What Country are You?

So I was surfing the net and came upon a site that had a whole bunch of quizzes on it. I took a whole bunch of quizzes and then stumbled upon this 'What Country are You?' quiz.

I swear I wasn't trying and though I wanted to end up with Canada I figured I'd end up with another country that I knew very little about.

But lo and behold, I did get the country I wanted and though I think the little blurb is quite funny, I find it difficult to believe that I just happened to get Canada. Mysterious coincidences...

But this design below isn't very old. 'Until the adoption of the maple leaf flag, the flags that flew over Canada represented the European nations that had power in Canada.' There have actually been four flags before this one to fly over Canada.
St. George's Cross: Carried over by Cabot in 1497 when he reached the East coast of Canada.

The Fleur-de-lis: Flown by the French when Canadian land was claimed for the King of France.

Royal Union Flag: Replaced the Fleur-de-lis after 1759 when Canada was ceded to the United Kingdom.

Red Ensign: Combined the Union Jack with the Canadian shield of Arms. Variations of this flag were flown from 1870 until 1965.

In 1964, the Centennial was coming up and PM Pearson wanted Canada to create and adopt a new flag. Tons of people were involved in the selection process (The Canadian public, heraldry experts, members of parliament) and many designs were drawn up. There was also a lot of controversy involved in the choosing of a new flag in the country. If you want to see some video footage about the flag then check this out.

Incidentally, next year is the 40th birthday of Canada's flag.

You're Canada!

People make fun of you a lot, but they're stupid because you've got a much better life than they do. In fact, they're probably just jealous.You believe in crazy things like human rights and health care and not dying in the streets, and you end up securing these rights for yourself and others. If it weren't for your weird affection for ice hockey, you'd be the perfect person.

Take
the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

"Stepford Wives" (2004)

I haven't seen the original which I probably should have before I saw the remake. I try to make it a policy to read the original book, watch the original movie and listen to the original song before watching, or listening to the remakes.

According to my parents, the original "Stepford Wives" was a thriller. The remake seems to take a more comical stance but I think that's because everybody already knows the premise of the story.

It was an okay movie; it wasn't great but it didn't stink like rotten tomatoes. But I was disturbed by the fact that there seemed to be this overtone about keeping women in their place. I mean, Glenn Close's character Claire was convinced of a woman's place. She was probably highly deranged though so I don't think she's very credible.

Some of the casting could have been better I think. Nicole Kidman tries to be funny but totally fails in my opinion and Matthew Broderick just doesn't seem to jive with his part. But Bette Midler totally pulled off her character of Bobbi and Roger Bannister, the flamboyantly gay man was perfect. Christopher Walken scares me so I think he was cast perfectly as "Mike" and Glenn Close had an eerie plastic-pasted smile on her face for the whole movie. They made a creepy couple.

So, while it was an okay movie and there were flashes of comedic brilliance, my suggestion would be to wait until it comes out on video to watch it. But then again, it probably isn't in theaters anymore so...

Quote: "I love acting. It is so much more real than life."
~ Oscar Wilde

Rating: 2.5/5

The World Cup of Hockey 2004 - Final

A heart-stopping sixty minutes passed and I was on the edge of my seat for every single one of them.

The Finals of the World Cup took place tonight and I was glad to be able to watch it. Of course I hoped that Canada would win but I'm a worrywart by nature and so there was this niggling in the back of my mind that kept telling me not to get my hopes up.

The first shot on goal by Canada in every period yielded a goal which I thought was very interesting. The only thing that could have been better is if Iginla's helmet had fallen off. We would have scored again if that had happened.

But sloppiness contributed to one of the goals that Finland scored. A second goal by Tuomo Ruutu (a name I very much like) tied it with one minute to go in the second. I was tearing my hair out over this and the entire time I was yelling at the TV, wishing that my voice would have some effect on the game. Of course it didn't but my worries didn't matter.

With five minutes to go I was hoping that this was it but I didn't want to "close the book" on Finland because they'd slipped one goal by us before. Everybody was standing on their feet by then and clapping and cheering. They counted down the final seconds and I cheered when it was over.

But the stress I felt during the game completely disappeared when it was over and I felt a great rush of contentment or at least relief. And I think that this game was very special, if only because this is the last game of hockey that will be seen in a long time due to the impending player lockout.

Quote: "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

~Theodore Roosevelt

The World Cup of Hockey 2004 - Semi Finals

Wow, that's all I can say. I just watched the last bit of the Semi-Finals between Canada and the Czechs. We were tied two all and then practically the moment I walk in the room we score which I was so happy about.

Then six seconds later the Czechs score tying it three all. Personally I think we played like crap in the third period compared to the first and second. We practically gave them the third goal because of piss poor playing. The entire time I couldn't take my eyes off the TV screen and I was almost tempted to start biting my nails because of how stressed out I felt.

Usually I don't watch sports because I find the whole idea very boring. But ever since the 2002 Winter Olympics and the men's and women's hockey games I've been hooked. I mean, of course hockey's always been a big part of my life. It's practically a religion here but I didn't used to get so worked up about it. But when the stakes are high and it's my country's team, I go nuts.

Update:

So the third period ended and we were going to have to go to sudden death and I had just enough time to gulp supper down before overtime started.

Everything was happening too fast for me. I was clenching my hands and we couldn't get it out of our zone. I wanted to stand up, I wanted to yell at the tv screen, I wanted to jump up and down because I was so anxious about the game. There were too many close calls and Luongo I think saved the game with his saves. After a shot that could have cost us the game I felt like wiping my forehead even though it wasn't sweaty because I felt the need to express...something. I got so worked up about the game and I felt as if my heart was going to pound right out of my chest.

So we finally get it out of our end and Lecavalier makes a break. He's skating out there and the Czech defense tries to hem him in. He can't get a shot on goal and almost gets pulled down by a Czech player. So he sort of swipes the puck out to a team mate and they try to make a shot on goal, Lecavalier gets in front of the net and shoots, half the crowd rises to their feet...but it's a false alarm. Then, when it seems as if he's too far away to do much damage, he shoots, over the top of a fallen Czech and scores!

Everyone went wild, including Wayne. So the other half of the arena rises and started shouting and yelling and I know I just went nuts. I got such a rush from watching hockey and watching us win. But I don't know if that's just sad because most people jump out of airplanes so they can 'feel the rush' or if that's a natural response to hockey.

The game ended only a few minutes ago so I think it's going to take a while to sink in. But all I can say is, Finland, you're going down!

Quote: "Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive."
~Stephen Leacock

Happy Belated Canada Day!

Okay so I'm four days late but I've been busy. I turned on the TV on Thursday to see the feed from Ottawa where everybody was already celebrating (3 hour time difference). The PM and a large crowd were sitting on the lawn outside of the parliament buildings watching the performances on stage. I have to admit I've never watched the Ottawa celebrations before because I've never gotten up early enough. It was interesting and the performances involved all types and ages of people.

In the afternoon I went down to the park because that's where the band was performing. When I got there, there was so much red and white it hurt my eyes. Some people were wearing flags and capes, others had painted their faces and there were lots of booths set up with ethnic food, clothing, toys, jewelery, etc.

The whole day I felt as if gravity wasn't affecting me anymore and I had a big smile on my face. The day just felt so good and I couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It makes me proud to see so many people out, loudly proclaiming their nationality like that. I couldn't imagine living in a better country in the world and I don't think I'd want to. Canada is much too wonderful a place to leave for any long period of time. Besides, I would get homesick for the Rockies, the smiling faces, Tim Horton's of course and all things Canadian.

Something I learned today is that we're the only country that eats Glosettes. We call sneakers runners and Honey Nut Cheerios is Canadian. I guess it just goes to show that you really do learn something new every day. I mean, it might be a piece of information that's utterly useless and cluttering up your brain but at least you learned something. That's the important part, right?

Canada Votes 2004

So on Tuesday I exercised my democratic right and voted in a federal election for the first time ever. I did think it would be a little more glamourous than a little cardboard booth and newspaper-like ballot but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Making a decision was one of the toughest things I've had to do because after watching the English language debate I was disgusted with all of the candidates who participated. Why would I want to vote for someone as rude and egotistical as any of them? But apathy was not an option for me, though at times I felt a kind of despair for Canada. What kind of a future are we creating if we're voting against somebody instead of for somebody? I say this because it seemed to be the mindset for the election.

In my opinion it was a vote between a lesser of evils and I believe that's why only 60% of the population actually voted. Over the past 40 years, the government has backed out of promises and changed their party platforms after being elected. I would think that this makes people believe that their vote doesn't count, which is why so few people actually turned out to vote. Apparently this is the lowest voter turnout in over 100 years. The last time the percentage was at 60% was in 1898. As far as I'm concerned this is bad. Apathy is contagious and will only continue to spread if the government continues to break the promises they make to people. After all, what's the point in voting if your voice will be ignored anyway?

The only good thing to come out of this election I believe, is that the government will now have to listen to the people. With the minority government and the NDP (not really) holding the balance of power (they only have 19 seats), they will have to tread very carefully to make sure they don't step on anyone's toes. Because if the NDP don't agree with a particular vote then the government will probably receive a vote of non-confidence from the opposition. This means another election will have to be held in short order. For example, nine months after Joe Clark was elected in 79-80, an election was called after his government received a vote of non-confidence. Usually minority governments last about 18 months but I don't like the fact of having to go back to the polls that soon.

Quote: "Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody."

- Franklin P. Adams

Why do we care?

Last Saturday I was watched "The Day After Tomorrow" with some friends. While I was watching I heard one of the news anchors mention Canada at one point and Nova Scotia. For some reason I got really excited and poked my friends.

But after I got out of the theatre I started to wonder why I cared at all. Why do I care if an American movie mentions Canada? On the way home I discovered that it wasn't just movies, it was books, tv programs, radio, newspapers, etc. I seemed to care so much about American media mentioning Canada that I couldn't get enough of it. But why was this?

Was it because I'm a very proud Canadian and want my country to be mentioned everywhere all the time? Or was there something darker and more sinister about my reasons for caring?

It seems deeply rooted in Canadian psyche to not like ourselves or to at least not acknowledge that we like ourselves. We're far too polite to 'blow our own horn'. At least, that's the stereotype and for the most part it's true. But things do seem to be changing with our Joe Canada commercial and our 'I am Canadian' commercials. I just hope that we'll eventually move away from becoming a self-loathing country.

So, because we don't seem to like ourselves, we need someone else to like us. We need someone else to fill the big hole in our country's 'heart'. Who better than our neighbours to the south? We seem to constantly look for approval and recognition from America. Then we throw tantrums when we don't receive it.

Look at Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans". Sure it's funny and we get to see how Harvard professors think that there's an annual polar bear hunt in Alberta and that our National Igloo is melting. Sure it makes them look stupid but how many right answers did they clip from the footage they took? I bet that they'd get the same answers if they came to Canada and asked questions about the US. So why do we care? Why do we have to go make them look bad?

I think that as a whole we feel very inferior to our neighbour. Even though we're larger, they have more people. They have a military, we have a boat and a gun and a guy named Bob. (Sounds like a song to me). So why do we have to build ourselves up and tear them down?

Personally, I think it's time that we finally acknowledged how great we are instead of trying to make someone else look bad. I mean, we've got hockey, and basketball (invented by a Canadian, James Nasmith. He did teach in Massachusetts but people tend to forget where he's from). We've got the Stanley cup (it's just on loan Florida), we've got Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Kiefer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves, Bill Shatner. Of course, I'm pretty sure that all of these people now live in the US but that's beside the point. The list goes on and on. We have some great stuff going for us so we should start bragging about it.

People need to know that we are a proud nation and people need to stop caring about what the US says or doesn't say about us. We need to worry about ourselves first and everybody else second because we have a serious inferiority complex in this country.

Quote: "Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians."

- Helen Gordon McPherson