The Squirrel

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae

Now, some people will call me paranoid, but I am somewhat convinced that squirrels are slowly but surely taking over the St. George Campus. I first noticed this last year as a confused and egotistic first year, and simply attributed the large number of squirrels to the downtown environment. This year, I know better. They’re after us.

To be more precise, they’re after our acorns and nuts. It is fall after all and just the time when they’re all busy gathering acorns and hiding them away for the long winter months. So that might be the reason we’re seeing more of them; it’s probably their most public time of the year!

Yet in my mild paranoia, I Googled some facts about these suspicious rodents and came across the following link: http://www.toronto.ca/animal_services/squirrel.htm

Since nothing was said of an impending squirrel army, either I’m being delusional or (more likely) the government’s trying to cover it up.

However, for anyone who’s somewhat curious about the squirrels of downtown Toronto, here are some basic facts taken straight from the City of Toronto’s website:

• Squirrels breed twice a year; from late winter to early spring and then again in mid-summer to early fall.
• Mother squirrels are very protective of their young and if threatened have been known to attack people and pets.
• Squirrels are active during the day and sleep at night. They do not hibernate over winter.
• Never grab a squirrel, even if you have gloves on – squirrels can bite through any glove.
• Never corner a squirrel — it may become aggressive.
• Never light a fire while a squirrel is trapped in a stove or fireplace — you may injure or kill it, leaving you with a smelly dead animal to remove.

Remember the good ol’ high school days when stereotyping first took root? When people were labeled for something as simple as actually doing well school? It started off with the ‘Geek’, then the ‘Nerd’ and, somewhere along the way, became the ‘Genius’. Then things got complicated and there was the geek-nerd, then the Geek-Genius, then the Nerd-Genius, then the Nerd-Geek-Genius (not specifically in that order). But now there is perhaps one label to surpass all others: the Keener.

Before I continue, there is indeed (according to the always-correct Wiki) a difference between a Nerd and a Geek. Please see http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-Nerds-and-Geeks for more details.

Now, I’m sure you’ve all seen an example of a Nerd/Geek/Genius/Keener in your classes, even if you were unaware of the labels. Here’s a basic rundown: (more…)

Toronto is a city full of history and interesting stories. So, to both longtime residents of our lovely city and newcomers that have come to study at U of T, did you know that:

• Front Street got its name because that’s where the waterfront used to be. The shoreline got moved down to Queen’s Quay because we filled the inner harbour for industrial development purposes.

• Yorkville wasn’t always the posh, high-end neighbourhood it is now. In fact, it used to be the place for hippies to hang out. A lot of artists got their start in Yorkville, and the first line in Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” (‘They paved paradise and put up a parking lot’) refers to a spot in Yorkville. That particular parking lot has since been transformed into the Village of Yorkville Park (the ‘park’ with the giant artificial rocks).

• The King Edward Hotel at King and Yonge is supposedly the most haunted building in Toronto, since it was built on a hanging yard.

• In the past, you could discern a person’s social class by the way they said, ‘Spadina’. If someone said ‘Spa-dee-nah’, they were of the upper class, while people of the lower class said, ‘Spa-die-nah’. Since there were more people in the lower class than the upper class, the latter pronunciation is the one used today.

• When the ROM’s crystal was in its final stages of construction, staff members signed one of the beams that forms the structure, immortalizing themselves forever within the museum. And yes, Daniel Libeskind designed the crystal on a napkin which is now in one of a ROM’s storage facility.

• The glass facade of the AGO is supposed to looked like a tipped canoe. Why Frank Gehry chose such an inauspicious symbol is beyond me.
• Chinatown used to be a little bit east of where it is now. Streets like Elizabeth Street and Chestnut Street used to be part of Chinatown. The Lee Benevolent Association at Dundas and Chestnut is a vestige of Chinatown’s previous location.
• Even though it’s one of the official languages of Canada, French is only the 12th most spoken language in Toronto.
• The Distillery District features some of most well-preserved examples of Victorian industrial architecture in North America.
• The CN Tower no longer holds the record for being the highest free-standing building in the world, but it still holds the record for having the world’s highest wine cellar.

Feel free to add these tidbits to your Repository of Completely Useless Information (aka ROCUI, which is a lot more fun than ROSI).

After last week’s first Hottest Male Profs at U of T post, we received so many more suggestions that we just HAD to make an entirely new list. After all, we shouldn’t let this ability to spread the wealth go to waste.

This batch is as yummy, if not better, than the last. I wonder if their enrollment numbers will go up next year.

12. Matt Ratto (Faculty of Information)

11. Kevin O’Neill (Religion)

More gorgeousness this way

This is a guest blog by Samantha Cross, a history/French/English undergrad just trying to make it through 4th year alive. (P.S. she also plays the guitar and sings!)

Disclaimer: certain people may be offended by the following. This includes but is not limited to:

a) those irritating people who participate simultaneously with UTSU, the Varsity Blues, and The Trinity Tripod or whatever while maintaining a GPA of 4.0 (barf)

b) anyone who did not understand why I ended that with a “barf”, or

c) anyone who thinks that 15 pages for a paper is just not enough and always wants more, MOREEE!!!1

If you’re still with me, I feel for you. You’re probably like me – a fourth-year student, disillusioned after having all the Froshie enthusiasm beaten out of you by years of torture and abuse. The copious amounts of caffeine, the late nights, and tens of minutes spent cramming (THANK YOU WIKIPEDIA) have all taken their toll. You’re just trying to make it to Con Hall alive. And according to your countdown (there’s an app for that), you just have to hang in there for 35 days, 7 hours, 26 minutes and 8 (7! 6!! 5!!!) more seconds. So why does this semester feel like the hardest yet?

(more…)

There’s this rumour floating around that U of T students are super nerds who only care about their grades and have no social lives. What is never mentioned during this idle chit chat is WHY we care about our grades so much. I’m here to dispel the secret. Are you ready?

…

We have some hot, scrumptious professors! Not only are they aesthetically gifted, they’re smart. What’s hotter than a smart, hot person? A smart, hot person with authority!

Now, now. I know you’re thinking, This is so superficial, and that I’m taking away from these professors’ brilliance. To that I say, calm down. Pick your head up out of your physics textbook or notes about revolution in Colombia, and take a moment. Walk with me for just a few minutes, and remember that we are young and thus required by law and our biology to take note of good-looking humans.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. There are Facebook groups, websites, and blogs devoted to amazing and gorgeous professors. They make sitting through long lectures in uncomfortable chairs worth it.

So who are some of these intellectual hotties? (AND WHEN ARE THEIR OFFICE HOURS?!) We at blogUT asked around, and came up with a list of twelve, whom we now present to you: (more…)

Is it just me or is everyone else doing one of…

1. Taking a break constantly, aka procrastinating, even though you’re supposed to be reading/writing that essay/studying for an exam.

2. Just plain tired/frustrated/angry from all the exams  you had last week or from all the assignments you’re doing that are due next week.

3. Gone on vacation but you know that you’re going to be miserable and regret ever going on vacation.

4. Back from vacation and wishing that you had a time machine to be back on vacation.

5. Lounging around at home feeling guilty for not being as productive as you should be.

6. Realizing that reading week was rather appropriately named.

7. Seeing friends/relatives because despite all your assignments, they are important to you after all.

8. Dreading the end of reading week.

9. Being a total miracle and is actually working.

10. Maybe, just maybe, having fun?