CategoryArts & Culture

My Music: Prokofiev

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It is often remarked that Prokofiev’s music started out spiky, and became more lyrical and harmonically conservative later on—especially after his return to Russia in the mid-1930s. While many of the earlier works are angular (e.g., the Scythian Suite) and many of the later works (e.g., Romeo and Juliet) are unabashedly melodious, there are also plenty of pieces that defy this categorization. For...

My Music: Contemporary Classical

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It may surprise you that many composers continue to write music in the classical tradition, broadly construed. One possible reason for the belief that the development of classical music ended some time ago is the “classical” label itself, which suggests that the category is historical. As well, it doesn’t help that “contemporary classical” is not really a coherent genre. Composers are engaging...

Looking for an Escape During the Pandemic? Look No Further Than Middle-Earth

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I woke up this morning groggy as usual. I showered, brushed my teeth, threw on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, and begrudgingly walked downstairs to start working. Eight hours later I returned upstairs, watched a few hours of mindless television, then surrendered back to my bedroom, feeling thankful, but resentful, that I made it through another day that felt like it was filled with absolutely...

Something Rotten in the State of Classical Music

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Music school demands much from every student, but for some, it takes far more than it gives.   An undergraduate degree in violin, cello, or piano performance is unlike any other major. To be accepted into an arts or sciences program, you must show, at the very least, good grades, but in the case of music school, prospective students are required to have already dedicated their entire...

Dancing and Letting Go

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“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”  – Alan Watts  With the continuous change in circumstances and the associated routines and emotions, it can be really difficult to keep adapting to new demands. I have found this to be especially true over the last few months with the overwhelming sense of responsibilities that arise...

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Review: The Wire

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The Wire is a cop drama. The Wire is a study of the systemic and institutional racism that remains incredibly relevant in North America today. The Wire is a character study of some of the most common yet elusive American people—those who you don’t learn about in history textbooks, but those who are inherent in every society. There are many different ways to describe The Wire but none of these...

My Music: J.S. Bach

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J.S. Bach hardly needs an introduction. I could have named the article “My Music: Bach” and you most likely would have known whom I was talking about—notwithstanding the fact that there are a number of other fine composers named Bach. Indeed, Bach’s reputation is such that, while his music is unquestionably great, I sometimes wonder whether he unfairly overshadows his contemporaries. Are we still...

Binge stream, but keep it critical: Bridgerton

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Reader be warned, Bridgerton spoilers below.  Shonda Rhimes, the brilliant creator of highly successful Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder, partnered with Netflix to create what has now become the platforms most watched series, Bridgerton. The show is based on a series of eight romance novels by Julia Quinn, with the first novel written in 2000. Season one has been watched by...

Review: HBO’s The Art of Political Murder (2020)

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A picutre of a Gerardi Vive poster

On December 16 2020, HBO released a documentary titled The Art of Political Murder. The film is an in-depth look at the investigation that took place after the brutal assassination of Guatemalan Catholic Bishop Juan José Gerardi Conedera, who fought for justice and accountability after the end of the Guatemalan Civil War. He was murdered in 1998, shortly after presenting a report which identified...

What is Law?

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A Poem Who is Lady Justice? With her strong stance and steady glare. Does she hear me calling out, Asking whether she really even cares? What is law, anyways?  A question for the ages. As old as time, yet remains unanswered,  Even though she is debated and squashed in never ending mazes.  Maybe law is a thing?  Or better yet; a person, maybe places? Is law all of the above, a...

Point/Counterpoint: “Normies” Outside Law School?

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An Osgoode and U of T Law student go head-to-head on the topic of friendships Point: By Lara Zarum (1L, Osgoode) I figured it would be easy to write about why it’s important to have friends outside of law school, considering I have no friends in law school. Friends? In this economy? At the moment, my closest friend is my dog. We didn’t ask to start law school in the middle of a pandemic. We...

Review: The Nickel Boys

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The Nickel Boys never allows you to look away, to make excuses, or to close your eyes and pretend. Colson Whitehead describes the horrors endured by the titular “Nickel boys” students at the fictional reformatory school Nickel Academy in great detail. In doing so, he sheds a light on a dark period of American history and the abuse endured by the students of the real-life Dozier School for Boys...

Let Them All Talk, or don’t

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Steven Soderbergh’s latest flatters to deceive With a cast as star-studded as it commands, Let Them All Talk should be great. However, the film ends up leaving one as cold as the Atlantic Ocean much of it is set on. Released December 10th, 2020 through HBO Max, Let Them All Talk (LTAT) sees Steven Soderbergh tap some of the most decorated talents in his bursting rolodex. The pieces should add up...

My Music: Poulenc

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Last issue, I suggested that Haydn—whose music is generally recognized for its technical mastery and historical significance—is still not played or listened to enough. This time, I turn to another (relatively) underrated composer, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). Now, I suspect even Poulenc aficionados would not try to present him as an innovator or a jack of all trades. He did not influence...

Death of the movie theatre

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Let’s go back to January. You know, before this whole COVID thing happened. On Tuesday cheap nights, some friends and I would have the entire day planned out. We’d finish our lectures, do whatever readings we had, and then: movie time. We’d try to book something that sounded remotely good for around 8. Then, we would head out a bit early to grab Five Guys, a staple in our movie night experience...

Exam Recommendations

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With exam season looming, it seemed like a good time for another recommendation list to help Osgoode’s students get through this stranger than usual study period. While I have watched 10 seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race since the beginning of the semester, I still somehow found time for a few other things that I wanted to recommend here. Good luck with exams! TV Show – Pen15 Season 2 (CBC...

An underrated gem – One Day at a Time

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As I watched Justina Machado’s Penelope Alvarez fail to get her oblivious son to help her with groceries in One Day at a Time, it struck me how relatable the show truly is. The exact scene has played out hundreds of times with my own little brother, headphones in and video game on, oblivious to my mother asking for his help. It was a small moment, but it reminded me of the appeal of sitcoms, of...

Exam Season Hacks: Meal Subscription Boxes

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Exam season is closely upon us and that means less time and motivation to prepare full meals. While not all students live alone and some do have the convenience of having their loved ones take care of meal prep, some of us don’t have that luxury. Keeping up with regular meals is important but it is especially important during exam season. We need fuel to keep going during long summary building...

My Music: Haydn

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Haydn’s music occupies a somewhat awkward place in the classical repertoire. Most musicians and listeners would include Haydn in the pantheon of great composers.  But fewer, I think, would list him among their personal favourites, or their selections of the “greatest of the great” (see, e.g., the New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini’s top 10 from 2011). Although he is by no means...

Of Intransigence and Solipsism

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One of the principal thrills of undergraduate study is the titillation of pushing the envelope – of becoming learned with one foot still planted firmly in the realm of childish bashfulness. I recall, for instance, school newspapers in undergrad that looked like their mainstream counterparts, but which featured foul language and spoke of lascivious happenings. The impressionable eighteen-year-old...

JAGSHEMASH and Au Revoir: Borat and Emily take on the world

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Chances are that you haven’t done much international travelling in the past seven months. The most you’ve probably been able to do is ride the 506 Westbound from Chinatown to Little Italy. In the meantime, you can travel vicariously with the following two hapless and naïve travellers who have much more in common than might appear at first.  Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: streaming on Amazon...

Seven Pieces of Classical Music to Help You Survive Exams

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As we depart midterm season and finals loom not far around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to compile a short list of pieces of classical music that can give you that extra oomph you need to crush your exams.  Mozart, 12 Variations in C Major ‘Ah vous dirai-je, Maman’  You’ve just finished a difficult term full of essays, cold calls, and briefs. Now the real...

Self-Care Season

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It’s that dreaded time of the year again: it is always dark, the weather is getting colder, and exams are approaching. Along with this comes annoying tasks such as bringing out your winter coat, getting your car tires changed, and having a constant battle about the thermostat with those you live with (or if you are like me, literally fighting myself about window open versus window closed). Not to...

Is tech the problem, or are we?

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Do our mixed feelings on advanced A.I. and tantalizing screens, merely reflect our own moral failings? Elon Musk is scared of artificial intelligence (A.I.). In a 2014 tweet, Elon compared A.I. development to “summoning the demon.” Unlike the countless podcast hosts and academics who routinely engage in such doomsday speculation, Elon put his money where his mouth is. Fifteen days into 2015, when...

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