Something sinister in the White House

As a leftie, I can't resist posting something I just heard on NPR.

Did you know that 4 of the last 7 American Presidents were left handed? Statistically, there should be only one for every 7 or 8 presidents.

And here's the kicker: both McCain and Obama are left-handed.

Here's a blog post on the subject

Musings on the Flag over Coffee

I've been thinking about the whole Flag thing lately, and I'm beginning to wonder if we've had it wrong this whole time.

When we (Canadians) come to the U.S., I think we tend to be struck by the number of flags, and associate that with a fervent nationalism. But I'm beginning to wonder if that's an assumption -- Culture 101 says we use symbols for lots of reasons.

Here's a thought: don't we deck the halls each year with Christmas paraphernalia? For a whole month? A visitor coming to Canada at Christmas would assume that Canada was an extremely religious Christian society.

The little Anthropologist in my ear (who's in Vancouver now, by the way) would probably roll her eyes and patiently explain that the flag means different things for different people at different times in different contexts.

Fair enough, but I'm still curious: does the national flag as emblem mean something different in Canada than the U.S.? Is the quantity of flags in the U.S. significant in terms of patriotic pride, or is it just a more versatile symbol?

Okay, maybe we aren't so different

Tomorrow being July 4, everybody was packing it home early for the long weekend. My colleague and office-neighbour ducked his head in on his way out.

"Being Canadian, I guess you won't be celebrating, but I gather you had a holiday earlier this week."

"Yes! Canada Day was on, um, Tuesday I think" I said.

"And what happened July 1st?" he asked.

I thought about this a while. "Um, not sure; maybe our confederation was signed?" I thought about it some more but couldn't recall. "So, what about in the U.S.? What happened on July 4th - the signing of the declaration of independence?"

"Um, not sure. Maybe."

We stood there a moment, trying to remember our respective national histories.

"Oh well! Have a great long weekend!"

"You too! See you Monday!"

It's not really about resting or washing, anyway

I've noticed a certain "battle of the euphemisms" when it comes to Canada vs. the U.S. Apparently neither of us like to explicitly describe what really goes on in the lavatory / toilet / whatever -- but we cover it up in a different way.

I've had to train myself out of asking people where the "washroom" is -- they just stare at me blankly. 'Round these parts it's the restroom.

However, rest assured that "bathroom" still works internationally in English-speaking North America. Kind of silly, since most don't have a bathtub, but there you go.

On a slightly different note, if you're Canajun, don't even think about asking for "whole wheat" toast -- it's brown toast.

Hope you found this post fascinating and informative.

Spotted at a local supermarket

Gratuitous Nationalism, Part 2

Spotted posted at a local pet store:

Gratuitous Nationalism, Part 1

I'm not one to ruminate too much on American/Canadian differences, partly because it's really hard to generalize either country (do I really know what the "average" Canadian is like? Um, not really). However, it is hard to miss one difference: the levels of nationalistic displays are way higher South of the border.

Now, I have yet to meet anyone here who raves in person about their country, but flags are everywhere, as well as bumper stickers, posters, lawn signs, etc.--to a degree unheard of in Canada (except maybe around about July 1; I'm bracing myself for July 4).

Having been here for over half a year, all the flags have kind of faded into the background; occasionally, though, there are nationalistic displays that cross the line deep into Ameri-kitch. When I see 'em (and have a camera nearby), I'll post 'em as part of a "gratuitous nationalism" photo-series.

Here's one to get started, fresh from Colorado Springs:

It's not just a snowball, it's an American snowball