Goodbye, Canadiania

So, I broke my fast last night. I figured it was time to call it quits, and broke the seal with half an episode of Pussycat Dolls Presents: Girlilicious. After three weeks of Canadiania, I feel less ADD and more sincere. Good times.

Last Weekend

This is the last weekend of the experiment. Have "Eve and the Firehorse" on DVD. Am caught up on Canada's Obama scandle. It's a little early to begin reflecting, but this has been a really positive experience for me. I probably have shook off a couple of bad habits that I'm hoping don't start up again once this is through. Anyway.

erudite conversations in the car

So tonight's topics of conversation:

If there was a hockey game, and two American teams were playing in the States, but it was aired on a Canadian network, would it be allowed?

If a Canadian radio show played a few Bob Dylan songs in a row because they held so much meaning for the Canadian DJ, would I be able to listen to those songs? The content is US, but the intention, earnest commentary between songs and its context, is Canadian. The fact that those songs are meaningful to a Canadian, does that make it Can Con?

With me, the fun never stops.

20 Mile Diet

It occurs to me that it would be cool to take this whole exercise even farther, and go on a 20 mile culture diet. I live off of Main St., and there's probably enough culture being produced by people sipping coffees in this cafe to keep me going for a week. Why not try and just consume music/art/print from people who are doing good work in this neighbourhood - lets say for a week rather than 4. Maybe when I come back from LA, that will be the next challenge - the 20 mile diet. I'll get my fill of Brit and Election Night in America when I'm down there, and will be ready for a new challenge.

Urgent Matter at Hand

Where is Kofi Annan when you need him? Forget the food shortages, there's a real problem at hand. The UN has cited international leniancy towards celebrity drug use as urgent enough to write a report. Are there that many drug-addicted celebrities in the world to mark a trend? Guess so.

Haven't got to those Walrus's yet. Maybe today? Definintely by the end of the week.

The Walrus

The next step? Taking that pile of unread Walrus's, sitting all huntched and droopy in the corner, radiating guilt, and reading them. If last week was all about Canadian TV and film (just saw C.R.A.Z.Y. So good), this week will be all about the mags.

Maybe its the fact that the print is so tiny, that they manage to cram so much information into one issue, that makes me admire the cover then put it down. I didn't renue my subscription, and after many pleading emails from the Walrus, found in the mail a "personal letter" from the editor, begging me to reconsider. Literally begging. It made me worry about the mag. Are there not enough Masters students in Canadian Studies to keep it going? So I renued my subscription. I felt bad. And it does have amazing "visual essays," graphics, insightful articles, ect. Maybe I'll put aside a week every month to get through an issue.

OMG - Plants and Animals are f***ing amazing. Again, I listened to the album all the way through, in part becuase of the lack of shuffle on my ipod, and because I had many beers and helpings of casserole to burn off. "Faerie Dance" is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. I didn't get much farther in the album because I kept playing that song over and over again.

For all this talk of regionalism, music seems to transcend it. They definitely sound like they're from Montreal; there's a big, collective, strings-heavy drunken sway to it. Like smething they'd play at an indie strip bar in Montreal. But it doesn't matter. You don't need to understand the signs to get the joke. I can find still find it fantastic. It probably just comes down to the fact that some things are really good, and some things a poop, depending on your taste.