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April 28th, part 2:
I just can't stop myself!
Pro, con, but all in fun and with complete respect, here is some more Canadiana --

The Great Canadian comeback page, which seems like the rough-draft for the Joe Molson commercial. And you can't get more Canadian than Tim Horton's homepage. In English and French!

Top Ten Canadian complaints about Americans.
Not that funny, but I like the "Gordie" thing. (Although it would be funnier if it were "Gee.")

Canadian World Domination... too, too, TOO funny. (Thanks to Stee for this link. He wrote about this again today too.)

U.S. teen's web site pokes fun at Canada, and we are not amused, which is an old article from The Ottawa Citizen, about a site that supposedly uncovers the country for the "conniving bilingual imperialists" they are.

Huge list of fun Canadian links.

And I've searched everywhere, but can't find the original anti-Canada website. If you know where it moved to, please let me know! Thanks.

April 28th:
In a weird coincidental kind of thing, yesterday the editorial in Toronto's eye newsweekly was about the Molson ad:

The editor, Bill Reynolds, writes, "Media and popular opinion is supposedly in agreement with the I am Canadian commercial's definition of Canada: beer, hockey, the great outdoors, "diversity" and not being American. If that were truly all there was to being Canadian, we might as well roll up our flags and install a spare office for Bill Clinton in the Peace Tower." [snip]

"But has our identity really eroded to the point where a beer commercial is an acceptable, even popular, expression of patriotism? The answer is no." -- eye - 4.27.00.

Oooh, I can't wait to read the responses.

April 27th:
So, there's this Molson "I am Canadian," commercial on tv a lot lately, and it's been getting on my nerves. Basically, if you haven't seen it, it's "Joe Canada" talking about how cool he is to be Canadian and not American. You can read the actual transcript at Stee's, and then read his comments after, because it's exactly how I feel about the whole thing. A Canadian columnist discusses it as well -- read Greg Lockert.

And then I heard this hilarious Québécois comeback, "Je m'appelle Guy, and I am not Canadian!" from The Edge. (Listen to it, it's worth it. Hold the shift key when you click, and if that doesn't work, just email me. I tried a thousand times to make this work and I have some sort of mp3 disability.) I decided to write an American version --

"I am not a gun-owner or a snob and I don't speak loudly in English to people who speak other languages...No, I don't know Jeff from Chicago, but I'm sure he is a damn fine and friendly guy. I can buy beer at the grocery store.. I believe the armadillo is a resourceful and beautiful animal... "

Honestly, I love Canada. I want to become a Canadian citizen. I can list a thousand things I admire and respect about this country. But I would like to see less Canadians compare themselves with Americans. And be less obsessed with American culture and current events. And, mostly, to not judge me (and other 'mericans) or assume all kinds of things about me because I'm from the USA.

Okay, to follow the fairness in reporting acts, here are some of my favorite "pro-Canada" sites:
Canadians on Canada, American's Guide to Canada, Canuck Site of the Day, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Finally, I love the way my husband Brian sums it up:
"We're a multi-cultural couple because you come from a country with no culture, and I'm from a country that simultaneously mocks and idolizes that non-culture."

April 26th:
I thought I wanted a creamsicle iBook until I saw the new flavour (front and center in the picture). I want it. I need it. Bad.

So, today I became obsessed with finding the kind of ricebowl I'm looking for. I love the square one from Williams-Sonoma, but I like the shape of the round one better. My plan is actually to get a friend to make one, so I'm looking for pictures to show him.

While looking for that, I found the ugliest so-called "pottery" I have ever seen. Someone makes this stuff? And then people buy it? Yipe.

But, also in this quest I came across another very cute Chinese horoscope page. And, a nifty little page full of chopstick factlets.

Can I just say that I am so thankful and glad that AOL wants to keep our children safe from the Green Party and the scary Democrats?

April 25th:
So, this friend of mine, Natalie, has been secretly working on a webpage and acting all humble about it and wouldn't let me see any of it while it was in progress. I'm thinking, oh sure, it's her first attempt so she's nervous, but I know her and expect that it will be arty and hip no matter what.

Well, Whimsical Excogitation finally made its formal debut, and I can't get over how damn beautiful it is.

Not that I had any doubt it'd be less than perfect, I just didn't realize it'd be so.. well, in her words, "whimsical and fanciful." In my words, "Chimerical in a playful, cool way; and her original artwork kicks ass."

April 20th:
All Kathy Jo all the time --

Austria-Struck, the latest Yinzer in Europe column. And an official, personal 'Yinzer in Europe' page (good stuff) And, for the braver among you -- her Tied to the Hitchens Post page, about her obsession with Christopher Hitchens, the writer from Vanity Fair and The Nation.

Kathy Jo is a kick-ass writer, former welfare mother, Carnegie-Mellon University graduate and a whole lot more -- a hero and friend of mine.

Don't know what a "yinzer" is? Go to the Pittsburgh Slanguage page. Actually, check out all the Slanguages (including Toronto, Buffalo, and Portland, Oregon) cuz they are damn funny.

I'm off again. For about five days this time. Wheeeee!

April 17th, continued:
Please forgive me!
The Jesus Beeper link is fixed.

April 17th:
I'm going on a short break (yay!) so here's a few days worth of stuff --

I can see how an underwear subscription might be a good thing for some men, but I think "in your pants" needs to offer more attractive and fashionable styles if they're serious.

Text soap! Clean up the mess when you copy and paste without doing a lot of keyboard work. It will do stuff like cleanup unwanted spaces, remove forward [>>>] characters fix paragraphs, convert cases, remove smart quotes, clean HTML text, etc.

Potentially offensive #1: The Jesus Beeper -- think of a question, say it out loud so God can hear (God relays it to Jesus), click on the pager and you'll get an answer from Jesus.

Potentially offensive #2: A lonely hearts club for satanists. See, this is one of those things. I don't know if it's true or real or not. I suspect not. But either way I just can't believe it.

Potentially offensive #3: It takes awhile to get through the whole Psychotic Mental Patient Family Photo Album, but in a weird and twisted kind of way it's worth it.

I finally found a real definition of riot girl, which is something that's been driving me crazy -- everyone can generally say what it means, but I like this point-by-point explanation.

I can't read all the descriptions and titles, but Jojo's art (I think skissbok means sketchbook) transcends. It's whimsical and bright. I especially like Alla barn är inte gula tulpaner. "All children are not yellow tulips."

Here's a picture that proves Dominik really can clean himself like a cat.

April 15th:
The thing about sushi fortune telling -- it doesn't seem accurate. I'm thinking that I might pick different dishes if I knew exactly what was in them and could see them, ya know? And where are the California rolls? Still, the place is a lot of fun. I played three times.

Thanks Elizabeth, for finally getting a pitas page and sharing great sites -- like the sushi place -- with us.

It was not a goal:
I was confused yesterday afternoon, because I thought I lived in Canada, and that there would be a hockey game on tv. I almost cried when I realized I would not be seeing the Sabres-Flyers game, but then I heard about the phantom goal (while listening to the game on real audio).. and, well, actually seeing Dominik look something like he does here might've been too much for me.

April 15th:
If you came here from Gina's, here's the lonely man you're looking for!

April 14th:
It's not that I'm not tough enough to drink black coffee; I drink café au lait because it's healthier.

If someone in the US were to send me the Louise Nevelson stamps I would likely be that person's best friend forever. (She's the one I quoted at the top of the page. The stamps show off her mixed-media sculptures.)

Free (blue!) tea in the US and free garden tea in Canada.

Happy Birthday, Mom.