Monday 11 October 2010

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Canada!


I would like to wish all my friends and family, in Canada, a peaceful and positive Thanksgiving Day.  I will be thinking about you.
So I thought it would be really neat eh to tell you some 'facts' about this great nation that you might not already know.  Okay, I'm cheating a bit, because some of the stuff below has been used by me in previous blogs.   Hey, I'm lazy and in a rush to get this out on the right date.
Did you realise that it was a couple of Canadians who basically sorted out the Universe?  Please allow me to explain. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) of Star Trek fame, is Canadian.  You remember this famous line? 'Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship 'Canada eh'.  Then again, there was also Commander Adama, (Lorne Greene) another Canadian trying to get things sorted out in space and the leader of a noble mission.  Do you recall him saying this?  "Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestar, 'Galacticanada', leads a ragtag, fugitive fleet, on a lonely quest—for a shining planet known as Earth."  So there you go, some overwhelming 'proof' just how vital Canadians have been in our space type adventures.
Wait there's more.  Let me tell you about an invention by a truly great Canadian scientist.  The year was 1962, the scientist in question, Edward Asselbergs, created something so significant to the betterment of mankind, that other events of 1962, such as John Glenn being the first American to orbit the earth, pale by comparison.  That's right, Mr. Asselbergs brought to the world.... instant mashed potatoes.  
Right then, the above two paragraphs were 'copied and pasted' from one of my previous blogs.  The next part is now bonus fascinating information about Canada.   Here are some famous female Canadian singers, Alanis Morissette,  Avril Lavigne,  Nelly Furtado,  Shania Twain and whoops, Celine Dion.  Here are some well known Canadian male singers, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Michael Buble and whoops, Terry Jacks.   Here are some famous Canadian bands, Rush, Steppenwolf, Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who and whoops, NickelBack.   
Briefly, cause you are probably falling asleep reading this, here are some famous Canadian folks from the entertainment industry you may have thought were American.  Raymond Burr aka 'Perry Mason' aka 'Ironsides'.  Dan Akroyd,  Michael J. Fox,  Rick Moranis,  Donald Sutherland, Leslie Nielsen, Tommy Chong (as in Cheech and Chong...'cough, cough')  and whoops, Jim Carrey. And to conclude this paragraph, here are just a few Canadian actresses that you may be familiar with, Margot Kidder, Neve Campbell, Mary Pickford , Catherine O' Hara and whoops, Pamela Anderson.
Now there were plenty more Canadians I could of mentioned such as Glenn Ford, Mike Myers, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, but I wont.   In closing, here's a bit of trivia for you.  The board game 'Trivial Pursuit' was invented by a couple of Canadian dudes named, Scott Abbott and Chris Haney.  Hmmm...trivia about Trivial pursuit.
Finally, yes really, finally, in closing,  it is thought that Canadians say 'eh' a lot eh.  They think that Canadians say 'how's it goin' eh?', all the time eh.  Well eh, I can tell you eh, that's not true eh.   So then, how do you spell, 'Canada'?  'C eh n eh d eh'.
Have a happy Thanksgiving Day, Canada!

26 comments:

  1. hi mr gary! happy canada day! that a lot of stuff i didnt know about canada. you didnt say it pretty cold there in the winter. one of my brother went one time in the winter. he said thats the most colde hes ever been in his whole life. eh. ha ha
    ...hugs from lenny

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  2. Here’s to instant mashed potatoes! A true reason for thanksgiving if there ever was one!

    Well done getting over the century, Gary :)
    The enigmatic, masked blogger strikes again

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  3. Love the Canadian trivia, Gary. I'm constantly amazed by all the famous people I assumed were American who are actually Canadian.

    Here's some trivia in return. When we moved to Canada we didn't have to adjust to saying "eh" because they say "eh" in Guernsey, too, eh. Along with a few "lummee's" and "cor la's" too.

    Eh.

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  4. Interesting, I asked my American friend if it was Happy Thanksgiving, I was sure it was later. She told that yours was earlier and I wondered why. Hugs..

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  5. Rick Moranis is Canadian! Haha, everything makes sense now.

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  6. Hi Gary. Have a great Thanksgiving Day. It's a funny thing but all of the Canadian people I know (well, mainly my cousins in Vancouver) are always very quick to start listing famous Canadians.
    Inferiority complex or identity crisis?
    I suppose it must be tiresome when most Brits assume that any North American is, well, American.

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  7. Hi Lenny,
    It isn't usually that cold in the winter on the west coast of Canada. It's like when it does occasionally snow in Vancouver, it's usually rainy and slushy the next day.
    Right now Lenny, I'm taking time out during half time of a Canadian Football League game between BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The temperature in Winnipeg is 22 degrees centigrade or 72 degrees fahrenheit. Not bad for this time of year eh? ha ha eh lol
    Take care, Lenny.
    Big smiles, your way, Gary :-)

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  8. Hi 'Masked Friend',
    Instant mashed potatoes, indeed! A great way to cheat when preparing a Thanksgiving meal lol
    I'm so pleased to get over the century mark and thanks for noting it. I believe my 'begging' on your terrific site was of great help :-)
    Take care, Gary

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  9. Greetings Botanist,
    I think there is a lot of assumption. Of course, we both know that Canadian and American accents are quite different eh and that it should be obvious that the person in question is indeed Canadian. There would be no doubt, whatsoever, if the person is from, oh let's say, Quebec.
    I've learnt a bit of trivia about Guernsey and I thank you for that.
    See ya' later eh :-)

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  10. yay for Canada day! As an American living in oblivion to the holidays of our friends and neighbors around the world, it is always a big relief to know there are people "oat" there to remind me :)

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  11. Hi Carole,
    A lot of folks do not realise that there is two Thanksgiving Day's in North America.
    The Canadian one is a celebration of the year's harvest and has all the neat stuff like turkey and pumpkin pie.
    Kind wishes and hugs, your way, Gary

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  12. Hi Gorilla Bananas
    Yes indeed, Rick Moranis, star of the film, 'Honey, I Shrunk the Gorilla's Banana'.

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  13. Hi bazza,
    I must agree that Canadians can be quick to mention who is actually a Canadian.
    Over here, I keep getting asked, 'what part of America are you from?' Which I reply, in a very good natured way, to the guy with the English accent, 'which part of Scotland are you from'. One day, somebody with an English accent will probably say 'Glasgow'.
    I don't think it's either an inferiority complex or an identity crisis. I just think Canadians would like to be known as Canadians. Unique and individual from their very nice southern neighbours. And Canadians, by the way, spell words the same way as we do in Britain. 'Colour' is the usual example.
    Cheers bazza. I hope you have a great week.
    With respect eh, Gary :-)

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  14. Hi joanne,
    Good day eh. Yes indeed, it is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Not a lot of folks seemed to know that. This is great the way we learn about each other from all over the world.
    Happy 'Columbus Day' to you. Which of course, is on the same day as Canada's Thanksgiving Day.
    Kind wishes and some Canadian pumpkin pie your way, eh...I'm 'oat' of here...Gary :-)

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  15. First off... HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YA. I'm jealous that you guys up there get yours first.

    I had no idea there were so many famous Canadians. A very interesting post. I love the trivia. I knew some of those like Captain Kirk and Rush, obviously, were Canadian but I didn't know about 'whoops' Celine Dion and 'whoops' Pam Anderson. You can have them back, by the way. One of 'em makes us suffer with her singing and sad mule face condition. The other has a pretty face, nice fake rack but can't act her way out of an "accidentally shot and let out" porn video with Tommy Lee or Kid Rock.

    You can have NickelBack and the untalented Beiber kid back, too.

    All the rest, we get to keep. Especially Neil Young, Shania Twain and Tommy Chong. Yep. I'm afraid those are the rules. I didn't make 'em up. Nope.

    In conclusion, you have given us some great trivia here. So how's it goin' eh?

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  16. Did you celebrate Canada Day with a meal in addition to this fun blog post? In Vermont we are a tourist destination for our fine neighbors to the north who often visit during Canadian Thanksgiving. We down below the border, of course head north to Montreal for a taste of "European" life. It's not too British in Montreal, but definitely Canadian. I think I've even heard the "eh" in Quebecois as something like this, "Vous parlez francais comme une americain, eh"? Hope someone out there has google translate to translate this mess of a comment. Fun post Gary...it tickled my funny bone.

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  17. This is hilariousity at it's finest. LMAO. Also totally shocked about William Shatner being Canadian-had no idea. I love trivia!! And thanks for the instant mashed potatoes-I would be otherwise completely unable to make mashed potatoes myself.

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  18. Neat post, Gary. I have to confess I knew this stuff already. And no thanks, Kelly. We don't want Celine back. LOL.

    FYI - A few other famous Canadians: Donald and Keifer Sutherland, Wayne Gretzky, Keanu Reeves, Neil Young, Peter Jennings, Norman Jewison, Blue Rodeo, Colleen Durhurst, Diana Krall, Jason Priestley, James Cameron, John Candy and of course... (drumroll) Joylene Nowell Butler!!!

    LOL.

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  19. Hi Kelly,
    Don't be jealous eh. You could always celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving. Grab a turkey, wear a 'toque' with a maple leaf on it and just say 'eh' a lot eh.
    No, you can have Celine Dion (I wished she'd been on the Titanic) and 'Pammy', who got discovered in the crowd at a BC Lions game at BC Place in Vancouver. They kept 'flashing' her up on the big screen, much to the delight of all the rowdy Canadian dudes in the crowd, eh. Actually, you cannot have Shania or Neil. However, you can have Bryan Adams (Summer of 69) and Michael J. Fox who thinks he's an American, anyway. We might want Alex Trebek, back, unless that's in 'Jeopardy'.
    Now Tommy Chong is my hero. Far out eh.
    I'm okay eh. Hope it's goin' okay with you eh, you hoser:-)
    Thanks Kelly.
    Have a good day eh, Gary.

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  20. Hi Rebecca aka THE SNEE,
    Sadly, being here in England, I did not celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving but I was thinking about my friends and family stuffing themselves with pumpkin pie:-)
    I didn't know that you get Canadians down to Vermont during Canadian Thanksgiving. Still, I can understand that, because I have been told that Vermont is a beautiful State. I have been to Montreal and yes, I've heard them say 'eh'. I think it was 'bonjour eh' or 'eh bonjour'. Montreal and for that matter, Quebec City, have a definite European feel about them.
    Merci beaucoup, Rebecca. See ya' later, eh:-)
    Kind wishes, Gary.

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  21. Hi Gary-scoot over to my blog when you have a moment eh? I left something there for ya.

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  22. Hi Sam,
    How's it goin' eh?
    I hope you have managed to recover from the shock that good old William Shatner is Canadian.
    Hope you are sitting comfortably. Lorne Greene played Ben Cartwright, the papa dude on Bonanza. Yep, it took a Canadian to not only help sort out the universe, but sort out an American frontier family :-)
    I reckon you will look at mashed potatoes with a new fondness and appreciation. Then again, I might be wrong.
    Have a good day eh.
    Gary :-)

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  23. Hi Joylene,
    I just knew you would know all this Canadian type stuff eh. And, quite right, you tell that Kelly dude. They can have Celine and get her to do gigs in American taverns. That would be well fun. Yee haa!
    I'm very aware of the others you had noted, Joylene. I was debating to include them, but realised that my blog would have been a bit too lengthy. Dare we mention Art Linkletter? Nah.
    Now then, Joylene Nowell Butler, how the heck did I miss that great Canadian writer off my list, eh?
    Take off eh and a DVD of 'Strange Brew' your way, eh.
    Gary :-)

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  24. Hi Sam,
    I was in the midst of leaving you one of my incredibly witty replies when this comment from you came through. Of course, my deeply profound and thought provoking other comment has now been published.
    So, I shall now duly scoot over on my snowmobile and check out what you have left me on your site. Actually, I was peeking over at your site a bit earlier, so I thank you kindly in advance.
    Thanks eh.
    Kind wishes and genuine Canadian toque, your way, Gary :-)

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  25. captain Kirk is canadian thanks for letting this star treck lover know - and as for final frontiers
    may you be to many to count
    cheers

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  26. Greetings kerrie,
    Yes, Captain Kirk is most definitely Canadian. In fact, he popped up from under the stage, at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and shocked a lot of folks by informing them that he was Canadian eh:-)
    All the very best with your blog. I came over for a visit, earlier, and liked it very much.
    Beam me up.
    Kind wishes, Gary

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I do try to comment back to each commenter individually. However, I might have to shorten my replies or give a group thank you. That way, I can spend more time commenting on your blogs. Thank you and peace, my friend.