It's a hard Hobbit to Break.

Nice to see City of God and 21 Grams get props from The Acadamy, but where is Sean Astin's supporting actor nomination for RoTK?

I don't know who will win SuperBowl XXXVIII, but be smart and take the under - no way these teams will score a combined 38 points. I've also got my money on Team Euphoria in the Lingerie Bowl. Is the Lingerie Bowl demeaning to women you might ask? No. (they are well padded and its voluntary) Is it demeaning to football? Perhaps. Dwayne, I dare you to leave a comment.

Today is Robbie Burns Day. To help get you in the mood to celebrate, I'm posting the lyrics to the song from which this blog takes its name: The Old Sod by Spirit of the West. It references Robbie Burns, tartan, t-towels, and various brands of scotch - what could be more Scottish?

Robbie Burns Day should, in my opinion, be elevated to the status of St. Patrick's Day. Who would object to another holiday where drinking is the main focus? Burns was a hero for the people - a simple peasant farmer who wrote from the heart. So move over Chinese New Year and time to get off the late-January holiday mountaintop MLK - make way for Burns! Well, I'm off to the pub for a Famous Grouse neat.

The Old Sod

from the old sod to the new land we came over by the score
we cut the ties said goodbye and closed the old world door
we settled on our praries in your cities and your towns
there's another oatmeal savage every time you turn around

there's none more Scots than the Scots abroad
there's a place in our hearts for the old sod
there's none more Scots than the Scots abroad
there's a place in our hearts for the old sod

we soon found our own kind, formed clubs and social nights
and we practised on each other just to keep our accents right
for there's more tartan here than in all the motherland
we came 5000 miles to the gathering of the clans

there's a bar in the rec room in the basement of our house
a little shrine to Ballantynes haig and famous grouse
there's a sprig of purple heather from the land that once was mine
and Robbie's on the t-towel with the words to Auld Lang Syne

Canada's been good to us we've a living and a home
we've all got central heating and most are on the phone
i'm a citizen of both countries and I'm very proud to be
the thistle and the maple leaf are the emblems of the free

there's none more Scots than the Scots abroad
there's a place in our hearts for the old sod
there's none more Scots than the Scots abroad
there's a place in our hearts for the old sod

Jay's boy Howard Dean blew a major gasket last night. He sure does know the names of a lot of states though.

This is the most entertaining and engaging I can ever remember the U.S. primaries being.

It's another addition of TAML coming to you direct from Toronto, the city where a touque is more than just a fashion statement. It was -25 degrees this morning. The weather gods were clearly displeased by my previous post.

We are back in the groove at Rotman after the Christmas break, and one of the things that strikes me was the quantity and intensity of the networking that was going on upon our return. The fact that we had been seperated from one another for just 2 weeks didn't seem to slow anyone down. It is generally known that one of the major assets you leave b-school with is the network you've established with your classmates, but this seems to be an especially savvy group when it comes to networking. They understand the concept of reciprocity and they understand the idea that people like those like them, who like them. This one guy at Rotman guy is like a networking rolodex. He runs into me at school the other day and off the top of his head he says "Don, let's chat for a minute, we haven't talked since the second week in December when we discussed topics for our Negotiations paper. How was Christmas? Did you go back to Vancouver? Are you keeping up with your running?..." Meanwhile I'm trying to remember his name.

It's been a busy week on the summer internship search front. New summer jobs are now being posted at the Career Centre with encouraging regularity. Wednesday night UBS Securities had a recruiting reception, and Thursday night RBC Capital Markets held their reception. This morning I went to see the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada talk at "The National Club" downtown, where I did, guess what - networking. The wheels are in motion.

Elsewhere, President Bush is set to announce a manned mission to Mars.



What are the implications for the conspiracy theorists, those of you that don't believe we ever landed on the moon?

Here's something funny that made me laugh today. It combines all the hilarity of "Engrish" with a cool diagram. The diagram reminds me a little to much of all the "models" I'm learning about at Rotman. In case you are having any trouble following the logic, the diagram clears it all up.