O Canada!

Have I ever mentioned my love for things Canadian?

No?

Well, I love Canada. I really do. By now, you have probably already noticed that I have a deep interest in unusual things, so this shouldn't really shock you. Now, I don't mean to suggest that Canada is unusual, but it is different from where we live, here, in the less northern part of "North" America.

Oddly enough, most Americans never spend much time talking about Canada. Think about it… how much Canadian history did you learn in high-school? None, I'll bet... and for most of us, when does Canada ever come up in conversation... I mean, outside of a discussion about Bob and Doug MacKenzie (yes, I'm showing my age here).

How many of you have ever seen any Canadian television shows? Damned few, I'll bet, unless you, like my dear friend Janet O, lives somewhere near the border. Isn't that bizarre? How can it not strike you as strange, that we have a television channel in America that is a vehicle for showing British programming (BBC America, which I love), but no Canadian programming is shown here… Wait, I take that back… have any of you ever seen DaVinci's inquest? Canadian.

There are other Canadian shows that used to be shown here in the U.S. on a channel called Trio, on DirecTV. I used to watch a show called "Street Legal", which was a lawyer show set in Toronto. There was also a great show that was called Black Harbour, set in Nova Scotia, about a family that moved back to the wife/mother's hometown with her American husband and children, from many years spent in Los Angeles. It was a pretty cool show.

There is more to my love of Canada than television… there are other things… things like the number of Canadians that live among us without our notice. People like the late Peter Jennings, Sandra Oh, Mike Myers, Michael J. Fox, Natalie MacMaster, Oscar Peterson, Jim Carey, Matthew Perry and of course, one of my favorite actors… William Shatner.

I am also rather taken with Canadian money. Canadian money makes a little more sense than ours does. I like the fact that the bills aren't all the same color. I like the fact that the Canadians have, sensibly, gotten rid of dollar bills in favor of one and two dollar coins.



Pretty cool, eh?

I also enjoy learning about Canadian history… especially as it pertains to so many important things in the early history of our own republic… and if you don't believe me, check the history of that unfortunate little dust-up that we commonly refer to as the War of 1812.

There are a few things about Canada that I don't like, though. Things like Celine Dione, Pamela Anderson, and a rude little cow named Prunelle, who worked in the McDonald's located in the Montreal train station, back in 1998. I'll tell you the story some day.

Did you know that I can sing all of the words to the Canadian National Anthem? I can… but only the first verse, and only in english.

Did you know that my friend Janet lives in Michigan, and went to McGill University? I'll bet you didn't know THAT, didja? She went to the same school as William Shatenr... how cool is that>?!?! Did you know that fellow bloggers, Trish and Zanne are Canadian? Zanne is a transplant, and Trish still lives in the great white north. How can a country that produces folks like them NOT be a pretty cool place?

I have many online friends from Canada, here is what is probably an abbreviated list...; I'll try not to leave anyone out:

Romper
Lloyd
SPU
Robot Johnny
Daniel
Kathlenios
Bud The Spud
Elena (she of the ...... dots....)

(please forgive if I have left anyone out)

Well, enough about Canada for today... I could go on and on, but I won't, mainly because I have a class to teach this morning.

So, when you are out and about today, give a thought about Canada... our northern neighbors. There are some good folks up there.