American Idol: Professor Edition

For the last couple years, TV Ontario has broadcast a show where they search for "Ontario's Best Lecturer". The byline for the show reads:

10 lectures. 5 weeks. Reality TV with a high IQ.

The Best Lecturer for 2005 was Arne Kislenko, professor of History at Ryerson University. For a full list of the 2006 contestants, check this out.

I was a bit disappointed that none of the professors at Queen's Law School were nominated for the competition. Next year we're going to have to send in some video clips.

Kuddos to the students at Osgoode Hall for nominating their profs. The clip featuring Allan C. Hutchinson is quite entertaining. Apparently, he does this to every class at the beginning of the year. If you would like to know why he's doing what he's doing, shoot me a quick email.

Another School Year on the Horizon

You know the school year is getting close when you sign a new lease. My fiancée and I took a day trip to Kingston last weekend to check out apartments available for rent. There are many resources available online for those still looking for off-campus housing. Probably the most popular database is the Accommodation Listing Service provided by Queen’s. The SGPS has its own database that is small, but there are some noteworthy places that may appeal to graduate/law students. For those who are looking for a larger condo-type place, there are many property management companies in Kingston. I’ve been in contact with Keystone and Lamb Real Estate. For “affordable” apartment listings, you can try Homestead. There is also a list of other resources at this site under “Apartment rentals”.

If you haven’t rented in Kingston before, I would recommend staying within walking distance of the school. The law school is located in the north-west corner of campus (Alfred Street begins right in front of the school). In my first year, I lived in a house near the intersection of College & Brock and it was a bit of a hike (about 20 mins by foot). It was also quite far to grocery stores and pubs. Thankfully, I had a roommate with a car. In second year, I lived near Alfred & Princess and it was close to everything. This coming year, we’re moving downtown and I’m looking forward to getting our veggies at the farmer's market and spending more time on the water.

I found the first place by word of mouth. The second place was advertised over the law school listserv by another law student. We found this place using the Accommodation Listing Service.

If I correctly recall from Psyche 101, "moving" is on the list of Top Ten Stressful Events, right under "divorce". This will be my 25th move, so I'm not very concerned about it. We have our system pretty well established.

How many did you intend to send?

Tomorrow is the deadline for Toronto articling applications. Over the last year, we've heard many stories from upper year students who botched their applications, students who hit on partner's wives during the cocktail parties, and students who missed second interviews because of cell phone problems. At this stage, I have two questions. Here's the first one:

Q2

And here's my second question:

Balancing Work and Pleasure

My last few weeks have consumed by three things: articling applications, work and worldcup soccer. I finally sent off my piles of applications last night (technically this morning) and now I need a vacation. I'll be back in a week and I'll post more regularly for the rest of the summer.