Rotman is a demanding mistress, no doubt. But last night I was able to cast aside the book-learnin' for long enough to make it out to the movies. I've got to choose my movies carefully these days, as I get to see so few. Last nights selection was 21 Grams, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (a Mexican hombre directing his first firm in English)



and starring Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro. Outstanding performances by both of them - Sean Penn may be a traitor to his country, but I have to admit that the man can act. What makes the film different is the temporal sequence in which its presented. We've all seen the Tarantino-style presentation where he shows you the middle of the story first, goes back and shows the beginning, and then shows the end. Here, Iñárritu basically took the movie in sequential order, sliced the film into 1 minute blocks, shuffled blocks like a deck of cards and pasted the clips back together. Hard to picture until you see it, but it works. I give this one four thistles out of a possible five.

Having this blog is working out well so far. I'm saving time in a big way by not having to write an innumerable amount of e-mails back to people in Vancouver and different places when they ask "what's new?" When this happens, I just answer back "check the blog", in fact, I've saved a macro of "check the blog" so I don't even have to waste time with all those keystrokes. Also, I get practice with my writing on a semi-regular basis, and I get to tell you all what's what with pop culture - according to me.

I've read some half decent CD and DVD reviews, and recaps of certain outdoor hockey games on e-mail and in my comments section lately. My response to this is: why not start your own blog? Five to Ten minutes signing up with Blogger and presto, you too can publish to the web whenever you have something to say. I'm not the most computer-geeky guy around and I found it easy. If I was a certain Oilers fan, I would call my blog "Edmonblog - The First Ever Blog from Alberta" and put lots of cool 80's stuff on it. Think it over.

Got to love these unis:


I think the key to the big win over Montreal last night was the Canucks' pre-game prep. I sent my intern to Vancouver to cover the game for TAML - and he got into the dressing room. He says they cranked up "Slow Ride" by Foghat, shared a big cheese fondue and watched game tape of the Habs on a top-load VCR.

Can I get a "Hell, Yeah!'?

I think there might be 2 or 3 of you devoted TAML readers who are actually considering doing what I have done - flushing your entire net worth down the toilet in pursuit of a fancy piece of paper with your name and the letters MBA on it. For the benefit of those intrepid few, and whoever else may be interested, today I'll review my impressions so far of Rotman's Corporate connections Centre. The CCC are those folks at Rotman whose responsibility it is to see that we all - or as many of us as possible - get jobs. Now most of the recruiting activity for us first years takes place in January and February, so this is somewhat preliminary, but here we go. My evaluation of Rotman's Career Centre so for is excellent. After only about 2 months, we've had a number of recruiting functions where we've had a chance to meet and network with finance professionals. We have had a "resume round robin" where our resumes are reviewed and edited by HR professionals and alumni. I've taken part in a videotaped mock interview and reviewed the tape with a CCC rep. Next week I have an industry-specific mock interview, when a Rotman alum who is currently working in sales & trading will interview me for a ficticious trading position, and then coach me and provide feedback on how I did. Frankly, I don't see how I can ask for much more. The only criticisms of the CCC so far are coming from those who aren't looking to get into either finance or consulting (the "big two" here at Rotman). If your focus is marketing, or non-profit work or anything else, the CCC really isn't of all that much help. Fine by me, but frustrating, when you're paying $50k for your MBA.

In other news, like a bolt of lightning out of the clear sky, today is the long, long, long-awaited released of the extended version of "The Two Towers" a.k.a. Lord of the Rings Part 2 on DVD. I'm hitting HMV right after class today to pick this baby up. If you're like me, and you like all the little extras that come with DVDs, you must own it. It's got 4 full-length commentaries, 5 documentaries, an interactive map of Middle-Earth, behind the scenes stuff about Gollum and the battle at Helm's Deep, etc, etc. Based on the Fellowship of the Ring DVD and the reviews I've read for TTT, this DVD will be special. Tonight, the books will be put aside and I'll be spending 3 1/2 hours or so with the Hobbits.

In yet another completely unrelated item, Kevin's mom has discovered his blog. Here's an excerpt:

"Mom loves hearing every boring detail of her kids' lives," he said.
"She'd want to know what I'm eating for dinner every night, if she
could. This blog is like porn for her."

I like to think this blog is pretty mom-friendly, I try to keep the talk about all the orgies I participate in and my snowballing cocaine habit to a minimum. You know I'm kidding, right Mom?

Couldn't think of a funny way to work this photo in, but I love it so much that I just had to post it. If anyone can think of a funny caption, leave it in the comments section:

Amiens, Cambrai, Passchendaele, Somme, Vimy Ridge,
Ypres, Dieppe, Normandy, Juno Beach, Scheldt
Lest We Forget

It's been nothing but good times around here lately. The Canucks are the number one team in the NHL, the stock market has been treating me right and I'm kicking ass with my grades at Rotman.

I know the Wings fans that lurk* on this blog would tell me not to get too excited about the Canucks yet, and they're probably right. In fact, I'm probably jinxing all of the above by bringing it up like this. But sometimes the only thing you can say is "dy-no-mite."

For those who have been asking about the CN Tower stair climb, I climbed the tallest building on the planet, all 1776 steps in 17:46. More importantly, our Rotman team raised over $4100 for the United Way - so thanks again to everyone who pitched in.

As I mentioned, everything at school is great - with the possible exception of my first year study group - which is turning into a bit of a gong show. Only a business school would throw people from different backgrounds and different continents together at random and expect them to put their egos and their control freakiness aside to function as a cohesive unit on complex projects.


* A lurker is someone who reads TAML, but does not leave comments.

Here we are the day after Halloween - All Hallow's Day. I hope everyone had a good one. By all reports, the best Halloween party east of the Playboy Mansion last night went down on Chrome Bolt Drive in Detroit Rock City. TAML sent a correspondent down to cover the festivities, but the last I heard from him was around midnite when he was strung up by his heels over a bonfire in Jay's driveway. The Chrome Bolt people were dancing around him and chanting and throwing hockey pucks at him. As of this morning his whereabouts are still unknown, and we are all praying for his safe return. I told the guy not to go down there dressed as a midget clown, but he just wouldn't listen.



My jack o'lantern this year was perhaps not my best effort. He was a little rushed. He was semi-evil, quasi-evil, he was the diet coke of evil. Just one calorie - not evil enough!

Today I'm going to watch Keith test for his black belt in Tae-bo. Buddy's gonna be breaking boards and concrete with his head and stuff. I understand for the finale they blindfold him, give him a light sabre, and this hovering robot fires lasers at him from point blank range. I'm hearing Billy Blanks will be there too so I'm psyched. Will Keith pass? Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future. Light beer, salad? A jedi craves not these things.

And finally......



are you feeling lucky punk? Well, are you?

Glad to hear all's well in London.