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Being someone from Alberta, it isn't too great either. Everyone thinks they're a fething cowboy here. And Calgary during the Stampede is just awful.
I've spent a few years in the prairies, but never Alberta.
But hey, lower taxes, right?
Well, lower taxes, but only because we never spend a dime on anything not directly related to oil. 'Education' and 'healthcare' can seem like bad words at times.
Well, lower taxes, but only because we never spend a dime on anything not directly related to oil. 'Education' and 'healthcare' can seem like bad words at times.
Indeed. Sad, but true.
Not a fan of any move to even hint at the possibility of privatized or tiered healthcare.
Ah well, move out to BC. The worst part there is just dealing with all the fething hipsters.
Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress
+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+
Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias!
KelseyC wrote: I was born in Canada and have lived here my whole life. It seems though that as a country we don't have a really solid identity as a lot of other countries do.
To me it seems Canada is just a weird, awkward clash between Britain and the US. I suppose Canadians are stereotyped as being nice and the whole "aboot" thing. I love living here in Canada but sometimes I feel like our national identity is a joke! I just kind of wanted to see what other peoples opinions are about Canada and its' identity on a world wide type scale. I don't think that Canada is the best country or anything, I think nationalism and patriotism are silly even since we don't choose where we are born. Although that is a different topic all together.
How do you guys (especially non Canadians) perceive Canada?
Canada is a gorgeous country throughout the Maritimes, where half my family came from. I took my wife up through St. John for her first trip outside the U.S. and she loved it. I would happily live in New Brunswick.
Canada is a loft apartment above a really great party house
But in all honesty I pretty much, and this might sound bad, consider canadians just more Americans. As in our societies are pretty damned similar and they don't sound any different than my family that was from Minnesota. At least that's the way it's felt with all the canadians I've met here in the US and abroad when I was traveling.
Oh, except for French Canadians.....they're weird
I totally get that, I feel like I am basically American. We have a few things that are not as American that we may do such as keeping the you in words like honour and armour.
Another silly thing here is a silly media rule by the CRTC. It basically is something like 35% of all media played on Canadian television, radio, etc must be Canadian. A month ago or so I believe an adult film channel even got in trouble for not having enough Canadian material, such a silly way to try to keep us less "Americanized"!
Back in the day, when I lived in Maine as a younster, we used to watch more of the CBC than U.S. channels because the Canadian shows were better.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/04/17 04:45:13
KelseyC wrote: I was born in Canada and have lived here my whole life. It seems though that as a country we don't have a really solid identity as a lot of other countries do.
To me it seems Canada is just a weird, awkward clash between Britain and the US. I suppose Canadians are stereotyped as being nice and the whole "aboot" thing. I love living here in Canada but sometimes I feel like our national identity is a joke! I just kind of wanted to see what other peoples opinions are about Canada and its' identity on a world wide type scale. I don't think that Canada is the best country or anything, I think nationalism and patriotism are silly even since we don't choose where we are born. Although that is a different topic all together.
How do you guys (especially non Canadians) perceive Canada?
Canada is a gorgeous country throughout the Maritimes, where half my family came from. I took my wife up through St. John for her first trip outside the U.S. and she loved it. I would happily live in New Brunswick.
Canada is a loft apartment above a really great party house
But in all honesty I pretty much, and this might sound bad, consider canadians just more Americans. As in our societies are pretty damned similar and they don't sound any different than my family that was from Minnesota. At least that's the way it's felt with all the canadians I've met here in the US and abroad when I was traveling.
Oh, except for French Canadians.....they're weird
I totally get that, I feel like I am basically American. We have a few things that are not as American that we may do such as keeping the you in words like honour and armour.
Another silly thing here is a silly media rule by the CRTC. It basically is something like 35% of all media played on Canadian television, radio, etc must be Canadian. A month ago or so I believe an adult film channel even got in trouble for not having enough Canadian material, such a silly way to try to keep us less "Americanized"!
Back in the day, when I lived in Maine as a younster, we used to watch more of the CBC than U.S. channels because the Canadian shows were better.
Our resident despot sadly cares not for the cbc, it seems he hates it.
Indeed, KITH and Rush would pay the karmic debt of a thousand Beibers.
We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
I once met a Canadian and northern Brit traveling together. The Canadian fella was really nice and translated for me what the northern Brit was saying. But I'm from Michigan, we get a lot of Canadians passing through. They seem nicer on average, and the couple times I went north I really didn't feel like I was far from home. Canada is a cool country, and what's wrong with being known as the nice country?
We are the younger, saner, more sensible "good son" of Mother Britain While our big brother America rebelled and ran away from home at a young age we stood by Mother and held her hand in moments of crisis, just like our "special needs" brother Australia, bless him.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
I didn't see your edit until after I posted, so time to respond to your edit with an edit of my own. I took almost all of the history classes I could in high school. Before then I had never really understood how important Canada was in both World Wars. Not that other countries weren't as important or even more important but when I was younger I had always assumed our military didn't do much because all you hear about is what the Americans did.
Unfortunately history seems to have been re written to make the ''main'' allied countries a better look and show them in a better light.
The contribution of Canada, Poland (where i am from ), Czechoslovakia and many others is usually ignored in British or American history books.
Of course the British wont even say anything about how without the Canadian and Polish planes they would have lost the Battle of Britain.
motyak wrote:[...] Yes, the mods are illuminati, and yakface, lego and dakka dakka itself are the 3 points of the triangle.
Being someone from Alberta, it isn't too great either. Everyone thinks they're a fething cowboy here. And Calgary during the Stampede is just awful.
I've spent a few years in the prairies, but never Alberta.
But hey, lower taxes, right?
Actually, its pretty cheap in Greater Manikatchewan. Well at least compared to Ontario. My car insurance in Ontario would be four times the amount it is here. Psycho.
Living in Ontario is pretty crap...
If you work in the private sector you're dirt poor, but if you work in the public sector you've got it made. And Queen's Park is really just a giant toilet where the Fiberals spend the day flushing away our tax dollars on an even bigger scandal than the last one. (mind you, the OPP are now investigating likely criminal charges over the $1.1 billion cancelled gas plants that 'saved' 5 Liberal seats in the last election...)
But we're going to keep them, because Toronto doesn't want Conservatives at all three levels of government.
Then there's fact that living in the GTA means you have to put up with Loafs Nation. Hell, they're so dysfunctional make GW look competent!
The only person in Canada that I really know is my ex-wife (who is a Texan with a voice like Sandy Squirrel), so I probably don't have the best frame of reference to judge the country.
Born in Scarborough, raised in Whitby. I know all too well. My riding was Jim Flaherty's, and I can't say I was overly pleased with his ideals. I won't speak ill of the dead, but I wasn't a fan of him as a politician. Oh, and he had a huge house in my town.
I plan on spending my life either in Halifax or Victoria, the two best cities in this country.
If I never see Winnipeg again, it won't be soon enough.
"Winnipeg: We were born here, what's your excuse?"
Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress
+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+
Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias!
Boggy Man wrote: You gave us Deadpool, Phil Hartman, the Best Friends zaibatsu and Morgan Webb's cleavage. Canada is awesome in my book.
Also, best hockey.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/04/17 15:31:14
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Boggy Man wrote: You gave us Deadpool, Phil Hartman, the Best Friends zaibatsu and Morgan Webb's cleavage. Canada is awesome in my book.
Also, best hockey.
Yep. When Vancouver lost to Boston two years ago and the city burned, cooler heads pointed out that Lord Stanley's Cup would now spend more time in Canada than if the "hometown" team won.
We were once so close to heaven, St. Peter came out and gave us medals; declaring us "The nicest of the damned".
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
What I find is the most distinctive with us is "accommodating".
I remember sitting in a meeting with a Brit, Sikh, Chinese, Italian, Polish and Japanese (all immigrants not born here) and me a third generation Canadian. Was the strangest and funniest and best ideas meeting I ever had.
When the Brit offered to translate for the Chinese guy saying that "You wear badge of dishonor!" I almost lost my mind.
The Polish engineer shouting (happily) "Thisz isss buoolsheet!, yourrr configuratiooon iz crap! I show you right way!".
The Japanese fellow was looking uncomfortable yet covering his attempt not to laugh.
Then me having to say "So I take it you admire this first attempt at the change!" and much laughter and we got down to "fixing" things.
I love the diversity, funny adversity, the weird crazy ways these people from all over look at things.
Americans have a fantastic grasp of the "politics" of things, French the esthetics, Polish for humor in all things, East Indians for being so sincere, Australians for being our "daft" siblings that are more practical than we can give credit... I could go on forever...
Our culture is that we find the whole lot of the world to be a strange and funny place and find you all at your best in our "neutral ground" tell you to sit back, have a beer, watch a hockey game and ask about all the strange experiences you have had.
Then go out later after getting drunk enough to make some new ones.
A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Maybe I'm weird but I see more similarities than differences in cultures, I have a hard time putting any of them under some kind of categorical definition but maybe that has something to do with my desire to want to be liked by others so I'm constantly looking for things that are relatable to
Dr Coconut wrote: My only trip into Canada is not the best example of what it's like, but there is a big difference in each side of the falls, American side.....parkland, and a visitor center. Canadian side.....'BLING' it's Blackpool upon Niagara.
Other than that, lovely people, they seem more genuinely friendly than Americans, who often 'seem' to have fixed smiles, and forced friendliness.
I'm not sure when you went to the falls, but if wasn't over 20 years ago you got it all backwards. I should know, I grew up there. The American side has a tiny strip of parkland, surrounded by housing projects and chemical waste dumps. Niagara Falls, NY is a cesspool full of crime with very little tourist attraction besides being in America. Niagara Falls, Ontario on the other hand, is clean, safe, and with tons more to do. Even the surrounding countryside is a lot better on the Canadian side. Way more for tourists and way better than the American side. Canada spent money making their side nice and marketable, while the US side was let slide into a dump.
I really wouldn't say Canadians are much like Americans beyond the fact all the English-speaking former British Empire territories have a lot in common. Growing up on the border and my stepmom having dual citizenship, I've spent a lot of time there and without a doubt Canadian's are a far friendlier people. Getting drunk and lost in Toronto is vastly different from getting drunk and lost in NYC.
Your alcohol prices are criminal though. Almost 40 bucks for a case of Molson last time I was there.
Indeed. The Simpsons was never the same after he died. I know he wasn't in every episode but I definitely think the shows went massively downhill after that. I'm glad they chose to retire the characters rather than recast them. I would have loved to have heard his version of Zapp Brannigan, although Billy West's homage to Hartman in the characters voice is great.
He got a star on the walk of fame in Canada and in America, which is nice.
He was in one of my favourite childhood movies. Playing an sarcastic/cantankerous air conditioner.
Fafnir wrote: Don't worry though, Harper's got a plan to get rid of that "saner, more sensible" nature of ours.
That he does. Maybe the flaherty state funeral distraction will help change the news cycle for him, which has mostly been wall to wall scandal.
We have pretty regional culture, part of that is we're a massive country but have a really small population for our size. We're like the population of mexico city spread out over 2/3rd of eurasia.
I agree. Canada has a very regional culture that Canadians know well, but becomes a mish-mash outside of the Dominion. The things that cross over the regional differences -hockey, donuts, the RCMP, winter, eh, whatever, - are what Canuckistan is known for. But a Maritimer is perceived as culturally different from someone form Saskitoba. Not in any heavy way, but just in outlook, taste, speech and other small nuisances. Even a Newfie is different from a Maritimer, and a Labro ain't a real Newfie, bye. lol
Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress 
), Czechoslovakia and many others is usually ignored in British or American history books.
