Ahhhh, it’s that time of the year  that we love to hate and hate to love…the dreaded/beloved course selections. I don’t know about you but I’m on the love side. There’ s nothing like planning a fresh new academic year. It’s just so full of hope, optimism, and excitement…free of the crushing weight of readings, labs, exams, and tutorials. It’s the calm before the storm and yes, I love to savour every moment of it.

Unfortunately, ROSI wasn’t so kind to me this year. I’m in my final year of undergraduate studies and got the late 10 AM enrollment time…leaving me on waitlists for courses that I desperately want to take. But alas, that is the life of a U of T student.

Read what other students are tweeting about course enrollment…some were successful, others, well, not so much!

As expected, the G20 has taken over the Twittersphere the past week with users from all ages and walks of life, tweeting about the happenings downtown. Some (okay many) expressed their displeasure and outrage of what went down during the G20, provided live updates, and others even used Twitter to organize protests. So…where were you during the G20 weekend? Did you catch any of the protests? Were you a protester yourself? Let us know!

tweet. meet. give.

It’s a Twesti-whaaaat? It’s a Twestival! …A global fundraising event that is bringing together the online Twitter community from hundreds of cities around the world to support  and celebrate a good cause. And yes, it’s coming to Toronto! This Thursday, March 25th at Tryst Nightclub, join hundreds of Torontonians as they rally behind Concern Worldwide, raising funds for an international humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing suffering and ending extreme poverty. Organized 100% by volunteers, the team behind Twestival Toronto ensures that 100% of all tickets and sponsorships go directly to Concern Worldwide.

Now I know the question that’s hanging on all of your minds… “I don’t have Twitter, can I still go?”. Of course you can! You don’t need to be on any social networking site to go out and support a cause that you believe in! So this Thursday, take a break from your studying blues (you know you want to!) to kick back and meet some cool new peeps all while supporting a more than worthy cause!

When: Thu, March 25, 2010 1:00 AM – 1:00 AM

Where: Tryst Nightclub

More Info/Ticket Purchase: http://www.twestivalto.com/

The National Business and Technology Conference is a non-profit and student-run initiative that has become one of the best quality student conferences in Toronto. It’s coming back this year on March 19th-20th at MaRS Collaboration Centre and it promises to be a groundbreaking event fostering and empowering future leaders. Addressing the social, scientific, and commercial aspects of business and technology, conference delegates of all disciplines are given the opportunity to learn, explore, and network with well-established professionals from academia and industry as well as other like-minded individuals across Canada.

This year’s event features keynote speaker Anthony Lacavera, chairman of WIND Mobile and, appropriately enough, a U of T Electrical Engineering 9T7. Other notable speakers will be at the event some of which include George Ross, Sean Neville, and Peter Evans. The NBTC will also be holding various seminars, panel discussions, and workshops to help hone students’ understanding, skills, and expertise. Finally, there are two competitions that offer incredible opportunities for participants. The Consulting Competition is offering a $1000 cash prize and the Entrepreneurship Competition has a prize valued at $25,000! This is an opportunity not to be missed so visit their website at www.nbtc.ca for more information and registration!

Sorry to all the political junkies out there about the absence of any new posts. So much has been happening both online and in meatspace, and I hope I get a chance to blog about some of it before the news cycle leaves me in the dust.

Exciting news! As of Sunday, the Change website and posters have gotten a redesign. I was looking forward to some content addition under the triangle arrows pointing to “campus life,” “social justice,” “advocacy,” and “save your money.”. (Have they always done the blinky rotation?? I’ve only just noticed it writing this post) The Stronger Together website seems considerably more information-rich in contrast (even if it’s just better layout and copy-writing), I would have thought one of the more pressing priorities would be a presenting their campaign platform in another way than a straight page of text.

Another design element that I really question is the placement of candidate videos. The clips are placed vertically in a row, one after another, requiring the user to scroll down through the page to access each video. Someone who has studied the psychology of graphic design could probably speak better to this than I could but there is a clear sense that the candidates are being ranked in some hierarchy – whether it’s importance, level of responsibility, involvement in the campaign, or some other metric. Steve Masse for President at the top. This unfortunate formatting is compounded by the lack of website space for the individual candidates. Nowhere are any of their names even mentioned on the website other than as the title of the youtube videos. What is up with that?!

As expected, the effect of the video layout can be seen in the number of views each videos get. As of posting time, Steve Masse on the Change slate has 1105 views, far surpassing any other members of the Change team. Adam Awad’s video, on the other hand, has only about 100 more views than three other members of the Stronger Together Slate, all of whose videos are within ten views of each other.

So let me make this open confession right now. I’m a Twitter fanatic and I don’t care what the rest of you think about that. No, it’s not just “status updates” like what we find on Facebook. It’s a place to interact, engage, and communicate with many like-minded and inspired individuals from the local Toronto community and beyond. It is a hotbed of many brilliant ideas from passionate, creative, and driven people. Let me demonstrate…

Speaker Mark Kuznicki of ChangeCamp. Photo by Andrew Louis/Torontoist

Last Thursday, #voteTOin416 was held at the Annex Live, an event organized by #voteTO, a group of self-proclaimed municipal geeks that came together through Twitter with the shared goal of a better Toronto. Hosted by writer, broadcaster, and organizer, Jane Farrow, and using the upcoming municipal election as a backdrop for discussion, the event showcased fourteen different presentations that captured various solutions for Toronto. And staying true to the Twitter style, each presentation was kept short and sweet…not quite as short as 140 characters but almost. Each speaker had 4 minutes and 16 seconds to share and discuss their vision, some of which included voting reform, the establishment of Toronto as a fair trade city, and the need to solve the city’s bedbug epidemic (yeah, you read correctly). (more…)

Today I got asked my bra colour by a perverted male who shall remain unknown. I told him to f*** off. It’s none of his business, and for all he cares, I may not even be wearing one. The pervert in question then told me that all the girls were doing it on facebook to raise awareness for breast cancer. I am all for raising awareness for such a wonderful cause but I am very dismayed at the means by which women are reduced to doing this. I find it incredibly ironic that something that was once an appalling symbol of male oppression is now being used to spread awareness about an illness that is mostly prevalent in women.

Historically, the use of bras would change in response to the male attitude towards the female bosom at the time. So basically the bra was (and arguably still is) yet another means by which women find themselves at the mercy of the male’s fancy. Even though modern day bras cater more to the comfort and needs of women, they have no medically proven benefit.

More importantly, I fail to understand how indicating your bra colour raises awareness for breast cancer. Ladies, by letting men know your bra colour on facebook, you are just piquing their perverted male ego. They could not care less about the cause or breast cancer itself. If anything, you are diverting attention away from the cause and just encouraging the opposite sex to visit lingerie and pornography stores. So fellow sisters, I ask that you think before you so openly surrender your bra colour to the enemy. By letting them know, you are desecrating the very basis of feminine empowerment that every woman is entitled to.