The results are in

I got my results from my first semester courses.

Good news- I don't have to resit any exams.
The great news- I got an unexpected second class honors in Accounting (I got second class honors in other courses too, but that one totally shocked me).

The two I was having nightmares about: Business Economics and Financial Reporting; passed. That means all goals were met!

Rank Findings

Financial Times has released its 2006 ranking of MBA programs.

They demoted the Smurfs 3 spots, which isn't as big a deal as our main rivals- the MBA program across town at Trinity College rose 13 spots to beat us out! My classmates are understandably incensed!!

How dare they?? Now not only do they have the Book of Kells- they also have the strongest MBA program in Ireland!

OK- they may take our prestige, but they can never take the Smurf name from us... and we have a nicer campus. *indignant snort*

To all my Schulich friends- Mozel tov on breaking the top 20! About time we got a Canadian School up there!

AGGGHH! A Erudite!

I watched Land of the Dead the other day. Actually- it was over the course of a couple of days during my supper break. Eating breaks are the only time I am not studying (I am eating breakfast right now)- oh and when I'm exercising...

(Mmmm! Pineapple yogurt!)

George A. Romero is famous for his political or social critical horror films. In Dawn of the dead- the zombies masses all fell over each other to gain entrance to a mall. All of them falling over each other to consume! "Must... get... to GAP.... Chinos on sale... then Pottery Barn... for hundred dollar useless chachkas."

The Land of the dead- the well heeled and privileged had access to Fiddler's Fields- a high rise luxury resort-condo with a decidedly Zombie-Free resident roster- I don't think there were any black residents either... It was several years since people started turning into mindless Zombies, and they were kept outside the town, a town where people lived in less splendor than in the condo. For them- Kabul would be a place to go on a honeymoon (rimshot, please).

Anyways- Horror ensues when zombies start self-actualizing and thinking for themselves... then they take some negotiations courses and are able to talk their way into the town where they then proceed to feast on the inhabitants...

The movie isn't what I wanted to discuss- it's the message I got from it- so just see the movie yourself if you haven't already.

It is my conjecture that the Fiddler Field's residents represent the societal consumer ideal, the zombies questing for this ideal mindlessly represent us (the societal us) in our pursuits for material excess.

Hmmm..... Very profound. Now if you'll excuse me- I have to go eat some brains before class...

Flame Wars in the Comments box

Stolen from the comments of last week's blog...
I love a good argument.

4 Comments:

mom4shelby said...
canada has now officially got the u.s's dick in their mouth. might as well stay where you are.
7:50 PM

Mike said...
I don't think it's as bad as your message conveys you think it is, but it's my conjecture that you don't really think it's that bad either. Canadians didn't vote for an American government- they voted for a more right of centre Canadian Government. While it may smack of Republicanism to some- there are still disparate values that make the US very different from Canada.

Also- what's wrong with being a good neighbor the most powerful and free nation on earth? The war of 1812 is over! Move on! :P
8:24 AM

mom4shelby said...
for some reason canada can't be friends with the states without looking like...how did they refer to us....their retarded cousin. i hate that we are condescended and patted on the head. "there there canada. it's ok. we'll take care of it." my views and opinions may not be rational and teem with juvenile ignorance, however, it remains that i have never been prouder of my political leader when he refused to cow to u.s pressures re: softwood. martin showed some balls. harper will be handed his.
2:23 PM


Mike said...
Katie- your view is not atypical. It's so common, in fact it's addressed in some travel journals.

It's the Canadian US inferiority complex. To be fair- the Irish have the same complex vis a the UK, New Zealand vis a Australia, and Austria vis a Germany. I'm certain anywhere you have two close neighbors- one bigger, more powerful or at least more salient than the other- the inferiority complex forms. Humans by nature are somewhat cabalistic or cliquish. Rivalries are a truism, even among nations with the strongest bonds.
2:42 PM

Electing Courses

The new semester has commenced and after nearly a month of vacation (save for assignments) the common theme in the class is trouble getting geared back up.

In addition to the regular core courses- Strategic Management, Corporate Finance, Operations, and International Business- we are all going our separate ways for electives. I have signed up for Strategic marketing, Negotiations, Entrepreneurship and project management (I think I said this already in previous posts).

The courses have now started and they are interesting, stimulating and genuinely enjoyable.

Something that's boring me right now is the election. *yawn*. As if not electing those crooked lying thieving cheating Grits is going to change anything drastic. Replacing them with the crooked lying thieving cheating Tories is a solution? Replacing one element with another element that the same except for one key difference; ethical and moral bankruptcy (referring to Tories) is not a operational solution! But I guess that's just my own personal view- and the administration is elected based on common wants and priorities, showing once again that ethics and morality is not a priority that the masses choose.

I can't really complain that much- after all; I didn't opt for the elective course this semester titled Business Ethics.

Photo-journal has arrived!

I have a good 35 pictures commemorating my family's visit to Dublin. Because of the nature of the internet- (read: internet crazies and stalkers abound) I am not including pictures of my family. Just me- and of Dublin...

Not the oldest church- but I thought it certainly had great charm.

Dublinia the Interactive Museum. I am wearing the helmet and shield and I feel like the Black Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail. "It's just a flesh wound!"

I like the Urban streetscape of Dublin.

It's not exactly Frank Lloyd Wright or I.M. Pei or Gaudi, but it has an old world charm to it- and It's certainly both functional and aesthetic.

Lucky little Canadian Jew

Well- here it is- the final non-weekend day before school starts up again.

I have already started my course preparations reading a chapter on International Business and Strategic management and am muddling my way through a couple of articles on strategy.

Truth be told- classes actually start today with the Friday Lecture of Media in the 21st century- an elective that I passed on, so several of my classmates will be converging on the management Campus later- while I flee the management campus for rugby practice. Perhaps playing rugby isn't the wisest decision of activity for Friday the 13th, but then I remember that I am indeed not a Knight of the Templar (not that I can admit in the open forum), so I probably will be safe.

I am having an awesome time reading Plot against America by Philip Roth. I probably will have less time to read it come Monday. Something I realized while reading it is that I miss my Jewish connection. Back in North America I was surrounded by fellow yids, and ensured participation in the community by attending religious services every Friday for Kabbalat Shabbat (That's welcoming the Sabbath for those not up on their Hebrew). I sent an email to the rabbi this week and touched base.

He told me that I missed, and encouraged me to seek out and hook up with other Jews... There are two other ancestral Jews in the program with me. Well- depending on your interpretation of ancestral- they are patrimonial derived, which makes their Judaism moot by some interpretations of Jewish law. At any rate- I am participating in some very Jewish activities- corporate finance for example and have found a large spring of klezmer music online that I listen to while I study whenever I need a dose of Judaism, just like whenever I need my dose of Canadiana I listen to Neko Case and read the Globe and Mail online. Looks like the crooks are going to win the election coming up... No- not those crooks- the other ones-

And of course Canadians are polarized and indignant about the whole process... However if we want true leadership in the country; non-crooked, non-partisan process with high levels of participation- we're going to need more than luck.

To Scott or to Jew? As long as it's not finance...

OK- I know I just made a post less then 20 minutes ago- but that was all about my week while my family visited. Here is more about me!

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and finished watching 24 yesterday- so today I was faced with a choice. State of Fear by Michael Crichton or The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth.

Crichton or Roth? The Tall Scot or the Perverted Jew? One is famous for his books about Giant Lizards wreaking havoc. The other is famous for his books about Giant boobs wreaking perversion.

One's book was made into a movie about a corporate conspiracy to keep a Wharton MBA from cashing in when his company went IPO due to a product that went to market through his efforts, the other wrote a book about a Liberal Arts College Dean with a Ivy league PhD who conspired to keep his past under wraps through shame of turning his back on his heritage...

One book is a tour de force work met with critical acclaim by reviewers about Terrorists releasing a virus on the population. The other is a Tour de force work met with critical acclaim by reviewers about an Aviator turned President releasing terror through alliances with a disease called Nazism.

I'll read perverted Jew now and leave tall Scott for bedtime reading during the semester.

And I've all but abandoned Swiss banker murder mystery... I think I've reached a satiation point with Finance for now, at least in pleasure reading. Corporate Finance starts a week Thursday, so I better not have reached a point of satiety with finance altogether, or I'll be in big trouble!

5 Days in Dublin in 3 minutes

Met Sandra at Starbucks on Wednesday morning, and we walked around downtown- had lunch at Elephant and Castle (No- it's not affiliated with the Brit pub chain in North America). Then after walking around some more- checking out bookstores, we were getting tired, so we Sandra into the Hotel and watched Rugby until my father and his wife (Louise) called and said they checked in. We went for dinner at a Pizza and Pasta restaurant off Grafton St.

The next day we ate breakfast at the hotel and got tickets for a bus tour of Dublin. We hopped off at the The Modern Art Gallery and saw some great art! All of it was fantastic!!! There's an Art Gallery in Toronto down on Queen West that me and the Beady Eyed One visited after brunch one day which has some really boring Modern Art, trite and pretentious- but this place in Dublin was absolutely wonderful!

We then had lunch in Temple Bar (an area, not a Temple or a Bar) and went to Christ Church Cathedral to tour the oldest Crypt in UK and Erie.

We had Sushi dinner that night. Certainly not up to par with Takana on Yonge North of St.Clair, but this was about as good as Dublin sushi got- which just goes to show the old adage is true: "Leprechauns Fuck up Japanese cuisine!!!"

The next day we went to the National Museum of Ireland which got us all hungry for Medieval and Viking time history so we made plans to attend another Museum the next day called Dublinia. That afternoon we took it easy and went to Blackrock (my Village) and toured my room and had dinner in town before sending them back to the Hotel.

The next day- New Years Eve Day we went to Dublinia and then we all separated and Sandra, Dad and I went to Bad Ass cafe for lunch- then Sandra and I went to the National Art Gallery. Then I passed out until dinner (which we had in the hotel restaurant). After dinner- Sandra and I went for a walk on Grafton St. and watched all the pretty young things go off to their bashes. We just returned to the hotel and watched CSI on Sandra's laptop. I stayed in the Hotel that night.

The next morning Dad and Louise left early and Sandra left later (different flights at different times in different directions), and I stumbled exhaustedly back to Blackrock and slept...

So- now I've seen the Tourist side of Dublin. When do I start feeling like a resident?

Laziness with Intensity

I’m loving my time off.

Now that I’m done my assignments as well- I’m enjoying my lethargy… more or less.

I’m not wasting away into a blissful acedia, as there are always things that need to be done- and frankly- I’m not certain I’m a lie around kinda guy. So- I am just enjoying reading tons- I am devouring a novel or two a week.

	The Kite Runner Surprised me and shocked me just how wonderful it could be. It's veridical, and beautiful, and shameful, and sublime. It gave me a real apreciation for all the characters- they seemed tangible and material. The plot was meaty and eventful with plot twists that sometimes hurt worse than Beady Eyed's nipple twists...
	What can I say about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime? I have never related so deeply to a book character... except Rainman... It's laugh out loud funny and a great read- also gives you a new perspective on special needs people and how society treats them.
	Samson (his blog at the side) has lent me Season 2 of 24. I've never seen it before, but it didn't take long to get addicted to it! All I can say is that the hype is well deserved! And Jack Bauer- any man that can survive getting kidnapped by militia, kidnapped by his wife's murder (after he saves her, no less) a plane crash, a nuclear explosion, getting tortured to death only to be brought back to life- all on the day he shaves off his beard... well- Let me put this way "Note to self- Don't fuck with Jack Bauer..." Um- sorry if i spoiled the plot for anyone there...

So- yeah- I had an awesome time with the Family last week in Dublin. I went into town every day and spent the day with them and shuttled back at night. We saw amazing museums, and took in the cultural side of Ireland. More than just Leprechauns and drunks, ya know... More about that next post...