Club Car

I know this blog is done with but I thought I'd post this website. It digs deep into the Stan Rogers song we listened to in class about how accurate his lyrics really are historically. It's kind of interesting. Take a look
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~jacktar/barretts.html

Well, since I've already blogged on both Anne of Green Gables movies, I thought for the book review I would write about the first five books in the Anne series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. In Anne of Green Gables, the orphan Anne Shirley is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert and charms the hearts of Avonlea, including the handsome Gilbert Blythe. In Anne of Avonlea Anne teaches school and gets entangled in numerous adventures. Anne then goes to Redmond College in Anne of the Island and almost marries her night in shining armor Royal Gardner but finds she actually does love Gilbert. Anne moves to another city to teach, living with three other women and learning to charm the stuck up Pringles who rule the town. Lastly, Anne marries Gilbert and moves to the coast where Gilbert takes over as the town doctor. While Gilbert is healing bodies, Anne heals the heart of a fellow neighbor.

To be honest I was quite surprised that the following books in the series were actually good. It seems like a similar plot in each book: Anne meets new people who originally don't like her, but she changes their lives, and therefore transforms enemies into friends. However, Montgomery is able to come up with a myriad of original situations that are new and engrossing.
I think these books are treasures because Anne lives the life people crave, including Montgomery herself. Canada is proud to identify with Anne because the country desires to be the ideal quiet and domestic state that everyone would or should want to live in that peacefully overcomes obstacles. If you want noise, go to the United States, but if you seek quiet adventure, come to Canada, particularly Prince Edward Island.

Black Robe" is set in 1632 in the newly settled colony of Quebec. A young Jesuit priest, Father Lafourge, is assigned to leave the settlement with a band of Algonquins to travel to the Huron mission 1500 miles up-stream. Accompanying the priest is young French colonist named Daniel. As soon as the journey begins the Algonquins become suspicious of Father Lafourge's peculiar brand of spirirtuality and suspect him to be a demon. The wilderness soon begins to test the priest's beliefs, especially when he stumbles across Daniel (who had expressed interest in the priesthood) "rolling in the grass" with a young Algonquin girl. At one point the tribe becomes so suspicious of the father that they take him to a witch doctor who comfirms that the priest is, indeed a demon. Upon this affirmation, the tribe abandons the two Frenchmen with only a pheasant and a canoe. Daniel paddles after the Algonquin and persuades the leader to come back with his family and take the priest to the mission. The film finds new life after this decision as the tribe is ambushed by a rival tribe and the viewer witnesses warlike Indian customs. At the end, Father Lafourge finds his way (all alone) to the Huron mission where disease has preceded him. The Hurons, riddled by plague, convert to Christianity hoping that conversion will save them from death. The film precludes by informing the reader that the Christian Huron were massacred 15 years later by their enemy, the Iroqouis.The film was very informative to the viewer about French-Indian relations during colonial Quebec. Unlike the English, the French took a proactive role in trying to convert the native tribes. The film also showed the beauty and power of the Canadian wilderness. This may have been a move that was purposely used to show the reader how such a looming landscape could mold a people. The film was tinged with some late-20th century thought such as Daniel arguing with the priest that the Algonquin religion made just as much sense as Christianity. That might have been a stretch for someone with a 17th century education.

Where the Grass Joined Hands, discusses Canada's geographical relationship to the United States, and its westward expansion. First Dr. Isern talked about Paul Sharp and his test of the Webb Thesis through bi national comparison and his argument; triumph of national will over environment. Then he discussed the bill of 1867 to take over the Canadian West. This idea was sparked because of the Minnesota and Manitoba trade route that extended through the Red River Valley. When nations border one another a great deal of importance is placed on where that boundary lies. The main idea behind the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the London Convention in 1818, the Oregon Treaty in 1846, the Joint Boundary Commission in 1872-76, and finally resurvey in 1910-12 was all about splitting the difference over the 49th parallel. If surveyors from either side of the line were a great distance apart they would walk it off half way and that is where the line was drawn. Then once this was done, sod cairns were erected to mark this position. After establishing a boundary the next thing is to establish a set of guidelines for each side to abide by. Canada and the US had wartime agreements between their respected harvesters. This posed as more of a problem for the US because there really was nothing to gain by selling to Canada which is why they were seeking a protected market. Some factors that hurt that were things like the exchange rate. Canadians were getting a much better price in the states with the exchange then they were at home. Then, Dr. Isern talked about the issue of water rights. There were plans on the Missouri River, as well as a plan in 1957 by the Corps of Engineers Garrison Diversion for Irrigation. Some objections to the passing of water across the border were a fear that inter-basin transfer would damage crops and the soil, which did not seem to be the case. It was very interesting to see Canada’s points on the Irrigation ideas.

I recently read two articles in the magazine the Walrus. The nature of the magazine is similiar to that of Newsweek or Time magazine. It covers current events, global issues, and human interest stories in Canada. The first article I read was in the May 2007 edition, and it was titled: "City Limits". It was about remembering the famous author Jane Jacobs who passed away last year. One point she made in her life was that even though Quebec is not recognized as an indendent state, it already seperate in many ways from greater Canada. The article also critiques seven of her most famous books. The writer of the article wants the reader to remember Jacobs not for her radical ideas, but as a citizen of Canada who was greatly influenced by her country's problems. The second article I read was titled: "Alienated Cosmopolitans" in the March 2007 edition. It discusses how we are members of the world community, a memeber of the human race, but we identify ourselves as peoplr by where we are from. it was an interesting look into the idea of the pshychological ties we have to "Our Place". It used the Miss Universe as an example, but I thoughyt that it was a little ridiculous to use that example. I also think the article should have discussed organizations like the UN. I don't know if we'll ever feel like a true world community.

I just finished reading two articles in the Walrus magazine. The nature of the magazine is close to the same as US News and World Report. The magazine covers global news, local human interest stories, and world wide events. The first article I read was in the March 2007 edition and it was titled: "Life on Nut Island". Its about about an elite tactcal crime fighting unit that fell apart due to internal corruption. The article reminded me of the TV program, The Shield. It was called the Nut Island Unit, and it was made by the Ontario Provincial Police. It was interesting to hear about how they were basically operating on their own, and they only naswered to eachother. To me that is a recipe for corruption and npolice brutality. When the corruption came to light it turned into finger pointing and scapegoating. I think it sucks that police corruption exists everywhere. The second article I read was in the May 2007 edition titiled: "An American Type of Sadness". This was the first article I read that takes a stance against American attitude. The article tries to tie the urge for materialism with american novels since WWII. The article discusses many books that I have never heard of like The Discomfort Zone and the Diviners. I think the article makes a good point, but I don't think materialism started after WWII.

I recently read two article in the Walrus magazine. The nature of the magazine is sililiar to that of Time or Newsweek. It covers world problems, diplomatic issues, and Canadian human interest stories the first article I read was titled: "Schoolboy Chic" in the March 2007 edition. Its about a designer who puts a little rock and roll into classic mens' suits. Its not really about anything but putting a little different spin on suit design. It didn't make sense to me that ther wasn't any pictures or illustration. Why would a fashion article not have pictures? The way the suits are described would not make them very suitable for the workplace. Its more like a trendy way to dress up for a night out in town. It was interesting to hear about new trend in Canadian popular culture. The second article I read was in the May 2007 edition titiled: "An Upstream Battle". It was about one of Canada's oldest lacrosse clubs. The New Westminister Lacrosse Club was founded in 1889. I had never heard anything about Canadian Lacrosse until today, but it seems to have a lot of popularity in sporadic parts of Canada. Some people think that Lacrosse is from the Natives, while others claim it comes from Ireland. The article infers that is an evolution of the combined two. I enjoyed the article, it gave some good insight into the origins of organized lacrosse.

I recently read two articles in two seperate editions of the Walrus magazine. The nature of the magazine is similiar to US News and World Report. It covers global issues, current events, and Canadian human interest stories. The first article I reviewed was in the May 2007 edution. It was titled:"The Fix". It awsa very weird article, and I still don't understand what it was about. I think it was about a kid who drew on money to open his imagination, or something. I'm not sure if it was an allagory or metaphor to the world of money, or if it was a true story. I don't know what else to say about it. The second article I read was in the March 2007 edition titiled:"A House Divided". It was a very insightful article about life in Israel and the West Bank. It ewas interesting to hear how the Israelis inspect and search people before going into MacDonalds because it is a terrorist target. The writer talks about a house where an elderly Jewish man lives with an old Palestinian man. It was interesting to hear the soldier's accounts of fighting the jihadists. The areas of conflict in the West Bank are a constant war zone, but people continue to do day to day activities because they are so use to the violence. I hope that one day there can be peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but it just seems that a wasted hope. as long as there are people who want violence there will be.

Lecture twelve was titled Four Strong Winds and it focused on Communication and Pop Culture in Canada. The first topic that was covered was the founder of Communication Studies Marshall McLuhan. McLuhan is internationally acknowledged and is best known for his quote, "The Medium is the Message," which was the title of one of the chapters of his book Understanding Media. McLuhan's basic theory was that there are two types of media, hot and cold. Hot media like television allows a viewer to just sit and watch without forcing them to imagine too much, the plot and any other essential items to understand it are put directly in front of you. Cold media like books force the reader to imagine the backgrounds and settings for the plot and often involves much more imagination. McLuhan's main writtings were during the 1960's before internet and video games which makes his theories slightly dated but you get the sense that McLuhan was trying to warn people about the effects television has on people and recommending that, although TV might be the new medium of choice, books could still be beneficial to people. Another main idea of this lecture was Canadian Cultural Policy. As Professor Isern stated this at first seems to be a bit backward because culture comes from the grass roots. In Canada, however, they have adopted a defensive stance towards their cultural practices and this has resulted in the creation of the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC), a National Film Board, and many commissions directed towards arts and publishing within the nation. These agencies were created in an attempt to celebrate and explore Canadian culture in the hopes that through film and media people within the nation would be able to understand and accept eachothers cultures. The final defensive step for Canadian culture was "the Culture Clause." When free trade was adopted between the US and Canada a clause was also passed that made an exception of cultural products crossing the border. The rest of lecture twelve focused on different artists that have been popular in Canada such as The Rankin Family, Rawlings Cross, Ian & Sylvia, and my favorite Stan Rogers. These artists were interesting to listen to because I really doubt they would have been nearly as popular in the U.S. because instead of being studio altered pop music it had many different instruments and a much more Folksy feel to it.
The most interesting thing to me about this lecture was getting to listen to all the different types or artists and listening to how different Canadian popular music is different than the United States. The statement that stood out most to me dealt with the Canadian artists as well, it was, "There are two things that sell music in Canada, sex and mentioning the north country."

Lecture 12 was about Canadian popular Culture. Dr. Isern started the lecture by talking about the “father of communication studies” -- Marshal McLuhan. Then we got to experience some Celtic folk and rock music from the Rankin Family and Rawlins Cross. It was interesting to see how the bands changed as they went thru the year, like how Rawlins Cross added different instruments. We then went on to discuss Hot medium vs. low medium. High medium are things like TV, where you need low participation and low are things like reading a book, where you need high participation. Next, Dr. Isern talked about Stan Rogers. He has a physical and vocal presence. His songs address different Canadian regions like the Northwest Passage. We next discussed The Canadian Broadcasting Company and the National Film Board. They were created to promote Canadian entertainment. In 1988 a Free Trade Agreement was made between the U.S. and Canada, the only exemption was for cultural products. The Broadcasting Act of 1958 created the Canadian Cultural Content which established rules for Canadian content in the media. The definition of Canadian content is 2 of these 4: composer of music, composer of lyrics, Canadian performers, and performance in Canada. The last thing we discussed was Ian Tyson. He was a singer in the group Ian and Sylvia and had roots from British Columbia. He was a Canadian - American cowboy, which makes it hard to fit him into Canadian identity. It was appropriate that we finished with his song “ Four Strong Winds’, which was sang by Neil Young. The most interesting part was how the different bands/singers changed their style as the came out with more albums. I just figured American bands/singers did that.

The weekend in Winnepeg was a great experience for me. It was actually the first time I had been out of the US. I really enjoyed the food. Getting to experiance all different types from Ukrainian to Tai to Canadian. Besides the food my favorite palce we visited was the Manatoba Museum. Mr. Shepard knew everything about Cananda and more. I wish we would haev had more time because at the end we ran out and sped through the last half it seemed. I am definatly interested in going back to not only the museum, but Wennipeg instead. One thing that suprised me was how many people actually say, eh at the end of thier sentances. I sorta just thought a few did it because Americans make fun of it so much. But, many times I found myself laughing under my breath. Im sure there are plenty of things we do that they think are funny as well. All and all it was a great weekend and I am glad Dr. Isern gave us the expeience of going there.

I recently reviewed two articles in the Walrus magazine. The nature of the magazine is similiar to that of Time and Newsweek; it covers global events, economic issues, and Canadian human interest stories. The first artclie I read was in the May 2007 edition, and it was titled: Wild Chamber. It was about an artist, Roger Ballen who mixes human and animal symbology with material objects to create art. He started in South Africa, and he went on to be recognized in artist circles around the world. Its interesting how he difined art as needing to be organic and alive. Overall, the article was a liitle weird. I am not really into art like this, but it seems as though many around the world are. The second article I read was in the March 2007 edition of the Walrus. It was titiled: "The Last Lumberjacks". It discussed the evolution of logging in Quebec before the time of chainsaws to the moe machine driven process of today. It was interesting that the loggers are also the truckers, and many say that it has evolved into a more solitary buisness, spending most of your work time on the road. The article really didn't explain the cutiing process. It was more a tripute to the men that make it happen. It seems as though it is mostly a family trade, and that it is a very close knit bunch of guys. I guess you got to be in such a hazardous profession.

I previously wrote a little on the Northwest Passage route and I decided to research some more into the subject. In the CBC archives, “Breaking the Ice”, further examination to the Northwest Passage is taken into account. The “Artic Grail” refers to the dream of sailors wanting to find a northern passage to the riches of Asia. Cold weather has been the main enemy for ships trying this route. One video was of the Franklin expedition and the legend that precedes the new findings. Coined “one of the greatest unsolved mysteries”, the expedition is well known throughout all of Canada. A documentary on the St. Roch told of how the ship was the first to traverse the passage from west to east. I laughed during the video of the Manhattan and her journey through the icy passage. The reporter was definitely Canadian. He stated how the Canadian icebreaker captain got bored and plowed ahead of the Manhattan to show how it was done “Canadian” style. This journey was trying to prove a big tanker could traverse the northern waters. In the future, global warming may contribute to a longer opening in the icy waters. Scientist seem this will happen in a few decades. There has been an investment of 4.6 billion in ships that can break through ice. By doing this, a huge commercial economy would open up in the north. I happen to think there would be factors of economical disasters facing the northern seas if this should happen. It seems wherever there is a shipping route of oil, an oil spill will happen. Either way, there needs to be some regulations established to keep Canada’s arctic safe.
(this is my last post..thank you and have a great summer!)

The Duplessis Orphans is quite a strange subject to me. I decided to look into the facts behind the stories of orphans waking up only to find themselves as a psychiatric patient. Many of these children were orphans out of wedlock. They were abused sexually and physically. Each one of them has a story of abuse from the religious people who were in control of them. The Duplessis Orphans are adults now and are trying to have justice made. In the 40’s and 50’s thousands of mothers were shamed to give there children up to the Catholic Church. Thousands of these children were placed into mental hospitals and treated horribly. They were shocked, put into straight jackets, and fed horrible meals. One documentary told of Alice Quinton and her 16 year stay in a mental facility. This is a horrible thing to do to young children. She was locked in a box for 16 years and put through beatings, electric shock, physical and sexual abuse. There wasn’t anything wrong with these children. On Mar. 1, they challenged the Church. They put on straight jackets and marched to shame the government. They actually supplied the proof of the abuse. This was shocking to Canadian officials. The Church refutes the charges and denies the accusations. All this was done in the advances of science. That was what the Church said. The dead were buried in unmarked graves. The Duplessis Orphans, if anyone, deserve their story to be heard.

This is unbelievable! I cannot imagine how people could do this to each other. Also, this was the Church who did these horrible things!

During the 1880’s the railroad industry was booming. I looked at the CBC archives and watched some videos explaining the immigration of Chinese immigrants. The first videos told of Canada bringing in 15,000 workers and were paid only half of what Canadians would get. Higher wages were unlikely due to unions not letting the Chinese enroll. As soon as the work was done, there was an outcry for the Chinese to go home. There was a fear of being overrun by the Chinese and ruining the British way of life. Ottawa passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, one of the most racist acts ever passed. A man was interviewed and told of his story and the racism he received on a daily basis. It wasn’t until after WWII that Chinese were recognized as actual citizens and the racial abuse started to slow down. Two men, Harry Ho and Roy Mah, both fought for Canada during the war. Even though they could fight, they couldn’t vote. They were even born in Canada. The few clips after talked about Chinese integration into professional jobs and the smuggling of Chinese immigrants. Throughout all the struggles facing Chinese immigrants, their population continued to grow. Eventually Chinatown became a tourist destination carrying a hint "of exotic romance". There will always be the ignorance of racism due to a lack of cultural knowledge. The bond created by Chinese families is quite strong because they pulled together through hard times. Even still, the Chinese history of Canada should be valued and recognized as a definite part of the country’s identity.

I cannot blame people for wanting to take advantage of situation where opportunity offers a life far better than a previous one. The only way to benefit from the situation is to embrace the characteristics of all cultures.

This book was really interesting in that it gave a perspective on the Metis very different than that of Ens. Instead of a great deal of analysis and explanations of social trends, this book is a memoir compiled by Maria Campbell, a Metis woman who had a very difficult life. Her story is at times quite sad and borders on disturbing, but her literary voice is so honest and sincere that one walks away from the book feeling inspired by her tale. Maria experienced first hand the prejudice that Metis had to deal with in the early 20th Century--she doesn't use exact dates, so it's hard to gauge exactly where we are temporally, but one gets the idea. Maria's best friend and inspiration throughout the portion of her life covered here was her great-grandmother, Cheechum. Cheechum never gave up hope that what Louis Riel started would one day be revitalized, and that a great prosperity would come to her people. The work deals quite disparagingly with the Catholic Church, which is understandable in that Maria's mother, a devout Catholic, was denied a mass for not receiving last rites. That was but one tragedy in Maria's life, following her mother's death, Maria gets into an abusive marriage and spirals down into alcoholism, drug abuse and prostitution. In the end, however, she finds strength through AA and a strong bond with other Native and Metis in social organizations. We leave Maria as a survivor, one who is stronger from having gone through a terrible ordeal and using that strength for the betterment of her community. I suggest this book for many reasons. For one thing, even though there is much heartache in the work, there are some very tender and humorous moments that keep the reader motivated. I think that this work stands as a good companion piece to the Ens book, in that it allows for a insider's view with an obvious bias, that provides a true understanding of Metis feeling following the events depicted in Homeland to Hinterland.

Laurence Ricou’s, Vertical Man/ Horizontal World, is a book describing the life and feelings one receives while living in Canada’s prairie lands. The introduction starts out by giving some different personal perspectives of the land. Edward McCourt describes the prairie man as living in a world where man is nothing, yet everything. Wallace Stegner takes it into a geometrical figure saying the area is a “horizontal world and man is the sole vertical intrusion.” Thompson compares the plains and Natives to the wilds and sands of Africa. Either way, all men seemed to take a liking to this vast land in some way and can form a relationship through the immense beauty of it all. Ricou really focuses on other people’s influences in either exploring or writing about the plains. He explains Robert Stead’s poem, “The Prairie”, and dives into his own meaning of the words. Laurence goes further to relate Stead’s other works show his passion for the plains. There is really a connection with the characters of these works to their environment. Stead uses the image of man’s verticality in the prairie vastness, not to depict his exposure, but to deny it (p.35). Rain takes precedent over real love. I have to shorten things up, otherwise I could write too much.
The rest of the book covered the fictional writings of Grove, Ostenso, Ross, Mitchell, and others. It seems there were times for each author to make their point heard and felt. Each author paints a picture of what the prairie is to them. Ross has his characters contrast the colors of the prairie, dull, bare, and colorless. The way we can relate to these characters helps us imagine life on the prairie. The images Grove creates relate to the “unity of the natural world”. Martha Ostenso’s Wild Geese captures the existence of the prairie man to his livelihood, which is grain. I would say a main point Ricou helps prove is that we are people of our environment. We live and die by what makes up our passion in life.

I would have to say this book helped push across the point of the many feelings one has while being on the plains. By looking through many other eyes, it is almost possible to grasp the idea of standing on the plains without ever being there. To be surrounded by the environment` created by these authors, stimulates the imagination. (I had to write this much to get the points across, sorry)

I'm not sure if anyone else out there likes hockey. I grew up playing hockey two nights a week at our rink in town. So as you could imagine, I really like watching the NHL. If anyone else has been following, here is what has been going on latelty.

We are well into the 2nd round of the playoffs. The first round wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Only one under-ranked team managed to beat a higher sead. The second round is going to be a little more interesting. Here is what were looking at.

Western Conference Eastern Conference
(1) Detriot vs. (5) San Jose (1) Buffalo vs. (6) NY Rangers
(2) Anaheim vs. (3) Vancouver (2) New Jersey vs. (4) Ottowa

There have been a lot of really great games, but recently in the West, Vancouver has advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. They took out the Ducks in double overtime with most of the thanks going to the Niedermayer Brothers. A big hit and a quick wrist sent the team to the Conference Finals. In similar fashion, the Red Wings tied the series at 2-2 with an overtime power play goal.

In the East, there was contorversy in the Buffalo/Ranger series. The puck was sliding on the goal line and the goalie's leg pad was sweeping it out and the goal was disallowed. I thought the lights would have came on, but the stripes thought differently. I'm glad to see a Canadian team really getting it done. The Senators are up 3-1 over NJ right now and most of the priase should go to Dan Heatly with his assists and the unassisted in the second.

I usually like to have a lot more actually Canadian teams in the playoff since it is kinda like there sport. On the whole, I really think hockey is a real team sport and I really enjoy watching the series. The players make what we used to do back when we were growing up look pathetic. I guess that's why I'm watching them on TV.

Corner Gas

I watched Corner Gas season 3. Corner Gas is about the lives of the people who live in Dog River and hang around the only gas station and restaurant in town.
I have seen this before and did not think it was too funny, but I thought I would give it another shot. So I watched a few episodes. The first one I watched was about a running club. To prepare for a fun run Lacey and Wanda start a running club; Lacey tries to get others to join, and manages to convince Brent. While this is happening Oscar convinces a doctor to give him handicapped plates which embarrasses his wife until she realizes how useful they are. And hank becomes a crossing guard.
In the second episode I watched Brent and Hank rediscover their old tree house, only to find that it's been taken over by a new group of kids. They decide to take it back. Brent and Hank fight very dirty while trying to get it back. While this is happening Lacey tries to learn kung fu from a less than willing Karen. And Oscar helps an old friend with her hot water and finds out that she likes him.
In the third episode I watched Brent feels that he's behind the times with his old-fashioned camera, so he buys a digital one. While he does that Paul adds a trivia game to the bar, creating some unlikely teams, and bringing out the competitive spirit in quite a few town members.
I like this show enough not to turn it off, but it is not my favorite. I think there is too many story line and the ones that are funny are not elaborated on enough. I am glad I gave it another chance, but I don’t think this show will get a third chance from me.

The book Quebec confronts Canada gives a new insight into the relation between Canada and its problem child province. Edward Corbett’s book was written in 1967 just years after a small string of terrorist bombings shook Montreal and brought the problem to the forefront. Being written in the same time period gives the book a fresh feel. Corbett discusses at length the situation that has been festering in Quebec really ever since 1760. It has only gotten worse with time and increased especially after WWII. A key difference of course is language. While it is certain that most French-Canadians are bilingual out of necessity, there still remains a small portion that speaks only French. This number according to Corbett is dropping and it will be virtually non-existent by 2011. Corbett also points out that most Canadians do not mind learning English to participate in business and other activities, what bothers them is the lack of French being taught in publicly funded schools. There is a feeling among Quebeckers, according to Corbett, that if they have to pay taxes and have their children taught English, then English-Canadians children should be taught French. These feelings of resentment have existed for years among French-Canadians but they have really only taken on a political aspect in the post-war years. According to Corbett the provincial government of Quebec has been seeking autonomy from Ottawa, or the federal government, in many significant ways. The provincial government has set up its own education plans, economic plans, agricultural plans, and tried to gain more social security benefits for its citizens. Corbett ends his book with a look to the future where he states that the confederation will only be saved if Quebec is allowed in essence a bigger slice of the pie. I thought this book was very good and seemed somewhat like a precursor to The Dream of Nation. Though it was written forty years ago Corbett showed remarkable foresight into the Quebec issue. Much of what he discussed only got worse as the century progresses. Corbett’s book is another work that shatters what in my mind myth of Canada as a tolerant, disciplined, law abiding people.

Lecture 11

In lecture 11 Prof. Isern talked about the border disputes of Canada, which was a little surprising to me because I did not think they had any. I was also surprised to see a cannon pointing in the direction of the United States. The lecture was titled “where the grass joined hands” which is from a poem by Stafford. I thought it was interesting how Prof. Isern would recite the poem in the mud between the Canadian and US border. He also talked about the book by Paul Sharp called “Whoop-up Country”. After that we discussed the Annexation of the west and the Ramsey bill that did not pass. I thought it was interesting to hear more about the 49th parallel, which is the border line. They made the border by a joint commission of 1872-76. We also talked about the land markers on the border which I did not know existed.
Later in the lecture we talked about custom harvesting, which I have seen done in the summer time while I was working. I thought it was amazing how fast these harvesters would get a section of land done. It was also amazing at the speed of which these harvesters went. That led to a discussion about wheat between the US and Canada.
Then we talked about the Garrison Diverson and the controversy behind it, and the Canadian objections. And we ended with a slide of the Peace Garden, which I have never been to, but hear it is beautiful.
I thought the lecture was interesting, and it was great to hear more about Canadian Wheat and the controversy behind it coming to the US. It was interesting because my father works with a lot of farmers because he works for a fertilizer company, so it was good to learn more about it.

First Across the Continent, a book on Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the author Barry Gough describes the trials and tribulations of the Canadian explorer. Alexander Mackenzie was born in Scotland and came to America with his two aunts. His father and uncle later joined them in the New England area of America. Being that the family followed the crown of England, they remained Loyalists during the Revolutionary war and had to escape to Canada. Alexander's father perished from scurvy during the war. Gough makes an assumption that all able hands were used to help fight the war while Alexander was a boy and that his early experiences with the wild were at this time. When he was old enough, Alexander joined a counting house and then joined up with a trading post. After hearing tales of exploration from his employer, Alexander decided he would embark on his own exploration in hope to reach the coast to China. In Alexander's first exploration, he reached the Arctic and was very disappointed because it wasn't the Pacific. He never claimed to have found the Northwest Passage; much like David Thompson tried to do after following Mackenzie's passage to the North. On his second exploration, Mackenzie reached the Pacific coast. He used Canadian traders and various Natives as guides and interpreters. Though his explorations were not funded by the government, the second one was better planned then I would have imagined. Mackenzie knew what times of the year were best to travel and therefore sent teams out ahead to prepare for his arrival for a winter camp. Mackenzie also appears to be a very driving force. Establishing new trading posts, he encouraged more bands of Natives to hunt and trap more. He also had the ability to keep his crew from giving up. He never complained about being tired, he was also anxious to keep moving forward. He only commented on the state of his crew and the exhaustion they were feeling. Mackenzie seemed to me, to be more on a mission just to say he reached the Pacific coast verses the tales of Lewis and Clark who were on exploration to study new animals, peoples and plants. He is definitely an important character for Canadians to know about and possibly for Americans to know about. Without his determination and ability to survive, others may have perished.

Anne has just finished her first year teaching. She is also trying to publish a book which is rejected by the publishing company. She finds out that Diana is engaged and she gets married. Diana enters one of Anne’s stories into a contest advertising baking powder and she wins. Gilbert proposes to Anne but she turns him down because she says she does not love him. Rachel’s husband dies and she decides to move in with Marilla. This frees Anne up to accept a teaching job her old teacher Miss Stacey has offered her. Gilbert leaves Avonlea to go to medical school. Anne leaves for Kingsport to teach at a ladies academy. The school is filled with spoiled rich girls. One of the girls, Emmeline is a student she takes personal interest in. When her father takes her out of school Anne begins to tutor her. She is asked to go to Boston with Emmeline and her father Morgan. She finds out that Gilbert is engaged to someone else. He tells her that she should write about Avonlea. She also told him that the school had offered her a 5 year contract. Anne wrote a book on Avonlea that is going to be published. Morgan asks Anne to marry him but she declines. She gave her resignation for her teaching job and goes home to Avonlea. Anne learns that Gilbert is deathly sick with scarlet fever. Anne realizes that she is in love with Gilbert and is afraid that he is going to die not knowing how she feels. But Gilbert recovers and he and Anne get together in the end. I also really liked this movie. I think this is a great love story.

I read the book Riel: A Life of Revolution by Maggie Siggins. This book is a biography, but Siggins writes it in such a way that it wasn't to hard to read. Siggins uses a lot of narrative from the writings of Louis Riel which adds a lot to the book. For Siggins, Riel was a humanitarian hero who dreamed of a multicultural Canada before anyone else did.

This book is split into four parts which focus on the major events in Riel's life. The first section, called Emgergence, covers from Riel's birth until his leaving the College of Montreal just before he completed his degree. Childhood ususally influences the people we become and Riel was no exception. Riel was raised devoutly Catholic which shaped his goals later in life, and his oppurtunity for an education made him a more appealing leader. The second section of the book is called Triumph and covers the Red River Rebellion up until Riel leaves the Red River Settlement to escape from General Wolesky. Riel had to leave because otherwise he would have been arrested for murder. This triumph at Red River was important to Riel because it made him a hero to the Metis, a fugative to many white Canadians, and influenced his decision making later in life. The third section, Exile, focuses on Riel's life after being banished from Canada. During this period of his life Riel faced many challenges including: anger at his friends for being able to run the Province he created, a bout of mental illness, and he gained the belief that he was a prophet of the people. The last section, tragedy, covers everything from Riel's final return to Canada to his hanging in Regina.

The life of Louis Riel is very complicated and Siggins does a good job of sorting everything out. The narrative used adds a lot to the book and makes it more interesting to the reader. The one thing I wish she would have included would be another map or two. This was an informative book, and even though it might not have been the easiest read it was worth it.

The book The Canadian Frontier written by W.J. Eccles published in 1969 talks about Canada and the way it formed from 1534 to 1760 encompassing from New France to what the author calls the 'Military Frontier'. The book talks about mostly the fur trade and its effects once again upon the settlement of Canada and New France. Eccles speculates that the trade was purely economical and had little to do with the need for each culture to establish itself. This book also as the dates suggest encompasses the French and Indian war as well. The fight between the British and the French put an everlasting effect upon the settlement of the frontier. This book portrays the British armies as slaughtering the native people and running them out of their way. Was this true? I thought that relatively speaking the British were pretty 'nice' to the native population although I am sure some instances did occur. I found it interesting that Eccles describes a slave trade of 'Indians' that occurred in Montreal. I did not realize, that although the number are relatively low compared to the United states part in African slaves, that this happened in Canada as well with the selling and buying of the native people. The person, La Verendrye, Eccles talks about, who was involved in this trade later, loses his son to a native slaughtering.
I thought this book was actually pretty helpful in getting a full insight into a large amount of time. I enjoy books that offer timeline of events to learn the way things occurred. I learn best when I can associate what is happening with what had happened and what will happen; sort of put the puzzle together linearly rather than randomly! Eccles however had an interesting way of presenting facts and I found that a little annoying.

This movie is about an orphan named Anne who is taken in by a brother and sister Marilla and Mathew. Marilla is a no nonsense spinster and Mathew is a quiet farmer. Anne is a talkative and imaginative girl who is inclined to be over dramatic. Anne makes her first friend Diana who she refers to as her kindred spirit. She also enrolls in school where she climbs to the top of the class. She also develops a dislike for a boy named Gilbert. Anne gets in a lot of scrapes such as dying her hair green and getting Diana drunk accidentally. She ties with Gilbert for first place on the entrance exams to get into Queens College. Anne goes off to college at Queens. Anne wins the Avery scholarship and gets $250 a year to go to Redmond College. Mathew sadly dies of heart problems. Marilla is thinking about selling Green Gables because she can’t run it herself because her eyesight is going. Instead of going to school Anne is going to teach and help Marilla with the house and takes classes through correspondence. Anne had planned to teach at a school a ways away from Avonlea but Gilbert offers to let her teach in the post he had gotten in town and takes hers that is out of town and would force him to spend money on boarding. Needless to say Gilbert and Anne have made up with each other. I have seen this movie many times and like it so much I think because of the beautiful surroundings of Prince Edward Island. The island seems so tranquil and idyllic and I would love to go there some day.

The book is about the differences between the U.S. and Canada. The best way to understand the two countries Lipset believes is to compare and contrast the two. The reason for the differences between the countries is its organizing principles. The United States is a country of revolution with the objective of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for its citizens. The source of authority in the United States comes from “the people”. Canada on the other hand is the product of a counterrevolution whose rationale is “peace, order, and good government”. Canada’s government was seen as just a continuation of English rule and the authority of this government came from the Queen. The counties “…vary in consistent ways across a broad spectrum of behavior, institutions, and values.” In computing his data Lipset says that he does not rely on significance tests instead he looks at how the differences correspond to what is anticipated according to the differing organizing principles of the two countries. One of the most interesting differences between the two countries is their differing views on different cultures within their society. Canada sees itself a mosaic different and separate but united while the U.S. considers itself a melting pot a place where all cultures blend together to make one. There are also great differences on how each country has treated its natives. A quote from Robin Winks in the book I think sums it up, “that the harshest race relations developed in Australia, the least harsh in New Zealand, and that the experience with white-Indian contact in the United States fell more towards the Australian side, and …in Canada more towards the New Zealand side, of the scale.” The two counties also differ on the kinds of immigrants they have attracted. In the early days Canada mostly attracted immigrants from the U.K. after WWI the country looked for and promoted more non-British immigrants to the county. The U.S. on the other hand has always had a diverse immigrant population. Protestant English tended to immigrate to Canada while Catholic Irishmen were more likely to immigrate to the U.S. Another difference between the countries is in women’s rights. Canadian women used to have fewer rights than American women and they were less likely to question their inferior positions. But currently Canada has more laws to protect women’s pay than in the U.S. Canada and the U.S. are different because Canada remains more conservative while the U.S. is more liberal. But, the two countries are more similar to each other than they are to any other country.

Lecture 6 is about the Metis people. The idea of mixed bloods or the Metis as a distinctive group is a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. The Metis emerged out of the fur trade of the 1700s. French voyageurs intermarried with the native women. These marriages were not victimization of native women these relationships were not “casual promiscuous encounters” but were “marital unions which gave rise to distinct family units.” These people of mixed parentage lacked a place in either parent’s society. Metis towns developed near fur trade posts and the Metis served as casual labor for the fur companies. The Red River Metis were women of Cree, Ojibwa, or Chippewa descent and the men were of French or Scottish ancestry. Conflicts between the Metis and English settlers occurred during the Seven Oaks Massacre and the killings at Seven Oaks. The Metis came to dominate the Red River Valley. The Metis had a mixed economy they did some farming but also traded buffalo robes. The Metis started to move west to hunt buffalo. The Riel Resistance started in the summer of 1869. Riel stopped survey parties and set up a provisional government. Then Fort Gary was seized from the Hudson Bay Company. Then the Declaration of Metis Independence was created which included the Rights of man which established the Metis right as a sovereign people to negotiate confederation. In response to this the Canadian government set up a military expedition to deal with this. The Manitoba Act was created in May 1870 and appointed a responsible government, language rights, and land titles to the Metis. The results of the rebellion included long-term Metis cultural sovereignty. After this the Metis continued to move more to the west. The Metis and their rights in Canada really have no comparison in the U.S. It seems to me that the English government in Canada was kinder to the Native Americans than Americans were.

This lecture was about popular culture in Canada. Marshal McLuhan the founding father of communication studies was discussed. The Canadian cultural policy which is what Canada does to stimulate and maintain their national identity. We listened to a song by the Rankin family who are from Cape Breton Island. They are a Celtic folk group that combines Celtic fiddle, folk roots, and rock influences. We also listened to a song by Rawlins Cross which is rock band that integrates Celtic folk features. Marshall McLuhan was a professor of English in a university in Toronto. He was the founder of the Center for Culture and Technology. He was the founder of a new field, communication studies. He grouped media into two categories hot which is high in resolution and demands little interaction like television, and cool which has low resolution and a high level of interaction like books. We also head a song by Stan Rogers a Canadian Folksinger who had a very strong physical and vocal presence. He was a songwriter who elf-consciously addressed Canadian regions but died in a plane crash in 1983. The Canadian Cultural policy was created because Canada is a vast and sparsely populated country, with continuing immigration. The Canadian Broadcasting Company and the National Film Board were created to promote entertainment made by and for Canadians. A Royal Commission on Publications in 1960 put a tax on split-run magazines. In 1988 a Free Trade Agreement was made between the U.S. and Canada, the only exemption was for cultural products and the U.S. had the right to retaliate. The Broadcasting Act of 1958 created the Canadian Cultural Content which established quotas for Canadian content in the media this was 45%. The definition of Canadian content is 2 of these 4: composer of music, composer of lyrics, Canadian performers, and performance in Canada. We ended the lecture by listening to a song written by Ian Tyson and performed by Neil Young. I found it interesting that Canada tries to regulate how much of their media is created for and by Canadians. I think that the U.S. also needs to regulate this. It seems like you hear that a lot of TV shows especially reality ones are based on ones created in Europe.

"Anne of Green Gables" is about an orphan girl named Anne Shirley who finds herself in a place in Prince Edward Island with a brother and sister, Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert. Anne has had a rough life before coming to the Island whether it was from the orphanage she had stayed at or the rotten treatment she received from the family she was sent to. Throughout her miserable life she has grown accustomed to imagining wonderful things to rid herself from her suffering. Things didn't go over well for her with the Cuthbert's at first. She was put on a trial in which Marilla would observe how she behaved. Anne insulted Marilla's friend, broke a slat over a boy's head at school and took Marilla's broach without asking all within three days which were grounds for having Anne being sent back to the orphanage. However, Marilla noticed that Anne was a very smart girl and did what she wanted to do and she allowed Anne to stay at Green Gables. Anne attended school and had done very well and had been accepted into Queen's college. Anne would later become a teacher and stay at Green Gables with Marilla.

At first Anne was very annoying with her romantic speeches and constant blabbering, which seemed to fade away as the movie progressed. What I did notice is what I've seen in "corner Gas" and in Continental Divide in where the women are the people that seem to run the place. I saw the dominance of women a lot with Marilla and Mathew when they were discussing what to do with Anne and how to raise her. Also when Mathew finally stood up for Anne for going to the ball shocked Marilla that he would defy her like that. The movie was enjoyable and I've heard there are sequels to the movies which I may feel inclined to check out in the future.

Lecture 12, entitled Four Strong Winds, deals with the international communication industry in Canada, and how it relates to the cultural diversity throughout the country. We talked about the various media types on Canada, including music, television, radio, and film. These would all be mediums for communication throughout Canada. According to Marshall McLuhan, who we spoke a fair amount of in lecture, there are two types of these mediums—hot mediums and cool mediums. Hot mediums would require no personal interactions; one would just sort of soak it in (like watching TV or a movie). In contrast, a cool medium would be one that requires some kind of participation from the consumer to get information from (such as the radio, books, or newspapers). It is important to note that McLuhan had these ideas in the sixties, before many of the mass communication tools we use so widely today existed (internet, video games, etc).
Probably the most interesting medium we discussed was the music industry. Examples like Stan Rogers and the Rankin Family used sex to sell their music to the public’s ear—whether it was the masculine voices or appeal of the women that did it. However, more than that, they sang about the north. That seems to be high on the Canadian consumers list of values from what I’ve learned throughout the semester. They’re extremely proud of being from the north, like what we talked about in lecture 7 with Vilhjalmur Stefansson and his theories of the people of the north.
Another interesting thing I got from lecture was that the Canadian government not only controls what is on TV and the radio, but also creates it. The CBC, unlike the FCC in America, not only regulates, but also produces much of what Canadians see and hear.
I really liked how Dr. Isern put together these lectures, it almost seems like he was telling a story; today’s final lecture was the tremendous finale.

This movie was directed by Canadian director Atom Egoyan. The movie is about the impact of a school bus accident on a small Canadian Town. Mitch Stevens is a lawyer who has a daughter who has been a long time drug addict. He is in this small town to represent some of the parents of the accident victims in a lawsuit. Twenty-two children were killed in the bus accident basically a whole generation of children in the town was killed in the crash. Only one girl and the bus driver survived the accident. The bus hit a patch of ice, fell down a cliff, and landed on a frozen lake and fell through the ice. The father of two of the children on the bus was driving behind the bus when the accident happened and saw the whole thing. The town was divided on how they felt about the accident. Some wanted to sue and others believed that the accident was just that an accident and it was no ones fault. The only child left alive is a girl named Nicole who is now in a wheel chair because of the accident. Her parents are some of the people bringing the suit and she has to be deposed. When is deposed she lies and says that the bus driver was speeding when she really was not. She did this because she realized that her parents were just looking for someone to blame and also really wanted the money. She had too much pride and self respect to do this and that is why she lied. Her lie put an end to the lawsuits. And everyone to some extent got on with their lives. This was a really good movie. I think that this movie shows that it is important to let go of grief and anger in order to heal.

In a CBC radio report, I listened to an interview with Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot is a Canadian folk troubadour. There was an interview in 1968 about his song call Black July. This was song based on what Lightfoot witnessed of the Detroit riots in July 1967. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and the United States banned Lightfoot's song. Radio stations were not allowed to play Black July because the United States wanted to keep people happy and ignorant of the events going on during the Civil Rights movement in America. Lightfoot did though still continue to play Black July in his concerts in major cities like Detroit, Los Angeles and New York City. One comment that Lightfoot made was that Canada had less restrictions on what was played on their radios so they did not ban the song. I find it interesting since we just finished lecture 12 on Canadian media and the radio was one topic. Canadian radio is supposed to showcase national identity. Since Lightfoot spent much of his time working in Los Angeles and writing about American topics I think it is interesting how well Canadians accept his music as their identity. Granted, a lot of his music does go back to his Canadian roots. Some songs though such as the Edmund Fitzgerald or Black July are based on American events. I guess though that the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald could be seen as a Canadian and American tragedy since it was on Lake Superior.

The movie is about a guy named William who comes home to go to his sister’s wedding after being away for 10 years. His sister, Rosemary, is a nervous wreck because he is late and finally gets fed up and starts the wedding without him. His father gets drunk and gets into a fight with his sister-in-law and has to be carried to his bed. William meets his sister Violet who was not born before he had left. He also finds that his grandmother has developed Alzheimer’s. Since seeing his family last William has lost a lot of weight. For him when he lived at home food and his weight was one thing he felt he could control in the dysfunctional household he lived in. He also tells his mom he is gay and has a boyfriend that she had suspected. He and his mom also talk about why his mom stayed with his dad. She says she stayed with his father because of the kids. She starts to think about this and leaves the house and disappears and no one knows where she went. When William was a teen he was caught doing sexual things with Rosemary’s now husband. His mother just thought he was confused and sent him to a prostitute. William finds out that he had gotten the prostitute pregnant and his mom persuaded the prostitute to not have an abortion and she would take the baby. It turns out that Violet is not his sister but his daughter. His mother had planned for him to take Violet back to the city with him, which he does. William makes peace with his father who used to beat him before he left. Like what was said in class a lot of Canadian films are about family it seems mostly dysfunctional ones. This movie was alright, but it was not one of my favorites.

This lecture started with Marshall McLuhan, "founding father of communication studies"--he is internationally acknowledged for this achievement. Also mentioned was Canadian cultural policy, which we learned helps the country maintain national identity by demanding a certain amount of content in the media be of Canadian origin. We heard some music by a couple of traditional/rock groups, The Rankin Family and Rawlins Cross. I personally enjoyed the Rawlins Cross tune the most, by throwing bagpipes into the mix they cross a boundary few but AC/DC ever step over, and it works. We jumped back to McLuhan at this point, focusing on his many illustrious achievements including the founding of the Center for Culture and Technology. Next we were able to listen to a bit more Stan Rogers, which I really appreciated, I think he has a great voice and will most likely seek out some of his music in the future. We then covered some State run programs to used to support all types of communication media from radio to film, these included the CBC and the National Film Board. Also discussed was the Massey-Levesque Commission of 1951, which found that a large portion of Canadian magazine readership went to American periodicals, as a result there was a tax placed on these "split run" magazines that published only a Canadian edition, not an actual national publication. There is also a Culture Clause dealing with Canadian media that defines certain criteria that must be met for something to be considered Canadian. We ended with a very Canadian song written by Ian Tyson and performed by Neil Young--much appreciated. One thing that has amazed me this semester, in watching Canadian television and movies is the government involvement in some pretty ribald material. I think it's very cool that Trailer Park Boys is in some way affiliated with the Canadian government, what do we have to compete with that? Public service announcements?

The movie is about a 13 year old girl named Rynn who just moved into a small town with her poet father into a leased house. The movie starts on Halloween Rynn’s birthday Mr. Hallet the son of the woman who owns the house comes over to trick or treat. Mr. Hallet is a known pedophile and comes on to Rynn. The next day Mrs. Hallet comes to the house and she and Rynn get into a fight, and Mrs. Hallet wants to talk to her father but he is in New York Rynn says. Mrs. Hallet comes back the next day to get something out of the cellar when she screams and when she tries to climb out she is hit in the head by the door and killed. Rynn realizes that she has to get rid of Mrs. Hallet’s car in front of her house to cover up the death. A boy on a bike named Mario comes by and sees her not being able to start the car and helps her to park the car in front of Mrs. Hallet’s office. A police officer and Mr. Hallet come over because they haven’t seen Mrs. Hallet and they heard she was going to come to Rynn’s house. She sends them away and reluctantly tells Mario what is going on. Rynn’s father not too long ago learned he was going to die. He did not want Rynn to go to a foster home so he set up a 3 year lease and gave her money to live on and just disappeared one day into the sea. Rynn’s mother had left her when she was 3 and her father did not want Rynn to have anything to do with her. Rynn’s mother showed up after her father left and wanted to live with her so Rynn poisoned her and put her body into the cellar. That is why Mrs. Hallet screamed. Mario and Rynn become friends and then boyfriend and girlfriend. The two then bury the bodies in the yard. Mr. Hallet finds out that Rynn killed his mother and suggests that they start a relationship in order for him not to go to the police, and he also guesses that her father does not really live with her. Rynn then poisons Mr. Hallet. This was a really good film. I would highly recommend it.

In this lecture we talked in detail about the somewhat arbitrary line separating the US from Canada, the forty-ninth parallel. We heard about a "tranquil border" in the west with a not so peaceful border in the east, with cannons pointed towards America. Also discussed was Alexander Ramsey, former Minnesota governor turned U.S. Senator who put forward a bill suggesting the annexation of Canada in the West. This, of course, did not happen and the border was "drawn" on the forty-ninth parallel. In order to perceive where this imaginary line fell, engineers were brought in to lay stone cairns every few miles as markers. An interesting point was made here about the folk belief that there is a "boundary zone" in which one may not build on either side of the border. We then turned our attention to free trade between the U.S. and Canada and the negative effects of wheat imports on the North Dakota economy. We covered Bill Janklow's attempts to curb Canadian imports in 1997 and Ed Shafer's refusal to sign a similar bill in 1999. We touched on the Garrison Diversion and the Devil's Lake Outlet, both of which have strong opposition north of the border. We ended with a shot of the Peace Gardens and a little bit of background on their creation. I was glad to see Alexander Ramsey show up in this lecture, as he seems to be an interesting character--I've read a bit about some of his nefarious dealings as Minnesota governor, skimming off the top of Indian allotments. So anyway, it's no surprise to me that he would seek to seize another country's land. I also appreciated the information on the water diversion issues that we hear so much about in the local news, I feel as though I now have a better grasp of the situation.

Lecture 12 entitled Four Strong Winds was on Canadian popular culture and the policies that Canada enforces to maintain and to stimulate a national identity through media. One particular type of music that showcases Canadian identity is Celtic Folk Rock. Two types of Celtic Rock were played for the class, that of the Rankin Family which is more folk roots and Rawlins Cross which is music that is more rock with integrated Celtic and folk. The topic of Marshall McLuhan came up and his ideas of media during the 1960s. He described media of the time to be hot or cold media which is media with either a lot of participation or very little at all such as watching TV or reading a book. We also listened to Stan Rogers again. We covered a little history on Rogers in lecture three. Dr. Isern stated that Rogers was a songwriter, self-consciously addressing Canadian regions. He fits the idea of a great Canadian musician, keeping the national identity alive. We covered the CBC and its history, Canadian Cultural Policy, National Film Board, Arts and Publishing. All of which had their own policies on regulating what was considered Canadian and whether or not that type of media was living up to expectation on keeping Canadian identity. Like on the radio, so much of the air play has to be Canadian music that illustrates Canadian pride, which is under the Cancon-Canadian Cultural Content. The culture clause was an agreement with Free Trade Agreement of 1988 which allows exemption of cultural products and gives the US the right to retaliate or compensate. We listened to a song which demonstrates Canadian national identity. It was written by Ian Tyson but we listened to Neil Young's version. "Four Strong Winds" was the song sung by Young which was probably my favorite song of the day, just because I am a Neil Young fan.

This movie is written and directed by Patricia Rozema, a Canadian from Ontario. It is about a woman from Toronto named Polly. Polly is a temp, and not a very good one. She can not type and some of her previous employers said that she was organizationally challenged. She is in her thirties has never been married and lives by herself, and in my opinion kind of a loser. She lives in a dumpy apartment where she displays the photographs she likes to take. Polly gets a temp job for a curator at an art gallery. Her and the curator, Gabrielle, become friends. Polly is offered a permanent job at the gallery as a secretary. Polly discovers from eavesdropping that Gabrielle has a girlfriend named Mary. Polly is invited to Gabrielle’s birthday party, which she arrives at late when everyone else is gone and Gabrielle is blue and drunk. When talking about why Gabrielle is sad she mentions that she paints but not very well. She shows Polly the paintings she has done and Polly loves them she even steals one when Gabrielle passes out. Polly takes the painting and hangs it up in her office where an art critic sees it and raves about it. This makes Gabrielle the most sought after artist in town. Polly sends Gabrielle some of her photographs under a pseudonym to see if she likes them. Gabrielle says she thinks that they show no talent and this upsets Polly and stops her from taking them anymore. Polly overhears Gabrielle and Mary talking and finds out the Gabrielle had lied to her. The paintings that Polly thought were Gabrielle’s were really done by Mary. Polly confronts Gabrielle and ends up throwing hot water in Gabrielle’s face. Gabrielle comes to Polly’s house after going to the hospital for her burns to apologize for lying to her. The movie was alright but not my favorite. The main character Polly I though was very odd.

The Canadian involvement in WWI came as a call from the homeland, Britain. More than 60,000 Canadians were killed and more than 172,000 were wounded. I looked at the CBC archives to find out a little more on Canadians in WWI. In1914, the Germans invaded the neutral country of Belgium. Great Britain declared war on Germany which automatically committed Canada. There were tens of thousands who immediately enlisted. Canada seemed ready to fight. In the first report a man said, "If ever a country wanted war, it was Canada in that week.” There was a sudden silence when war was claimed. Within 3 hours, a meeting was formed and 100,000 men offered themselves to become the Canadian Core. There were actual men who spoke about joining right away. Young men lied about their age and old men died their hair to look younger. There was a video on the Battle of Ypres coined “The most dangerous spot in the world”. Hundreds of thousands died in three battles here along with millions wounded. Even worse, in 1915, the Germans released chlorine gas, because tear gas was ineffective, on the Canadian troops. The Canadian lines did not break. Another try at breaking the stalemate was called “The Big Push” where 150,000 Allied troops, including thousands of Canadians and Newfoundlanders, went over the top of the trenches in an attempt to open up the western front. The video shows actual footage of the “push”. The losses were unimaginable. There were other battles where Canadian heroism is top notch. Such is the takeover of Vimy Ridge. The Canadians proved to be of great fighting ability and their heroism is still remembered to this day.

I sure hope other people look up some of these reports in the CBC archives. They are amazing! I hadn’t ANY idea what these fights entitled men to do!

I decided to take a look at the monsters, myths and mystery part of the CBC archives. The first archived radio segment talked about a girl who didn’t believe in Jesus and took the “host” on her tongue. She didn’t believe that Jesus lived in the host, so when she bit the “host”, blood came from her mouth. They went on to talk about other folklore stories. A story about Oak Island is Nova Scotia’s own Treasure Island where there is said to be buried treasure. There have been efforts to recover the so-called “treasure” since 1795. Nothing has been found. Another describes of a beast called Caddy. Apparenty, a couple saw this creature while sailing near Victoria. A greenish-brown creature, later named Cadborosaurus, was traveling in front of their boat. After the report was made in the local newspaper, many reports were made telling of the same creature. There was also a lady telling oral stories of aboriginal Canadian natives. I really can’t even come to write the names of her stories. I wouldn’t know how to spell them, but they are stories of respecting nature and basic life. I liked the story of the legendary loup-garou. It was a werewolf story about a young hunter who had a secret of turning into a wolf during the full-moon. Even Sasquatch is in Canadian folklore. There is a Canadian named Rene Dahinden who is trying to find Sasquatch. Good luck. He has never seen it. I enjoyed hearing and watching these clips. There are many stories in each culture and even Nessy has a Canadian cousin called Ogopogo. It will be interesting to find out more legends in the history of Canada and even my own heritage.

On December 6, 1917, one of the worst disasters took form as an explosion in Halifax. This is the same place mentioned in the song we listened to by Stan Rogers. Being that Halifax was a port town during WW1 and being primarily founded as a military establishment, it was, needless to say, a booming town. The harbor was a busy place holding both the Royal Navy and the Canadian Royal Navy. There were some main “rules of the road” in this area. The rules “keep to the right and signal your intentions” would have a direct relationship with the disaster. There was a French vessel called the Mont-Blanc carrying picric acid, TNT, guncotton and benzol. All this would be heading to the war. Being the German U-boats whereabouts were unknown, there weren’t any flags on the ship notifying others of the dangerous cargo. The morning of arrival found another ship, the Imo, heading out to sea. The two ships agreed to pass on each other's "wrong" sides. This was contrary to the rules of the road at sea; it was like driving in the left-hand lane on the street. But it made docking on the Halifax side easier for the incoming ship. Either way, the morning haze amid other ships caused a chain reaction leading to the worst explosion before the atom bomb. The two ships collided and caused a fire on the Mont-Blanc. This eventually led up to a fire on Pier 6 where the abandoned ship drifted into. The explosion was huge. It’s said there was a white cloud 20,000ft above the city. 1500 people were killed right away, thousands more would follow. Many Canadians would help their countrymen and the relief sent was within 48 hours. This helps show the bond of Canadians.

The Vietnam War is a controversial topic still in debate today. The Canadian involvement went together with actions taken by the United States. The CBC archives helped me understand a little more on the subject.There was a radio report about draft dodgers and the actually set up of a hostile for American dodgers. The report put it saying, “Americans are walking on egg shells, hoping not to get sent back.” There was an interview with a gentleman who was hosting 11 Americans at the time. He said his place was basically a “halfway house.” Not only were there draft dodgers, but a wave of deserters followed the movement to Canada. Another report on a nurse from Vietnam, Claire Culhane, who set up an anti-war protest camp called "Enough Village". She interviewed people and wanted to win an audience with Prime Minister Trudeau. It didn’t happen. Even still, Canada did share quite a bit involvement in the war. The Canadian military actually had thousands of volunteers who wanted to fight. Around 30,000 volunteers would help the fight against communism. The International Commission of Control and Supervision seemed to have an outlook that was quite optimistic. A ICCS leader was interviewed as what appeared to be an obvious retaliation against the cease fire was taking place. Then, in 1971, there was a leak about the Canadian involvement in the war. Canadian manufactures had defense contracts with the American government. Needless to say, there is quite a bit of evidence showing the help Canada gave. To no surprise though, the manufactures played dumb and said they didn’t know where the supplies were going. I think ignorance is bliss. Money was to be made along with strengthening bonds between our two countries. Two birds with one stone.

Well, I decided to look online for some credible Canadian news. I came across Canoe, which is basically the equivalent to our MSN news. The articles are quite similar. They also have a “weird news” section including articles involving a naked man and police chasing him for almost an hour. This humor is a nice change from the headlining world news involving bombings and Afghan prisoners. The sight offers options for investing to a daily feature “Did Jack the Ripper Terrorize Women in South Africa?” The technology section has topics on gadgets (TomTom, new phones), innovations (newest Blackberry, faster computer chips), and many other topics including a device that can read brainwaves. One article showed how two police officers were relieved from duty due to a private video of the arrest. The video showed how these officers assaulted the man while he was contained. The relation to this article goes hand in hand with our discussion of media and the access the public has to view such things. Another article had to do with Quebec and questioning the monarchy in Canada. Pelletier seems to be shaking things up by letting the public know there needs to be some drastic changes in the monarchy. I guess there are still and probably always will be issues regarding the monarchy.

This newspaper shows, at least to me, that Canadian news is pretty much the same as ours. One could argue our news is a little more outspoken. Also, our news includes celebrities. I didn’t notice any celebrities on Canoe. It seems there is a control over what is released in the media, much like ours.

What does Canada do to stimulate and help the Canadian identity? This is a question to Lecture 12. You could say music plays a big part in this idea. We looked at Celtic-rock music with the Rankin family and Rawlins Cross. Also we listened to the music of San Rogers. This kind of music, mainly about Canadian culture and relation to its land, tells quite a bit about the Canadian identity. Marshal McLuhen founded the Center for Culture and Technology. He stated that, “The Medium is the Message.” He helped describe what a hot medium and a cold medium was to show the importance of controlling thought and thinking for ones’ self. This could be compared to the television of today and having media as a communal activity. We talked about the direction to maintain Canadian cultural sovereignty. With such large areas of land with a small population, it is hard to unite Canada. Also, being a multicultural nation, Canada has to embrace all forms of diversity in its identity. The CBC was created to have a network reach across all of Canada with the intention of promoting Canadian ideals. This was one way to spread a similar cause for national unity. The whole of Canada can tune in anywhere to the same show. Another way to promote Canadian arts and publishing was for the government to subsidize Canadian literature. The content for establishing if a piece of work is Canadian or not is consciously monitored all the time. It surprises me how Canada deems it so important to take extra measures to “maintain” their identity. I think an identity is constantly evolving and change should be embraced with national pride.

Lecture 6 is on the Metis and their place in the Canadian identity. The Metis are half Indian and mainly half European. When trappers and traders started to come from overseas, they ended up intermarrying and having children with the local women. Part of this was due to tribal relations and I suppose the other part was just human. It was hard for the Metis to find their place in the world. They either had to accept their Native roots and fit in the tribes, or they had to try and fit in the white man’s world. Eventually, enough Metis emerged to form their own societies. The Metis benefited from being able to be very active in the fur trade. They were avid buffalo hunters. There territories were under constant settlement and claims from settlement. The Seven Oaks Massacre is proof of the open hostility shown towards these native people and retaliation that took place. I have to mention Louis Riel and his plight to lead the Metis rebellion in the Red River Rebellion. He actually had a chance to defeat the British troops, but was suckered to leave his defenses and fight. Still, the Metis were recognized enough to create the Manitoba Act of 1870. Even though there has been conflict in the past, the Metis prevailed and are seen as a necessary part of Canada. Today, the Metis are seen as a separate people. There is a number of Metis still living in the Turtle Mountains, places in Montana, and Canada. They definitely have their place in Canadian identity.

Well I cant get enough of this show. I have been watching it pretty much non-stop and have made it through five seasons now. They keep getting better and better everytime I watch them. In the second season, all the boys are back and dumber than ever. I liked the fact that we got to see why the boys went to jail and then see them getting out of jail. I'm happy to say that things keep getting more and more messed up for everyone, and throughout the run of the seaons, the boys find themselves in a multittude of different sitatuions. Ricky truly is a linguistic apprentice and most of the time I dont think he knows what he is talking about; but when the boys have encounters with the cops, Ricky is transformed into a genius. They usually get out of everything in one season except for the big event at the end, which sends them back to prision. We find out a lot more about Bubbles (my favorite character) this season. We find out that he makes his living by stealing shopping carts from one mall and selling them to another. We also find out that he is a general freak when it comes to cats. There is an on-going progression in Jim Lahey, the Trailer Park Supervisor. He eventually tries to kill Ricky and has to spend time in a mental institution, and all the events really lead up to this, including his alcoholism. A notable episode in a later season is where everyone is injured from the wrestling wring they purchased and they need medical attention. Bubbles can't go without his ventrilquist dummy from 6th grade so they find it, and everyone gets insulted by him and he ends up getting his head shot off at the vet.
All in all, these shows are funny, but they really don't give us insight into Canadian way of life. I'm just glad that they are on the syllabus so I can watch them.

Jen- I put up a post about Anne of Green Gables a little while ago. It said it was published successfully, and I keep checking, but it hasn't turned up yet on here and I'm wondering what I should do?

I had recently watched the timeless classic, Anne of Green Gables, which takes place on Prince Edward Island. The story is that Anne is an orphan. Mr. and Ms. Cuthbert are brother and sister who live together (not at all werid) and are looking for extra help on their farm because they are getting old. Ms. Cuthbert goes to pick up a boy, but it is a case of mistaken identity and there is Anne. Ms. Cuthbert isn't all warm and fuzzy about Anne at first, but Mr. Cuthbert had really been warmed by her presence. If you have met a red headed person, you would know that they are fiery people and are quite lively. Anne is no exception. As you could expect, she gets into trouble with her friend Diana all the time. She is quite the competitor in school and she is always competing with Gilbert. They have a thing going back and forth, most of which causes Anne to get in trouble. In the end, there really is a love story that continues on into the next movie. This movie has sparked a lot of interest in Prince Edward Island. From previous classes, it has been made aparent that many people travel there every year due to the fact that Anne of Green Gables was filmed there. The movie really showcases the island and I'm not surprised at it's popularity. The story is a mixture of comedy, romance, and tragedy. It really is a good movie in the sense that it is something a little older and has historical value to the area.

Lecture 12 was entitled Four Strong Winds. The majority of this lecture had to do with the communication industry/development in Canada. It really started with one man: Marshall McLuan. He was born in Edmonton (loved the Oilers), then attended college in Manitoba (cheered on the Blue Bombers) and achieved his PhD at Oxford. He was certainly a well read person and he studied communication. Once he had finished all his school, we went to Toronto and became the English Professor at the U of Toronto where he set up the Center for Culture and Technology. This was really the first major implement of communication that there had been on that level. He really was the founding father of communication stuides internationally. From here the lecture talked about folk singers; mainly the Rankin Family, Rawlins Cross, and Stan Rogers. The three had quite distinct sounds. The Rankin Family started off celtic and then moved to rock. Rawlins Cross started off rock and drifted to celtic. Stan Rogers was in a category all by himself though. Professor Isern said, "His voice was like pure masculinity with a touch of honey." I really did like Rogers the best out of the three groups. He had a pretty cool voice and I liked the gritty rock edge to it. Next, the lecture moved on to the different mediums of communication. We talked about the CBC, the National Film Board, the Culture Clause, and Cancon. I found most of these things quite interesting, but the Cancon really surprised me. I never really knew there was an act such as that and i didn't think it was being followed in a manner that said the country was serious about it. I wonder how many things would be considered totally Canadian based on the four guidlines of the Clause. Probably more than we think. The lecture, and class, ended with the song Four Strong Winds. This was orignially produced by Ian Tyson but we heard the version by Neil Young. It was sad, but Neil was a little better than Ian. Good way to close out the year.

Lecture 5 was on the leaving America and other places to pursue life in Canada. With explores such as Palliser and Hind exploring the western parts of Canada, the “Fertile Belt” was discovered south of the Shield and north of the U.S. Helping the cause, the Canadian Pacific Railway, would bring together cities and the prairies.
The Canadian government didn’t like to talk about American settlement in Canada, but it was going on. Forty thousand North Dakotans came to Saskatchewan and were called “returning Canadians”. The countryside was filled up by Ukrainian and American settlers. There were some problems of settlement. Economic problems of the prairies can be backed up by Vernon Fowke. As a grain force in the staples theory, a grain farmer is in direct relation to a deficit in the long run. S. D. Clark said, “if you establish people in an area where odds are against them, societies will basically form a chip on their shoulder.” This might form a reactionary society. Whether or not the plains people are a reactionary society is unknown because you could argue most of the plains here are also. Even so, areas in Canada still have an ongoing identity problem. They are still figuring out where they fit into the Canadian Confederation. William McNeil could help explain the identity issue in his book, Mythistory. Any story about the past to create an identity creates a myth. The settlers have a hard time establishing their identity. Colonized lands were being pigeonholed into a dependent hold to the main country. Still though, Canada is young and so are we. Through time, the bonds will be broken and the struggling identity will become part of a new identity.

Lecture 4 is on the politics and the formation of a confederacy in Canada. Playing a rather large part was the separation from British control. Helping the cause would require a constitution to be written up. When the Fathers of Confederacy made the Canadian constitution, it closely resembled the United States’ Constitution. Even still, paper wasn’t quite enough to bring together one country to common terms. The parts that made up the whole were not united. There was no whole Canada. There was Upper Canada and Lower Canada. There was a need of independence in the country. Many things would contribute to the success of independence. Groups were competing for domination to control as much land as possible. There were different ideas for the union of Canada. Some say the colonies being controlled was to much work. The British decided to invest with the colonies they already had. Why would they want to tax themselves when they can be the main trading ally and make money? This helped the British involvement. It also helped the British had quite a foothold in the exploration of western Canada. Another explanation had to do with American pressure and the annexation sentiments of Americans. They thought of the need to protect themselves from the Americans. Yet another reason is the capitalists came together and wanted better trade and in return would make some money. They even formed a union. It took a full “nation-state” to pursue full economic development and activity. There became a need for conservatism to counter the liberalism.
On July 1, 1867, the British North American Act of 1867 proclaimed Canada as 4 provinces. They were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.

Environmental determinism shapes who people are due to the fact of their location and culture. T.G. Taylor came up with the metropolis-hinterland theory. The things people need come from the metropolis. What shapes the demands of the hinterland are the demands made upon it by the metropolis. Most commerce and industry is located around the Industrial heartland which is the southeastern part of Ontario, Toronto, and Montreal. The age of Industrialization was mainly in this heartland. The base was in agricultural and American coal was needed to make production occur. The Prairies are another hinterland which was developed from transcontinental railroads. The Canada Pacific and Canada National allowed settlers to have a mode of transportation crucial to trade. The Prairies developed becoming an agricultural area producing grain and beef. They physical characteristics include a continental climate, sub humid level prairies, and agricultural staples. Harold Innis, an economist, was the originator of the staples theory. It stated that Canada was the acquisition of wheat, cod fish, pelts, all of which were part of the main settlement in Canada. British Columbia is a little different. A land of high cordillera and coastal areas, with high inland basins full of horticulture, could be contrasted to the northern hinterland of Nunavut, the Yukon, or North West Territories. These territories are sparsely populated and have a colder climate than the south. This area cannot support agricultural animal industries enough to have an economy. The Shield, another area differing from the coastal areas and southern areas, surrounds the Hudson Bay and is a Canadian identify with its coniferous forests and old Precambrian rocks. Other than that it is mostly bogs, frozen more than half the year. But the country is as unique as its landscape, offering a glimpse of unsettled areas as well as growing cities.

This movie is a silent documentary about an Inuit named Nanook, his family, and his followers Itivimuits. This black and white film which is considered the first documentary was completed in 1920 by Robert Faherty an explorer. Faherty had been exploring and interacting with the Inuit for years before he decided that he would make a film about them. Less than two years after the film was completed Nanook went into the interior looking for deer and starved to death. The film follows him and his wives and children going about their normal daily rituals. They follow then to a white trading post where they for the first time hear a human recorded voice on a gramophone. Nanook a great hunter catches many fish and kills many of the large ones with his teeth. Then Nanook and his followers catch a walrus and a seal. Nanook is also shown demonstrating to his son how to use a bow and arrow. Then he and his wives make an igloo. On the way back from a seal hunt a storm prevents them from getting back to their camp and they hole up in an abandoned igloo. This film really reminds me how astounding humans are in their ability to adapt to whatever climate they happen to be living it. This film I believe was very good and very informative on Inuit hunting practices.

The Red Green show is an old Canadian television show set in northern Canada. The Red Green Show is hosted by (you guest it) Red Green. The shows premise is daily life in Possum lodge. The show is primarily a comedy sketch show. The show primarily makes fun of self-home improvement projects that mostly always fail. The funnest part is that after Red Green gives up on a project, he is content on the crappy job he does and is proud. The most effective tool in Red's arsenal is "the handyman's secret weapon" Duck Tape. Red Green show is filled with numerous characters. The Possum Lodge is in itself a Canadian community and is very simple. The show became popular for its various skits like handyman's corner and adventures with Bill. The show lasted for thirteen years and ended in 2006.

The show was also an upstart for many Canadian actors. One such actor is Graham Greene, who started on the show as the explosive guru for Possum Lodge. Graham Greene is primarily known for his roles in Native American based movies like Dances With Wolves and also regular movies like Die Hard III.

Many people that grew up in North Dakota remember the Red Green Show. The TV show used to be one Prairie Public Television in the mid 1990s. Myself i grew up on Prairie Public TV and remember this show. The show is popular today in North Dakota. Prairie Public still uses these old shows once in a great while in their pledge drives. I grew up on Red Green episodes, never knowing that it was a Canadian show. Only until a few years ago i found that the Red Green Show was a Canadian television show. If I ever see a Red Green show DVD, it will be bought for my Dad.

In this lecture, Dr. Isern talked about some of the popular culture in Canada. First, the influence of Marshall Mcluhan on the communication industry was important, as he paved the way for a Canadian cultural policy. He is also considered the father of Communication Studies. We also listened to a variety of Canadian musicians and discussed how they were important to Canada. Groups like the Rankin Family and Rawlins Cross were two of the major artists in the 1980-1990's that revolutionized Canadian music. Stan Rogers was another musician who had a lasting impact on Canadian music. As a folksinger, he was a daunting presence at 6"6" and commanded attention. He was also revered because of his addressing of the different canadian regions. The Rankin Family was noted for this as well, as Dr. Isern mentioed how if a song mentioned the North Country, then it was a hit. This "regional identity" is something that I see in music from today. Hip-Hop music has gained notoriety by being regional. The diversity in Canada led to the creation of the CBC radio broadcasting company. Created in 1928, it was meant to provide Canada with an opportunity to hear diverse music from across the country. It also gave them the chance to listen to nationally-broadcast programs as well. One of the other interesting ideas that the Canadian government came up with was the CanCon, or Canadian Cultural Content. Stipulated that programming must contain 2 out of four criteria; composer of music, composer of lyrics, Canadian performer, or be performed in Canada. I find this interesting, because here in the United States, we do not have anything similar to that, in my knowledge. All in all, I enjoyed listening to the music selections and thought it was a good lecture to end the class with. Hopefully, I can travel back to Canada soon and look for some of the historic places we discussed in this class.

This movie is about an Inuit tribe who is under an evil spell because of some murders that have occurred. The main character is Atanarjuat a great hunter who falls in love with a woman named Atuat. The only problem is that Atuat is promised to Oki the chief’s son. Oki is a bully and is considered to be a jerk. The two men battle each other over who will marry her. Atanarjuat wins and marries Atuat and she gets pregnant. Oki eventually marries but never forgets about Atuat. Atanarjuat goes caribou hunting but Atuat is pregnant and can not go with him. Sauri the chief suggests that his daughter Puja should go with him. During this time alone Atanarjuat gets together with Puja and takes her as a wife. Puja moves into Atanarjuat’s tent with Atuat, their new son Kumaglak, his brother, and his sister-in-law. Puja does very little work and leaves it to the other two women. Puja has sex with Atanarjuat’s brother and is caught. Atanarjuat gets mad at her and she runs home crying to her brother and father. She tells them that Atanarjuat tried to kill her for no reason. Oki vows to punish Atanarjuat for this. Puja goes back to the camp and makes up with Atuat and her sister-in-law and tells them from now on she will do all the work. She gets the two women to leave while Atanarjuat and his brother sleep in their tent. Oki and two of his friends sneak up and knock down the tent and stab through it killing Atanarjuat’s brother, but Atanarjuat manages to get away. He is known as a fast runner and he outruns his would be killers and then he collapses from exhaustion. He is found by an older couple that nurses him back to health. Atuat goes to live with Oki’s grandmother. Oki asks his father if he can marry Atuat but he says no because they do not know for sure Atanarjuat is dead. Oki ends up killing his father because of this and becomes the new chief. Atanarjuat comes back to his tribe where he becomes the chief. Oki’s grandmother banishes him, Puja, and Oki’s friends from the camp to get rid of the evil spirits. The movie was good but very long. I did not know much about the Inuit besides about igloos and Eskimo kisses before I saw this movie.

I just finished watching half of the first season of Corner Gas. This show is hilarious. The main characters are Brent, who owns and runs the local gas station, Lacy, who runs a next door restaurant, Brent’s parents, and a couple others that I forgot their names. The show is set in a fictional Dog River, Saskatchewan, in the middle of nowhere. The show is basically a random series stories. In one episode, Oscar (Brent’s dad) gets hooked on the new game in the local bar, one of those claw games where you try to retrieve stuffed animals. He tries to get un-hooked, but ends up getting his wife hooked on the machine by the end of the episode. In another episode, Brent gets mad at a famous comedian, who stole one of his funny stories. In the end, Lacy makes the comedian get booed off stage, and the day is saved. Another funny scene is when Brent is asked to perform at the local talent show, but declines and claims he can sing. The scene jumps to Brent performing on Canadian Idol, and all of the judges praising him. I did not know there was a Canadian Idol. Is it a different show, or just a repackaged American Idol? All of these stories seem to be taken from real life, and then twisted to a greater extent.
In my opinion, this is a pretty good show. It is funny, and really doesn’t require much thought or reflection. As for Canadian life, perhaps this is how Canadian’s view their everyday life, as a set of simple yet complicated stories. That perhaps even if they live in the big cities of Canada or the rural western provinces, that their life is also a set of quirky circumstances, in their own individual communities. Maybe that explains the popularity of this show. Or it may be that Canada has something totally unique, that the US does not have anything like rather than the typical vice versa.

This movie is a Canadian horror film. The movie is about a psychiatrist named Samantha who discovers she is dying from an inoperable brain tumor. She follows her husband David who is an author up to their