an explanation

Regular visitors to the blog may have noticed that the blog was locked up for the past few months. Essentially, I shut down the blog as I had not been posting regularly in 2008 and when I got back to school I found I didn't have the desire to write.

Not knowing whether I was done with the blog or not, I thought I would shut it down for a while and give some thought to what I was doing with it. This was also during the time when blog posts were coming back to haunt candidates during the election.

I looked at a couple of options on Blogger for shutting it down, but it came down to two, deleting the entire blog or locking it up so that I was the only person who could access it. I wasn't ready to delete the blog entirely, so I locked it up.

I probably should have put a post up first telling people that I was going to do it first, but I figured I hadn't posted in quite some time so I just shut it down.

If I gave the impression that people were being locked out of the blog, I am sorry. Really, it was more of a blog downtime. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with the blog, and I'm in exams right now so this will probably be the only post to the new year, but I realize the world needs access to my guilty pleasures so feel free to poke around and indulge.

i got meme'd

Megan, the little sister, meme'd me. Her answers can be found here. My responses are below.

A) Four places I go over and over: Saskatoon, Calgary, Toronto and Yellowknife. My life is a circle between these four cities. This will change as I will be going to Calgary less often now that my sister has moved back to Toronto.

(B) Four people who e-mail me regularly: Megan emails all the time, usually to go for coffee; it appears the phone is so last year. Jana, Facebook (all my friends email through facebook), and spam (is that sad?)

(C) Four of my favorite places to eat? Swiss Chalet, Swiss Chalet, Swiss Chalet. Hmm, does that count as 3. Other than Swiss Chalet, I'd say the Thai restaurant on 33rd in Saskatoon.

(D) Four places you’d rather be? London, Prague, Utrecht and Budapest.

(E) Four people I think will respond: None, I'm a bad sport, refuse to spam and won't pass this along.

(F) Four TV shows I could watch over and over: Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog (ok it's an internet tv show but it still counts); Firefly; Relocation, Relocation; and Project Runway.

have i matured?

My recent experience of getting getting glasses has brought a sense of aging, but it's also now brought a sense of growing maturity. When looking at glasses, I asked if they had anything big, black and geeky. I thought hey, I'm still in school, I should have some glasses that are fun and ironic. I can hear you all now, "act your age, not your shoe size".

Well, surprisingly enough, the eyeglass retailer was able to find t a pair and brought them in. I was excited to try them on. I was hoping for Elvis Costello, but ended up looking like Drew Carey.





Despite the Drew Carey look I thought they would be a fun pair for going out and having fun, but t I realized I am just not cool, hip or ironic enough for these glasses. In the past this would have been a pure impulse purchase, $300 for irony. The fact that I put the glasses down show not only that I am aging, but that I am maturing.

these eyes

I've always prided myself on my vision. I've always been the one who could see the small text far away. I never expected that I would have to get glasses. However, that's no longer the case. Law school has wrecked my vision.

Okay, it's true that I haven't had my eyes checked for eight years. Maybe its not all law school's fault. However until the words "I'm in law school" came out of my mouth, it looked like my need for glasses could have been put off for a few more years. I know that would have been postponing the inevitable, but it would have left me glasses free for a while.

My eyesight isn't that bad, however one eye is radically different from the other I have learned. It's the fact that I spend all day reading that is really driving the need. However, I should also notice an improvement when driving, less fatigue looking into the distance.

Now, I am on a quest for frames. I've blogged before of the challenges of my big head. Unfortunately it appears to be a problem for glasses as well. I trudged off to the local eyeglass shop. After trying on pair after pair that didn't fit, it came down to "show me the biggest ones you've got". A parade of ugly glasses came forth. One wasn't too bad, however I look like Drew Carey when I'm wearing them.

I want a fashionable pair, but is it possible? Kenneth Cole just doesn't make glasses big enough for me. Thankfully, the woman offered to bring in a few others on spec for me to try.

I tried the other glass shop without much more luck, but have found two frames that are in stock that may work. The question is, what look do I want to have for the next two years? I'm in school so still want something fashionable and fun, but will also be clerking with the court, so do I need something simple and professional? Gah! What would Russell Smith do? I don't have his book with me to see if he has a section on this?

These are the business/work friendly frames I found:


I can't find an image online of the other pair, but will keep looking. Maybe I'll take some snapshots of me wearing them and invite comments and suggestions!

memories of the 20-minute workout

Growing up on City-TV in Toronto there was a horrible show called the 20-minute workout. The title pretty much sums it up. It was lunges, bends, forward thrusts, think Pussycat Dolls in legwarmers and tights, big permed hair, a leotard and a sweatband. Pretty picture isn't it.

Well this Pull Shapes video brought those memories rushing back:

men in capris

Yes, I said men in capris, not men in trees. It seems a recent trend that men are being marketed capris. It's a fine line between a long pair of shorts and capris. My advice, and I'm sure Russell woud agree, is to say no to capris.

How this came about is a recent incident here in Name-of-Town-Withheld. It's one of those incidents that happens in a small town. I was walking and saw a man in capris. Now he is tall and thin and if anyone can pull them off, it's probably him, but the problem is, he's my dentist.

How can I take him seriously at my next appointment? I'm going to be thinking, hey, he wears capris! That just seems wrong. I want my professionals to look like professionals. Now, I'm sure he doesn't show up at the office that way, it was probably a day off.

Much like a firearm, there should be a 72-hour cooling period if you want to buy capris. Men should have to go home and think about it. Sure, you're in the store, you see them, they look cool on the mannequin, you're thinking, hey Brad Pitt would probably wear them, so why not me and boom you have bought them. However, if you had to go home and seriously think about it for three days, I'm sure the impulse would pass.

Come to think of it, there should be a similar rule for Speedos!

clap your hands if you want some more

What the Buck's Michael Buckley is continuing his fascination (and mine) with "Pull Shapes" by the Pipettes. He has created a dance cru on YouTube and has assembled a video of his fans dancing to the song.



Clap your hands, I know you want some more!

rare in nature

I came across this photo on another blog today and was stunned. It's so rare, that it is even rarer than a recent blog post from me.



From what I read on different blogs it hasn't been photoshopped and there is even video available. It's a unicorn, well more accurately a unihorn deer. It appears this deer is on a nature reserve in Italy and has some genetic anomaly that has given it one horn in the middle of its head.

I've often thought there is some kernel of truth to many myths and legends. This shows that at some other time, there was probably an animal with a genetic anomaly like this that created the myth of the unicorn.

marathon man

Okay, so the title may be a misnomer. I am not a marathon man; I am however a half-marathon man. Last summer I ran my first half-marathon. I finished. It was a big achievement. I do have to say though that I am not a natural runner. It's not like I will just say to myself, hey, I should go out for a run.

My half-marathon last year was actually a bit of a fluke. I had been preparing to run a 1/4 marathon, or more accurately, run the marathon as part of a four-person team. I had been doing some training and preparing for that. Unfortunately our team fell apart and there was only two of us left. A few weeks before the actual marathon, I ran the half distance to see whether I could and figured that if I did it once I could do it again.

Come the actual day of the marathon I did the half-marathon and it was an achievement. One of the drawbacks of doing this in a small town like Name-of-town-withheld is the sheer number of people I knew involved. It's hard to do something like this discreetly the first-time when everyone knows you, knows it's your first and cheers you on.

In the days following, I did learn that I had not trained enough and was incredibly sore. This year, I decided I would do things differently and joined a local learn to run group. My usual approach to training is to sign up for a race, then have fear of humiliation be the driving factor to get me training. The group helps, however I think it mainly replaces humiliation with expectation. As is quite likely in a small-town I know many members of the group, and I know show up for my runs because people expect me to be there.

I do like the sense of accomplishment that running brings. Although I may not enjoy the actual process of running, I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with running a set distance and knowing you accomplished it. Each week I'm probably doing on average 20-25 km if I make all three runs. Right now I'm averaging two out of three. However, by August I will do the Name-of-town-Withheld half-marathon for a second time and here's hoping I'm not in pain for days.

reader-indirectly-submitted complaint

Little Miss Know-it-All contacted me today letting me know that one of her readers had contacted her to ask whether (or when) I'm going to start blogging again. It appears guilt is maybe all that it took.

I have been on a two-month hiatus from the blog. It's been a period of considerable change. I finished second-year, left the little law school on the prairie and headed back north of 60 to name-of-town-withheld. I started my summer job (which really appears to be several jobs), caught up with old friends, and have already lived/stayed in four different houses.

As a result, I have not had any regular structure, routine or internet access and the blog has gone by the wayside. I was never one for self-discipline and once I stopped, it was easier not to write than to start writing again.

However, there have been a core group of people returning regularly or coming newly to the blog. Those finding the blog seem to be arriving because of Polkaroo, one-size-fits-all hits being a lie, and silly columnist sarah hampson(that's an actual search, it's hilarious).

Knowing you are out there reading helps in forcing fingers to keys and hopefully this is the start of some active blogging.

runway roadkill

I know I should be studying, but every now and then I need a distraction and something to make me laugh. This fits the bill:

mandatory shutdown

Hey everyone, I'm into exams so there will be no blogging until the end of the month at which point I should be back north of 60 for the summer. Hopefully I'll be better at blogging over the summer than I was last year.

learn to pull shapes

The love affair with the Pipettes continues. They seem to have a great sense of humour about themselves as can be seen in this instructional video on how to pull shapes:

i am not alone

As mentioned below, I found The Pipettes through the YouTube entertainment show What the Buck? As will be ably demonstrated by these two videos, Mr. Buck's obsession with The Pipettes is far beyond mine, although I do have time to catch up.

This first episode is not long after he discovered The Pipettes:



This second video is a musical episode of What the Buck? using "Pull Shapes":



Enjoy!

guilty pleasure: sugary sweet pop

Alright, I know I will probably lose what little credibility I have left with this post, but I have to do it. This is brilliant! I just found this group through buckhollywood.com and I can't get the song out of my head.

It is everything happy music should be, fun, poppy and campy. The group is called The Pipettes. To no one's surprise they are British. No one does sugar sweet pop like the brits. The song is called "Pull Shapes" and I defy you not to pull a shape by the time the song is done:

blog reader

I've added a new blog to the blogs I read section over on the right side of the page. Not sure why this blog hasn't been in the list before as I have been reading it for ages. The blog is called Towleroad. It's named after its founder, Andy Towle, a former editor of Details magazine. Anyways its updated many times a day, five days a week, and includes weekly guest bloggers on music, technology and theatre.

earth hour

Today, people around the world at 8 pm in their respective time zones will turn off the lights and use the least amount of electricity as possible to mark earth hour. I understand the symbolic importance of these initiatives, but they still drive my crazy.

I understand that if we can get each individual to change their habits, we can make significant changes. However, I am frustrated on this total focus on individual behaviour when countries and nations are doing nothing to resolve the climate crisis. Why as an individual should we pay, when the majority of the damage has come from large scale polluters. Don't get me wrong, I think individuals needs to do their part, and I recognize that large scale polluters are often making the items that we as individuals demand, but still, the focus is still too much on the individual.

Here's a youtube video that takes on Al Gore along this same idea, poking fun at Al Gore jetting around creating a huge carbon footprint to talk about global warming:

guilty pleasure: rick rolled

So, Rick Astely has been all over the internet lately. It appears he's unwittingly part of a new (ok new to me) internet prank where a link is identified as to new gaming news, when it fact it takes you to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". There's even a site dedicated to it called YouGotRickRolled.com.

The other big news is here and here. I loved Rick Astley. He's a total guilty pleasure.  I couldn't find a version of the video that I could embed here. If you want to see the 80s video in all of its fabulous glamour click on the yougotrickrolled link above. Otherwise, here's Rick, live in concert:

oh harry, you let me down

No, this is not a blog entry about Prince Harry and all his roguish antics that appear to be coming to an end now that he has served in Afghanistan. It is about Harry Rosen. And it is more than just the brand Harry Rosen, it is how that brand relates to Mr. Rosen himself.

In the latest round of procrastination efforts, I was looking through the society photos on the Globe and Mail. Yes, I know. I don't need a lecture. Anyways, I saw the following picture of Mr. Harry Rosen himself, taken at a swanky society event.

Note: this photo belongs to the Globe and Mail.

Now, I know I am going to be accused of being harsh, but Mr. Rosen, what's with your tie. It's tied nicely, and certainly appears to be long enough. Why on earth is the short narrow end not tucked into the handy that piece of fabric that keeps it behind the other part of the tie.

If your name is synonymous with men's fashion in this country, is it too much to ask for you to make sure you set a standard. It's one thing around the house, but at a society event where you are going to be photographed, please, for all of us who look to you as a standard, please, please pay attention to the small details.

Harry, you let me down. It's not quite worth a withering look of disapprovaltm, but it's close.

i told you so

Back in January I wrote about Stephane Dion's appointment of a sitting (recently elected) NDP MLA as the Liberal candidate in a northern Saskatchewan riding. The by-election for that riding took place yesterday.

Well to Mr. Dion's and Ms. Beatty's surprise, but not to mine, Ms. Beatty lost. It appears having a candidate dropped in from another party with no open nomination process encourages people to stay home. I suspect, and it has been widely discussed, that a lot of Liberals upset at the process stayed home this election figuring out whoever was elected wasn't going to be around for long.

Here's some of the coverage of the by-election results:

CBC Saskatchewan
Globe and Mail
UPDATED: New Globe and Mail Story

As for Ms. Beatty, it appears she has the right idea. Stick around, fight a nomination battle if she has too, and run again whenever the Liberals finally stand up and vote rather than sit and abstain. There's a good chance that spending the next several months campaigning and showing people that she's willing to make a commitment to running federally may be what it takes to get Liberal supporters back to the polls and her into the House of Commons.

white is the new black

I picked up these photos from another blog and thought they were quite interesting. These are all sightings of rare white/albino versions of iconic animals; a killer whale, a stag and a moose.

a letter to the snails...

Dear Snails:

You probably think this letter isn't about you. You're wrong. How can you know? Ask yourself: "Am I Student Not Actually In Law School?" If the answer is yes, you're a snail.

It's not quite a term of affection, but an more of an easy and quick descriptor. However, we do restrain ourselves and do not call you snails (a) to your face or (b) while we are slumming on the rest of campus. No, it is only when you enter the hallowed halls of the little law school on the prairie that we refer to you as snails.

For example, today I found myself in the position of being the only law student in a row of forty desks in the Law Library; I was surrounded by science students. There was no respite to be found in the law student lounge which was full of commerce students taking up all the available tables and chairs.

We understand that as law students we are incredibly cool and you want to be like us. It's a burden we have come to accept. However, it is simply going too far. We need our space; being this cool is a lot of work and we need some down time. A chance to relax in our lounge with other law students, where we can take a break from being so cool.

Despite your little death glares, we will not feel guilty for asking you to be quiet and to not do your science group work in the middle of the law library. The law is a solitary mistress, she does not like groups. We must work individually our noses in books briefing cases, interpreting 100 year old cases, and writing papers. Quiet helps immensely.

We also understand that our shiny new, environmentally-certified building makes us even cooler and current. You poor commerce snails, we feel for you. Yes, you had a shiny new building, but ours came along and all of a sudden yours looks old and gray. However, we paid for our new building; students and faculty donated money so we could have our own space. It's one thing to use our library, but our student lounge and our classrooms, they are for us. We need the space. We spent a term as refugees with no home on- or off-campus. Angelina Jolie was actually considering adopting us, we were in such a state.

Please give us some time to enjoy our space. If you really want to be like us, write the LSAT and then you too can spend three long years within these prison walls, oops hallowed halls. Plus, you will lose your snail status and be able to look down on those annoying people in the law lounge who used to be you.

Sincerely,

Those of us actually in law school

back to normal

The month of February was insane. I am (I guess technically "was" now) on one of the moot teams for the little law school on the prairie. This moot took control over my life. Essentially four of us flew to Toronto to argue an appeal of a case in front of real judges from across Canada.

Being competitive, and wanting to avoid humiliation, we all worked our assess off before heading to Toronto this past weekend. We left last Thursday, and I just got back today, hence the absence of blogging for the past week.

It was a great experience, one I would do again, and one I would recommend to others. The only problem is now that I am behind in all my other classes, and will probably need to work as hard for the next couple of weeks just to try to get through the rest of this term.

The moot itself was great. We argued in historic courtrooms, normally used by the Ontario Court of Appeal, in Osgoode Hall. Our jobs were really good, asking enough questions for us to display our skill in answering them, but also giving us the time to make our argument. It appears I am "unruffable".

It's nice to have a confirmation, that doing this law school thing is the right thing. When I finished my arguments, I knew it's what I wanted to do for the next years of my life.

blog share: the guest post

Before I begin my post, I have to thank Mr. Granted Null for the opportunity to write anonymously on his blog. Thanks!

Now for the post. I have been struggling for a while with what I want to write about. I have finally decided that I am just going to make a list of secrets and rants to share with all of you.

1. My boyfriend or husband (let's call him Boyband, as in boy(friend/hus)band - ooh, I'm so anonymous) annoys me in oh so many ways. It appears to be physically impossible for him to hang up his coat. He undresses in the living room and leaves his clothes there. He spends money on all kinds of crazy shit we don't need.

2. Boyband's family is very nice to me, but they are weird. On top of the weirdness, Boyband's parents were extremely mean to him when he was growing up, and I can't forgive them for the way they treated him, even though they are nicer to him now. I won't go into the ways they were mean to him because Boyband wouldn't want me to, but whatever you are imagining, it was worse. Yet Boyband has forgiven them and expects me to forgive them too. I can't.

3. Here is an example of Boyband's parents' current weirdness. They didn't go to Boyband's brother's wedding rehearsal. Nor did they show up early for the wedding, even though pictures were being taken beforehand.

4. I don't trust my dad. He has lied to me so many times that there is no way for him to regain my trust. I still love him though.

5. My mom criticizes everything and everyone. I am afraid that I will turn into her.

6. I feel like I can never do anything right at work.

7. I took a pregnancy test on Sunday morning, and it was positive. I am pregnant. Boyband and I are thrilled.

blog share participants

Just a reminder that I'm participating in the blog share tomorrow. An anonymous post by another blogger will be posted here on granted null. Thanks to -R- for organizing the blog share. It seems like a monumental task but it should be a great experience. The last time this was done there were some incredible posts.

Make sure you bounce around and check out all of the different participating blogs.

The Adventures of Shelagh
Alice's Wonderland
Alyndabear
And You Know What Else
Bright Yellow World
Daily Tannenbaum
Du Wax Loolu
Elise
Everything I Like Causes Cancer
Face Down
Fretting the Small Stuff
For the Long Run
Galoot's Hoot Page
Granted Null
Grumpy Frump
Just Below 63
Lawyerish
Life After AC
Liz Land
Malfeasance
Mamma Ren
Muse On Vacation
Muze News
Nancy Pearl Wannabe
Not What You Think It Is
One New Duck
Rankin Inlet: A Journey Northwards
Red Red Whine
Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills
The Reluctant Blogger
Sass Attack
Sauntering Soul
Sparkling Cipher
Stefanie Says
Three Carnations
Tracy Out Loud
Way Way Up

PS - Please don't ask or try to guess which of the anonymous posts on these other site is mine. The purpose of the blog share is to post anonymously. I won't confirm or deny any guesses. Thanks!

blog roulette: special sharing edition

Some advanced warning, this week I will be participating in a blog share. In a nutshell, there will be an anonymous guest post here on my blog on Wednesday. One that I write will be posted anonymously on a different blog out on on the internet. The purpose is to write about something that you wouldn't write about on your own blog.

There are more than 30 bloggers participating in the blog share. The little sister participated in one of these before, so many of you are probably familiar with this. Because of the large number of bloggers involved, I may be posting a list of all the blogs involved so you can do some reading of all of the various posts, but this will be a last minute decision.

a soundtrack for my stylish, mysterious life

I've added a new link over on the right side of the blog called "i listen to". You'll find a link to somafm.com, a commercial-free, listener-supported internet radio. They have number of different channels to choose from, but my favourites right now are:

• Groove Salad - a nicely chilled plate of ambient beats and grooves.
• Drone Zone - served best chilled, safe with most medications. Atmospheric textures with minimal beats.
• Illinois Street Lounge - classic bachelor pad, playful exotica and vintage music of tomorrow.
• Secret Agent - the soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life. For Spies and PIs too!

The first two are great for while I'm doing school work, nice ambient sounds without too much beat that serve as a background without many vocals to distract. The last two are more for hanging around, chilling out or having dinner or drinks with friends.

Check them out, and if you like what you hear, give them some support!

could this be the end?

I'm a fan of Eurovision, having written about the camp fest that is Europe's song competition. Eurovision has become more camp and more political over the last ten years and appears to be getting to the point where it is now so ridiculous, even people in Europe are fed up with it.

The biggest complaint is that it is no longer the best song or performer that wins, but whoever has the best regional bloc, i.e. Estonia gives 12 points to Latvia, and Latvia gives 12 points to Estonia.

It appears from this news story that at least the Irish are fed up. For this year, through a national, televised selection process, the Irish have chosen a singing turkey puppet to represent them. Even better, the song mocks Eurovision, the voting process and how silly the competition has become. The song is called Ireland Douze Pointe.

Here's the performance:

memo to parents

I'm sitting in a Starbucks doing some schoolwork. I'm not at home to avoid the noise of renovation taking place on the other side of my wall. I don't expect quiet while working at Starbucks. In fact I find the general din of conversations and baristas yelling out orders comforting and quite conducive to work.

However, there are limits. I understand that most parents work full-time and therefore don't get to spend as much time with their children as they would like. On weekends, they want to spend as much time as possible with them. I get that. I don't mind you bringing your very young children and infants to Starbucks when you want a coffee. That's cool. What I do ask, is that you do not bring toys that make noise. Is it too much to ask that you consider the perspective and desires of those of us without children who don't want to be subjected to their toys making noise.

I understand the need to bring toys to keep them happy and avoid your child having a meltdown in the middle of Starbucks. Just bring their favourite stuffed toy. There is no reason to bring a toy that broadcasts across the entire cafe. I could even hear it while I was in the washroom.

So to the parents behind me who seem to be clueless to the rest of the world around then, a withering look of disapproval(tm) goes your way.

heading towards a flock

I've been writing about my microlending experience for some time, and jut wanted to provide a further update. As my first loan has now paid off, I can reinvest it. My original $50 investment in Kiva is now the equivalent of $100 of loans.

Since Natik had some success with sheep, I've decided to stick with that theme while reinvesting the money I originally loaned to him.


This is Maarif Aliyev. He also lives in Azerbaijan. The following is the Kiva writeup for his loan:

Maarif Aliyev lives in Beylagan, a small town in Azerbaijan. He is 55 years old, married, and has three children. He is engaged in animal sales. He has ten years' experience at this business. Maarif purchases animals from the livestock market of Beylagan, raises them for some months, and then sells them again. (He is pictured at the livestock market.) Now he needs $400, with which sum he plans to buy some sheep to add to his flock.

Maarif's loan has been filled and paid out. Repayments should begin in March. I've been thrilled by the whole experience with Kiva so far and hope to continue to have the loans repaid and then reinvested. It's an easy and simple way to make a difference in someone's life and I highly recommend it.

getting off the universal serial bus

Just under a year ago I experienced a major corruption of my computer files from using a USB key. It was not long before exams, created some anxiety and was a major hassle.

I offer the following as a cautionary tale.

This year, I went on using my iPod shuffle as a USB key this year. It worked fine until this past week. Somewhere along the way, it must not have got ejected properly and bam, the files were corrupted. Thankfully, having learned the hard way last year, I was far more regular about backing up my files, and all in all, it appears I have only lost three files, mainly class notes, that I can get from someone else.

Anyways, I am now swearing off USB keys. This year I was working off the USB key as my primary source of files so that I could change computers only. I was then backing up to both computers. The problem with this system is if you don't realize the files have been corrupted, you just start transferring and backing up corrupted files.

My new system is to directly network my computers with an ethernet cable and ignore the usb key totally. Hopefully this system will be bulletproof and no longer will I have to deal with corrupted files.

it's only fair

A little piece of me is dying inside while I write this post, but I figure it's only fair that I write it. Brace yourselves folks, I'm about to write something nice about Air Canada.

Like most Canadians, I have a love/hate relationship with Air Canada. Okay, most Canadians just have a hate relationship with Air Canada, but I must admit mine is more love/hate.

There are times that I actually do love Air Canada. For example, the fact they offer direct flights. From the middle of the prairie, to get to the parental units, I have to fly west first, then retrace my steps back east if I fly Westjet. Hmmm, maybe that's why they call it Westjet.

I hate the forced frivolity that accompanies a Westjet flight, and love the cool, detached almost snoblike service on Air Canada. I love Aeroplan. Unlike others, I've had a handful of Aeroplan flights, including first class which have been great.

Most of my complaints with Air Canada are related to activities on the ground. Such was how the latest go round began. My trip to Toronto for a national mooting competition got mixed up and had me leaving 12 hours early, smack in the middle of a night class. I wanted to change my flight so I wouldn't miss class, and also have the chance to fly out with everyone else.

Unfortunately, as the flights were booked for us, I didn't have the original credit card information so I had to make changes over the phone and not online. I called once, waited almost half an hour to find out fares had gone up, and it would cost close to $200 more with the new fare and change fees. Not only is there a $40 change fee, but also a $25 fee to talk to a person. I hung up.

Anyways, I waited for a seat sale and one came up yesterday. A lower fare was available on the flight I wanted. I called once, was told to expect a 30 minute wait and hung up. Called again a while later and was told to expect a 45 minute wait; hung up. Waited a little longer, called and was told to expect a 30 minute wait; I stayed on the line.

After 70 minutes on hold, hearing the same ads repeat every four minutes, I was less than impressed when I finally got a person. I gave my confirmation number and told her I needed to change my seat after pointing out I had been on hold for 70 minutes. In fact, she corrected this and told me it was exactly 76 minutes. Not off to a great start.

So she proceeds to tell me that my booking was a web booking and I could save the $25 fee if I made the change on the web site. What a revelation! I explained again that if I could have done that I would have, and wouldn't have had to spend 76 minutes on hold. I explained to her that I didn't have a problem paying $25 to speak to a person, but I did have a HUGE problem, paying $25 to speak to a person after waiting 76 minutes.

After an explanation of a snow storm in Toronto, and all flights being cancelled, I was like "whatever" just change my flight. I decided that rather than asking to speak to a manager, I would just start drafting emails that would be sent to every Air Canada email address I could find and complain after the fact.

So this Air Canada agent, a french woman, stunned me in the end. She changed my flight, did advance seat selection and informed me that she would not charge me the $25 fee to speak to a person. What? Really? Without even throwing a full-scale fit? What's up with that? Nice way to steal my thunder. I said "thank you, I appreciate that," and began deleting the draft email I was furiously typing away to good ol' Robbie Milton.

So Air Canada, you have a good, smart customer service agent with an actual talent for customer service; I have to give you credit for that. We all know that if that hadn't happened, there would have been a scathing entry about Air Canada on the blog today. It's only fair that I share the good along with the bad. This time you've spared yourself from a withering look of disapproval(tm).

they tried to make me go to rehab

Karan, at her blog, wrote an interesting piece on celebrities heading off to rehab at the first act of drunken inappropriate behaviour. Well, if that’s all it took to make you go to rehab, the little law school here on the prairie would be a rather empty place. Inappropriate drunken behaviour is an unwritten requirement of being in law school.

This past weekend, as you can guess from Sunday's post, featured a lot of drinking. It was Legal Follies weekend and the name alone sums it up. Legal Follies is actually the name of the annual show put on by law students. It includes musical performances, videos, skits, etc. Many of the law school videos on this site were all created for Legal Follies type shows at other law schools.

Anyways, Legal Follies is followed by the After Party. This year we got an early start with margaritas over dinner before the show started. We decided then to take a nalgene of margaritas to the show with us. God, it's like we're 16 again, sneaking booze into the theatre. There was more drinking at the After Party. Then there was the impromptu After After Party which happened at a class mate's apartment.

The new rule should be that when the bar closes or an event happens, GO HOME! The problem with going back to someone's place is then you just keep drinking. Rather than get home at 2 am, you end up home at 5 am.

The nice thing of restricting this behaviour to only the main law school events, i.e. Prom, Halloween, Follies, St. Patrick's Day is that everyone else is as drunk and as inappropriate. The best thing about this past weekend, is it leveled the playing field between me and the cowboy-lap-dancer. This time it was the cowboy-lap-dancer being inappropriate with me, so we've called it fair and square and neither one of us has to be embarrassed anymore.

See, some good things can come out of drunken inappropriate behaviour. And as for rehab, I'll leave that to the celebrities who can't handle a little public embarrassment.

scientific proof

It's been a couple of weeks since the last curling update. Last week was a win by forfeit, as the opposing team did not show up. The same thing happened today. However, we did have the chance to just have a fun game against another team whose opponent didn't show up. We won convincingly, 6-1.

The ironic thing is the last time we won that convincingly was after the infamous St. Patrick's Day last year. We were all hungover, tired and functioning on only a few hours of poor quality sleep. Considering it happened just that once, I thought it was a fluke.

But today we hit the rink, hungover, tired and functioning on only a few hours of poor quality sleep and played brilliantly. It's no longer a fluke, it's scientific proof. Playing hungover improves our curling skills.

blog roulette: express yourself

In keeping with the sketching/creativity theme, this edition of blog roulette looks at a blog about painting.

The blog I clicked through to and stopped at today is called "A Painter's Place". There are some really nice paintings on display.

Here's what the blogger has to say about her blog:

I've loved to paint since I found paints and brushes, probably around 9 or 10 yrs. old. I guess not much has changed. So as I contemplate and prepare for my new year's resolution of making a-painting-a-day, I'm enthusiastic about the challenge of smaller paintings. The possibilities for creative experimentation have me inspired once again. Please send comments about my work, as I love and learn from the feedback I get. Thank you for visiting my painting site.

creative planning

I mentioned earlier how I wanted to do more creative things this year, such as making use of the sketch book/folio that I received for Christmas. Well truth is, I'm more of a doodler than a sketcher and I've been struggling to get started.

So rather than just unleash my self on the page, I have resorted to a much more non-creative, type-A competitive approach fitting my current position as a law student (note: not student-at-law as I can't be called that until I'm out of law school, GOD this profession is weird).

I have a plan.

Step One - Buy A Book - check!
I picked up this book at the local used bookstore. Here's hoping it serves me as well as it did someone's grandfather who now appears to have passed away although his name and inscription will live on.

Step Two - Find time to read book

Still working on this one....

Step Three - Sketch

Step Four - Stop sketching out of frustration of not creating masterpieces right away

Step Five - Months later, feel guilty for not making use of sketch book and try sketching again

Step Six - Sketch a few things, decide it's not for me and move on to a new creative pursuit.

So that's the plan. I'll post some updates along the way, and hopefully, this time, it won't go according to plan.

talk about being on message

It seems the US Presidential Candidates are using the same speaking notes, regardless of party:



(with apologies to Mr. Bowie)

i'll be back

Hi everyone, just a quick note to let you know that I'll be offline and not posting for a few days, probably until at least the weekend if not early next week. I'm on a tight deadline to write a factum for our moot and everything is going into that at the moment.

throwing rocks at houses

As winter has firmly settled in here on the prairie, it's time for curling to start again. The little law school on the prairie curling team was actually reformed last term but with the strike at the university the season ended abruptly before I had a chance to even blog about it once.

Three of us from "Lord Denning Rocks" last year are back, with a few new players in tow. We actually have six players this year. Obviously our success last year created a surge in popularity and the number of people wanting to be on our team.

Anyways, we hit the ice yesterday after months of inactivity and slid to our first defeat at 3-6. For a few missed shots it could have been closer. We're still in the "C" league and for some reason, some people think "C" stands for competitive. These curlers with their own equipment and pre-game stretches should all be bumped up to the "B" or "A" league which are supposed to be the competitive ones. The ones with the matching jackets got a withering look of disapproval(tm).

Anyways, we had a lot of fun, and it's nice to hang out without talking about school.

pay day

Well, my very first foray into international finance has finally come to an end. Natik, the cattle/sheep farmer in Azerbaijan has repaid his $800 loan. For the full details of the international bank of glen, click here.

As with the loan to the fuel seller in Afghanistan, the $25 I loaned is repaid into my account where I can reloan it to another business.

Kiva works great. My original $50 investment continues to get reloaned each time it is paid back, so it will now be the equivalent of $100 having gone to help people in developing countries!

If you haven't yet, check Kiva out, and consider getting involved.

[title of post]

In an earlier post, I featured the song "Die, Vampire Die" from the musical [title of show]. The show is a musical about two guys trying to write a musical. The cast is four friends all involved in trying to put the musical together. It is fun, a little crazy and although it has run off-broadway they are using viral marketing to try to get a broadway run.

As part of their viral marketing, they have created the [title of show] show, a toscast available on itunes, a cast album, a blog, etc.

The [title of show] show has a cute with chris like tone and feel. Although the play is not currently running the [title of show] show continues, documenting their road to broadway on the "tossability" board. The enthusiasm and humour is infectious.

Here's one of the early episodes:

climb every mountain

Well I'm starting a new blog roulette feature here at granted null that will highlight blogs I stumble upon using the "Next Blog" feature up at the top left hand corner of the page. I click on "Next Blog" until I find one that captures my attention and makes me stop. Whichever blog that it is, will be linked to in one of these posts.

The first in this series is Tom & Atticus Hike The Winter Whites For MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center.

The description of the blog is:

When winter started on December 22, 2007, we began our quest to hike New Hampshire's 48 4,000-foot peaks twice in one winter. This year we're using our Winter Quest to raise money for MSPCA-Angell, a wonderful not-for-profit that helps thousands of animals each year. All money raised through our hikes go directly to Angell Animal Medical Center.

i am the hasselhoff

The little sister has a fascination with David Hasselhoff that can't be explained. Currently she is running a contest called "Being David Hasselhoff". The contest calls for creative expressions of being David Hasselhoff. I should warn you that the photos submitted so far can only be described as disturbing.

Although I don't understand the allure of the hoff, I have tried in the following to caputre the essence of being "the Hasselhoff". I must begin by offering my apologies to Scandal and Patti Smyth for reinterpreting their 80s hit "I am the Warrior". I have rewritten the song "I am the Hasselfhoff".

As a reminder, here is the original song:



Now play it again, but this time reading along (or singing along, you know you want to) with these new lyrics:

I run, run...run so slow
It's a skill...that you don’t know
Running on...my hunky thighs
I bet you're not so exercised

Well, it’s my love..that you need
A wild need like a growing weed
Break out of East Germany
And follow my career’s meteor rise
I am your man.....a star in your eyes

Chorus:
Shootin' on the sets of Baywatch, splash, splash, I am the Hasselhoff
Well I am the Hasselhoff, and heart to heart you'll win…if you survive the Hasselhoff....the Hasselhoff

You talk, talk, you talk to me
Your eyes touch me physically
Stay with me, we'll take the night
As passion takes another bite, oh

Who's the singer...with the fame?
You hear the fans...call my name
I keep them warm...in Germany
You can’t ever tame my animal style…
I won't be caged...I’m the call of the wild....

Repeat Chorus

I am the Hasselhoff

(Guitar Break – picture the Hoff’s dance moves here)

Shootin' on the sets of Baywatch (shootin' on the sets of baywatch)
The Hasselhoff.....
I am the Hasselhoff, and heart to heart you’ll win
heart to heart you’ll win...if you survive
The Hasselhoff...the Hasselhoff

shootin' on the sets of Baywatch, splash, splash, I am the Hasselhoff
yes I am the Hasselhoff and Germany is mine
(shootin' on the sets of baywatch)
The Hasselhoff...I am the Hasselhoff

taking on the tyranny of tim's

Over the holidays I went home to suburban Ontario to visit family and friends. This is where I grew up. In my hometown, I believe we have the most donut stores per capita, and you can barely turn around without seeing a Tim Horton's. I remember back when I was working there in municipal government, I had to pick up Tim Horton's for a meeting. It practically turned into an emergency situation, and a rethink of municipal planning, when I actually had to drive out of my way to find a Tim Horton's.

Honestly, I don't like Tim's. They have good donuts, but I find their coffee metallic and completely unappealing. Their hot chocolate isn't much better. I know this is a personal taste thing, but I really can't stand it. I'm a Starbucks boy. What drives me crazy is the notion that I am completely uncanadian as a result. Tim's has a lock on all things Canadiana.

Well I am pleased to report, that over the holidays, I successfully and publicly challenged the tyranny of tim's over all things Canadian. I was off to see my nephew's hockey game, dad and sister in tow. My father wanted to stop for coffee on the way, and I refused to go to Tim's. I found a Starbucks and we went there. I was not going to be the cliched Canadian standing in the hockey arena with my tim's double-double thinking wistfully of immigrant fathers who secretly watched their sons play hockey. Nope, not this boy.

I noticed a photographer was routinely taking pictures of our little group. After 10 years in PR I have a pretty good nose for reporters and photographers. I shot him that, if you're taking photos of us, you better come talk to us about consent look. He came over, and got the details. The photo just appeared in the paper. It's the quintessential Canadian story, the grandfather at the arena watching his grandson, thinking that boy is going to play in the big leaves. BUT WAIT! What's that in his hand, it's Starbucks! Yes, the tyranny of tim's lock on hockey has been busted in the mainstream media. Starbucks, you owe me. I'll take payment in free coffee!

taking tort law forward

I've frequently written about "tort law" here on the blog. The video "tort law back" is one of the most popular on the site. However, in the news the past couple of days has been a recent tort law decision here on the prairie that seems to be taking tort law a step forward.

Here's the story. There's another version here. Go read them, then come back.

I'm really intrigued and puzzled by this decision, hence blogging about it. I'll give initial comments today but I'm hoping to track the judgment down once it's finalized and learn a bit more before doing a full analysis.

One main source of confusion is which tort did she base her action on. In the CTV story it almost seems that she may have launched a tort in battery. This makes a little more sense, but I would have thought that the fact that she voluntarily took the drugs would nullify any battery tory.

In the StarPhoenix, it indicates she sued in negilgence. For a primer on negilgence, you can go back and watch the snail in a bottle video. Once again I surprised she was successful. Putting aside issues of consent and voluntary assumption of risk, I still don't know whether the elements of negligence are there.

In a nutshell, for negligence, you need to establish a duty of care, then show that the duty of care was breached. You do that by showing there is a standard of care (level of behaviour) and the defendant breached it. Even if you get past the first hurdle of somehow establishing that a drug dealer has a duty of care to their clients, how do you determine the standard of care for a drug dealer?

Is there a professional standard for drug dealers? Are they required to limit the number of drugs they sell to one person, i.e. not enough to OD? Must they be upfront about the contents or effects of the drug? Should they be providing warnings with each sale? There is no reasonable standard of care for a drug dealer in dealing with their client.

Anyways, I should be able to better figure this out once I track down a judgment.

As for the big precedent setting nature of this case, I just don't know. It's only a superior court decision, not appellate and is certainly not binding anywhere else in Canada. Also, the win is a bit of a technicality, as the defence was struck so really there was no trial and no argument from the defence side, which I think would make it less persuasive when being used by other courts. I guess time will only tell.

However, I do find it fascinating, which I guess just makes me a bit of a law geek.

message recieved???

Well who ever ended up telling him, Mr. Dion finally appears to have gotten the message that there's some problems with the handling of his recent appointment of a NDP MLA as a Liberal candidate here in Saskatchewan. I provided Mr. Dion with my advice down below. I don't know who else is advising him, but thank god he finally took their advice and came out talking, (although not swinging).

• CBC News: Dion Defends Beatty Appointment

guilty pleasure #16: cover me

I'm a bg fan of singers covering other people's songs. It's always interesting to hear a new take on an old, or in the following cases, not so old songs. It seems like this is a big trend in England with both cd:UK and BBC Radio One Live Lounge regularly having singers in to sing other artists' songs.

Here are two of my favourite British singers, Daniel Bedingfield and Will Young doing cover versions on cd:UK a popular music program:

in my elder years

I recently blogged about my "old man hat", but I'm beginning to worry that maybe it's more than just the hat that's old.

It appears I may be older than my years. This realization has been coming to me slowly and it's not because of the prospect of getting older as a birthday begins to approach. It's more a process of paying attention to commercials.

It has been a couple of years since I left that coveted 18-34 marketing age group. However, it appears in leaving that group, I have switched to the 55+ group and missed the intervening 21 years. How can I tell? Commercials and advertisements.

Marketers generally are smart. They have researched their audience, know who they are, and identify the best ways to reach them. Over the last several months I have begun to notice that in the various shows that I watch or magazines I read, all the commercials or advertisements are for products targeted at those 55 and over. Hmm, do I have the taste of a sixty-year old man? Or worse yet, a seventy-year old woman?

At first I thought little of it, but as I began to notice more and more ads and commercials, I've begun to worry. What happened to my young, hip, cutting-edge self? You would think that being surrounded by twenty-somethings it would rub-off on me, but is it just rubbing me the wrong way? Is my new found taste for all things old, a reaction to being surrounded by youth?

Who knows? But in the meantime if you need to know about the benefits of viagra, centrum or freedom living devices, I'm your man!

step on over to the other side

I'm a little behind on the Sarah Hampson bashing although her "Merry Ex-mas" piece had me all riled up and throwing around the withering look of disapproval(tm). However, you'll be glad to know the little sister has taken up the challenge and you can read her take on Ms. Hampson's most recent piece here.

However, the withering look of disapproval has been cast at politicians lately. Today, its back to old Stephane Dion. I guess when most people in your own party don't support you, you start looking to supporters in other parties. I've blogged before about the suicide, errr mutual support pact between Dion and Elizabeth May. Mr. Dion, much like Ms. Hampson has gone and done it again.

Mr. Dion appointed a sitting NDP MLA to run in the March 17 by-election for a federal seat here in Saskatchewan. Yes, one of those MLA's who was just re-elected two months' ago. Yes, she's quitting provincial politics two-months later and is aiming for the big show.

According to press reports, it appears Ms. Beatty got used to being in cabinet, and doesn't like the view from the opposition benches in Regina. So she's swapping/shopping for a view from the opposition benches in Ottawa in hopes she'll be back on the government side quicker than the at least four years she'll have to wait here. Hmmm, a guess a promise of a cabinet post was made, however really, who are we kidding, if you're a liberal and elected in the west, you're pretty much guaranteed a cabinet post

You think considering that they started talking about this six months ago (yes before the Sask election) she would have come up with a better message, but I'll give her points for being honest about the reason, although she certainly was not honest with the electorate about her intentions.

As for the Liberals, when will they learn. Yes I understand Stephan Dion has made a commitment to get more women in his caucus, but are there no liberal women? If there are, I certainly can't imagine them sticking around (i.e. Belinda) with Mr. Dion seeming to only find women he likes in other parties. Maybe Lizzie and Joan can sit together once they're both elected (tee hee, that's funny, Elizabeth May elected, tee hee).

Also, once again, knowing this was in the works for months, don't you think the Liberals could have planned their communications a little better? "Stephane Dion has made it a priority to elect more women; Stephane Dion thinks this is a great candidate." Are you thinking Stephane Dion now talks about himself in the third persion? (Glen thinks that would be swell!) Fear not no, Mr. Dion, who was so committed to this candidate and trashing the democratic nomination process, was not available for comment and a liberal senator (and former national campaign chair) was trotted out to do all the talking. It's time to whip out PR101 again.

First off, if Mr. Dion was so committed, make him available. Have him stand up, accept and explain his decisions. Don't trot someone else out to do it for him. The Conservatives are trashing him as a weak leader, and when he makes a "bold" leadership decision, trot him out to show and defend it. Don't send out a senator who use quotes like "bite the bullet" when describing the decision.

If you are committed to this decision, be proud. Don't say you "bit the bullet". Have Stephan Dion say "I made a commitment to change the representation of women in our party, and when required I'll make unpopular decisions to keep that commitment. That's what a leader does."

"Yes, Ms. Beatty is a New Democrat MLA, but she is a smart, talented aboriginal woman whose voice and ideas need to be heard in Parliament. I'm pleased she feels like the Liberal Party is the best party to hear her voice and help address the needs of aboriginal people and all Canadians. Her joining with us reflects her commitment to helping her constituents and reflects the change I have brought to the Liberal Party."

That's just one suggestion of what could be said. I'm sure there's others. But all of them are better than saying "Ow, we bit the bullet." So for that, and just cherry picking generally, Senator David Smith and Stephane Dion get the withering look of disapproval(tm). And Ms. Beatty gets one of her own, for being less than forthright with her constituents.

make me over

Since the blog is over a year old, I thought it was time for a makeover so I've changed the look of the blog. Depending on how school goes over the next while I may try playing around with the format to go for a more custom look, but for now a new template will have to do for a fresh look.

I've also added "things I blog about" which is a list of the labels from my blog entries. You can know read the blog by subject by clicking on any of the labels.

blog roll

I've updated the blogs i read section over there to your right. I've added two blogs written by north of 60 friends. Both are law school survivors and you may have noticed them popping up in the comments section here on my blog recently. I've been enjoying reading their blogs and have added links.

I've also renamed the link to the "little sister's" blog to reflect a long-ago name change to her blog. It can now be read by clicking on "reflections in the snow-covered hills". It appears this is some Fleetwood Mac reference that slipped past me, however my Fleetwood Mac knowledge pretty much starts and stops with the songs sung by Christine McVie.

Happy reading!

two thousand and great?

It's a new year, but long-term readers of the blog will know that I'm not a big new years fan. Particularly with being back in school, I'm far more likely to consider September the new year.

However, with all the media coverage of the new year, resolutions, the year in review, and the year looking ahead, it's practically impossible not to be thinking about a new year, and what you hope to do differently.

As I don't handle failure well, I tend to stay away from resolutions. In spite of this I have been thinking about what I would like to do more of this upcoming year. After a particularly grueling school term, I feel the need to do more creative things. It can't all be about school and work.

This blog is one thing I hope to do more of. In 2007, there were 191 posts to the blog, an average of one every other day, however it was definitely concentrated in the first part of the year. There were long stretches of no blogging and I noticed the absence of a creative outlet, even if it's just a blog post.

Hopefully this year I will do more photography, writing and make use of the sketch book kit and folio I got for Christmas. It's not only about doing more though, it is also about putting your creativity out there. That's the hardest bit. Last weekend I was in Ottawa visiting a north of 60 friend who moved south the same time I left for law school. This was something we talked about a bit over the weekend, in particular in relation to a musical cabaret we saw called "Life on the Wicked Stage".

The show included songs from a number of broadway and off-broadway shows. Some well-known, others a discovery. One woman in the show was a standout, not only for her great vocals, but also for the fact that she could have been Seriously Frivolous' twin. It was uncanny, right down to the smile and laugh. The only thing missing was the high kick of happiness(tm)!

Anyways, one of the songs was from a show called [title of show] (that's the actual title). It's a musical about writing a musical. The songs goes directly to what I've been writing about. It's called "Die Vampires Die" and is about those people and demons that prevent you from creating and putting yourself out there. It's smart and funny but some of the language may not be appropriate if you're playing it aloud at work: