I'd like to meet:
Music:
a few years ago one of my students did a video on a small time musician who had toured through chicago a few times. her name was peaches, and she has gone on to become a superstar around the world. even though she lives in berlin, she often refers to being from canada.
before kids in the hall there was sctv (second city television). this was an institution for canada, and some would say the precurser that led to a generation of amazing canadian comedy actors.
my heart goes out to anyone who fights for their country. there are not many things that i would give my life for, but canada would probably be one of them.
early saturday morning in canada during the late-80s. we don't have cable so what do we watch? why rocket robin hood of course! oh man, this was the best show during that time slot (again, without cable).
one of my favorite candians of all time has to be martin short. how can you not love this guys energy and positive vibe? he just wants to move his audience, which i truly admire.
Movies:
there were tons of vignettes and movies that we would watch growing up, not fully realizing they were canadian until we saw the logo for the national film board. they were and remain great pieces, with their own flavor, much more humble than american work from that time.
i heard that they are bringing canadian chocolate bars to america? it's about time, they are awesome compared to what you find in the usa. coffee crisp is one of the best canadian bars.
again, i love comedy, so after kids in the hall and sctv, there are a bunch of independent actors who went on to do great work and make me laugh long time. one of these actors is jim carrey.
and this girl is not a huge part of my cultural landscape, but she was in a few big american movies, one of them called species. she seems to have done very well for herself and represented canada admirably.
Television:
there was this canadian game show that was so wierd and funny called definition, on during lunchtime on weekdays. if you recognize the tune, it might be because it was used in the austin powers movies (reaturing another canadian mike myers).
cbc is the public television network in canada. the goverment is involved in helping run this network, although i have never fully understood how. the programming tends to feature more variety than what i remember on ctv. things could have changed since i left canada, but that's what i remember.
Books:
i used to love the rocky and bullwinkle shows and dudley do-right was the canadian mountie that was a real inspiration. i think i wanted to be a mountie for about 5 minutes once.
what can you say about paul shaffer? him being david letterman's sidekick/whipping boy is the perfect metaphor for life in north america. paul is not shy when it comes to talking about canada, which i admire.
not many people realize that canada has its own brand of football that has been around for a long time. with a wider field and a faster pace, many argue that the cfl has a more entertaining game than america's nfl...but americans don't take that very seriously. i used to follow the montreal alouettes.
my favorite canadian athlete ever? could be wayne gretzky, guy lafleur, or possibly the current two-time mvp of the national basketball association, steve nash. what a stud.
Heroes:
if you look up hero in the canadian dictionary, you will very likely find a picture of pierre elliot trudeau, our finest prime minister ever. period. point finale.
before jackie robinson broke the color barrier for the brooklyn dodgers guess where he played professional baseball? that's right, for montreal.
and if you talk about baseball in montreal you have to mention my passion for about 20 years, the now defunct montreal expos. that love for sports probably came from being raised with the most successful hockey team in the world, the montreal canadians.
another institution growing up was star trek. maybe it was so popular because the actor who played the main character was from montreal (william shatner).
not many people care about the 100 yard race, but it used to be a great thing, with the winner being dubbed the "fastest man in the world". i don't know if they even do this any more...is it still in the olympics?
I have awesome American friends, eh?
nat
jen
chris
tesia
ryan
ben
bridgette
shante
aaron
gabe
melissa
matt
mike
fredo
shellie
mwt
hilesh
maya
ron
jon