“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...
In the late hours of Friday night (12 November 2021), the COP26 negotiations ended and the Glasgow Climate Pact was born, arriving one day late and three draft proposals, many frustrated delegates, and many disappointed climate activists later. It is easy to look at the past two weeks of COP26, with the news cycle largely focusing on either protests or ambitious commitments announcements, to find...
In November 1921, insulin was discovered as a revolutionary treatment for diabetes, transforming diabetes from a death sentence to a manageable chronic condition. Dr. Frederick Banting from London, Ontario, and his medical assistant Charles Best co-discovered insulin on 14 November 1921. The discovery marked a significant breakthrough in medicine and therapy for patients with diabetes...
The inner-workings of the administrative state can seem hazy at best, even to those who take it upon themselves to study it. That’s not entirely a criticism—I understand that the varied aspirations and tensions of the administrative state often result in complex systems and procedures, and to expect otherwise is both unrealistic and reductionist. That being said, these systems and...
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev was an enthralling story from the start. Considering my propensity to skip the summary and dive right into the book (especially when it comes highly recommended, which this one did), I admittedly had to take a second to confirm that the book was indeed fiction. I am absolutely in awe of debut author Dawnie Walton—this book was incredible. The interview-style...
There exists a widespread belief that in the late 1800s, a pizzaiolo constructed a dish called La Pizza Margherita in honor of the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy. The toppings used were to demonstrate and celebrate the unification of Italy, with tomato (red), mozzarella (white) and basil (green)—ingredients inspired by the tricolore, the national flag of Italy. Over the past two years, I...
Heading into TIFF Lightbox last week for the first time in what felt like a century, I was excited to see Spencer, owing to what little I knew about the film being completely polarizing. Tales of the lengthy Cannes ovation had filtered down to me, but so too had tweets that likened the film to an overlong, anxiety-inducing Chanel ad. While I had high hopes for Pablo Larraín’s first feature since...
Whether you call yourself a Swiftie or not, Taylor Swift’s latest re-release of a past album—Red (Taylor’s Version), which came out on Friday, November 12—is a clear triumph both musically and in terms of the artist’s broader mission and path. In 2019, the now thirty-one year old artist announced that she would be re-recording and re-releasing her first six albums after a dispute with her former...
I was wrong. In my predictions piece, I had ranked the Atlanta Braves last, effectively congratulating the NL East division winner for getting into October by default. They beat the Milwaukee Brewers, a team better than them, convincingly. They beat the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, the favourite to win the Commissioner’s Trophy. A quick note on the Dodgers, they had a payroll of $267 million—$64...
This Chicago Blackhawks scandal escalated to its peak late last month after Kyle Beach revealed himself as “John Doe One,” one of two sexual assault victims of former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich. The sexual assault is said to have occurred in May 2010, a mere month before the Blackhawks would capture their first Stanley Cup since 1961. This would start the dynasty that saw the winning of...
If you have only started watching basketball in the past five years, you may have noticed an intriguing set of moves developing throughout the league. Perennial MVP candidate James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets, previously of the Houston Rockets, used to set up at the three point line, drive, hook the defender’s arm into his, and immediately push his arms upwards into a shooting motion, effectively...
The Canadian feud mirrors the one seen in HBO’s Succession. Succession is an American television series about the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media entertainment conglomerate. Siblings Kendall, Roman, and Shiv all fight for control of the company as the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy, falls into decline. In Season One, Logan’s son...
A seemingly innocent phone call amongst friends launched one of Canada’s largest technology empires into chaos consumed by betrayal, sibling rivalry, deceit, and split family factions attempting to claim power. Over the course of a few weeks, the Rogers Communications board room has spun out of control and has had their dirty laundry aired in the middle of a twenty-six billion dollar merger...
A military coup d’état may have just killed Sudan’s democracy before it even got going. With the Prime Minister placed under arrest by military forces, the provisional government shepherding of the country towards democracy may be no more. The toppling of military-strongman Omar al-Bashir in 2019 appears to have been an interlude, rather than a conclusion, for a country that has spent most of the...
Some thoughts on tattoos in the workplace. My mother insisted that I wear long sleeves to my first day of law school. Yes, she is the protective kind that appreciates the opportunity to pick out what I wear because it brings us closer. It’s a shared moment and for this I truly appreciate her and the event. But hidden behind her good intentions are a collage of secrets which she, for my own good...
The misrepresentation of squalor made by the most privileged. From the time we were children, most of us dreamed of being something greater than the little pea-sized humans we were. For many, a vivid caricature of what we aspire to be was found in fiction, through fables that depicted heroes as the antithesis to evil and all that was wrong in the world. Heroes, however, are rarely free from...
I know the first time I felt black. Fourth grade, Ms. G’s class, reading a book around the carpet about the underground railroad. As Ms. G read aloud to everyone, enthusiastically accounting the description of the main character—female and black—one of the boys in my class turned around, pointed at me, and yelled, “like Dumkele!” I was stunned and embarrassed, but I laughed it off with everyone...
Welcome back to my personal blog (the Arts & Culture section of Obiter Dicta). It’s officially November, which means that hot weather is officially gone. We are swiftly transitioning from the sunny, fifteen-degree days of early autumn, to the gloomy five degree days that I believe are solely responsible for seasonal depression. I feel like Napoleon marching into Russia—it doesn’t seem that...
“Kendall Roy ordered the fennel salad and picked at it inquisitively.” That’s not my line—that’s straight from the character’s mouth in the latest episode of HBO’s Succession, when Kendall cheekily suggests that’s how a journalist can open her article about him. But it sets a fair barometer for where we find the Roy children early in the long-anticipated third season better than I could hope to:...
Welcome back to our preview of the NBA (National Basketball Association) season! We now turn to the West Coast and see which one of these powerhouse teams has the best chances to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June 2022. Los Angeles Lakers The year 2020 seems like a long time ago, and yet also as if it was just yesterday. During this time, the Lakers championship team has completely...
Criticisms on doping in sport shouldn’t stop at its most public figures, but extend to the system that allow for it. If you dope in a professional sport and lie about it, that says something about you. You were looking for a competitive edge and you were dishonest. If everyone dopes in a professional sport and lies about it, that says something about the sport. Lance Armstrong, past darling of...
The swift turn against the Raptor’s All-Star reflects society’s worst ills – Toronto can do better As Osgoode’s resident faithful Pascal Siakam fan, I have been recruited to write an article anticipating his return to the NBA after suffering a season-ending injury in May 2021. While I am eagerly waiting for his return, I cannot help but think of the terms on which he left last season. ...
As governments face mounting pressures to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy sources, global energy markets have encountered a post-pandemic supply shortage. As a result, while major economies have started to recover following the pandemic, energy demand has accelerated, resulting in a simultaneous spike in energy prices worldwide. As critical natural gas and oil markets have faced an...