thing, it isn't like these dispatches of daily life, here is where I put the stuff that inspires me or peaks my interest. Also is very friendly for picture displaying but doesn't allow them to be easily copied. This will be good for my photography class.

Also I'm constantly on twitter, cause I can do that from anywhere on earth, be it King Mountain or downtown Toronto.

So there's my explanation.

A January lacking

Well not entirely lacking... We have had some good, dare I say, great times outside of class. But this semester's work is definitely lacking. Maybe it's because we don't have Jodi, Andrew or Mary-Lynn pushing us to work harder or to think more critically. Even with the newspaper, things are generally stale. I just hope it picks up once some serious work has been assigned. Fingers crossed, sadly I find myself counting down the issues of the paper left until we get onto the Easy EZine. I think what I really need is to get on my surfboard and flush my brain before I get into old, bad habits.

Help Help! Nostalgia posts!

Things have been great here at school, I'm having a blast with the great pack of friends I gained while here for school. Something I realized far too late that I failed to do in University, I lived 10 seconds from my school but had only 2 real friends gained from University that I currently still talk with, one is my girlfriend of 4.5 years... and the other is Kirst. Who I still try to talk to on a semi regular basis. Its awesome when I finfd out how much I have in common with the other people in my program, like I belonged in College all along.
Now this post really isn't nostalgic in any way, I just had a feeling that was the way it was going to go when I started writing. thankfully it hasn't.
Blu Ray player drivers are out of date and there is some serious need of patchage on the sony in order to even DL the drivers. So I can't watch the Hurt Locker today. I'll be honest I was only renting it cause I had a free rental and have a softspot for Point Break, which was mentioned in a commercial. I'll see it someday though.
I don't even know what comes out this week, hopefully something I want to see... oh yeah! Whip It! Sweet. Also must look out for Facing Ali! I really want to see it.
For class at somepoint we have to do podcasting, so I'm thinking of practicing by listing my top... 10-25 movies and going through what makes them awesome. I'll post them to the Tumblr or something since I won't be able to do MP3s from here.
So there's your Tuesday update, on a day in Toronto, of 8 degrees... :(

Unabridged Violence: An Editorial Draft

Following on the heels of the first day of school I was tasked with submitting a sample piece of writing to the supervising editor for the editorial page position. The appointment would help me develop a writing style but maintain some of the freedoms I have come to expect with the kind of work I submit to some of my blogs. I would still photograph for the paper, be part of the news staff and do editorial cartoons, a job I can certainly do, but I would like the opportunity to get some of my own style into the writing.

The assignment was 200ish words on the looming teacher's strike vote and the student walk-out planned for tomorrow. The lucky person will be awarded one of the 2 available positions. Unfortunately one of the people I am up against is my friend Vanessa, who certainly has experience writing in a freestyle blogging format equal to my own. The ideal thing would be if we both got it, but fate rarely works out exactly like you want it. So, once I'm done the thing I'll post it below!

Finding information on the looming strike vote is hard. With the vote only a few days away it would make sense that there would be more credible information available. Newspaper articles direct us to Facebook groups.

Ontario College Students Against A Strike is the Facebook group where most articles direct the students. In the site’s forums the answers received to genuine questions are usually made up of basic biased information, or total guesses, with later responses boiling down to a feces-flinging storm of swearing and capslock.

What many students are trying to gain is lost in misinformation. Everyone claims to be an expert, in reality very little is being shared with students so people simply don’t know.

The website states they wish for a peaceful resolution that has the least affect on the students. Student comments seem more out of the frustration of not knowing than anger toward the teachers.

If your search leads no further than Facebook there are no real answers. The websites for either side are also just filled with propaganda. Students have to make up their own minds on how to react.

An extended semester would drastically lower the chances of getting a decent summer job to pay for school. I don’t know how I feel about the position of either side, all I know is that if a strike extends the semester into the summer, financially I can’t commit to a second year. There is no informed student voice and for many that’s the real frustration.

The Best Game You Can Name

Steph & Myself, most likely 1989-90

As other posts have stated I love the game of Hockey! I didn't play it in an organized fashion because I was unable to stand the thought of becoming one of the bullies that most regular kids had problems with in elementary school (Turns out one of those schoolyard bullies I now cheer for as a member of the Montreal Canadiens) I never gave up an opportunity to play at my school's rink, (pictured above) with friends or family.

My father is a Habs fan, and my grandmother and grandfather were Habs fans, and my aunts are Habs fans too. And as most of the world knows I am a Habs fan! I love to watch the game and relive games through stories told my my dad. But there is something about the game that brings all Canadians and american hockey fans back to their time as a youth on ponds and outdoor rinks where skills were really perfected and learned. Even if you don't have that "outdoor rink, snow falling, using a steel shovel to clear the surface" memories, hockey movies like Mystery Alaska, The Rocket and The Mighty Ducks provide them for those not graced with a beautiful snowy climate.
It was after these films I believe the notion of the Winter Classic was born. Originally the Heritage Classic game of Nov. 22 2003 was the first regular season game to be played outdoors, a battle between the Habs and Oilers in -18 °C weather that ended in the 4-3 win by the Canadiens. The game was the most viewed regular season game the NHL ever had and they sought to repeat that trend.

January 1 2008 saw the first Winter Classic game played between the Penguins and Sabers, (2-1 Pens) The game had a record draw of 71,217 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
January 1 2009 Redwings v Blackhawks at Wrigley Field, (6-4 Wings) 40,818 attendance
January 1 2010 Flyers v. Bruins at Fenway Park, (2-1 OT Bruins) 38,112 attendance

There is a lot of speculation about the future game, although it is only January 8th 2010 many have already begun to talk about next year's game. Much of the consensus rests on a game involving the state known for it's insatiable love of the sport, Minnesota. With the rest of the speculation being harboured by fans from New York. Personally I don't believe Avery or the rest of the Rangers who support him should have anything to do with such a great new tradition.

I know Canadian cities do not generally have the facilities to host an outdoor hockey game. Toronto FC's BMO Field is the one exception with seating for 20,500 a number far smaller than the baseball stadiums stateside. (Besides who would want to go to the game knowing full well that whoever the Leafs play, be it Coyotes or Habs, it is unlikely the old blue and white would win. (sorry Raman :P ) So if it has to be in the states I am glad they are considering my (adopted) hockey team The Wild.

However there is also talk of a second outdoor game that may occur next year, a "Canadian Winter Classic" which would presumably take the place of February's Hockey Day in Canada. This is an idea I don't particularly like. If the season becomes flooded with outdoor games it will dilute what makes it special. It would lose many tuning in because I'm sure I wasn't the only one who didn't care at all if the Flyers or Bruins won, because both teams are glaring examples of American goon hockey. I would like to see the inclusion of a Canadian team in the next Winter Classic, we should play the best teams around and not be relegated to a B game a month and a half after the American's have "their" game. Parity has reduced the relevance of any one team to make franchises more viable in expansion areas, a move completely driven by money which has killed the age of the dynasty. I lament the current woes of the Canadiens, but I lament the woes of every team that had to sit through Hurricanes and Lightning Stanley Cup championships.

I understand the sport and I understand the business but Canada deserves a fair chance, we have the fans and we have the skilled players. Do not allow a Canada only game to go into the books for next season, it is just insulting to the country that brought the game to America in the first place.

* * *

Just as my Christmas break comes to an end, I know I haven't posted while I have been home, that's because the site is called Sheridan and not Sault Ste. Marie. I just wanted to give an update on the Kelly Creek game for all those who want to know. The trophy has been part of the Kelly Creek Classic since 2005 and is awarded to the MVP of the game. Over the years it has been awarded to several deserving people, including those who were injured and those who scored the most goals, it rarely went to simply the best player on the winning team but to that person who would strive to win. This year, the trophy went to my cousin for his 3 unanswered goals during the final period of the game.

The Game itself has been played for years, originally in the middle of Campbell Avenue on Christmas day until it was moved to a Boxing Day event played on a frozen pond in Goulais River, but more recently played on Kelly Creek Road so that all those who wish to, could play and not just those who could skate.

3rd Period
West 1 East 3

West goal Andrew MacDonald

East Goal Jim Davies
East Goal Jim Davies
East Goal Jim Davies

The Next thing I want to try is getting some commemorative patches made for the players using the logo!

Kelly Creek Boxing Day Classic, 3rd period Dec 26th 2009

Thanks to Wikipedia.org for all the info on the games and stadiums used in this article.