Today I rejoice in my Canadian-ness: the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has opened its Internet doors to anyone who wants to peek at their library. Granted, this is only a tiny fraction of their short films (about 700 of them), but you can view them all for free by visiting nfb.ca. I've already found some favourites:

• The Big Snit
  
  
• The Cat ( Read more... )

When I made my earlier rant about the Vancouver Olympic mascots, I was posting from work. Since then, I have viewed the mascots' website from home, where I have speakers, and discovered the awesome aural bonus:

Take a look at Quatchi's profile, and roll your mouse over his face. Listen to him say his name. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds to me ( Read more... )

Okay, so maybe I don't pay attention to homegrown events enough, or maybe I was busy with Christmas/Norway planning, but I have only just now become aware of the 2010 Winter Olympics mascotsI think they blow. You may not agree with me on this — you may think they've done a fine job of capturing the spirit and essence of Canada and winter sports. If ( Read more... )

A co-worker with a child in elementary school informs me that the Toronto School Board has decided to refer to October 31st as "Black & Orange Day" instead of "Halloween" because it fears somehow offending people. A quick search of the web indicates there may be some merit to her claimThis is so typically Canadian —at least in recent years— it ( Read more... )

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Canucks. Good eats to ya.

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Can you find the grammatical or syntactic error in this sentence? The standard of living has increased.

I couldn't find it. But according to this article in the Toronto Star, that's just one of the grammar questions in the International English Language Testing System exam we'll soon be giving to anyone wishing to immigrate to Canada (we already ( Read more... )

We yield at once,
With humbled mien,
Because, with all our faults
We love our Queen.

A happy Victoria Day to you and yours.

While I'm all in favour of encouraging people to do their part in energy conservation, and I can understand the government's desire to instill such habits in people as early as possible, I'm not entirely sure I approve of the latest "flick off" campaign ( Read more... )

Happy 42nd Birthday, Flag!


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