Did anybody else see Brittney Spears kiss Madonna on last night's MTV Music Video Awards?!? It stopped the whole show right in it's tracks. You're thinking to yourself "Did that just happen?" Blows TATU right out of the water as far as I'm concerned. If I ever meet Brittney in real life, I'm going to get all Chris Farley on her. It'll go like this:

Me: Remember that time when, like, you umm, you and Madonna kissed on the umm MTV MMVAs?
BS: Yes
Me: That was, like, like.... that was awesome!!!
Me: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid (punching forehead)

Anyways, I'm off to Calgary for the long weekend. Everybody have a good one.

I used to think my favourite character on Clone High was JFK. But now I think it just might be the robot butler/vice-principal/dehumidifier. If for some reason you still haven't seen this show - get hip. If you are already hip, go here and sign the petition to keep Clone High on the air. (This post inspired by The Sports Guy's periodic "Ramblings" columns)

S'up with this? Sounds like its time for a good old fashioned hippie ass-whooping.

The worst gimmick band of all time. I vaguely remember these guys, though now I'm wishing I didn't. As if the Village People weren't bad enough, TAML gives you... THE ALL-SPORTS BAND!!!

OK by now you've heard the news - massive blackouts back east. Biggest blackout in the history of North America. As for me, I was without power for about 22 hours. But at least I wasn't stuck in an airport or an elevator.

The complex where I'm living consists of three highrise buildings that share a large common courtyard with grass and trees and a fountain. The managers threw a bar-b-q for all the residents (planned long before the blackout) nobody had anywhere else to go so the turnout was pretty good. The bar-b-q deteriorated later into a latenight party (again, nothing else to do) complete with tiki torches, music, drinxxx and fountain swimming. A good way to get to know your neighbours.

Sounds like Toronto handled the situation with a lot of class - volunteers directing traffic in the street, people checking on their neighbours to make sure they were OK, etc. etc. A few gas stations took the opportunity to gouge people by raising their gas prices from the mid-sixties to a dollar a litre. The laws of supply and demand in action

Gothamist has some great pix of NYC.

Can't help but wonder why we haven't heard anything from Cretien during all this - a time when our leaders should be stepping forward.

This evening Thistle and Maple Leaf is very proud to be joined by the Dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Roger Martin:

DH: Dean, thanks for being here.

Dean Martin: Thanks for having me buddy.

DH: You're Dean Martin. Don't people give you a hard time over that?

Dean Martin: No, why?

DH: Well you know, because of that boozy rat-pack crooner.

Dean Martin: Grow up.

DH: Sorry. Let me ask you this then: Why do you get to be Dean? Why not Gordon Downie or The Raptor?

Dean Martin: Well, I received my MBA from Harvard in '81...

DH: MMMmm Hmmmm

Dean Martin: I was a Director of Monitor Company with responsibility for 700 consultants worldwide. I founded and chaired Monitor University, the firm's educational arm, served as co-head of the firm for two years, and founded the firm's Canadian office.

DH: That's pretty good - I guess.

Dean Martin: My research interests lie in the areas of global competitiveness, integrative thinking, and organizational learning. I have written Harvard Business Review articles in 1993, 2002 and 2003, and my first book, was published in October, 2002. I write extensively on Canadian competitiveness policy in The Globe and Mail, National Post and Time magazine. I am is currently chair of the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. I serve as a Director on the boards of Thomson Corporation, Celestica Inc, Ontario Superbuild Corporation and....

DH: OK OK, you get to be Dean. Let me get on with what I really want to ask you. I'm paying Rotman over $50,000 in tuition, I'm foregoing almost 2 years of salary and I'm uprooting my whole life to move to Toronto and study here. What makes you think that a Rotman MBA will be worth that kind of commitment?

Dean Martin: Well Don, at Rotman we are redesigning business education to produce the leaders organizations need to win in the new millennium. Rotman students are trained just blocks from Bay Street, in the heart of Canada's business capital. Students who come to Rotman are among their generation's most promising knowledge assets, they combine intellectual and professional accomplishment with leadership and contribution to their communities. Once here students learn in small, intimate classes where they are immersed in a demanding, innovative curriculum taught by the most distinguished business school faculty in the country.

DH: Ummm, that's not really the answer I'm looking for. That sounds like its right out of the Rotman promotional material.

Dean Martin: Well actually....

DH: Let's cut the crap. Let's talk about money. I noted when I first started getting interested in an MBA that the average starting salary for a Rotman MBA was $102,000 per year. I see that number was down somewhat over the past year. According to the most recent numbers and my old salary, I estimate my payback period to be 5.2 years. After that the degree will have paid for itself and I'll be in the black.

Dean Martin: Sounds like you've done your homework.

DH: Well, yeah, its a big decision. So what's your real answer?

Dean Martin: Let me turn the question around on you. What made you choose Rotman? Why did you think it would be worth such a sacrifice?

DH: The way I see it, we've reached a point where just having an MBA is no guarantee you will land the job of your dreams. Today you need a "name brand" MBA. Now, going to study in the States didn't make a whole lot of sense because I'd be paying my tuition in U.S. dollars. The only way that made sense would be if I could get into a school like Stanford or Wharton, where you are all but guaranteed the job of your choice when you graduate. That left Canada, and the two top programs in Canada are Toronto and Western Ontario. I know it, you know it, the Canadian people know it, businessweek even knows it.

Dean Martin: So it came down to a choice between UofT and UWO (Rotman & Ivey)?

DH: That's right Dean.

Dean Martin: So what tipped the scales in favour of Rotman?

DH: Several things. First of all, Rotman is known more as a finance school, and Ivey more for management consulting. My interest has always been in finance, so that was strike one for Ivey. Living in Toronto appealed to me much more than living in London - and not just for the networking opportunities - strike two. Finally, when I visited Rotman last year their state of the art Financial Research and Trading Lab just blew me away - strike three.

Dean Martin: Sounds like you've answered your own question.

DH: Whatever. Anyways, thanks for dropping by TAML for a chat, you're welcome at my blog anytime.

Dean Martin: Thanks Don, I'll see you around at Rotman this fall.

DH: I'll hit your eye like a big pizza pie.

Dean Martin: Still not funny.