“It is better, however, to get no return than to confer no benefits. Even after a poor crop one should sow again; for often losses due to continued barrenness of an unproductive soil have been made good by one year’s fertility. In order to discover one grateful person, it is worthwhile to make trial of many ungrateful ones.”
In his eighty-first letter to Lucilius above, Seneca touches upon the best antidote to the oftentimes cruel tribulations that life throws at us. Rather than turning to cynical despondency in the wake of disappointment, one should always dust oneself and go again, whether it be in matters of agriculture, work, or love. One of my other favourite philosophers, Charlotte York Goldenblatt, typified this optimistic outlook in her own praxis. Despite hurdles that involved a different kind of hardness, Char was steadfast in her belief in love and it was ultimately repaid in the form of a romantic lawyer sweeping her off her feet (one of the few times a lawyer added something meaningful to someone’s life – let’s all aspire to do the same upon graduating.)
Such fresh-faced optimism is ever-present in the life of a Chelsea supporter. Where I once had to suffer the likes of Bakayoko stinking up the pitch away to Watford a few short years ago, I now delight in watching club steamroll small Italian sides with ease. (If you have time, watch Callum’s consummation of the ultimate team goal with the French commentary, it has a certain “je ne sais pas” quality to it…just *chef’s kiss*.) Imagine having to console oneself with xTU (expected thumbs up) instead of xG (expected goals)…shambolic.
Anyway, Issue 6 is attached for your reading pleasure. It mercifully includes no articles on Succession (jk, but subscribe to Hunter Harris’ newsletter for that) but it is rife with good content, some of which includes: closing thoughts on COP26, reflections on 100 years of insulin, an administrative odyssey that would make Homer blush, a ranking of Toronto’s best Neapolitan pizza from Osgoode’s most beloved pizzaiolo (as much as an Italian can be loved🤌🏻), ruminations on Red, nature photography from a guy who has it in his NAME, and advocation for why the NBA’s drift towards less foul calls can only be a good thing. (I personally think Melo being back and at his vocal best is the best thing for the League.)
I’ll put out a call for submissions for Issue 7 in December after y’all have crushed exams and I’ve finalized the publication schedule for next term. Our return to campus shall mean Obiter’s return to print, which I’m sure is why York admin has been pushing for us all back, so there is something to look forward to if not having the Bistro stir fry with Shanghai noodles (a cruel menu casualty of COVID, in case you missed my IG story.) Let’s just hope this guy isn’t back on campus too – it is one thing to read shitty decisions, and quite another to have excrement hurled at you while doing so.
I hope you enjoy the reprieve that December promises — I am certainly looking forward to forgetting the consequences of breaching a treaty in favour of filling my mind with the more important things in life, such as the entirety of Desperate Housewives, the SATC reboot, and the fanciful thought of the best derrière in European football possibly returning to the Bridge. Best wishes for whatever holiday you observe 💞
I will personally celebrate by watching Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001), as the price of nosebleeds for the National Ballet at the Four Seasons would mean skimping on some loved one’s gifts. It houses beautiful animation, as well as a stunning use of Tchaikovsky’s “Pas de Deux: Dance of the Prince & the Sugar-Plum Fairy.”
Ta ta for now,
Tomislav Miloš
Editor-in-Chief