Query

How far do you let people do with their lives as they wish? At what point do you try to do something if you think somebody is ruining their life in some way?

President Indira

Friday brought with it the bi-annual Delta Upsilon Highway to Hell "drink a small town dry" pubcrawl. After a shotgunned beer or two with one of my accompanying roommates, we boarded the three buses for good times. Although fun was had, I maintain that while Wainright was acceptable, Spruce Grove and St. Albert hardly meet the spirit of "small town" in the pubcrawl sense. I did, however, gain a renewed appreciation for the smoking bylaw in Edmonton bars.

Saturday brought with it a wakening at 1pm to head to the Law Centre for "Law's a Beach". This is our annual 2L grad fundraiser/slowpitch tournament. I love baseball, so this event's always a pleasure, and it sort of wraps up a fun September. Barbeque was consumed, drinks were had, I hit a home run, and hot girls wore spandex superhero costumes. The fun continued late into the morn at Hudson's on Whyte.

Sunday was one of the biggest events at the University: the installation of a new president. I put on the Senate robes and joined the academic procession at the Jubilee Auditorium, which consisted of 6 Chancellor Emeriti, University presidents from around the world, and numerous dignitaries. It was a veritable who's-who of Canadian academia, past and present. Being on stage at Convocation is always amazing, and this event in particular was amazing. Indira gave a great installation speech. Somewhere in there she mentioned a listing of some great Canadians, Terry Fox, Gretzky, etc. In his speech, Normie Kwong chastised her for not mentioning his name after Gretzky's. Mandel goes for his speech, and tells Normie that he would have been mentioned had he stayed in Edmonton. Any mayor who's willing to take a jab at the Lieutenant Governor is okay in my books. I also had the chance to meet a man who I would have loved to have seen in his heyday: Dalhousie Chancellor John Crosbie. The evening was a fantastic concert featuring the West African Drum Ensemble, Susan Aglukark, a jazz band, and a fantastic finale containing over 300 students from five choirs, 6 soloists and a renowned pianist. Quite amazing, and a great time with my dad. The Installation weekend concluded with a half-day academic symposium this morning at the Jube.

So much inspiration. Almost makes me want to go buy my textbooks and start studying.

My, does this ever suck!

What you see above is the new logo for this year's CAUS campaign. They've basically taken the logo from last year and broken the heart. This is retarded. First off, it might be a good strategy to actually try building and developing on what was started last year. Why the SU/CAUS insist on spinning the reinvented wheel every year is beyond me. Second, it doesn't make sense. The "I" doesn't clearly relate to the government, which I assume is the point. Lastly, last year's slogan was criticized by some for being obscure and not conveying a clear message. So what have they replaced it with? Another slogan, no different in obscurity and message conveyance. Bad choice all around.

Who's Guiding This Ship?

Our illustrious premier has announced that all Alberta men, women and children will receive $400 by the end of the year. This is part of the planned use for the province's surplus. In response to criticisms that this is a poor use of money, Mr. Klein responds that those who dislike their cheque can donate it to charity. I have a better idea. I would suggest that Alberta citizens donate their cheques to the opposition party of their choice. If the Alberta Tories don't know how to manage a windfall, perhaps one of the other parties does.

Yaaaaaaaar!

And Saturday found Mr. Bogg off to the Winspear Centre for the season premier of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. A wonderful triple concerto finished off the evening, with Mr. Eddins conducting and playing the piano. A great night at one of North America's premiere concert halls. To all those from Calgary: suck it. Of course, nothing completes an evening without martinis at the Four Rooms jazz club with two lovely ladies.

Monday, of course, was International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yaaar, ye skalliwag, bring thee booty of wenches and rum around the port to Scholars!

...and the fun continues

I have been appointed to the University of Alberta Senate.

Diggity

This evening, I sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" at karaoke in RATT. It was awesome.

Orientation was a tonne of fun, with two complaints: to the SU, staff your fucking bar on one of the busiest events of the year; and to Orientation, slapping professional faculties in the face is not the way to encourage future volunteerism.