Category Archives: Only in Canada? Pity!
Exploring my French Canadian subtle body…
Growing up in Toronto you couldn’t really get away from French class, even if you wanted to. I suppose it’s the same for some Americans and Spanish class.
Although I was never that adept at second languages — mind you, my French teacher once said I had a great ear — I liked the exposure to French Canada and, as a kid, imagining Montreal as some huge city (it used to be bigger than Toronto, I think).
One day, however, I fell from grace with my elementary school French teacher, who must have been good at French but not basic physics.
What happened?
Well, we had an assembly in the gym and I was doing my best to belt out a French song that we’d learned. The French teacher was at the front end of the gym while I and a childhood pal were at the back end. And I guess because it takes a while for sound to travel across distances, there was a slight delay. So while my pal and I thought we were right on time and being good, enthusiastic boys, my French teacher heard us just behind herself and the kids singing close to her.
C’était terrible! And was she ever ticked off! “Michel, I know you are better dan dat…” she said disapprovingly.
And me?
Utterly perplexed and quite innocent.
Ceci a fini mon statut comme étoile lumineuse dans la classe française !
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Opinion – Olympic opening speaks volumes
Vancouver 2010 Inukshuk: janusz l / Janusz Leszczynski
This commentary also appears at Earthpages.org
Last night’s Olympic opening ceremony wasn’t my top priority. I wasn’t going to bother watching it but realized I should see what my country was up to.
After all, I graduated in sociology and should know how the Canadian Olympic officials chose to represent this country to the world.
I suppose considering the budget they did a pretty good job. But what I found sort of bush-league was how the emphasis fell on Canada’s greatness instead of the greatness of Olympic Sport.
When doing graduate work in India in the late 1980s I saw a similar phenomenon. Anything of merit in India was pumped up to emphasize how “world class” that country was.
Canada is much the same.
This might be a sign of some kind of grand national insecurity. I mean, if you’re really the best you don’t have to talk about it. You just do it… and most everyone gets that you’re number one.
Having said that, I am proud of some of the claims made about my country last night. I believe we are miles (oops kilometers) ahead of many other lands in terms of forging a working and peaceful cultural mosaic.
It’s easy to talk about the wonders of multiculturalism when you’re banning religious groups from your country or beating up on minorities. It’s quite another thing to actually live peacefully with many different kinds of peoples (and their divergent beliefs) in close proximity.
That’s probably what I’m most proud of. And it’s probably the future of not only Canada but hopefully the world.
So why the lingering social insecurity? Is it because the US media tends to ignore and sometimes mock us? And if so, who cares?
From my experience the Americans worth interacting with see past all that, just as the Canadians worth interacting with don’t construct an identity by saying “we’re not the US.”
How boring!
Defining oneself as Canadian by saying “we’re not America” is also a bit thin and hypocritical. Canadian media anchors, for example, often jump at the chance to appear ‘cool and hip’ by being on Twitter and Facebook.
Uh… what country developed those social media? Or WordPress, for that matter?
So let’s get real. Canada does get a lot of things right but also depends on the USA and many other countries to stay afloat.
It’s an international world. So why don’t we all start thinking that way?
ottawa in the 90s
ottawa in the 90s, originally uploaded by earthpages.
This is a collage that I made while living in a really dingy apartment while doing my Ph.D. I had no internet at home so compensated by being creative in other ways!
Me, Myself and I
I spent my childhood summers up at Georgian Bay.
Around this time I’d be looking forward to the close of school, and that amazing feeling of getting ready to go up north for the holidays.
This pic is of me at “the cliff,” a favorite swimming place on High Rock Island, of which my mother is still part owner.
Summer comes around and around… but childhood… well… it’s once in a lifetime.
mike on mars
mike on mars, originally uploaded by Michael Clark.
original photo by hilllisa23 , effects rendered with LightBox, the GIMP, text by PhotoScape. image copyright © michael clark, all rights reserved.
NTCI – demolition days
This is my old high school as it looked a year or two ago. It’s now being demolished to be replaced by a condo called The Republic.
It’s amazing the emotional attachments some people have to this place… including myself..? 
