Amir Ahmed
Contributions
If UTM buildings were film genres
Exams are coming around. If you’re like us, that means you’re doing everything in your power to stop thinking about exams. That might be...
The Dating Game
Seduction Lairs
On December 10, 2011, 1:32 p.m., I pull open the doors to the Ramada Hotel on Jarvis and Gerrard. I can’t stop thinking...
“The book is a sensual object”
This is a story about 12 people, one course, and cartload of font choices. It has a semi-sex joke in it, too.
Division is our greatest threat
Last week, Stephen Harper called Islamism the greatest threat to Canadian security. The PM insisted that, despite internal division in Al-Qaeda, flagging recruitment numbers,...
Why study the humanities?
For the past four years I’ve studied English at UTM, and for the past four years, I couldn’t tell you why I did it.
Student awaits publication
The world is ruined from a forgotten apocalypse. A single city shines in the wreckage, and only a single man sees anything wrong with...
Where our responsibilities lie: The no-fly zone and responsibility to protect...
On March 12, from 7:30 to 8:35 p.m., Al-Jazeera’s Libya Liveblog stuttered out a series of messages: the Arab League, an organization of nations...
Let them eat cake: Canadians and the monarchy
On April 29, Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry. And no one, at least in Canada, will give a damn.
This is the latest...
Book holsters: the “Snuggie” of reading
Kindles disgust me, and so do iPads with their misplaced little “i” and inability to make phone calls. Part of the reason is sour...
Five excellent books
Reading is sexy. In fact, seeing a girl go through some quality Rushdie is stimulating to me in a way that my doctor and...
In defence of Singles Day
Today, I will be alone. I’m not particularly heartbroken, because I know that Valentine’s Day is bad for people on both sides of the...
Three comic books you should probably read
All right, so maybe you read Watchmen once, or maybe you even read Maus or some kind of manga when you were in high...
Positive writing makes me mad
Businesses want to make you happy. Happy people, to put it bluntly, spend more and question less. There’s nothing wrong with that goal at...
Too many boobies
“I’m not going to do that man,” Mansour says to my request. He doesn’t even look at me to stay it, just keeps his...
Minecraft and the future of video games
The first time the zombies came for me, I wasn’t ready. It attacked me, and I died like an animal in a barren wilderness,...
Who’re you calling a moderate Muslim?
Growing up in Canada and watching Canadian news, I’ve often had issues with the usage of the term “Moderate Muslim” in our media.
According to...
Diwali festival lights up UTM
On Friday, October 29, the Hindu Student Council hosted their fifth annual Diwali Dhamaka in the Blind Duck. The events included performances, a three-course...
UTM’s superhero alter-egos
The buildings at UTM have been added over the slow course of 40 years—heck, parts of the Artist’s Cottage are rumoured to be dated...
Op-Ed: You’re probably tired of hearing this
The Muslim guy in your class probably doesn’t have a bomb strapped to his chest. The hijabi girl you passed on the street probably...
A punch in the gut with lightning-fast literature
I’m not going to judge. Getting your dose of high literature is hard in this day and age. There are excellent and exciting (if...
Iä Yog-Sothoth!
I’m pretty sure I passed Yog-Sothoth on the street.
My first clue was the tentacles. Most people don’t have slimy appendages with toothed suckers skirting...
Offbeat food finds
This week’s dish is recommended by Amir Ahmed, the Features Editor at The Medium, and a fan of ridiculously unhealthy food.
Pineapple buns are a...
The In-Betweeners comes to America
High school sucks for everyone. Therefore it’s amazing that so many movies and TV shows focus on high school as a setup for their...
The Medium is yours
My name is Amir Ahmed; I edit the Medium’s Features section. A funny thing that happened last Tuesday, something that prompted me to emerge...
So you’re taking a language course
Language is a harsh mistress. She totes a bullwhip, handcuffs, and a gimp mask, and has no safety word. We spend all our infant...
Getting into anime
In high school, you probably wished you could hang out with a death god à la Death Note’s Light Yagami. In middle school, you...
Time for a change
The next few months are going to be great for English readers of Japanese fiction. Yoko Ogawa’s Hotel Iris is finally coming out in...
Happy birthday, Mr. Kurosawa
Anyone who made a Google search in the past few days will have noticed that on March 23, the Internet giant changed its standard...
A crash course in mahjong
Mahjong, a game originating in China, is similar to the Western card game rummy. There are now many different versions of mahjong, but the...
How to spend your summer vacation
Summer is around the corner, and if you have your life on track, you know exactly what you’re going to do. Maybe you’ll travel,...
Mooncakes
She tried to kill me with a mooncake mould.
It didn’t work, of course. That’s why I’m able to talk to you. My name’s Eric...
Books you’ve probably never read but should
A varied reading list is vital if you want to come across great fiction or impress cute English majors. After all, you’re not going to understand the shape of world literature by reading Star Wars novels (or even by reading the Western canon).
Just one word: Internet
What would you do if you could meet the founders of Facebook before they made it big? Would you invest in them? Would you...
The doctor is in
If you came across an injured man, would you heal him, or finish the job?
For regular people, the solution is obvious—call 911 and avoid...
Because losing is fun
Take seven dwarves, remove any bulimic princesses, and plonk them into a wilderness replete with wild animals, goblins and the occasional vengeful spirit. It...
Replacing plastics
In the January 21 edition of Nature, a letter by a team of scientists from the University of Tokyo elaborated on the construction and...
About last night
I just remember telling jokes while vomiting
Is asking a girl out on a date while in another girls bed in poor taste?
Why is there...
Waiting for a snow day
As the Winter Olympics draw near, Canadians and the world have focused their gaze on Vancouver. After Beijing beat Toronto in a bid for...
King Tut reigns over AGO
Turn left on University Avenue heading towards Union and youll see the Art Gallery of Ontario. No surprises there—the AGO has stood on the...
2010 in games
2010, by all appearances, seems a good year for video games. Hit titles Mass Effect, Fable, God of War and Final Fantasy are returning,...
Looking back at Winnie the Pooh
January 18 is Winnie the Pooh day, corresponding with the birthday of the bears creator, Alan A. Milne. While some may think that reporting...
The grammar wars
Views on English grammar are as numerous as the rules they comment on. Lynne Truss of Eats Shoots and Leaves sees it as a...
Discovering UTM: The Artist's Cottage
Stop by Principals Road on the way to the paleomagnetism lab (yes, we have one) and youll see a cottage on one side. Built...
Fun times with Summertime
Summertime, John Coetzees latest novel, takes an interesting twist with the idea of the memoir. This inventive turn comes as no surprise, considering his...
The health of nations
Today, the UTM Health and Counselling Centre offers students medical and psychological services; the centres commitment to all forms of health has grown dramatically...
ISRC is A-OK
The culture shock of coming to Canada can be a discomforting thing. Our countrys cold winters, vast bureaucracy and a government wandering between American...
Discovering UTM: Thomas Cottage
Most UTM students have at some point or another walked past the cottage lying between the South Building and Oscar Peterson Hall. Yet no...
The new 2012
Hollywood, some celebrities, and assorted pseudo-scientists with too much time on their hands have cited 2012 as the year the earth will end. According...
Theo Pam
The school bell rings, Theo and I barely hear it in the backstage hall.
The backstage hall looks like any other hallway near the music...
Educating students worldwide
All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.
The...
Sixth of three
Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy first charmed readers in 1997, when its quirky humour and approach to science fiction — then...
ECSperT care in expert hands
The Erindale College Special Response Team is a St. Johns ambulance affiliate, run by student volunteers. Its most noticeable service around campus is its...
Try to guess the ending
Dave? This is John. Your pimp says bring the heroin shipment tonight or hell be forced to stick you. Meet him where we buried...
Community on campus
The Community on Campus program is designed to provide adults with mental disabilities an experience of life in a post-secondary environment. Accompanied by volunteers,...
Check out the library
Approached from Outer Circle Road at night, it looks like a glowing crystal for- mation. Approached from the Student Centre during the day, it...
Share a bike at UTM
Maybe you want a green commute. Maybe you want to eat lunch at the Mandarin before your next lecture. Maybe you want to get...
The core of the matter
In 2007, the city of Mississauga confronted a question — how could they improve the city and stimulate economic growth while practicing environmentally friendly...
Bones, bones, bones
Are you a forensics student looking to test your skills? Or do you just love a good puzzle? In either case, Kathy Reichs new...
Creative Corner: At the cafe
Along with those, Ill have the chocolate muffin, two mint brownies, one of those oat bar things — is that an éclair?
The voice, her...
CCIT Council plans orientation for students
The CCIT Academic Societys orientation week is taking place this Friday and if youre a first-year student unsure of what to study in the...
Before Jack Black, there were real Kung Fu movies
Special attention in our media is usually given to the so-called good movies. These films are typically well-scripted, masterfully directed and feature particularly talented...
(Job)berwocky
Searching for a summer job or finding the perfect career after graduation can take the joy out of spring. No one wants to end...
D-Day: A new artistic outlet
Last October, The Medium published a profile on UTM student and artist Dmitri Tcherbadji (aka D , and his plan to encourage art for...
A Bicycle built for you
While the U-Pass takes some of the strain off commuter wallets, it also renders students dependent on the sometimes irregular, always cumbersome Mississauga transit...
The wheels on the bus
The University of Torontos tricampus model fosters greater course selection, the ability to educate more students, and the fuzzy feeling of superiority from having...
If UTM buildings were film genres
Exams are coming around. If you’re like us, that means you’re doing everything in your power to stop thinking about exams. That might be...
The Dating Game
Seduction Lairs
On December 10, 2011, 1:32 p.m., I pull open the doors to the Ramada Hotel on Jarvis and Gerrard. I can’t stop thinking...
“The book is a sensual object”
This is a story about 12 people, one course, and cartload of font choices. It has a semi-sex joke in it, too.
Division is our greatest threat
Last week, Stephen Harper called Islamism the greatest threat to Canadian security. The PM insisted that, despite internal division in Al-Qaeda, flagging recruitment numbers,...
Why study the humanities?
For the past four years I’ve studied English at UTM, and for the past four years, I couldn’t tell you why I did it.
Student awaits publication
The world is ruined from a forgotten apocalypse. A single city shines in the wreckage, and only a single man sees anything wrong with...
Where our responsibilities lie: The no-fly zone and responsibility to protect...
On March 12, from 7:30 to 8:35 p.m., Al-Jazeera’s Libya Liveblog stuttered out a series of messages: the Arab League, an organization of nations...
Let them eat cake: Canadians and the monarchy
On April 29, Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry. And no one, at least in Canada, will give a damn.
This is the latest...
Book holsters: the “Snuggie” of reading
Kindles disgust me, and so do iPads with their misplaced little “i” and inability to make phone calls. Part of the reason is sour...
Five excellent books
Reading is sexy. In fact, seeing a girl go through some quality Rushdie is stimulating to me in a way that my doctor and...
In defence of Singles Day
Today, I will be alone. I’m not particularly heartbroken, because I know that Valentine’s Day is bad for people on both sides of the...
Three comic books you should probably read
All right, so maybe you read Watchmen once, or maybe you even read Maus or some kind of manga when you were in high...
Positive writing makes me mad
Businesses want to make you happy. Happy people, to put it bluntly, spend more and question less. There’s nothing wrong with that goal at...
Too many boobies
“I’m not going to do that man,” Mansour says to my request. He doesn’t even look at me to stay it, just keeps his...
Minecraft and the future of video games
The first time the zombies came for me, I wasn’t ready. It attacked me, and I died like an animal in a barren wilderness,...
Who’re you calling a moderate Muslim?
Growing up in Canada and watching Canadian news, I’ve often had issues with the usage of the term “Moderate Muslim” in our media.
According to...
Diwali festival lights up UTM
On Friday, October 29, the Hindu Student Council hosted their fifth annual Diwali Dhamaka in the Blind Duck. The events included performances, a three-course...
UTM’s superhero alter-egos
The buildings at UTM have been added over the slow course of 40 years—heck, parts of the Artist’s Cottage are rumoured to be dated...
Op-Ed: You’re probably tired of hearing this
The Muslim guy in your class probably doesn’t have a bomb strapped to his chest. The hijabi girl you passed on the street probably...
A punch in the gut with lightning-fast literature
I’m not going to judge. Getting your dose of high literature is hard in this day and age. There are excellent and exciting (if...
Iä Yog-Sothoth!
I’m pretty sure I passed Yog-Sothoth on the street.
My first clue was the tentacles. Most people don’t have slimy appendages with toothed suckers skirting...
Offbeat food finds
This week’s dish is recommended by Amir Ahmed, the Features Editor at The Medium, and a fan of ridiculously unhealthy food.
Pineapple buns are a...
The In-Betweeners comes to America
High school sucks for everyone. Therefore it’s amazing that so many movies and TV shows focus on high school as a setup for their...
The Medium is yours
My name is Amir Ahmed; I edit the Medium’s Features section. A funny thing that happened last Tuesday, something that prompted me to emerge...
So you’re taking a language course
Language is a harsh mistress. She totes a bullwhip, handcuffs, and a gimp mask, and has no safety word. We spend all our infant...
Getting into anime
In high school, you probably wished you could hang out with a death god à la Death Note’s Light Yagami. In middle school, you...
Time for a change
The next few months are going to be great for English readers of Japanese fiction. Yoko Ogawa’s Hotel Iris is finally coming out in...
Happy birthday, Mr. Kurosawa
Anyone who made a Google search in the past few days will have noticed that on March 23, the Internet giant changed its standard...
A crash course in mahjong
Mahjong, a game originating in China, is similar to the Western card game rummy. There are now many different versions of mahjong, but the...
How to spend your summer vacation
Summer is around the corner, and if you have your life on track, you know exactly what you’re going to do. Maybe you’ll travel,...
Mooncakes
She tried to kill me with a mooncake mould.
It didn’t work, of course. That’s why I’m able to talk to you. My name’s Eric...
Books you’ve probably never read but should
A varied reading list is vital if you want to come across great fiction or impress cute English majors. After all, you’re not going to understand the shape of world literature by reading Star Wars novels (or even by reading the Western canon).
Just one word: Internet
What would you do if you could meet the founders of Facebook before they made it big? Would you invest in them? Would you...
The doctor is in
If you came across an injured man, would you heal him, or finish the job?
For regular people, the solution is obvious—call 911 and avoid...
Because losing is fun
Take seven dwarves, remove any bulimic princesses, and plonk them into a wilderness replete with wild animals, goblins and the occasional vengeful spirit. It...
Replacing plastics
In the January 21 edition of Nature, a letter by a team of scientists from the University of Tokyo elaborated on the construction and...
About last night
I just remember telling jokes while vomiting
Is asking a girl out on a date while in another girls bed in poor taste?
Why is there...
Waiting for a snow day
As the Winter Olympics draw near, Canadians and the world have focused their gaze on Vancouver. After Beijing beat Toronto in a bid for...
King Tut reigns over AGO
Turn left on University Avenue heading towards Union and youll see the Art Gallery of Ontario. No surprises there—the AGO has stood on the...
2010 in games
2010, by all appearances, seems a good year for video games. Hit titles Mass Effect, Fable, God of War and Final Fantasy are returning,...
Looking back at Winnie the Pooh
January 18 is Winnie the Pooh day, corresponding with the birthday of the bears creator, Alan A. Milne. While some may think that reporting...
The grammar wars
Views on English grammar are as numerous as the rules they comment on. Lynne Truss of Eats Shoots and Leaves sees it as a...
Discovering UTM: The Artist's Cottage
Stop by Principals Road on the way to the paleomagnetism lab (yes, we have one) and youll see a cottage on one side. Built...
Fun times with Summertime
Summertime, John Coetzees latest novel, takes an interesting twist with the idea of the memoir. This inventive turn comes as no surprise, considering his...
The health of nations
Today, the UTM Health and Counselling Centre offers students medical and psychological services; the centres commitment to all forms of health has grown dramatically...
ISRC is A-OK
The culture shock of coming to Canada can be a discomforting thing. Our countrys cold winters, vast bureaucracy and a government wandering between American...
Discovering UTM: Thomas Cottage
Most UTM students have at some point or another walked past the cottage lying between the South Building and Oscar Peterson Hall. Yet no...
The new 2012
Hollywood, some celebrities, and assorted pseudo-scientists with too much time on their hands have cited 2012 as the year the earth will end. According...
Theo Pam
The school bell rings, Theo and I barely hear it in the backstage hall.
The backstage hall looks like any other hallway near the music...
Educating students worldwide
All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.
The...
Sixth of three
Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy first charmed readers in 1997, when its quirky humour and approach to science fiction — then...
ECSperT care in expert hands
The Erindale College Special Response Team is a St. Johns ambulance affiliate, run by student volunteers. Its most noticeable service around campus is its...
Try to guess the ending
Dave? This is John. Your pimp says bring the heroin shipment tonight or hell be forced to stick you. Meet him where we buried...
Community on campus
The Community on Campus program is designed to provide adults with mental disabilities an experience of life in a post-secondary environment. Accompanied by volunteers,...
Check out the library
Approached from Outer Circle Road at night, it looks like a glowing crystal for- mation. Approached from the Student Centre during the day, it...
Share a bike at UTM
Maybe you want a green commute. Maybe you want to eat lunch at the Mandarin before your next lecture. Maybe you want to get...
The core of the matter
In 2007, the city of Mississauga confronted a question — how could they improve the city and stimulate economic growth while practicing environmentally friendly...
Bones, bones, bones
Are you a forensics student looking to test your skills? Or do you just love a good puzzle? In either case, Kathy Reichs new...
Creative Corner: At the cafe
Along with those, Ill have the chocolate muffin, two mint brownies, one of those oat bar things — is that an éclair?
The voice, her...
CCIT Council plans orientation for students
The CCIT Academic Societys orientation week is taking place this Friday and if youre a first-year student unsure of what to study in the...
Before Jack Black, there were real Kung Fu movies
Special attention in our media is usually given to the so-called good movies. These films are typically well-scripted, masterfully directed and feature particularly talented...
(Job)berwocky
Searching for a summer job or finding the perfect career after graduation can take the joy out of spring. No one wants to end...
D-Day: A new artistic outlet
Last October, The Medium published a profile on UTM student and artist Dmitri Tcherbadji (aka D , and his plan to encourage art for...
A Bicycle built for you
While the U-Pass takes some of the strain off commuter wallets, it also renders students dependent on the sometimes irregular, always cumbersome Mississauga transit...
The wheels on the bus
The University of Torontos tricampus model fosters greater course selection, the ability to educate more students, and the fuzzy feeling of superiority from having...