Canada

[JamesVincent]

I saw this article and had to share it with our friends from the Great White North. Enjoy.

http://www.tickld.com/x/33-things-ameri ... -seriously

I actually agree with 29. When I used to go there I stayed on the American side since it was cheaper and partied on the Canadian side since it was cooler.

[fortinbras]

Very good. I actually disagree with nr. 7 about the cause of the War of 1812. It was caused by Napoleon being so formidable that the British felt they had to conscript everyone who spoke the language, and started seizing American sailors on the high seas to be involuntary British tars. The US won only in the sense that the British had to stop. The war was settled by a treaty signed even before the Battle of New Orleans. Yes, the Brits burned the city of Washington; that's one reason that the Library of Congress was restarted by buying up Thomas Jefferson's enormous collection.

[JamesVincent]

Canadians can't be all bad. They gave us two of the most important things ever, Molson and Rush. They almost cancel out Justin Bieber.

[Number Six]

Plus they gave the world Shatner, Rich Little, Shania Twain, Jim Carrey and Leslie Nielsen.

[Famspear]

Plus they gave the world Shatner, Rich Little, Shania Twain, Jim Carrey and Leslie Nielsen.

And Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. And Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson.

Thank you, Canada.

[Lambkin]

Loverboy

[JamesVincent]

And Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson

But not Levon Helm.

[fortinbras]

I don't think anyone has discussed how Canada was a severe disappointment with regard to its extraordinary potential.

Canada COULD have had:
(1) British politics
(2) American efficiency
and (3) French culture.

Tough combination to beat, right? Can hardly get better!

But look at what Canada actually ended up with:

(1) British efficiency,
(2) French politics (!), and
(3) American culture (!!).

Talk about making a sow's ear out of a silk purse ....

[Burnaby49]

I don't think anyone has discussed how Canada was a severe disappointment with regard to its extraordinary potential.

Canada COULD have had:
(1) British politics
(2) American efficiency
and (3) French culture.

Tough combination to beat, right? Can hardly get better!

But look at what Canada actually ended up with:

(1) British efficiency,
(2) French politics (!), and
(3) American culture (!!).

Talk about making a sow's ear out of a silk purse ....

Then again, somehow we sort of muddle along.

I was reminded of a British pubbing experience when reading this one;

12. We do not find the fact that American wear Canadian flag pins (so they can get better treatment in Europe) very amusing. So stop it

I was in line in a London pub and got to talking to a young lady behind me. When I said I was Canadian she said "I always pretend I'm Canadian when I travel outside the US". I asked her a question about an issue I've always wondered about, where did she claim to be from in Canada? This is significant because I'm from Vancouver and just about everyone I talk to in Britain has a relative or a friend living here or has visited or knows someone who has visited. So as soon as I identify myself as a Vancouverite I get questions;

I did that famous walk up the mountain, what is it called? Grouse Grind.
I stayed at a hotel right on the water by Stanley Park, can't remember the name. Bayshore.
What was that train that goes to Squamish along the ocean? Royal Hudson.

You get the idea, you are easily outed if you claim to be from Vancouver but don't know the place. So I asked her where she pretended to be from. Her answer was perfect, "Outside Toronto". Toronto has so many adjacent nondescript municipalities and bedroom communities that nobody you meet casually in Britain has a clue about them.

However her deception went even deeper. She was from New Jersey but told me that when she travelled in North America she said she was from New York city.

[JamesVincent]

Something else awesome that Canada gave us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGjaaQAvSTA

Took me awhile to find someone who had this version online.

[erwalkerca]

Something else awesome that Canada gave us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGjaaQAvSTA

Took me awhile to find someone who had this version online.

If you liked that, you may like her moving rendition of a Black Eyed Peas song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

What else have we given you?
Monty Hall and Alex Trebek.
Mike Myers.
The coolest astronaut around, Chris Hadfield.
Norman Jewison, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg, James Cameron, Mack Sennet.
"America's sweetheart" and co-founder of United Artists, Mary Pickford

[JamesVincent]

Canadians can't be all bad. They gave us two of the most important things ever, Molson and Rush. They almost cancel out Justin Bieber.

Notice I said, almost.

[Burnaby49]

You're just bitter because we successfully dumped him on you. Enjoy!

[JamesVincent]

You're just bitter because we successfully dumped him on you. Enjoy!

I don't think bitter is the word.....

[Burnaby49]

In 2013 I was in Birmingham (England, not Alabama) and we had to do laundry so I found a laundromat but we had no detergent. A guy in his 50's was emptying a huge duffel bag out into a washer and he offered us some of his detergent so we got to talking. Turned out he was an American roadie on tour with a young female American black singer (forget her name) whom he liked because she was completely professional in her dealings with the crew and the tour. Then he said "and thank you Canada for sending that little shit Bieber down to us". He'd worked on a Bieber tour and the entire crew ended up disliking him. An immature demanding primadonna who treated the crew like crap. I told him not to blame me, if Bieber had to rely on my support he'd be where he belonged, running the deep fryer in the back of a McDonalds.

Apart from laundry this is what I also did that day;

The Drop Forge
The Jewellers Arms
Canalside Café
The Brasshouse
The Jeckle & Hyde
Sacks of Potatoes
The Spotted Dog
The Lamp Tavern
The Old Fox
The Craven Arms
The Penny Blacks
The Railway
The Square Peg (Wetherspoons)