I think it was on that satirical Stats Canada Twitter account that I read: "90% of Canadians watch the Oscars just so they can point out who is Canadian." Funny? Yes. True? Most likely. We've got that patriotism thing down pat here in Canada, and why not? There are some mega talented people rising from far and wide out of the True North strong and free. We, with glowing hearts, claim them as our patriots.When I watched the Oscars this weekend, you can bet I was on Canada watch... And Toronto watch... And UofT watch. No, I don't think there were any UofT alumni accepting awards that night, but UofT itself is connected to the night's big winner. That's right! Parts of Spotlight were filmed right here on our stomping ground! Specifically, Liev Schreiber's character attended a meeting in the beautiful Oak Room at the Newman Centre and Mark Ruffalo's character hung out at St. Basil's during one of the film's most poignant moments.Picture credit: http://torontoist.com/2016/01/reel-toronto-spotlight/Over the years, UofT has played host to a ton of great films. David Fleischer wrote an article for UofT Magazine listing some of the most popular, including Mean Girls, Good Will Hunting, Cocktail, Pacific Rim, Resident Evil: Afterlife, andTotal Recall, among others. Do you recall a car getting flipped over during the filming of Total Recall? I decided, in honour of UofT being put in the spotlight by Spotlight, I would list some more of our lovely university's star turns.
Every now and again, during my midday campus dashes, I’ll cut through Philosopher’s Walk behind Trinity College which opens up on Bloor Street at the north end.
Philosopher’s Walk during the summer is a sight for sore eyes. photo courtesy of previous blogger Cynthia
Unpopular opinion: I am not a fan of Subway. Or perhaps it’s just that I’ve been there so many times while on campus that the prospect of having to eat one more chicken teriyaki sub makes my stomach curdle.
There's more to campus food life than muffins and pizza! Check out http://ueat.utoronto.ca/ for ongoing food events, like free Vegan Breakfast or this annual Mac 'N' Cheese Smackdown!
Did you know that aside from the usual Starbucks, Spring Rolls, and Subway (i.e. The Holy Trifecta), U of T actually has quite a number of alternative food options for the studious library-goer in search of their next meal? If you’re sick of buying from the same places all the time, consider some of these if you haven’t already:
With the passing of reading week, somewhat begrudgingly, this past Monday marked the restart of classes. While the break definitely provided a much-needed period of rest, trying to get back into a school mindset the past couple of days has been quite the challenge. When we were in high school, spring break was the closest equivalent, but the difficulty levels of the courses puts the re-adjustment period on a level of its own.
The human body is a remarkable construction. It’s strong, powerful, capable and — unless you’re me — resilient more often than not. With all this talk of being physically active and trying new things, I thought it was time for a post addressing risk, how to minimize it and what happens when despite your best efforts you find yourself injured.
While I’m not a doctor [insert moment of silence here], I feel I have sufficient experience to speak about this subject. I have the joints of someone far, far older than twenty paired with a “can’t stop won’t stop” approach to life. That combination isn’t particularly risk-reducing.
So, here are 4 tips to risk reduction in sport — coming from someone who needs all the reduction she can get.
Happy Reading Week, y’all! It seems cruel that Winter with a capital W finally decided to kick in during the one week we don’t have school. But to make the most of these frigid temperatures, I’ve spent this Reading Week doing exactly that — reading. Since I’ve gone home to visit my family over the break, relaxing and curling up with a book in a warm house sounds pretty ideal after a strenuous round of midterms.
It's probably too cold to be reading in one of my favourite spots on campus - the UC quad - but this shouldn't stop us from enjoying a good book!
Now there are many ways to go about setting yourself a reading schedule for Reading Week. Personally, the obvious choice is to power through the entire Harry Potter series (7 books, 7 days of Reading Week? This was clearly meant to be). However, since I’ve done this exact feat on at least 12 different occasions, I thought I’d branch out. Here’s what’s been on my Reading Radar for the 2016 Reading Week:
Reading week is a great time to take a breather after a flurry of midterms in the weeks prior. I’ve heard from friends who joined one of the multiple organized trips to Montréal, and even those who flew back home for the week. For the laz — er, I mean, studious members of the community, staying around may have been the more appealing choice. At the end of the day, for whatever reasons may have come about, we’re still in downtown Toronto, so we might as well make the most of it...right?
This week I thought I’d shed some light on how to get involved with physical activity on campus in an administrative role. I met with the MoveU team to talk about what they do, how they got involved and what they love about being a part of the team.
But first: What is MoveU and what does the team do? Well, in their words they “do so much!”
“The breadth of what we do is so broad because we promote health on campus and being physically active,” says Alcina Wey. Fellow work-study student, Naomi Maldonado, adds, “We try to promote physical activity in alternative ways. A lot of people assume that if you’re not working out you’re not active, but we try to make physical activity accessible.”
As volunteers, the MoveU Crew supports and leads events. They interact with students, make them feel comfortable and get them involved at events.
You’ll never guess what I got to do last weekend. I took a stunt fighting seminar! We have a Jiu Jitsu regional event every few months and last Saturday’s regional welcomed Lori O’Connell from British Columbia.
Lori O’Connell is a 5th degree black belt in Can Ryu Jiu Jitsu and a professional stuntwoman! Move over Ronda Rousey (former UFC champion), I’ve found a more suitable role model.
Source: lorioconnell.com
It was AWESOME. Best decision I’ve made recently. We practiced different aspects of stunt fighting and then choreographed short stunt scenes and filmed them. I picked up a signed copy of her book When the Fight Goes to the Ground: Jiu-Jitsu Strategies and Tactics for Self-Defense afterward, which I’m super happy about.
Trying new things has been bringing me a lot of pleasure lately. I think it’s largely due to what I’ve coined as “little victories.”
