Radio Silence…

Tags

bar exams, barrister, Byzantine Legal Traditions, Sherlock, solicitor

I’ve been feeling a little sad that I haven’t had a chance to cruise through all my webspaces too much of late–no vists to Twitter, a very little bit of Facebook checking (but not much)… and no blog updates. This last, I’ve been particularly sad about, as I’ve been all proud of my “usually once a week or more frequent” posting pattern, which has lasted since last August or so.

I managed to sustain it through the last year of law school and some busy times–but the bar exams have defeated me and I have broken my streak. Though I’ve thought longingly of the blog, I’m sad to say that much of the past few weeks have just been me, ~2000 pages of dense material,* and the looming prospect of two seven-hour exams, two weeks apart. I gotta say, these past weeks haven’t been fun.

Any spare time has been spent with family (this, at least, *has* been fun), so that they actually remember what I look like when I emerge, blinking and bleary-eyed, from the bat-caves of my study environs and examination halls, after the last of the two exams.

Ten things I love about Toronto

Falconer Hall, one of the two buildings of the law school, taken on my last day, just after I handed in my final, written assignment.

In a few months, I’ll be moving back to a smaller town, having spent much of the past several years in the wonderful city of Toronto. I’m really going to miss this place. It’s been a fantastic city in which to live and to study. I’ve loved exploring the different neighbourhoods and taking in the urban experience. Of course, it’s not perfect–like all urban centres, Toronto has its share of poverty and homelessness, a little bit of which I glimpse on a daily basis. But it also has a caring and passionate citizenry, friendly people, an amazing transit system (which I have used for the past 5 years for all my commuting within the city–I hate city driving), and a vibrant scene that includes all different styles of visual and performing arts, music… the list goes on.

Though the city where I’m moving is not far up the road, visiting the T-dot is simply not the same as living here. So, as part of my process of saying goodbye, I’ll be writing a few posts featuring the spaces and facets of this city that I love. And, how better to kick off the series, then with a list (in no particular order) of some of my favourite aspects of the city–just a small list of the places and characteristics that I’ve come to love about this place, during the time that I’ve been lucky enough to live here:

My Daguerrotype Boyfriend…

Alas, no time for a substantial post this week, as I’m in the throes of exams and final papers. Still, when this site popped up on my FB feed, I couldn’t resist, as the blog represents the convergence of so many of my interests. Photography, for instance. And history.

And wow… that Brahms. I do love his music.

My Daguerreotype Boyfriend, Johannes Brahms, circa 1853, age 20. 

Last Day of Law School

Falconer Hall, on the morning of my last day of law school.

Today was my last day of classes. Exams are still ahead, but this is the last day of the main routine–the notes, the readings and the daily life of a student.

I’m really going to miss it. Not all of it, of course. Not the deliverables–the arbitrary exams and essays that we all have to write as indicators of our learning. But the learning itself–that I love. I have loved the engagement with the world of ideas–both inside and outside of the classroom.

I have loved the discussions with my fellow students, both about stuff from class, but also about world events. I don’t know how much time I’ll have, as a full-time lawyer, to engage with questions of policy, law, and politics, that I’ve been able to do here. I’ve loved having the opportunity to discuss these issues with my classmates, so many of whom are not merely well informed, but also deeply engaged by such questions. It will never be this effortless to hang out with this particular group of fun and interesting people–from now on, it will take planning.

Law school has its stresses, no question, and first year in particular was insane. But the upper years of law school have been different. It’s been a good way to live (aside from the whole being broke and deeply in debt from tuition part, of course). Today marks the end of this chapter of my life. I’m definitely going to miss it, and will be thinking back on it with fondness and with awareness of how lucky I’ve been to have gotten to study this material at this great school, with these amazing fellow students and profs.

And so begins the push–through exams and final essays, followed by the weeks of bar exam prep. Wish me luck!

The Existential Horror of “Let Me In”

Tags

chloe moretz, john ajvide lindqvist, let me in, let the right one in, matt reeves

I recently saw both the Swedish and English language adaptations of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel Let the Right One In, which I’ll admit that haven’t actually read–yet.

I’ll focus primarily on the English language version, which I saw first, but many of my comments apply to both films. Also: be warned, while I don’t give away any specific plot twists or revelations, some of my comments may provide hints that make it easier to guess at those twists–not exactly a spoiler warning, but just a heads up. This isn’t so much a review of the film, as a commentary on the construct of the vampire and the haunting, poignant, and somehow resonant way in which that concept is treated.

This is the first movie I’ve seen, since Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu, that has sought to evoke the idea that the blood-drinking yearnings of the vampire is just a corollary to the true, profoundly existential horror of such a creature, and the isolation that arises out of its fundamental nature. These aren’t hip, sparkle-in-the-sunlight, hang out with their ersatz vampire family type creatures.

Kindle: the Unexpected Game-Changer

Tags

kindle, kindle touch

A few stolen moments, sitting on a smoothed out piece of driftwood by the lake, reading my kindle and thoroughly enjoying the sunshine--particularly since the device's display isn't competing with it, but is instead clear and easy to read.

Okay, so the title of the post makes it seem like it’s about five years too late. We all know the Kindle has changed all kinds of games and–for now, at least–is keeping up with the game-changing action, in ways that are sometimes more freeing for authors (in relation to gatekeeper/publishers) and in other ways more restrictive and monopolistic (in relation to choice of distribution channels and options for selling).

Such topics have been discussed exhaustively. So instead, I propose to add to the large body of posts about the personal process of acquiring and using an e-reader–and in particular, a Kindle.

Why the Kindle?

As a Canadian, I did feel a little disloyal. The Kobo touch is a pretty slick little device, and was at the vanguard in its particular form factor. But none of my research (including exploring the device itself on a couple of occasions) seemed to reveal a function that would allow me to make annotations and highlights and then export them and use them elsewhere.* For me, this was important, because I wanted to be able to load up my writing on the device and read it on the kind of interface a consumer would experience–but with the added ability to mark it up so that if I found typos, or wanted to delete things or make notes to self about revisions, then I could do that easily and quickly. Kindle could do this, and nothing I could determine about the Kobo allowed for it (nor Sony etc.).

Low Battery Warning

Tags

depletion, exhaustion, how to replenish

In our modern life of electronic devices both wonderful and infernal (depending on who’s doing the talking), it’s a caution we’re used to getting. The telltale beep, or simply the warning image on our smartphones: a thin, red band showing that the battery in our device is almost out of juice. We need to plug in, recharge and restore.

That’s been me of late–and I’m not talking about warnings from my innumerable gadgets. Something deep inside me has been giving me low battery warnings for a while, thanks to the demands of law school, a Christmas “vacation” that involved trying to get my novel ready for publication, editing work for an important charity I’m involved with, preparation for the mock trial “moot” that I’d be doing in January for school, and wonderful, delightful visits with friends and family out west. The visits were such a joy, but for an introvert like me, they also took their toll (I’m using “introvert” in the Meyers-Briggs sense, as someone like me, who may love people and being social, but who recharges during solitary moments).

A Different Kind of Valentine

Tags

angiogram, cardiac, love, strong hearts, triple bypass surgery, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Week

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt; used under a Creative Commons License

The day after that oh-so-notorious, greeting-card-company-created celebration of love, desire, and the burnings & yearnings of the human heart, my father-in-law went in for a routine angiogram, to check the status of his heart. There had been a couple of occasions in recent months when he had experienced pain and restricted breathing that had, fortunately, subsided after a few moments.

Still, he figured he’d best check it out. He mentioned it casually, during a visit, and tried to dissuade my husband from giving him a ride, insisting it was nothing to worry about.

My husband and I, meanwhile, were packing and preparing for a romantic getaway from the grey and skeletal Ontario winter, during my mid-semester break. We had used the funds from the sale of a VW van we were no longer going to have time to use, and were all primed to fly down south, to sample some of the Cuban delicacies in Miami, before boarding a relaxing cruise that would whisk us away to Arruba and Curacao, among other such glamorous locales.

But, as we all know, the heart sometimes has other plans: in this case, my father in law’s–and indeed, our own–as we learned the shocking news.

Jane Eyre and On Being Plain

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Cary Fukunaga, Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, on being plain

Just watched the most recent iteration of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska as the eponymous Jane and Michael Fassbender as Rochester.

It’s funny how so many of these adaptations of classics are becoming like Shakespeare–it’s a matter of comparing renditions, productions, and portrayals of the well-known and beloved characters, rather than seeking the definitive version.

One of the things that struck me this time was the notion of plainness and how that must have been a significant protection for women of little means at the time. If you were thrust into the role of dependent (or, of course, servant) and were attractive, then I suspect that the world would have been a dangerous place indeed. The minority of women in that situation would have been lucky enough to get a marriage offer. And in the mean time, attracting the attention of the husband or the son of the household would have led to possible rape and brutalization, as well as ruination and disgrace. In a world where women had little autonomy and almost no legal agency, they would have had to walk a very fine line indeed.

Being plain would have served as something of a shield in such situations. Presenting yourself as nondescript, and fading into the background would have been the safest option in such times, I would think. Someone who attracts neither the amorous attentions of the men nor the rivalrous resentments of the women would at least have survived in such adverse and oft-challenging circumstances. That kind of invisibility would have been an advantage in other ways as well–it would have allowed an astute observer to learn a good deal about the dynamics of the interactions and relationships between the people who had power over her finances and her life.

The original “Man on a Ledge”?

Tags

"My Winnipeg", LedgeMan, Man on a Ledge

We saw the trailer for “Man on a Ledge” a few days ago, and my husband reminded me of its possible precursor: “LedgeMan”, the show within a show, from Guy Maddin’s bizarre, surreal, funny, and poignant film “My Winnipeg”.

“My Winnipeg” is one of those movies that makes you feel an elusive, underlying sense of sadness and poignancy, even as you laugh at the humour and absurdity of the imagery. It’s not a particularly coherent narrative, but is also quite wonderful in the imagined history and fantastical mythologies it builds around Winnipeg. If you’re an art film type, it’s definitely worth checking out.