The Maple Leaf Lounge

Maple Leaf Lounge sounds great... reminds me of pancakes

 

Maple Leaf Lounges sure come in handy during long layovers at Canadian airports.

 

I wish there were more Tim Hortonses (Hortoni?) in the US.

Their coffee is SO much better than Starbucks. And the breakfast sandwiches are delicious.

 

Yay! *takes half a dozen honey-glazed Timbits and gobbles them down*

The thread name is perfect.

I seem to have an accumulation of news articles from the last week or so just taking up room among my tabs. I was thinking of posting on the other forum where I hang out, but there are some people there who think it's funny to refer to Canada as "Canadia". I hope nobody will do that here.

 

<grumble grumble> Those Canadians, stealing our Aussie ideas... <grumble grumble>

I mean, hey, good idea, nice to see you here!

 

Yeah, I hear you. It can get tiresome hearing it all the time. That and America's Hat. Funny the first time, but gets annoying quickly.

So, guess this is the place to ask, but is anyone planning on watching the Junos? I don't normally watch, but I saw a really great band this summer that ended up being nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Contemporary Roots of Album of the Year, and they're called The Jerry Cans, from Nunavut. They've got a great style combining throat singing with energetic folk music.

 

Any time someone pulls the "America's Hat" thing on me, I just tell them, "And Alaska makes a really cute pompom on top."

Of course that sometimes leads to having to explain what a toque is...

 

There are several people on the computer gaming forum where I spend most of my online life who have taken this to such an extreme that it's outright trolling, and I've got all of them on my ignore list. That's not the only thing they use as trollbait, of course, but they know that by the 20th time it really does annoy me. The non-Canadians there don't get it, so I said, "How would you like it if I started referring to the U.S. as 'Vespucciland'"? Either way, it's disrespectful, and of course I've never carried through.

Keep in mind that the word "Canada" is a native word.

A quick Google took me to the heritage section of the Federal Government's website where it gives a condensed history of why Canada is Canada and not some other name.

I haven't found anything that explains the pronunciation, though. The second syllable is a "long a" in English (Canadians) and a "short a" in French (Canadiens/Canadiennes]).

@Owain Taggart: Sorry, I really don't pay much attention to music awards here or in any other country. My preferences in Canadian music are people who are either folk musicians from decades ago who are still alive, or folk musicians from decades ago who are mostly retired (ie. Will Millar, who retired from performing and is now a painter).

Is anyone here familiar with Tony Turner, the federal biologist who was suspended from his job in 2015 for writing and performing an anti-Harper song ("Harperman")? He's done other music as well, and it's really nice.

That said, I've seen some of The Arrogant Worms' videos on YouTube, and enjoy their music. I'm not quite sure how to categorize it, though. Is there a category that combines opera and comedy/satire?

 

For my thoughts on Canada (and yes, they are good) I refer to my earlier post. Viz!

Also, it seems that I've become obsessed with Canadian television as well, since all my favorite shows are from there.

My favorite show of all time: Corner Gas


Favorite cop show: Night Heat


Favorite sitcom (if you can call it that): Red Green

 

Lets see.. I do like Maple Sirup.. your Canadian Club Rye whisky though.. eh.. only the smell alone gives my brother a headache so who do you think had to finish off that bottle?

 

Yeah, pretty much here too. I get that a lot on a gaming forum, where most of the members are Americans. They think it's hilarious. I agree with the disrespect. You'd think we're a nation of stereotypes. Speaking of, I was soooo disappointed the last time we hosted the Olympics. I felt it was a great time to really showcase the world a deeper understanding of what makes Canada tick, but instead it seemed the Olympic committee was only interested in perpetuating the myths and stereotypes and what we got was more of what the world thinks Canada is like vs what it actually is like, down to the entertainment presented, ie Nickelback, Celine Dion, Buble. I had wished that they would have dug down a little deeper into our culture.

And yes, you're correct on the pronunciation. The country name is based on the native word, but we had to start calling ourselves something based on that and I think "Canadian" just rolled off the tongue better. The town of Kanata near Ottawa is closely related to the original pronunciation and spelling. They probably call themselves Kanatians.

I love The Arrogant Worms. Seen them twice in concert and bought their Semi-Conducted album. There's just something so epic about them singing about cows with an orchestra.

 

While wearing tuxedos!

The first time I heard "Canada's Really Big" was the YT video that uses MS Paint for the images. I had no idea what the singers looked like. But when I saw a different video with them in their tuxedos in a concert hall... okay, I'll admit it. The lead singer is very easy on the eyes (and ears).

 

Yes, Tuxedos! I forgot about that. I loved how the orchestra was so playful. I never knew an orchestra could be so funny, but they did things with their instruments that just made me laugh.

That reminds me, the first time I saw them was at our local music festival, and I don't think I really knew who they were back then, but it was a great concert, and the one thing that struck me was that they were really good at improvisation. I remember vividly that a lady was leaving and bringing her folding chair with her, and the guys noticed this and played along. "Wait, don't go!" one of them said, "Yeah, why'd you ever want to miss us, lady" another said. Third guy said, "Well, look at her. She's probably heading to buy a hot dog", and they launched into the Hot Dog song, though what I couldn't figure out is if they had written that one on the spot because it sure sounded spontaneous. Good memories.

 

It could have been pre-arranged, but yeah, some musicians are really good at improvisation.

Anyway, in case anyone is wondering what we're talking about, here's the video of the concert hall version I saw:

 

If I may be so bold...I'm curious as to what TBBS' Canadian members think of the (IMHO) extremely draconian laws instituted by the province of Quebec in order to - so they claim - protect the French language. Do you think such laws are justified?

I mean, I fully realize that Quebec is a French-speaking province and that (as a visitor) it's my responsibility to adapt to IT, rather than the reverse, but I honestly wasn't aware that the French language needed protecting to such a degree. Is it seriously under threat, as Quebec politicians like to claim? It just seems so...absurd, the way that businesses there are penalized for having too much English on their signs and storefronts. Can't they just have both?

(I know one thing's for sure...if the US tried anything like this down here with the English language, that would get shot down in a cold minute. )

Oh well. It's not that serious*, really...I know a few words in French, and even though there's no way in hell I could ever actually carry on a conversation in it (my command of the French language can be summed up in one word: MERDE), everybody I have ever spoken to in Montréal - a city which I happen to love, and enjoy visiting - speaks English just fine. I'm just curious as to what actual Canadians think about all this, that's all.

*actually the only real problem I had was one time last year when I got stuck in the Berri-UQAM Metro station because the network shut down all of a sudden, and I couldn't understand the P.A. announcer. Turns out there was a fire in another station and that's why they had to shut down. But again, all I had to do was ask somebody and they were happy to help me. So it's all good, really...

 

Ohboy. You're asking an Albertan, and that's like asking oil and water how they feel about each other.

No, I don't think the laws are justified.

This is something that really got pushed after the first provincial separatist party (the Parti Quebecois) took power in 1976. I remember that well; I was in junior high at the time and it's one of the current events situations we followed in my social studies class that year.

Back then a lot of people in the rest of Canada were appalled at the idea of one province separating (not to mention cutting the Atlantic/Maritime provinces off from the other provinces and territories). There was a "My Canada Includes Quebec" movement, to convince the PQ and other separatists that they should set aside their desire to separate.

Fast-forward a couple of decades... by the time the '90s came along, with the Meech Lake Accord, then the Charlottetown Accord (both intended as attempts at constitutional change; both failed), and the Quebec referendum on separation after that... suffice to say that the mood had changed.

Quebec had a chance to sign on to the Constitution in the '80s, and passed. They really, really, REALLY want "distinct society" status, which is something that doesn't tend to sit well outside of Quebec, since the idea of Confederation is that everybody's equal.

My own views have done a 180-degree turnaround since 1976. When somebody wrote a letter to the editor in the '90s and asked, "Why can't we have a referendum on whether or not we'll let them stay?" I found myself not entirely disagreeing. It's been like a situation with a child who keeps threatening to run away from home unless the parents give it more and more privileges... "I hate you, you never do anything for me, I'm leaving, but I still expect you to provide me with food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, toys, and money."

Short version: The separatists want to have their cake and eat it, too.

I lost patience with that over 25 years ago. There's someone on another forum who keeps bringing up the Battle on the Plains of Abraham and complaining that the Quebecois were hard done by afterward, as the English won. My response: It happened over 250 years ago. Get over it, already.

The French language is not in any danger whatsoever of disappearing in Canada. It's one of the official languages, which means regions outside of Quebec that have enough francophones living there are automatically entitled to government services in French if they request it. The income tax forms I was sent recently give me the option of requesting that CRA correspond with me in French. My T-slips are in both languages. Everything I buy in grocery stores and most of the things I buy in department stores has French labels/instructions along with English.

Most Canadian kids take at least a few years of French in school - in the elementary grades, and it's offered as an option in junior high and high school. With the exception of my grade 7 year, I took French from Grade 5 through university. There are French immersion schools here, and French communities in my province.

Granted, I haven't used my French much in the last couple of decades, but I can still understand it if people don't speak too fast. It does come in handy in the stores if the French side is turned toward the aisle. I'll never forget the time when my dad and I went grocery shopping and he told he he had a can of bananas in his cart (we each took a cart, started at opposite ends, met in the middle, and sorted out duplications and omissions). That sounded odd, so I had a look... and it turned out to be a can of pineapple slices (if you take a really fast glance, the French word for pineapple does look a bit like "banana" - without the "b").

If you ask someone from Ontario or Quebec or the Atlantic/Maritime provinces, you'd get different perspectives. My view at this point is that Quebec has been acting like a spoiled brat who gets concessions given to him every time he stamps his feet and threatens to run away from home if he doesn't get his way.

As mentioned, mixed feelings. Not that I travel much anymore, but if I did, Quebec would not be one of the places I would ever set foot. Yes, there are some beautiful places there. But I will not spend my money in a province that has made one of the country's official languages illegal, no matter what the circumstances are.