Here is the link" to the latest "Canada sucks" essay. All the usual trite diatribes are trotted out - superiority complex, Tim Horton's, marijuana, gay marriage, we think we know everything, no culture, no patriotism. Whatever. As National Post columnist Andrew Coyne recently wrote in a piece chiding his countrymen for regarding American patriotism as cheap sentiment,"You see, in Canada we gave up believing years ago: in religion, in ideals, in much of anything, really. Secure as we were under the American defense umbrella, we were infantilized; having no need to defend ourselves, we could not understand why anyone else would have more. Or perhaps it was this: having renounced even the wish to defend ourselves, having absorbed the notion that the country could be destroyed at any moment by a vote of half the population of one province [Quebec], what was left to believe?"
See? The problem is we don't believe in the "right" things.
Anyway, enjoy the article, or hate it. I really couldn't care less about this toe-rag and his hatred of Canada. He has lots of company.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Tommy Douglas Scam
In honshui's latest post about the Greatest Frenchy, he wrote "Tommy Douglas, a Premier from a small province who is mistakenly attributed the credit for inventing government health care."
I thought this deserved its own thread.
So, for those of us ignorant of this part of Canadian history; who is responsible? And why does George Alphabet have his own show?
I thought this deserved its own thread.
So, for those of us ignorant of this part of Canadian history; who is responsible? And why does George Alphabet have his own show?
Toronto Secessionists
How important do Torontonians really feel? APparently important enough that they are ready for full provincial status. http://www.provinceoftoronto.ca/ The 416 area code can dump those laggard area codes like 705 and 519 and achieve their full potential.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
And you thought the top Canadian was a lame choice
CBC's recent "Greatest Canadian" contest seemed to be a peculiar exercise as it pitted Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky against fathers of Confederation and finally settled Tommy Douglas, a Premier from a small province who is mistakenly attributed the credit for inventing government health care. But the French have outdone us as Napoleon did not even make their top 10. He apparently lacked the achievements of even Jaques Cousteau...
Napoleon? Non, he's not that great . . .
Colin Randall
The Telegraph
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Military genius, conqueror of Europe and Egypt, lawmaker, looter of art without equal and lover: none of Napoleon's extraordinary talents has saved him from the indignity of failing to make a Top 10 of greatest Frenchmen or women.
Admirers and impartial academics alike were aghast at the news that the little corporal who became an emperor had only made it to No. 16 in the top 100 names in a poll for the state-owned TV channel France 2.
The shortlist, from which the final choice for overall winner will be made, stops at No. 10, condemning the Corsican defeated at Waterloo to obscurity as an also-ran in the competition.
"This is the man who, beyond the military adventures, gave us the baccalaureat, the State Council, the Bank of France, the lycees and our system of law,'' said Eric Ledru, editor-in-chief of the Napoleonic Institute's respected six-monthly review.
The BBC version of the program crowned Sir Winston Churchill as history's greatest Briton, while Germans voted for their former chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and the Dutch for the murdered right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn.
The final French line-up included Gen. Charles de Gaulle, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Edith Piaf, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Moliere, Victor Hugo, priest Abbe Pierre and two comedians, Coluche and Bourvil.
"I am incensed at the ignorance this displays,'' said Ben Weider, Canadian president of the International Napoleonic Society.
© The Calgary Herald 2005
Napoleon? Non, he's not that great . . .
Colin Randall
The Telegraph
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Military genius, conqueror of Europe and Egypt, lawmaker, looter of art without equal and lover: none of Napoleon's extraordinary talents has saved him from the indignity of failing to make a Top 10 of greatest Frenchmen or women.
Admirers and impartial academics alike were aghast at the news that the little corporal who became an emperor had only made it to No. 16 in the top 100 names in a poll for the state-owned TV channel France 2.
The shortlist, from which the final choice for overall winner will be made, stops at No. 10, condemning the Corsican defeated at Waterloo to obscurity as an also-ran in the competition.
"This is the man who, beyond the military adventures, gave us the baccalaureat, the State Council, the Bank of France, the lycees and our system of law,'' said Eric Ledru, editor-in-chief of the Napoleonic Institute's respected six-monthly review.
The BBC version of the program crowned Sir Winston Churchill as history's greatest Briton, while Germans voted for their former chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, and the Dutch for the murdered right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn.
The final French line-up included Gen. Charles de Gaulle, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Edith Piaf, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Moliere, Victor Hugo, priest Abbe Pierre and two comedians, Coluche and Bourvil.
"I am incensed at the ignorance this displays,'' said Ben Weider, Canadian president of the International Napoleonic Society.
© The Calgary Herald 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Puppets
From Matthew Ingram of the Globe and Mail
"Call it the 'Sideways effect': If you're having trouble getting hold of some pinot noir wine - or finding that prices have been climbing - you can blame the popular movie Sideways, which starred Paul Giamatti as a wine snob on a road trip with his old college roommate (played by Thomas Haden Church) through California's Central Coast wine country. According to wineries and industry watchers, sales of pinot noir have been boosted by the film, which sees Giamatti's character singing the praises of the finicky grape over its more popular cousin, the merlot. One winery in the Central Coast region said that demand for cases of pinot noir jumped by more than 135 per cent in a single month."
"Call it the 'Sideways effect': If you're having trouble getting hold of some pinot noir wine - or finding that prices have been climbing - you can blame the popular movie Sideways, which starred Paul Giamatti as a wine snob on a road trip with his old college roommate (played by Thomas Haden Church) through California's Central Coast wine country. According to wineries and industry watchers, sales of pinot noir have been boosted by the film, which sees Giamatti's character singing the praises of the finicky grape over its more popular cousin, the merlot. One winery in the Central Coast region said that demand for cases of pinot noir jumped by more than 135 per cent in a single month."
Even Smart People Don't Think Ahead
Disney Concert Hall to Lose Some Luster
It turns out the reflective properties of the new Disney Concert Hall have been raising the temperature on the sidewalk to 140 degrees. Engineers across the continent will roar in delight. Have you ever asked an engineer about architects? Wow. Don't.
It turns out the reflective properties of the new Disney Concert Hall have been raising the temperature on the sidewalk to 140 degrees. Engineers across the continent will roar in delight. Have you ever asked an engineer about architects? Wow. Don't.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
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