Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 1, 2005 11:34:27 GMT -5
It's Canada Day! Here I am, wearing my patriotic maple-leaf, red-and-white bar socks, and I just wanted to wish everybody a happy Canada Day. ;D How many Canadians do we have on the board, anyway? I know there's at least two, including me... Hmmm....
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jul 1, 2005 11:37:18 GMT -5
Well I can proudly say I am.....not....a canadian.... ^_^
"Personally I don't know anything about Canada....ok...maybe a few things..."
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Post by pitbulllady on Jul 1, 2005 11:44:44 GMT -5
Is this like the Canadian Independence Day? Interesting if it is, with the US Independence Day just a few days away.
pitbulllady
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 1, 2005 12:22:32 GMT -5
Well, it's sorta but not really the Canadian version of "Independance Day". I believe it's the day that the BND Act was signed (back in 1867?), stating that "The Dominion of Canada" was actually a country, not just an extention of Britain. However, we weren't really independant from Britain, which is why we can't really call it our "Independance Day" - we had (and still have, actually) a constitutional monarchy (meaning that the Queen of England is still our Head of State, but her powers are limited by our Constitution). We didn't have the power to controle our internal affairs back then (so we were still automaticaly at war in WWI when Britain declared war). We gained controle of our foreign affairs in... 1931? And there was something else significant about 1982 as well (besides the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that is...). Man, I don't want to have to do Social Studies during the summer! So... is there anything you want to know about us Canajuns, Sean? Hmmm... I really should post a copy of the "I am Canadian" speech (and it's Québecois version, "I am not Canadian"). They're hilarious. ^_^
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 1, 2005 12:37:54 GMT -5
Well, this isn't the "I am Canadian" speech, but it's the next best thing. My sister graciously lent me her (utterly awesomely hilarious) Canadian quiz shirt, so I can share it with you guys. Seeing people wear shirts like this make me go SQUEE!!! ;D
Sorry 'bout the last bit - a large portion of Canadians are slightly bitter we have to know pretty much everything about the US (since we live in your economic shadow), but you guys can get away with knowing next to nothing about us (you know, we all live in igloos and drive dog sleds to work, etc.).
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jul 1, 2005 12:40:04 GMT -5
What is an igloo made out of?
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Post by lizardgirl on Jul 1, 2005 13:47:25 GMT -5
LOL, Sean! And I DO know a bit about Canadians, most of which came from the 'End of Ze World' sequence with the whole 'eh' thing. Heh. ;D
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 1, 2005 17:20:48 GMT -5
My personal favourite was the one where totem poles are made by pouring liquid wood into a mold. ^_^
So... Is there anything any of you curious non-Canadians want to know about us? I'll do my best to answer.
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jul 1, 2005 19:23:35 GMT -5
^_^
Is an American Dollar worth more there? pfft...heh heh...
"That would make us here rich there ha!"
hahahaha!!!
Sorry heh...
"We just had to heh....heh..."
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 1, 2005 21:08:43 GMT -5
Well, the American dollar is worth more than the Canadian dollar at the moment, but American money isn't worth more by simply moving north. The Canadian dollar is currently worth about 80 cents American.
However, if the war in Iraq continues for much longer (ie, your deficit becomes even larger), it could potentially destroy your economy, which would either make the Canadian dollar rise dramatically (it's doing that already, because international companies will invest in countries that don't have potentially disatrous economies - it's just not good buisness sense), or plummet (our economy hinges on America's quite a bit, so... if yours fails, so will ours.)
Oh, that reminds me of something I've been wondering for a while. You know gumball machines? How much do you have to pay in America to get a single gumball (one of the ones about the size of a quarter). Is it 25 cents? If so, it means that (because your dollar is worth more than ours), gumballs are technically cheaper up here. ^_^
Another question: how many languages do you have on food packages? Do you have French too, or do American companies simply make another line of their products just to export to Canada? All of our food products, even those coming from America have both French and English. An example that comes to mind are cereal boxes. Some of the translated slogans are rather hilarious (because of what they try to come up with).
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ScrewyOldDame
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
The classes that wash most are those that work least.
Posts: 402
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Post by ScrewyOldDame on Jul 1, 2005 21:51:20 GMT -5
I am, you know I am...*dances* Whee! Go us Beeboots! Yes, I always wondered why it was so close to the US Independence Day. However - we're still Common Wealth, and still influenced greatly by British culture, so it's not so much of an Independence Day as a "we're a country" day. ;D Have a good one Beboots! ;D ;D ;D Yes Ran...bring like 20 dollars and you'll be a...gazillionaire! Ever scare in Canada? Our igloos get purty cold sometimes.
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Post by pitbulllady on Jul 1, 2005 22:42:07 GMT -5
Most gumball machines here now cost .50 per try! Most products sold in this country have directions/warnings in at least three languages, those being English, French and Spanish. Latinos(people who are from Mexico, Central America and South America, or some Caribbean islands, who speak primarily Spanish)are the fastest-growing segment of the US population, and outnumber non-Latinos by a considerable amount in many areas. Quite often now, you will see labels in Mandarin Chinese characters, too. About the only places where we have a significant French-speaking population is Southern Louisiana and parts of southwestern Mississippi, and the states just below Quebec.
I was able to correctly answer every question on the quiz, so does this mean I win a box of maple candy?
I think it's pretty funny how people tend to think all Canadians drive dog sleds to work and live in igloos, though. It's like they think everyone from the South is married to their cousin, makes moonshine whiskey, is dumb as a box of rocks, wears a white sheet and a pointy hat all the time, and talks just like Foghorn Leghorn!
pitbulllady
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Post by lizardgirl on Jul 2, 2005 9:01:29 GMT -5
Anyone ever seen that Episode of the Simpsons where Homer's in a bowling team, and Apu sees who they're playing against and it's a team called the 'stereotypes' and there's all the stereotypical people of Springfield in it like that sailor guy that always goes 'Aaaggh' and stuff and Apu was like 'I was gonna be in that team'. Some stereotypes are funny, though it can be pretty hurtful. I never realised that people thought that Canadians lived in igloos and stuff, never occurred to me, heh. But you DO like ice-hockey, right? ;D
Oh, and a question for Beboots/rathereccentric- is it true that Canada's one of the cleanest countries in the world? It's just that they say that in Canada, you're meant to clean the pavement outside your house even though it might be for the public, and there are hefty fines for littering, etc. ;D
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Jul 2, 2005 10:41:05 GMT -5
Well, there are many bi-laws against littering - I'm not sure of the punnishment for it, though ('cause I'm a goody two-shoes and have never really littered). We do have people along the side of highways cleaning up stuff (usually they're petty criminals who have opted for a community service charge instead of a fine or doing time, but some of them are volunteers), but in the big cities, there's still a lot of litter.
We do, legally (in my town, anyway) have to clear the pavement of snow outside our houses in wintertime, and it's just vanity that means we clean up any trash on our part of the sidewalk. Oh, and we do have these signs scattered around the neighborhood/walking trails - little blue ones with a person, a shovel, and a small dog, saying that you have to clean up after your dog (it's the law! Oh no!).
So... I suppose you could say our country's pretty clean. *shrugs* Never really thought about it before (or ever really compared it to anywhere else).
Oh, speaking of igloos... has anybody ever heard of that ice hotel in Québec?
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Post by RandallBoggs on Jul 2, 2005 10:45:46 GMT -5
Ice hotel?
"Now I've heard....everything..."
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