Sold Out

This past week we sold out all of our hello saskatoon x Provadenic tees. Thank you to Provadenic, Evan Neufeld and all others who entered the contest. I would also like to thank everyone who showed interest and purchased one. We appreciate it and hopefully in the future we can do something similar to this.

Love the North

Nike CTR360 Maestri II

I just purchased some Nike CTR360 Maestri II that are already on their way. I am currently playing in the Tiempo Legend, but am looking forward to playing in these too. The shoes are quite different, the shape, the materials and the stud configuration. I will wear it in rainy conditions especially. They should arrive in the next two to three weeks. I'll show you guys the colorway the minute they show up at my door step.

The focus on the shoe is control. It uses kanga-lite, a soft man made leather with a water-resistant finish. It has dampening pods on the instep that has the purpose of ball control and passing (skeptical to whether these work). I played in the original CTR360's, but hopefully these are an improvement. You look at players who wear them such as Iniesta and Fabregas and you instantly know exactly what type of player wears them. I am really excited to play in these boots and decide whether I am a CTR or a Tiempo man.





Love the North

Hypebeast Interview: David Beckham Pt. 3

David Beckham concludes his interviews by covering topics such as North American soccer and Undefeated's James Bond.


HBTV: David Beckham - Journey to L.A. Part 3 from HBTV on Vimeo.


Love the North

Air Jordan "Love the Game"

Here's the latest Jordan commercial in response to the NBA lockout. The commercial includes players such as Dwayne Wade, Melo and CP3.

Blackberry 9900 Bold: Best of Both Worlds

Blackberry is moving in the right direction with their release of the Bold 9900. This new Bold features the renowned Blackberry keyboard along with a sleek new touchscreen. This pairing has been long overdue in my mind; the Palm Treo 650 I had five years ago had the touchscreen + physical keyboard combo!

I just picked up the 9900 on the weekend and it has been impressive. The touchscreen makes navigating through menus and applications a breeze, while the keyboard makes for light-speed texting, emailing, tweeting, and (my personal favorite) BBMing.

The design is really solid, which is surprising coming from RIM, who has released a couple questionable phones in the past. The 9900 has a really sturdy and robust feel to it. My friend described the shape as “wide but skinny,” which look and feels a little odd at first. No longer present is the signature leather backing the previous Bolds used to rock. Now we get a carbon-fiber looking weave, which gives it a fresh, energetic look. I miss the leather though!

This phone really is the ultimate Blackberry. It does everything a Blackberry is supposed to do, but now it does it with the quickness and precision of a touchscreen. I recommend the Bold 9900 to anyone who puts a premium on communication, the keyboard really is the best on the market. Hit me up on BBM if you’re bored, I’m always down for random BBM conversations: 285B6B54!

Stay classy Saskatoon,

Jason Tran

Hypebeast Interview: David Beckham Pt. 2

HBTV: David Beckham - Journey to L.A. Part 2 from HBTV on Vimeo.

Lotus Flower Bomb - Wale ft. Miguel

"She takes me hiiigh."

Justin Bieber - Mistletoe

Honestly I do like Justin Bieber, reminds me of a Justin Timberlake when I was a bit younger. He has been producing Christmas songs which I found out about through Twitter. It is really early for music like this, but it gets me in the mood for Christmas. Even if you hate the kid, give this a listen.



Out of curiosity, has anyone actually kissed someone underneath a mistletoe? I can't say I have even seen mistletoe.

Love the North,

R. Mack

Hypebeast Interview: David Beckham Pt. 1

I began playing soccer when I was about six years old. I didn't watch too many professional matches on television, but always had a couple of favourites. Back then it must have been Michael Owen, Ronaldo and David Beckham. Beckham to this day is quite consistent with accurate passes and shots, we just tend to remember the few awful penalty kicks. He is a very respectable man in the the soccer world, respected by almost everyone. Even in fashion, he has his own Adidas line. I am not sure where this interview series of three will take us, but enjoy the first part.


HBTV: David Beckham - Journey to L.A. Part 1 from HBTV on Vimeo.


R. Mack

SSSAD: Soccer Semi-Finals

This high school season I helped a friend coach Centennial Collegiate Saturday and this Saturday at 2 pm, we play Holy Cross. It should be a good/close match, making it that more exciting. If you want to come watch, it will be hosted at the newer soccer centre off of Attridge Drive. Come support your favourite teams or just enjoy some good quality soccer.

Love the North,

R. Mack

Stussy Canada - "Running the North"

I love seeing clothing brands that introduce series meant for Canada. One day if the city grows, maybe we will see something for this prairie life. Stussy uses the beaver graphic on a set of hoodies, crew neck sweatshirts and tees. These will be available in Toronto and Vancouver.

Love the North,

R. Mack

RSVP Gallery: Washing Raw Denim

Here is a video to describe how to wash your raw denim properly.


Neon & Nonsense : APC Washing Tutorial from RSVP Gallery on Vimeo.


R. Mack

The Other Guy 2

Just on Saturday, Aashna and I went to Unreal City to check out some artistic pieces by The Other Guy (Trevor of Single Second). It's a comic/anime joint that carries Kidrobot pieces, which is what Trevor does his artwork on. There were tons of cool figures, favourites of mine included The Ninja Turtles, Magneto, Wolverine and a glow in the dark mummy. Drinks and food were provided for the company of Unreal City supporters and The Other Guy supporters. I know I didn't let anyone know that this event was happening, but I will next time so everyone can experience his unique work. At the end, I even purchased my own Kidrobot from the Street Fighter collection and received a Ken Masters.

Love the North,

R. Mack

Mizuno Supersonic Wave 2

My brother has these boots in mind, they look absolutely brilliant. In my opinion it has similar shape to a Nike Tiempo Legend IV. Mizuno may enter the North American market, it has been getting much more publicity in the soccer world lately. With famed players such as Hulk (Brazil & Porto), aspiring soccer stars have been fiending over Mizuno's latest line. Check out the new advertisement.



Love the North,

R. Mack

BET Cyphers 2011: Shady 2.0

The BET Hip Hop Awards was just on a couple of nights ago, and with that came the Cyphers. You are able to get a feel from a lot of rappers of all sort of styles. Like always, DJ Premier is kicking the beat. Personally my favourite group was Shady 2.0, watch a few and let me know who your favourite was.



R. Mack

Nike T90 Laser IV

Nike's most recent model has still been getting a lot of hype. Players are still curious of the differences between the synthetic model and the kanga-lite model. From what I hear, the synthetic is a very thin material and the kanga-lite will be similar to the CTR360 Maestri. Both are meant to provide a nice touch, but each have their own feeling. Majority of pros are wearing the basic synthetic pair, and it has been stated that there will be no Elite model. Even Alexandre Pato has also strayed away from the Mercurial Vapor series to the Total 90. I think these boots look great and maybe one day I will give them a chance.
 

R. Mack

The Jacket Off Sale

Momentum and Outtabounds have created a fun promotion on winter coats as the Jacket Off Sale, get it? All winter jackets will be marked off $20 for the next month. The shops have the majority of the winter outerwear already, meant for all types of weather. They can help you out whether you need a snowboarding kit or a jacket while you're waiting for the bus. There is an assortment of brands, sizes and colours. If you're in need of one, come stop by and see me at the Marketplace (off Attridge Dr.) or go to one of the other two stores (Momentum on 8th St. and Preston and Outtabounds on Avenue B and 22nd St.). Stay warm!

Love the North,

R. Mack

Soccer Boot Collection

If you've been reading and following the blog regularly, I am sure you realized that soccer is my favourite past time. I read forums on a web site called Big Soccer, where there is a forum where members post pictures of their boots. Here is a shared collection of my brother and my athletic footwear.

Adidas Predator Absolute

Adidas AdiPure

Adidas adiZero

 Nike Gato

Nike CTR360 Maestri I

Nike Total 90 III

 Nike Mercurial Vapor IV

 Nike Mercurial Vapor V

 Nike Mercurial Vapor V

Nike Tiempo Legend I

 Nike Tiempo Classic Lite 

Nike Tiempo Legend II

Nike Tiempo Legend IV

Love the North,

R. Mack

Now Playing

For the past week G.O.O.D.'s Pusha T has been my dude. He is about all that I have been listening whether it's at home, in the car or if I have a chance to at work. I have been listening to his latest mix tape Fear of God, old Clipse tracks, as well as some of his latest releases. Lend me your ears.







R. Mack

Geoff Warrington Photography

Geoff had recently asked me to help him out by doing a little bit of modeling. I was incredibly awkward, I never knew what kind of facial expressions to make or even hand gestures. I slowly got a bit more comfortable after the first set of photos and was able to have more fun with it.  Out of the countless photos he took, he chose one of myself in the new hello saskatoon tee.

 You can easily get a hold of him through his Facebook Page.

Love the North,

R. Mack

Photos Deleted

I'm not sure if anyone here has been using Google+ yet, but it's another social networking program. Yesterday I was adding people to my circles (friend's list) and decided to change my profile picture. When trying to upload photos, it tried adding my entire Blogger gallery which came to around 576 photos. I didn't want to share them all on Google+ because there were so many that I deleted the album off of Google+. What I didn't know was that I permanently deleted it from all accounts associated with Google including Blogger. So now this leaves me with 576 missing photos on my blog, which is almost about everything.

I will not be re-adding photos for previous posts but will look forward and continue with what I am doing. Sorry about everything, hope you're not as disappointed as I am.

R. Mack

Just a Taste: Saigon II

Saigon II is another good Vietnamese restaurant within Saskatoon. The service was great, it was a well mannered old cute Asian lady. When I order I generally only eat Vermicelli. With that being said, I'd rate that about average. The good thing about this place is that it was one of few Vietnamese restaurants that offers pork meatballs. I ordered Vermicelli with the pork meatballs with a side order of chicken salad rolls (no picture provided). The reason why I can't enjoy another Vietnamese restaurant as much as I would like to is because I compare everyone to the Vietnamese Diner (I'll do a post one day). So when it comes to places like this, it's personal preference. Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I like all, just some more than others.

At the moment, Saigon II is doing renovations. It's on 33rd Street just off of 2nd Street and has no sign up.

R. Mack

Gilbere Forte - Some Dreams Never Sleep

The Hundreds has partnered with rising hip-hop artist Gilbere Forte to present his newest EP entitled “Some Dreams Never Sleep” – the highly-anticipated project releases today, October 4, 2011. Beyond an apparel brand, The Hundreds is considered a lifestyle project, influenced by a spectrum of youth culture’s defining traits – with flagship stores on both the west and east coasts of the United States, drawing inspiration from hip-hop culture, and the pre-existing friendship between Forte and The Hundreds, it’s only natural for The Hundreds to join forces with the Philadelphia-based artist. -Take Five

The Hundred's helped release Gilbere Forte's mixtape. It's always nice to see The Hundreds do what they can to give artists some extra publicity or to see artists contribute to giving The Hundreds a larger audience.  It features a lot of musicians such as Asher Roth, Big K.R.I.T., Bun B, Casey Veggies and Pusha T, impressive ones at that. I haven't listened to many tracks yet, but so far it's that real hip hop.

Hot (In this Bitch) Remix - Gilbere Forte ft. Jim Jones & Pusha T

Black Chukkas Remix - Gilbere Forte ft. Asher Roth & Bun B

You can download here for free.

R. Mack

Reigning Champ Polartec

Fall is here and Winter is near. The past few days have been quite windy and cold in my opinion. It makes me sad, but then again that means I have been given the chance to pull out my Reigning Champ zip up for the Fall, Winter and Spring. It has to be the most useful pieces of clothing that I own. It's constructed of Polartec Thermal Pro, a lightweight fleece with a high weight to warmth ratio. It's quick to dry and highly breathable. I wear it as is in cool weather but when it comes Winter, it acts as a layering piece. I know you can purchase some sale pieces from Livestock. No word has been said about the next season, but maybe Reigning Champ will release a newer model.

Love the North,

R. Mack

Victorious Secret

A couple of my buddies from highschool and I decided to put together a basketball team in the City of Saskatoon's Senior Men's league. It is split into divisions from A-F, and when you start a new team you begin at the bottom, so that's where we'll be. I'm hoping we can clean up shop and move up a division or two, because the more competitive the better!

We decided to call our team "Victorious Secret" and we will be rocking some deadly American Apparel Tri-blend Cranberry Tanks. Come out and cheer us on every Sunday.

You can check out our team info and season's statistics here: Victorious Secret

AC Milan sponsorship

Milan is now sponsored by the ever so famous Dolce & Gabbana. The contract will be present for the 2012/13 season. The team as a whole and as individuals took part in a photo shoot and by the sounds of it, the team is very happy with the new sponsorship. The shoot included stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato, Clarence Seedorf and Robinho.

R. Mack

Drake - Headlines

Drake ~ Headlines (Official Video) from OctobersVeryOwn on Vimeo.

NBA 2K12 Commercial

I'm a Bull's guy so I have to agree with MJ.

R. Mack

NBA 2K12: How far we going back? Way back!

NBA 2K12 is going old school folks! Probably because of the lockout the NBA is currently going through, but lets not get into that or this may turn into a rant…

NBA 2K12 will be available with three different covers, featuring one of three NBA Elites: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird. The main selling point for this game is the 15 unique challenges for 15 different legends and the 36 complete historic teams. The 'My Player' mode is supposed to be really great this year too, it will include everything from getting drafted, playing the games, post-game interviews, and even a chance to get your player to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

I personally am most excited about doing some cross-era battles between the best NBA Teams of all time, here are some teams that I can't wait to play as:

1985-86 Boston Celtics:

This team is the reason I am a Celtics fan today. This was my dad’s favorite team, so when I was growing up all I heard about was how good Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge, and Dennis Johnson were. This team set the record for the best home record ever, going 40-1. Not too shabby for a team led by an unathletic white-boy from French Lick, Indiana!

1988-89 Pistons:

This team was nicknamed the ‘Bad Boys’ for their rough, aggressive, and often dangerous style of play. Some people thought they were thugs and just outright dirty players, but I challenge you to find another team that bought into a single team concept like these guys did… even if that concept was to hurt and intimidate opposing players. There’s a whole highlight video of just their brawls on YouTube!

2001-02 Kings:

This is the Kings team that was involved in the notorious series with the eventual champions LA Lakers in 2002. There was some downright horrible refereeing going on that series, rumors and allegations have it that the series was rigged in favor of the Lakers. I am pleased that the Kings are finally getting recognition they deserve, ring or no ring. Couple words to describe this team: Versatile, Balanced, and Fun.

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited for this game. The release date is Tuesday, October 4^th. The 2001-02 Kings is only available as a pre-order bonus, don’t miss out!

Stay classy Saskatoon,

Jason Tran