Friday, July 06, 2007
That Special Sunday's Come Around Again..
...meaning that I'll be d.j.-ing on July 8th from around 10:00 until 12:00 EST from here. The show, as always, is Morning After. Playlist will be posted right here, hopefully by July 9th. Planning to play some Jimmy Bruno, a Philly guy, Michael Carvin, Jimmy Rowles & Ray Brown, Mr. Bill Charlap (Live at the Village Vanguard), Hendrik Meurkens, Joshua Redman, then another Philly guy, Christian McBride (Live at Tonic), some , and selections from Glen Hansard and The Frames and The Swell Season. Some Wax.on Wax.off, perhaps some Skerik and Ozomatli somewhere in the mix as well. Do join me if you can. Always nice to know there's a ready ear out there.
Speaking of which, namely, being out there, a favorite story about Canada (WP, if you've heard this, like way too many times, shoot me).
The family was on its meandering way one summer to a vacation with friends from Edmonton to be spent at Lake of the Woods, a mythical sounding location of beauty, serenity, and unbelievable skies, not to mention Fish of Incredible Size.
Along the way, we motelled in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a large town on Lake Superior dotted with necessary coffee ports of Tim Horton's. Recovering from 500 miles of driving, we were draped on the beds in said motel and watching TV, the Canada version. As is usual and, I believe, required by CBC laws and regulations, we were watching a Canadian content show seemingly aimed at the Canadian viewer to convince them (yet once again!!) why it is much different (and better) to be Canadian than American. This specific show was a book review show with several Canadian authors discussing the importance of the Canadian land and specifically the Canadian Shield in Canadian literature. Now, for me, these Canadian content shows are always a hoot because, frankly, I don't need to be convinced that being a Canadian is one of the better things to be in life, right next to being a Peter DeVries fan. The earnestness that oozes out of the screen in these shows is, after a while, quite hilarious. What usually starts with polite pleading as to the justification of being Canadian usually ends up at least one of the talking heads going off the deep end with demands for allegiance to the Maple Leaf. The latter state of affairs strikes me as so un-Canadian that one suspects there's an American producer running the show.
But I (badly) digress.
So the authors are kibbitzing about this and that, until one of them (and I apologize profusely for not remembering her name) states that the main difference between an American and a Canadian is this.
When in the deep woods, an American will peer out into the darkness and wonder if something is out there while a Canadian, on the other hand, will stare into the same woods lined void and wonder if there is nothing out there at all in the vastness.
So, this Sunday, the radio waves will be going out to you, in search of human contact. You can do the Internet thing here.
Speaking of which, namely, being out there, a favorite story about Canada (WP, if you've heard this, like way too many times, shoot me).
The family was on its meandering way one summer to a vacation with friends from Edmonton to be spent at Lake of the Woods, a mythical sounding location of beauty, serenity, and unbelievable skies, not to mention Fish of Incredible Size.
Along the way, we motelled in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a large town on Lake Superior dotted with necessary coffee ports of Tim Horton's. Recovering from 500 miles of driving, we were draped on the beds in said motel and watching TV, the Canada version. As is usual and, I believe, required by CBC laws and regulations, we were watching a Canadian content show seemingly aimed at the Canadian viewer to convince them (yet once again!!) why it is much different (and better) to be Canadian than American. This specific show was a book review show with several Canadian authors discussing the importance of the Canadian land and specifically the Canadian Shield in Canadian literature. Now, for me, these Canadian content shows are always a hoot because, frankly, I don't need to be convinced that being a Canadian is one of the better things to be in life, right next to being a Peter DeVries fan. The earnestness that oozes out of the screen in these shows is, after a while, quite hilarious. What usually starts with polite pleading as to the justification of being Canadian usually ends up at least one of the talking heads going off the deep end with demands for allegiance to the Maple Leaf. The latter state of affairs strikes me as so un-Canadian that one suspects there's an American producer running the show.
But I (badly) digress.
So the authors are kibbitzing about this and that, until one of them (and I apologize profusely for not remembering her name) states that the main difference between an American and a Canadian is this.
When in the deep woods, an American will peer out into the darkness and wonder if something is out there while a Canadian, on the other hand, will stare into the same woods lined void and wonder if there is nothing out there at all in the vastness.
So, this Sunday, the radio waves will be going out to you, in search of human contact. You can do the Internet thing here.
Labels: WVUD 91.3
Comments:
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
Very interesting blog post...and yes, sometimes our Canadian TV is embarassingly...Canadian. But we do have some awesome shows. :)
As a Canadian author who uses Canadian locations, I think it's more important to just show the exotic-ness of our country...and we do have that. Areas like the Nahanni River, for instance, are beautiful and mysterious. It's been nicknamed "the Bermuda Triangle of Canada".
As for the wildlife...well, sometimes I see more in the dark...and sometimes it's just my neighbors in their hot tub. :)
All the best!
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
author of Whale Song, Divine Intervention and The River (which features the Nahanni!)
http://www.cherylktardif.com
As a Canadian author who uses Canadian locations, I think it's more important to just show the exotic-ness of our country...and we do have that. Areas like the Nahanni River, for instance, are beautiful and mysterious. It's been nicknamed "the Bermuda Triangle of Canada".
As for the wildlife...well, sometimes I see more in the dark...and sometimes it's just my neighbors in their hot tub. :)
All the best!
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
author of Whale Song, Divine Intervention and The River (which features the Nahanni!)
http://www.cherylktardif.com
The "nothing" comment sounds very much like a Margaret Atwood sentiment. I know you'd recognize and remember her, so I'm guessing it was echoed by either Barbara Gowdy or Ann-Marie MacDonald. Certainly this is a sentiment that rings true for me. A full day's drive from Winnipeg to Thompson contains a great deal more wilderness than I am comfortable with. And it is not unusual or out-of-place for any citizen of any Canadian city to encounter those odd souls who have been "bushed" - lost or deliberately seeking extended solitude within the sea of trees just to the north of civilization. They're usually a little bug-eyed, and a little too happy to be speaking with another human being - very untypical of most Canadians.
Cheryl,
Thanks for stopping by and posting your opinion. The "embarassingly" Canadian bits on Canadian TV are all fine by me and I can;t agree with you more about the awesomeness of some of the shows, although I'm not sure if we'll ever get "Mosque on the Prarie" here. I'll have to DVD that.
WP, No, I definitely know it wasn't Lady Atwood (she's been knighted, right?) as I didn't need to don sunglasses to see her through her almighty aura. Thanks for the links to the other two authors, though. Both sound like necessary reading, especially Barbara Gowdy.
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Thanks for stopping by and posting your opinion. The "embarassingly" Canadian bits on Canadian TV are all fine by me and I can;t agree with you more about the awesomeness of some of the shows, although I'm not sure if we'll ever get "Mosque on the Prarie" here. I'll have to DVD that.
WP, No, I definitely know it wasn't Lady Atwood (she's been knighted, right?) as I didn't need to don sunglasses to see her through her almighty aura. Thanks for the links to the other two authors, though. Both sound like necessary reading, especially Barbara Gowdy.
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