56.21%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m a liiiiiiiiiiittle tired this morning. Had to re-write a bunch of stuff last night, but luckily I read far enough ahead on Monday that I’m already caught up for today’s lecture(s). Looking at the schedule, and knowing what we know about the marking scheme, I’m not too worried about the workload that suddenly fell in our laps yesterday. It is what it is, and we didn’t sign up for this thing to be coddled. Giddyup.

.:.

If I read one more article talking how Tie Domi — who retired yesterday — was “fearless” or “never backed down from a fight,” I’ll lose it. I suspect that if you so much as mentioned Vladimir Malakhov’s name around him he’d curl into a ball and whimper.

[tags]workload, tie domi[/tags]

42.46%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

So much for a nice relaxing course. We just got handed a very large, microscopic-font case to analyze and report on for tomorrow at 1:00 (meaning we have to do the work tonight ’cause we have the usual lectures tomorrow), and we already have a 20-minute presentation due Thursday at noon which we haven’t really even started yet. Plus there’s the usual review and studying for the Friday exam. This means most of us have canceled plans to attend an executive talk scheduled for 5:00. Not sure how that’s gonna go over.
[tags]mba, workload++[/tags]

27.69%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Day 2 down. Just did a bunch of reading…even read ahead a bit.

The food is a struggle; not eating beef or pork anymore has severely limited my choices here. It used to be that if dinner just looked like shit you could order a burger; no more.

OK, must go see what’s doing over in the lounge.

[tags]semi-veggie[/tags]

16.29%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The film festival buzz about All The King’s Men appears to be true, given the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Hard to believe, given the incredible cast.

.:.

The new Bonnie Prince Billy disc, though, is getting good reviews.

.:.

I was going to write something about the whole Muslim-anger-over-papal-statements controversy, but my brother wrote pretty much the same thing I was planning to write. I’m not one to defend the pope, but I don’t think he’s the one in the wrong here.

.:.

OK, off to day 2 of international business.

[tags]all the king’s men, bonnie prince billy, muslim anger at pope[/tags]

2.97%

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The first day (well…half-day, really) of our international business course intensive is behind us. Everyone was nervous about the prof — she’s obviously very smart, and seemed pretty intense in the online video and phone calls — but I think everyone left feeling ok. She seems able to make the class interesting, and she obviously knows her stuff, so…I think it’ll be a pretty good week. But see if I feel that way on Thursday.

[tags]mba, international business[/tags]

Turn out the lights

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The fest is over. By the time we left our last movie tonight there were only two screenings left to go. Here, then, is our list of movies, ranked by my rating:

  • Kurt Cobain: About A Son (9/10)
  • Day Night Day Night (9/10)
  • Blindsight (9/10)
  • Fay Grim (8.5/10)
  • The Wind That Shakes The Barley (8/10)
  • Requiem (7.5/10)
  • Rescue Dawn (7/10)
  • Outsourced (7/10)
  • Citizen Duane (6.5/10)
  • The Pleasure Of Your Company (6/10)
  • The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (5.5/10)
  • Diggers (5/10)
  • Candy (2/10)

Five of those films I’d classify as excellent and one as shit; the rest range from mildly disappointing to pretty good. Only a handful of them will ever play in wide circulation — probably The Pleasure Of Your Company and maybe The Wind That Shakes The Barley — while the rest will play the indie circuit if at all. Still, if you ever have a chance to see any of the first 10 on this list, I’d recommend it.
[tags]tiff, toronto international film festival[/tags]

Outsourced (7/10)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

So sweet my teeth hurt, Outsourced (tiff | imdb) was our final film of the festival. It was, as T-Bone advertised, cute. Very cute. Funny, in a gee-aren’t-American-and-Indian-cultures-different kind of way, cute, in a holy-shit-the-lead-actress-is-gorgeous kind of way, and pleasant in a no-violence-no-swearing-no-sex kind of way. Except the monkey pulling a turnip.

The film hasn’t been picked up yet, but it probably should be. It’s funnier than most of the stuff that comes through big theatre chains, and it’s clean enough to get a low MPAA rating (and therefore a big audience).

Sweet. Cute. Funny. Pleasant. Clean. I’m not trying to damn this movie with faint praise, it was actually pretty good. Not the edgy art I’d really want to close out the festival, but I normally have no time for this type of movie and I enjoyed it, so…there you go.

[tags]tiff, toronto international film festival, outsourced[/tags]

The Pleasure Of Your Company (6/10)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Last night we saw the twelfth of our thirteen films, The Pleasure Of Your Company (tiff | imdb), a slightly above average romantic comedy. Normally the genre turns me off, but this one was reasonably funny. Completely lowbrow in parts (snot jokes just don’t seem to fit at the festival, and a man eating his stepdaughter’s diaphragm doesn’t belong anywhere), but I have to admit it was nice to laugh again after seeing so many heavy films.

Jason Biggs has this character down to a shlubby science, Isla Fisher is haaaawwwwwwwwwtttt, and the supporting cast was good (except Joe Pantoliano, but it wasn’t his fault; his character was just so out of place), so I’d say this was an ok movie done very well. As far as romantic comedies go, this was a good one, but that’s kinda like being the best remedial student.

[tags]tiff, toronto international film festival, the pleasure of your company[/tags]