When Toronto’s Nightwood Theatre selected the Broadway musical Legally Blonde to be its 2017 Lawyer Show production, several veterans of the cast expressed doubt—if not outright alarm—over the choice. After all, Nightwood is Canada’s premiere women’s theatre company, highly respected for its focus on women in theatre, and the annual Lawyer Show (now in its eighth year) has...
“The Independent divided Canadian Prime ministers into two broad categories: ‘the first comprises those whom the rest of the world has largely forgotten, if ever knew about them; the second comprises Pierre Trudeau,’” is the opening line of Max and Monique Nemni’s Young Trudeau: 1919-1944. There is a considerable degree of truth to this statement. Pierre Elliot Trudeau managed to capture the...
Horoscopes for Osgoode Hall Aries By now you should be feeling rejuvenated, ready for action, and maybe some winter sports. Enjoy the time you have right now, it will soon evaporate into a cloud of fog and confusion, but you should have a few weeks respite before things get uncomfortable again. Taurus Returning to friends and colleagues leaves you feeling as though you have just awoken...
A Hopeful and Fascinating Close to 2016 A new ‘first contact’ film titled “Arrival” premiered this fall. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (“Sicaro,” “Prisoners,” and “Incendies”) and based on an award-winning short story by Ted Chiang, it focuses on linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) whose task is to overcome the language gap with the aliens. The timing of the film’s release could not have been...
The Best Pho in Toronto Pho Tien Thanh (ranked #2) Location: 57 Ossington Avenue Atmosphere: Small, busy and very pink According to blogTO, the two best places for pho—the quintessential Vietnamese soup—are about a block and a half away from each other on a strip of Ossington between Dundas and Queen. Nowadays, this location seems like an odd setting for the two best...
Horoscopes for Osgoode Hall Aries The next month will be filled with challenges. Big horrible uncomfortable challenges. You will find yourself sweating in a classroom for hours as the sands of the hourglass slowly slip away leaving you with a feeling that somehow you could have done more. Don’t worry about that. The truth is that you could always do more, and you most likely never...
When I arrived at Osgoode, I must say I had some difficulties when it came to describing myself. Obviously, I was a new one in the place, but not a 1L. In fact, I was beginning the last year of my law degree, while knowing I would not complete it here—so not a transfer. “Technically, I am an exchange student,” I had to say. The thing is, the term “exchange” sort of underlies exoticism. People get...
An Education in Intolerance On 2 November, I had the privilege of hearing Elly Gotz, a retired engineer, businessman, and a Holocaust survivor, speak at one of his many talks on intolerance he does at various schools, universities, and public functions. I met Elly in May earlier this year at the March of Remembrance and Hope (MRH), an educational leadership program that teaches the dangers of...
Horoscopes for Osgoode Hall Aries By now slowly sinking feelings of frustration, confusion and despair are looming over you like a giant monster ready to swallow you whole. Remember to battle forth courageously, and no matter how bleak and horrible the looming dread of future commitments may appear, have faith that you will get through the next few months relatively unscathed. ...
The Best Mexican Restaurant in Toronto La Carnita (ranked #1) Location: 130 Eglinton Avenue East, with three other locations at 106 John Street, 501 College Street, and 780 Queen Street East Atmosphere: Eclectic urban industrial I love tacos. One of the best trends to happen in recent food history—as far as I’m concerned—was the surge in popularity of Mexican food. I’m...
The Best Pizza in Toronto I’m breaking one of my own “rules” here by reviewing a place I’ve been to before, but the last time I went to Libretto it was at the University location and was right after a Jays game, so I may have not be at my most…discerning. Also, pizza is important, and I can easily see myself revisiting this list throughout the year, so might as well start from the top...
The lady with the dog was crying today. I saw her lift the lower reaches of her skirt hem to wipe her sunburned face and wrinkled cheekbones. I watched her cut across the street, almost hurried, almost desperate, two other women hot at her heels. Slowly, surely, a crowd was gathering. I walked on, more quickly now, heading back from Campo dei Fiori, from where the church had immolated the...
Top 10 Recommended Fragrances for Fall 2016 Fall has arrived and choosing new fragrances for the changing temperature should not be a daunting task. It should be a fun experience! Here are my top ten favourite fragrances this season in alphabetical order: Female Black Opium (Eau de Parfum)by Yves Saint Laurent Head Notes: pink pepper, orange blssom, and pear Heart Notes: coffee, jasmine...
And what I said to them both Simile: “Oh Metaphor, how dare you flaunt your arrogance? How dare you press two things together until they flatten into one?” Metaphor: “What irony! That you would use me in an insult against me! And is it I who presses too hard? Or you who shies away from intimacy? You who are afraid the two won’t get along so well after all? I take pride in my...
The Best of blogTO’s Best of Toronto Hello Ozzies, and welcome to the first installment of this year’s Jurisfoodence! I am most humbled to be your host for this journey, where we will be diving into blogTO’s “Best of Toronto” feature and hopefully uncovering some culinary gems that may prove useful to the three people whose procrastination has led them to venture this many pages back in...
Horoscopes for Osgoode Hall Aries Recent events will cause you to consider the nature and quality of agreements, most notably, what is a contract, how can people rely on expectations, and what exactly is consideration? You may find your own expectations challenged. Allow yourself time to adjust. Taurus You will find yourself surrounded by comrades and allies. Remember that everyone around...
…that nearly went forgotten Something horrible almost happened, Mock Trial was almost forgotten in the Obiter Dicta. Mock Trial is one of, if not the biggest events every year at Osgoode. A simple Google search proves it: “Mock Trial Osgoode Hall” brings up Obiter Dicta recap articles that go back to 2011, with one as recently as last year. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking forward...
Live at Lee’s Palace, 26 February 2016 Nearing the end of their lengthy cross-country tour, Yukon Blonde stopped at Lee’s Palace in Toronto to play two sold out shows. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for round two. Now, I must acknowledge from the onset that I am not an objective reviewer. Yukon Blonde has been one of my favourite bands since the release of their first, self-titled album...
Percent for Public Art “to foster and promote the collaboration between art and architecture, the State devises a scheme which ensures that whenever a new public building, place or space is built or created, a percentage of the overall cost of the scheme is required by law to be spent on art, in order to ensure the collaboration between art and architecture for the benefit of the public.”...
On February 5th and 6th, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) performed its most recent work at the Sony Centre in Toronto. Entitled Going Home Star, the piece was commissioned by the company and Artistic Director André Lewis to facilitate reconciliation through the medium of ballet, in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Canadian government’s supposed attempts to remedy the...
Painting a snapshot of 1L and the narratives that are excluded from the realm of law using literary prose The OFC’s recent excavation of the history of the Women’s Caucus has prompted the Feminisms of Osgoode Past to revisit their relatives at the law school today. The body of documents, zines, and ephemera we have unearthed are sometimes uplifting and even enlightening, and sometimes offensive...
Covering 1–21 January 2016 Legal shows are apparently back in vogue (or at least the true crime variety). Netflix’s Making a Murderer and soon-to-air American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson (not to be confused with the also airing American Crime—which is also worth a watch if you are a L&O: SVU fan) are examples of television shows riding the popularity of the genre. Also airing is a...
Several months ago, I surveyed the Toronto classical music scene for the Fall semester with the hope of providing some recommendations for both new enthusiasts and seasoned aficionados of classical music. These included performances of Beethoven’s immensely popular Fifth Symphony, Rimsky-Korsakov’s exotic Scheherazade, and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. And so, with the start of...
The Murals of Northern Ireland and Movement Towards Peace In a recent issue I explored the value of public art within the context of restorative mural arts projects in Philadelphia and the benefits such programs have within the community. In contrast, this edition will be focused on the murals of Northern Ireland that represent sectarian violence that spanned over thirty years. Rather than...
The Glory and Pitfalls of the Adversarial Justice System Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder (1959) is fifty-seven years old. Nevertheless, it remains the finest trial drama ever put on film. It is impossible for me to put into words why my love affair with this film runs so deep. I first watched Anatomy of a Murder when I was a naïve twenty-year old. This was before I even thought about going...