Canada, Who we are.

"Billy Bob Thornton's band has canceled the rest of its Canadian tour after the actor compared the country's fans to mashed potatoes with no gravy in a testy interview that caused a sensation online."

I don't know what he is talking about. When I ordered fries in Canada they ALWAYS came covered with gravy. I assume he was not selling enough tickets for the tour. He should just say so. It does not appear that he used good judgement.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

It seems he took umbrage at the interviewer referring to his acting career and went into a snit. Tempermental actor I guess. Who knows who cares. From what I read it said his Band isn't that good and his attempt at a drum solo sucked. Personallu I wouldn't know as I am not a follower of C/W music.

Hey there is only one way to eat Fries, Gravy and Pepper or maybe Poutine.


Camac

We use catsup here but I learned. Ah, poutine, I believe maybe we call it white lightning. Correct me if I am wrong. Quite a memorable refreshment.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

I don't know what white lighting is ( perhaps Booze) anyway Poutine is Fries with Cheese (Fromage) and Gravy ( au jus). Heart attack food but good.

Camac.

Ok, I misunderstood. I thought of poutine as the Irish drink distilled in the hills. Yes white lightning is whiskey with no tax stamp.

My french, if that is french, sucks though I did learn a few words necessary to discuss another subject in a quaint little town North East of Montreal a long time ago. Also Jambon and Oeffs. That isn't much.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

The French I learned, what little that is, is construction job French and not to be used in Polite company. Actually I am somewhat ashamed that I never really learned the language . When I went to school things were different. We didn't have to learn French but if French Canadians wanted to get good jobs and get ahead they had to learn English. By the 70's things had changed and I must say for the better. Both my girls speak French and I think that is how it should be as we are a bilingual country. My ex is half Quebecois but her Father forbade the language to be spoken so she never learned. Thankfully the times are changing. N'est ce pas?


Camac.

Today a second language is required in high school. In the 50's it was optional and I opted out. I learned spanish in Colorado which helped a bit after I retired. I do not speak it but can understand a bit. When I went there, they would speak english for American dollars and I could understand what they were saying about me.

I agree, a second language is not bad. My son took Spanish and my daughter took French.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

Things have changed so much up here that it is just about impossible to get a job with the Fed. Gov. or get elected to Parliament unless you speak both languages. New Brunswick is officially bilingual, Ontario is sort of half way, Quebec has its' language Law that makes French the Official Language and they enforce it. It has upset alot of people across the country but I sort of understand why they did it. For awhile there it looked like it was slowly dying out. Personally I think the whole country should be bilingual and if I had the chance I'd go back and learn French.
The official Language Act passed by Parliament states that Canada is Bilingual and that all Acts, Laws, and Proclamations from Parliament shall be in both Official Languages and that the business of the Government shall be conducted in said Languages.


Camac.

I have been working a little at learning Scot. Gaelic and have had little success. I have the course in Irish Gaelic too which seems a bit easier. I haven't done well with either though. My grandmother spoke Irish Gaelic as spoken in Co. Kerry. If I had been interested as a child she could have taught me and I could have used the language conversing with her. However, as always, I have excellent hindsight. I have a neice who just got back from a language school in Columbia paid for by her employer. I suspect in the future a second language will be a necessity here too.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

If I did this all correctly this link A_Different_View.pps should take you to a PowerPoint file you can download or run that says a lot about our Canadian Friends.

Well done Canada!

(you may need to download the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer from Microsoft to view this file. It can be found here: PowerPoint Viewer 2007)

MacEoghainn;

I thank you my Friend. I have the same photos but being not to computer literate I didn't know how to post them. This Ceremony happens every time they bring our young warriors home for the last time. It's our way of saying Thank You and Honouring our dead and to let the families of these Heroes know we care. I wrote a poem about it earlier on and posted it on Celtic Hearts. Thank You again I along with all Canadians who see this appreciate it.


Camac.

That was an excellent presentation.

We have not had that opportunity as the bush administration banned all media coverage of the fallen returning. I know we who have served would turn out but whether we could get the response you in Canada produced, I do not know. We have a group that tries to disrupt the military funeral services. We had an area military funeral (Iraq casualty) that was "threatened". The police were there of course and a motorcycle club had about 90 members stationed around the cemetery to discourage anything improper. All had black arm bands and every bike flew a small American flag. Nothing happened. I hope that God has the hottest seats in hell reserved for those who have no respect for the service men and women who gave all!

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Patch;

The 170 km stretch of Highway 401 between Trenton (CFB) and Toronto was named the Highway of Heroes by the Ontario Legislature within minutes of being proposed. Within days the signs were going up. It is just one small way the people of my Province show their respect, Love , and care for our young people who serve. The gatherings on the 50 overpasses was spontaneous no one organized it, it just happened. No one would dare disupt this ceremony nor would they interfere with a Funeral of our Heroes. It would not be tolerated or condoned by anyone. If you are against the war then protest where it does not insult the Families of these men and women who have paid the ultimate price for our peace and freedom. In two World Wars, Korea, Peace Keeping and Afghanistan Canada has lost over 100,000 of it's sons and daughter and for a Nation with our small population that is alot.

ALL HONOUR TO THE FALLEN
LEST WE FORGET.

Camac.

During VN we had a "draft" and for the most part it was unfairly applied. Some people could avoid the war, as two recent presidents and at least one vice president did. There were demonstrations then and I think bush expected them again. Shows he didn't understand history. Today the army is volunteer. That is a big difference and maybe the people would have reacted differently. Since Obama just lifted thae media ban and left it up to the families we may see change. I believe we just lost 5 more in Iraq.

Slàinte,   

 Patch    

Thank you for sharing this great presentation.

Ingo