Entering the Twitterverse

Today, I finally joined Twitter. This was something that I never imagined I would ever do, but yet here I am joining the Brave New World. You can check me out twitter.com/neilbabaluk if you're also connected in.

In our PR lab class our assignment was to sign up for Twitter. It seems that Twitter is an extremely valuable tool for the Public Relations trade. Basically it broadens the audience that is able to receive the message that you are conveying. The Web 2.0 strikes again. It seems to have completely changed the way that information is deseminated. Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message" has never been more relevant.

As much as I hate to admit, I had actually been meaning to get around to setting up a Twitter account for awhile. I've been writing feature articles for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League since the beginning of the semester. A former CreCommer, who also writes for the site, recommended that I use Twitter as a way to publicize my articles. I guess he's been doing it for some time now and his hits have increased exponentially due to this. So from now on, I'm going to use Twitter as a way to spread my articles among the masses.

It's a strange world, that's for sure. I've got Barak Obama, Shaq, Chad Ochocinco, among numerous others as people that I follow. I'm not sure if they have anything interesting to say, but I am now in the know, which is kind of cool.

So again...add me. I've got tons of interesting things to say. Really, I do. I'm not kidding.
twitter.com/neilbabaluk

vbs.tv

Continuing on in the complete random direction that my blog has taken, I figure I'd put the spotlight on VBS TV, a great "web tv station" or whatever the proper term is.

VBS is Vice Magazine's web tv station and it provides a wide range of content, usually in documentary form. Topics range from travel, popular culture, music, skateboarding, to politics and environmental issues. Some of my favs are Epicly Later'd (skate show), Thumbs Up! (hitchhiking show), and the Vice Guide to Travel (travel docs).

I hadn't checked it out in awhile and had honestly forgotten about it, before I stumbled across a VBS clip about secret oil wells in Los Angeles.

It's not the most exciting clip in the world, but it led me back to the VBS page and I rediscovered some classic shows. Here are some things on the site that you should definitely check out:

Thumbs Up! 1st Episode
Two guys hitchhike across the U.S. from L.A. to Florida. They hop trains, scam rides, and basically do it by spending the least amount of cash they can.

Bulgarian Dirty Bombs
Journalists attempt to purchase dirty bombs through the Bulgarian black market.

The Gun Markets of Pakistan
A look into an illegal gun market along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

These are just a few of the many interesting videos on the site. Definitely worth checking out.

The Downfall of Allen Iverson

I'm going to state this right off the bat: Allen Iverson is my favourite basketball player of all-time. When he was in his prime in Philadelphia, he was one of the dominant shooters in the NBA. He played hard every game (maybe not during practice), usually took a pounding and put up massive numbers. He also gave one of the best rants in the history of ranting. The Answer was pure entertainment.

It kind of makes me sad the way he's going out, but he's not doing himself any favours. The last few years have not been kind to A.I. He sulked his way out of Philadelphia and forced a trade to Denver. In Denver, he didn't really mesh with Carmelo Anthony and injuries slowed him down. He definitely got a raw deal in Detroit, never quite fitting in with their system. Signing with Memphis was a chance to kick start his career and maybe develop a new role as a mentor. He had the opportunity to throw off the selfish player label and become a leader on a team of young up and comers.

One game into his stint in Memphis, Iverson's ego kicked in and the whole idea of Iverson as a leader and mentor was thrown out the window. He told the media that he didn't enjoy coming off the bench and later left the team to contemplate retirement.

I'm not sure what he's thinking. He didn't have any takers this summer, except for the Grizzlies. I would have hoped he would have realized that with Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo playing guard, his minutes were going to be severely limited. He had the chance to come off the bench, mentor Conley and Mayo, and play well enough to either earn himself a contract next year with a contender or have a contender trade for him down the stretch. But he blew it.

I think A.I. has more gas in the tank and can be a productive NBA player. He just needs to realize that his role has shifted. If he can't do this, well, maybe he'd be better off retiring.

Living in a daze

Month number three of CreComm has kicked off and I can confidently say I have hit a wall. I manage to get what I think should be enough sleep every night, yet lately I've been living in a state somewhere between dozing and being awake. I'm pretty much on the go at all times nowadays, whether it be school, work, or homework and my body is taking quite the beating.

As I'm writing this, I'm wishing I could take a nap and catch up on some z's, but I unfortunately have to head off to work right away, for another exciting Friday night at Transcona Pool.

Instead of writing a longer more detailed blog this afternoon, I actually spent the last half an hour burning a CD of what I guess I would call "wake up music", for the ride out to work. I need something to go along with coffee to rev me up today. I figured I'd share some of the music that will hopefully stimulate my ears and brain enough, so I don't pass out at my desk tonight.







Hopefully, I'll have a longer more interesting blog post going in the next couple of days.

MJHL Plug

Just a quick blog post today, as the life of a CreCommer has picked up its pace. I'm throwing out a plug for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The MJHL is full of fast-paced, exciting hockey featuring some talented up and coming players. The league features 3 Winnipeg area teams: the Winnipeg Saints, the Winnipeg South Blues, and the Selkirk Steelers. It also features 8 other teams from all over the province; from the south (Winkler Flyers) to the north (OCN Blizzard and Swan Valley Stampeders) and the east (Steinbach Pistons) to the west (Neepawa Natives, Portage Terriers, Waywayseecapo Wolverines, and Dauphin Kings). If you have a chance you can catch Saints games at Dakota Arena and Blues games at Century Arena here in the city.




I'm also writing for the MJHL Website, so I guess I'm plugging myself as well. Steve Dreger and I are feature writers. We basically profile current players who are making an impact in the league and former players who have moved on to bigger stages, like the NCAA. Here's an article I wrote about Selkirk Steelers' playmaker, Colan Jackson.

Steelers' Jackson happy to be back in MJHL

It’s a tough decision to uproot yourself and move all the way across the country. For Colan Jackson, the Selkirk Steelers’ play maker, the journey to the University of Guelph to play for the Gryphons, was the right choice at the time.

“It was a decision to get going with school and start up the education a little sooner,” Jackson said of his decision to make the move to Southern Ontario. “Guelph had a good program and I decided to give it a try.”

Jackson found that the situation was not the right fit for him and wouldn’t allow him to improve his game as much as he would have liked.

“Each day during training camp, more and more guys kept showing up and I didn’t think that I’d get the ice time that I wanted,” he said.

The decision to leave Guelph and return to Selkirk was an easy one for Jackson because he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his education by coming back.

“It wasn’t a tough decision at all,” he said. “I’m applying to go back to school for the second semester and hoping to get a scholarship, playing the next few years here in Selkirk.”

Steelers head coach, Ryan Smith, believes that Jackson’s return is important to the team’s success.

“He’s a veteran player and a leader, both on and off the ice,” Smith said. “His main weapon is his offence and we rely on it, as that’s a big part of our team strategy.”

Jackson sees himself and his strengths the same way.

“I try to step up and be a team leader, not just on the ice,” Jackson said. “I try to play hard at both ends of the ice and hopefully chip in offensively.”

Jackson and the Steelers have a score to settle with the Portage Terriers, who defeated them in last year’s final. He anticipates the road to the MJHL championship going through Portage.

“We want to make another trip back to the final, hopefully it would be against Portage, and after that, the RBC Cup,” Jackson said.

The Taiwan post - a preview

So, I was going to write a nice, long, detailed blog post about traveling through Taiwan. Kind of like a condensed Lonely Planet guide to the country. I spent almost a year and a half living there and feel that it is definitely under-rated as a travel destination. But, time constraints this week have put the kibosh on that plan. So instead, I'm giving you the reader a preview to next week's blog post. I'm going to do a quick profile of one of the more beautiful spots in the country, Sun Moon Lake.



Sun Moon Lake is a beautiful alpine lake located in the central section of the island. It is surrounded by lush, forest covered mountains on all sides. There is a small touristy village on one side of the lake, that contains the area's hotels and hostels, plus the area's famous pottery workshops.

I found that Sun Moon Lake is a great place to kick back and relax. It's a good retreat away from the hustle and bustle and non-stop activity of the Taiwanese cities. Sun Moon Lake is apparently only really packed with tourists during Taiwanese long weekends, so we had the good fortune of being there during the middle of the week.



A must do, is to take the afternoon-long boat cruise around the lake. The boat takes you around the lake, stopping at the numerous temples and pagodas that dot the hills surrounding its shores. Thankfully, our boat captain made sure that the ship's coolers were well stocked with Taiwan Pijo (the national beer), which made the afternoon even more enjoyable.



It is against the law to swim in Sun Moon Lake, except for the annual "Across the Lake" swim. No one I talked to could give me a reason why this was the case, except for the standard, "because the government says so." It's kind of a strange rule because the annual swim is much more dangerous than swimming on a regular day, as the year I was there four people died during the event. A little bit of stealthiness and this rule is easy to get around.

That's a quick preview of my next post, which will give the travel highlights for the beautiful island of Taiwan.

Reboot plus Rugby Sevens

So, after a month and a half of blogging, which is about a month and a half more than I ever thought I would do, I think it's time to reboot the blog. When I started the blog, it was encouraged to keep our blogs fairly specialized, but I think being more general is the direction I want to take it. I'm still probably going to write about sports a lot, but I think for me, just writing about sports is too narrow of a perspective. I'll probably throw in some posts about travel, politics, music, and other random things that interest me.

Before I do the reboot, I'm going to go back to the well and discuss another Olympic related issue. I'm a little bit behind the times on this one, but I'm still really stoked about it. This being the inclusion of Rugby Sevens, along with golf, in the Summer Olympics.

For those who don't know, Rugby Sevens is a variation of the traditional, 15 man, rugby union game. Instead of 15 men per team, each team consists of seven fast, skilled players. Big bruisers that are necessary for the traditional game are not needed. Games consist of two ten minute halves and are non-stop scoring affairs. End-to-end runs resulting in trys are the norm.

The major competition for Sevens is known as the IRB Sevens World Series. It consists of tournaments in New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Dubai, Scotland, England, the USA, and Australia. New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Samoa, Fiji, and England are the powerhouse teams. I was lucky enough to attend the 2008 Sevens tournament in Wellington, New Zealand.

I was traveling through New Zealand at the time with some Kiwi friends and we noticed some advertisements for the tournament. I didn't know much about rugby at the time, so my friends decided that this tournament would be a good introduction to the game. Rugby is basically a religion in New Zealand, so I figured this would be quite an event. So, after my friend blew off a job interview in Auckland, much to his wife's dismay, we hopped in a car and made the four hour trek down to Wellington.

All I have to say about my first impression of the tournament was that something like this would never happen in North America. Spectators were encouraged to dress up for the event, so the stadium was full of groups in matching costumes. There were groups of fans dressed up as doctors, Rambo-type soldiers, and even a group of Canadians dressed as hockey players. Between matches, there were drinking competitions on the sidelines hosted by the event emcee. Basically, it was two days of 30,000 people in costumes getting hammered out in the sun and watching some rugby.



The games were extremely entertaining. My national pride was dented early on, as Canada was walloped 48-0 by the host All Blacks. The Cook Islands pulled a massive upset on the first day by defeating England in a nail-biter. Kenya became a fan favorite by playing extremely fast-paced and exciting rugby.

The tournament culminated on the next day, after over thirty exciting matches. The All Blacks sent the crowd into a frenzy by scoring an end-to-end try on the last play, to defeat Samoa in the final. They then proceeded to do their world-famous hakka (Maori war dance), while the booze-fueled crowd went insane.

I hope that the excitement and free-spirited nature of Rugby Sevens tournaments translates over to the Olympics. It's quite the spectacle.