Wanna see me get punched in the face?

I've been boxing for close to three years now. I've had three exhibition fights at my gym, the Blue Cat Boxing Club, and next Friday, November 20, I will have my first competitive match. It's against a fighter from another club in the Montreal area. All I know is he weighs 190 pounds (I'm walking around at about 185 right now), and that we're supposedly at the same level. We won't know that for sure until the bell rings. Why not come and see what happens?

There will be about 10 other fights that night, and it promises to be a really fun event. Here's the info (contact me to purchase an advance ticket -- they're cheaper):

Friday, November 20, 2009, 8 p.m.
435 Beaubien O. 4th floor
$15 in advance/$20 at the door

And, yes, that photo is of me in the ring. I'm the dude who looks like he's getting hit with a body shot.

Hey, shit happens.

Montreal freelance writers should sign up for Mediaville Montreal

Below is some information about a great upcoming event for freelance writers here in Montreal. It's a joint effort by some of the best writers organizations in the country (including my personal favorite, the Professional Writers Association of Canada), and it combines workshops with a client mixer and other networking. Get your tickets and I'll see you there.

Mediaville Montreal
Where freelancers go to town!

www.mediaville.ca

Saturday, October 24 2009
11:30 am to 9 p.m.
Best Western Hotel Europa
1240 Drummond Street

Attention writers, editors, publishers, translators, and anyone interested in pursuing a career as an independent media professional: Mediaville Montreal is a professional development and networking event you won’t want to miss!

There will be expert panel discussions on how to build a successful freelance media career and how to develop your freelance business, a workshop on how to sell your services to the federal government, a client-freelancer mixer, and an inter-association networking event. (A list of potential clients attending the event will be provided as they’re confirmed.)

Early-bird discount on tickets until October 10, and space is limited, so register soon!

Tickets available for purchase through TicketPro or our box office. See mediaville.ca for details.

Presented by:
American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), Canada chapter
Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ)
Editors' Association of Canada (EAC), Quebec/Atlantic branch
English-Language Arts Network (ELAN)
Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), Quebec chapter
Society for Technical Communication (STC), Montreal chapter

War reporting panel this Wednesday

This Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the CUAA Journalism Chapter and the Journalism Student Association will present a panel discussion, “Stories from the front: staying safe while getting the story.” This promises to be an interesting look at war reporting, in spite of the fact that I'll be moderating. I've included all the details below and hope people will show up. But I also have a request.

What questions would you like me to ask the panelists (names below)? What topics should we cover? I want to hear from anyone who has suggestions. We'll make sure to leave plenty of time for questions, but I'd appreciate any input from people out there. Go ahead and leave them in the comments. Then I'll see you on Wednesday.

Event info:
Join us as veteran reporters share their battle stories from Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and Central Asia in an interactive workshop on danger-zone journalism.

Guest speakers:

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Irish Embassy Pub & Grill
1234 Bishop, Montreal

$10 for alumni and general public (includes one complimentary drink)
$5 for Concordia Journalism students

Register by March 28, 2008 online or call 514-848-2424, ext. 4397

For further information, please contact Derek Linetsky at 514-848-2424 ext. 5629 or derek.linetsky@concordia.ca

(Cartoon by Fred Serre)