Thanks, I guess

I'm not going to say much about this quote, except to tell you that it's from Andrew H. Malcolm, a respected writer for the New York Times, who served as a foreign correspondent in Canada for several years.

It's going to be a great country when they finish unpacking it.

That's definitely what you would call a "backhanded compliment"!

O Canada

"O Canada" is Canada's imaginatively titled national anthem. It was originally in French and was first used in 1880 on St-Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec's "national holiday". "O Canada" has been the de facto national anthem since 1939, but only became official in 1980.



"O Canada" is often sung half in English and half in French, to celebrate our two official languages. For those of you studying French as well as English, it might be interesting to compare the English lyrics and the French lyrics. The emphasis in the French version is different from the emphasis in the English version and is just one example of the sometimes different priorities of French and English Canada.

English version

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

French version

Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Interesting, eh?

Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie-rock band based in Montreal, Quebec. The band currently includes seven members, but like many indie acts, members come and go quite often. Husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne were founding members and now share frontman duties.


The band has released two albums, Funeral (2006) and Neon Bible (2007), which have won several Canadian and international awards. Besides "normal" instruments like guitar, bass guitar, and drums, Arcade Fire members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, glockenspiel, keyboard, French horn, accordion, harp, mandolin, and hurdy-gurdy. That's a lot of instruments! Maybe that's why the band has such an interesting, unique sound.

Below you will find a couple of Arcade Fire's songs. The first, 'Wake Up', has been adopted as entrance music by the English Premier League team Burnley FC. The second, 'No Cars Go', is my personal favourite Arcade Fire song!

Precious

Tuesday, May 18, 6 pm:
This week's English movie at Thalia Hollywood is Precious, which was nominated for six Academy Awards (and won two). The movie deals with some pretty serious subject matter, including poverty, teen pregnancy, AIDS, and physical/emotional/sexual abuse.


Precious stars Gabourey Sidibe, a previously unknown actress, as an illiterate, obese 16-year-old living in Harlem and coping with more problems than any 16-year-old should have to. When she becomes pregnant for the second time, she transfers to an alternative high school where she is given the chance to improve her life. Despite its depressing themes, many reviewers have called the movie "a triumph".

I am Canadian

I cannot believe I have waited so long to post this video! First, a little information: "I am Canadian" was the slogan of Molson Canadian, a beer brewed by the Canadian company Molson. In 2000, this advertisement aired, celebrating the meaning of being Canadian. Overnight, the country was in love. Within a few days, many Canadians had memorized the entire commercial. It's funny, but it was the first time in my life I had seen Canadians get really patriotic!



How many stereotypes (of Canadians or Americans) did you recognize in this advertisement?

Hey
I'm not a lumber jack or a fur trader.
I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber, or own a dogsled,
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally, or Suzy from Canada,
Although I'm certain they're really, really nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French, not American.
I pronounce it "about", not "a boot".
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peacekeeping, not policing,
Diversity, not assimilation,
And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch,
And it is pronounced "zed", not "zee", "zed".
Canada is the second-largest landmass,
The first nation of hockey,
And the best part of North America!
My name is Joe, and
I AM CANADIAN!

Ironically, Molson was taken over by the American beer company Coors in 2005, and the slogan "I am Canadian" was quietly retired. The beer itself still exists, although it's not particularly good!

S'mores

Last week, some of you had the chance to try s'mores, a North American camping dessert made with Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. S'mores (a contraction of "some more") have been popular since at least 1927, when the first known recipe was published in the Girl Guide manual. Here's a very technical diagram showing how a s'more is constructed:


Since some s'more ingredients, although readily available in North America, are rare in Germany, I have developed a German version using ingredients you can find at any German supermarket! They really are delicious and now you can try them for yourself! You will need:
- one package of Leibniz Butterkeks
- one package of mini Schaumküsse

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the Schaumkuss on a baking sheet in the oven. Keep an eye on it, because when the chocolate begins to melt, it will melt quickly!
3. When you see the chocolate melting, take the Schaumkuss out of the oven. Place it between two Butterkeks and squeeze until it flattens. It should look something like this:

4. Now eat it! Enjoy it! Brush your teeth afterwards because a s'more is pure sugar!

Feist

Leslie Feist is a Canadian singer-songwriter who tours both independently (under the name Feist) and as part of the Canadian indie band Broken Social Scene.


Feist was born in 1976 in Nova Scotia. She was raised in an artistic family and founded her first band (a punk group) at the age of 15. She moved to Paris in 2004 and collaborated with a number of European bands, which helped her to acquire an international following. Although she had been fairly successful in the music industry since the 1990s, she skyrocketed to fame after her song "1234" was used in an iPod commercial.

Her musical style is hard to pinpoint - it has been described as indie rock, folk, and even "baroque pop" (whatever that means). Regardless of what you choose to call it, Feist's music is lovely, and I've heard that her live performances are amazing. You can listen to a couple of her more famous songs below:

Dear John

Tuesday, May 4, 6 pm:
This week's English movie at Thalia Hollywood is Dear John, based on the book by Nicholas Sparks.


Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, the movie tells the story of a soldier who falls in love with a young woman. When he is deployed to the war, they keep in touch by exchanging letters, but will the distance and the absence be too much for their relationship to bear?




Bonus English tip: The title of this movie is a bit of a play on words. Although in this case the letters are literally letters to someone named John, a 'Dear John letter' is also an English idiom for a letter to a boyfriend or husband, ending the relationship. For more on the meaning and origin of this expression, check out the Wikipedia page.

Idioms

Every language has its idioms, those frustrating phrases that make no sense even when you can define all the words :p.

An idiom is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word separately.

Take this dialogue, for instance:

Jennifer: I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can't we just let bygones be bygones?
Grace: Absolutely. It's water under the bridge. Let's move on!

You know what "water", "under", and "bridge" mean, but what does it mean to say that something is "water under the bridge"? This website is a handy guide to English idioms - there's a list of "most popular" idioms, as well as an alphabetical listing of idioms. The link is also in the sidebar if you want to find it later. Understanding idioms can improve your understanding of English texts as well as your writing. Plus, a lot of them are funny and/or strange and might give you something to laugh about!

Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot has been called a Canadian "national treasure," and for good reason. He's a singer-songwriter who first became famous in the 1960s for his mellow folk-pop sound, acoustic guitar, and beautiful lyrics.


Lightfoot was born in 1938 in Ontario. He was a musician from an early age and although he briefly moved to the US to pursue his music career, he missed Canada and moved back two years later. Perhaps for this reason, he is better known internationally as a songwriter than a performer - in fact, he's one of Bob Dylan's favourite songwriters! Dylan once said that whenever he hears a Lightfoot song, he wishes "it would last forever." Lightfoot has had some health problems (including a minor stroke) in the last ten years, but is still touring at the age of 71!


Some of his most famous songs are "Did She Mention My Name", "Black Day in July", "Sundown", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", and "If You Could Read My Mind". Here are a few of my favourites:

Clash of the Titans

This week's English movie at Thalia Hollywood is Clash of the Titans (in 3D!), but I'm not sure how much English you'll hear.


If the trailer is any indication, it will be more about dramatic music and slow-motion battle scenes than dialogue.



That being said, if you want to see it, it's on Tuesday at 6 pm, and every little bit (of English) helps!

Leistungskurs Blog

The Diltheyschule English Leistungskurs has a blog, and you should check it out! You can find it here, and the link is in the sidebar for later.


They have content from each of their project groups, as well as texts, games, and useful links to help you with your English. They even have a widget where you can type in your text and have it pronounced in an American, British, Australian or South African accent! You can find that here.

Don't call us ----

Helen Gordon McPherson, a Canadian writer, made the following perceptive observation about Canadian "identity":

Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians.

It has been said that Canadians define ourselves more by negation (what we aren't) than by affirmation (what we are). This is somewhat analogous to describing yourself as someone who doesn't like horror movies, doesn't play tennis, and doesn't speak Russian - kind of strange, right? What do you think? Is what you aren't just as important as what you are?

Surprise! He's Canadian!

Many Canadians, especially those in the entertainment industry, move to the United States to seek fame and fortune. Once they get there and become famous, the public often forgets where they came from. In this (possibly) recurring feature, "Surprise! He's Canadian!", I'm going to talk about people you probably never knew were Canadian.

First on the list is Captain James T. Kirk or, more accurately, William Shatner, the first actor to play him.


Shatner was born in Montreal in 1931 and trained as a classical Shakespearian actor. By 1958 he had moved to the United States and was acting in movies, television shows, and plays. It wasn't until 1966 that he landed the role that would make him famous - Captain James Kirk in Star Trek. The TV show was short-lived, but later became so popular that Shatner starred in an animated Star Trek TV series as well as seven Star Trek movies.

Shatner also starred in the popular police drama T.J. Hooker (1982-1986) and has tried his hand at writing (both fiction and non-fiction), singing, and directing. Captain Kirk remains his best-known role, and Shatner has often bemoaned the fact that he became a cult figure and was typecast, making it difficult for him to find other roles.

The Canadarm

With the space shuttle Discovery now in orbit above the Earth, I thought it would be a good time to talk to you about something cool... and Canadian! It's called the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or the Canadarm, and it's a 15.2 meter long mechanical arm. The Canadarm is installed on each of the three remaining space shuttles, and since its first flight in 1981, has been successfully used on more than 50 missions, including the mission to repair the Hubble telescope.


The Canadarm weighs 410 kilograms and although it can't even support its own weight in Earth's gravity, it can lift up to 29 tons in space! An astronaut operates the arm from inside the space shuttle, often while other astronauts perform a spacewalk outside. The arm is used to retrieve satellites and other components from the shuttle's payload bay and release them into space. It can also be used to capture satellites in orbit and maneuver them into the payload bay.

Canadarm 2, a more advanced version, is installed on the International Space Station. When the Canadarm passes a station component to the Canadarm 2, it's called a "Canadian handshake"!

Valentine's Day

Tuesday, March 30, 6 pm:
If you're still in Wiesbaden this week, you should check out Valentine's Day at Thalia Hollywood.


It's an ensemble romantic comedy with an all-star cast - I think everyone famous is in this movie. The storyline intertwines several love stories, so there are sure to be some heartbreaks as well as some happy endings. You don't even have to get up early for school the next morning!

A Hard Question

One of the most frequent questions I (and other Canadians) get asked while traveling abroad is, "How does Canada feel about the United States?" As you can imagine, this is a very difficult question to answer. Our two countries are joined by over 300 years of history, as well as innumerable social and economic factors. But if I have to give a brief answer, I like to use a quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's prime minister from 1968-1984. In a 1969 speech to the Press Club in Washington D.C., Trudeau said:

Living next to [the United States] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

I like it because it's a great summary. For better or worse, Canada is affected by everything the United States does. It doesn't mean we can't be friendly and cooperative, it just means the relationship between our two countries is confusing, ambiguous, and sometimes tense.

The Blind Side

Tuesday, March 23, 6pm:
This week at Thalia Hollywood, you can see the award-winning movie The Blind Side, which is based on a heartwarming true story.


Quinton Aaron stars as Michael Oher, a talented young football player who has been in foster care for most of his life. Sandra Bullock, who won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her role, plays the woman who welcomes Michael into her family's home and helps him to achieve his full potential.

Capitals of Europe

If you ever have trouble remembering the English names of European countries and their capitals, this game can help you out. The game gives you the name of the country, and you have to identify its capital.

See if you can beat my score - it shouldn't be too hard. On my first try, I only scored 16/47. It looks like I still have a lot to learn about Europe!

Maple Taffy Recipe

If you read my last entry and though, "Wow, maple taffy sounds delicious," you're in luck! I found a super-simple maple taffy recipe online. But please be careful - maple taffy means very, VERY hot maple syrup and I do not want you to burn yourself.

It would be useful to have a candy thermometer for this recipe. Your parents probably have one if they make candy at Christmas!

Ingredients:

• 250 ml pure maple syrup
• 65 grams salted butter
• fresh snow, shaved ice, or vanilla ice cream
• dill pickles

1. Heat the syrup and the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture so that it doesn't boil over.
2. The mixture is ready 6 - 7 minutes after it begins to boil (105 - 112 degrees Celsius on your candy thermometer). It should stiffen when dripped onto a plate.
3. Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes before pouring onto the snow, ice or ice cream.
4. Enjoy!
5. Finish by nibbling on a dill pickle. The salty taste will help your taste buds recover from the extreme sweetness of maple taffy!

(recipe from Nicole Blum at wondertime.go.com)

Sugar shack

In late March and early April, as the snow melts and spring begins, a uniquely Canadian event begins in eastern Canada.* It's called the cabane à sucre or the sugar shack, and it's the process of collecting the sap of the maple tree and turning it into many delicious treats - maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple taffy, to name just a few.


The sap is collected in buckets, which are transported to the sugar shack. The sap is then boiled until it thickens into maple syrup. It takes about 40 litres of maple sap to make just one litre of maple syrup!


The so-called "sugaring off" is also a great occasion to celebrate! While the sap boils, family and friends gather to enjoy a big meal. A highlight of the meal is dessert; the boiling sap is poured onto the cold snow, where it solidifies into maple taffy!


If you happen to be in eastern Canada during sugar shack season, there are many sugar shacks which offer tours to the public. You can enjoy traditional French-Canadian food and beverages while you wait to taste fresh, delicious maple syrup!


*Canada produces more than 80% of the world's maple syrup supply (26.5 million litres in 2005), but there are also maple syrup producers in the northeastern United States.

The Tooth Fairy

Tuesday, March 16, 6 pm:
This week's English movie at Thalia Hollywood is The Tooth Fairy. It looks a little silly, but fun!

Canadians really do love hockey

This article makes me laugh and proves that some stereotypes (in this case, "Canadians love hockey") are based in fact!

Air Canada learns that hockey trumps flying
Canada's largest airline has learned it sometimes has to take a back seat to the country's biggest sporting passion, ice hockey, the head of Air Canada said on Tuesday. The airline was forced to delay a flight from Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games because passengers watching the end of the gold medal final on airport televisions ignored repeated calls to board.

"We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence," chief executive Calin Rovinescu told a business gathering.

The Canadian fans were rewarded for their delay, as the nail-biting end to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics saw Canada beat arch-rival United States 3-2 in overtime.

There are also a couple of good vocabulary words and an idiom, which are in bold type.

to trump: If you trump what someone has said or done, you beat it by saying or doing something else that seems better.

to take a back seat (figurative): to become less important than someone or something else.

nail-biting (adj): If you describe something such as a story or a sports match as nail-biting, you mean that it makes you feel very excited or nervous because you do not know how it is going to end.

Rural Alberta Advantage

Today I want to share one of my favourite Canadian bands with you! They're called the Rural Alberta Advantage and although they now live in Toronto (on the other side of Canada), they all grew up in Alberta, just like I did.


Their first album, Hometowns, is 13 tracks about all the little things that make Alberta such an interesting place.


You can listen to the song "Frank, AB" here. The song refers to a mining town called Frank, which lies at the base of Turtle Mountain. In 1903, 90 million tonnes of rock crashed off the mountain and onto the town below. Approximately 90 people died. Today, the highway winds between huge boulders and the site is a popular tourist attraction.

Invictus

Tuesday, March 9, 6 pm:
This week at Thalia Hollywood in Wiesbaden, you have a chance to see the original, English-language version of Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.


Invictus tells the true story of how South African President Nelson Mandela and rugby team captain François Pienaar used the 1995 world cup to bring the country together and begin the long journey towards abolishing apartheid.

I plan to attend this show, so I hope to see you there!
You can watch the trailer here.

Insite

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Vancouver has a seedier side - the city has problems with homelessness, gangs, and drug use. A neighbourhood called the Downtown Eastside is particularly hard hit by these social problems. This neighbourhood is home to North America's first and only legal supervised injection site: Insite. At this facility, drug users can get clean needles and inject their drugs under medical supervision. The clinic, unsurprisingly, is extremely controversial.


Proponents of Insite say that access to clean needles helps reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis, which are often transmitted when drug users share needles. The clinic also saves lives; almost 500 drug users overdosed at Insite last year, but thanks to the Insite nurses, not a single one died. When addicts decide they are ready to "go clean" (stop using drugs), Insite connects them to rehabilitation programs and support organizations.

Opponents of Insite believe that helping addicts use drugs is morally and legally wrong, regardless of the reasons. The Conservative Party of Canada has been fighting to make Insite illegal for several years. At present, Insite operates under a "legal exemption" from Canadian drug laws. If the Conservative Party succeeds, this exemption will be repealed, and Insite will be forced to close.

What do you think? Does Insite condone drug use, and is that morally wrong, despite the many safety and health benefits for addicts?

You can find a short article discussing the advantages of Insite here. If you are up for a challenge, there is a much longer article here. Matthew Power, the reporter, spent time at Insite, speaking to nurses and drug addicts to learn their perspectives on the clinic.

Canadian Geography Games

By now you should know that Vancouver is on Canada's west coast, but how much do you know about the rest of Canada?


The links below are to a couple of geography games.

This one is a puzzle - it's fun, but the music is really annoying! Sorry about that :p.
And in this one, you can see how many Canadian provinces and territories you can identify on a map. Good luck!

Olympic Vocabulary

Today, I thought you might be interested in learning some Olympics vocabulary!

medal (noun): at the Olympics, medals are awarded for first, second, and third place. An athlete who wins a medal is called a gold, silver, or bronze medallist.


podium (noun): this word has several meanings, but during the Olympics, the podium is where the athletes stand to receive their medals. The gold medallist stands on the highest level, in the centre.


favourite (noun): in sports, the favourite (or favourites, in team sports) is the athlete (or team) expected to win. Example: "Canada's hockey players are gold-medal favourites at the 2010 Olympics."

long shot (noun): in sports, long shot describes an athlete who is unlikely to win. Example: "Sarah James is a long shot, but she has a chance if she plays well."

National Flag of Canada Day

If Fassnacht isn't enough for you and you need something else to celebrate, why not celebrate National Flag of Canada Day? February 15th commemorates the day, in 1965, that the Canadian maple leaf flag first flew over Parliament Hill in Ottawa (the capital of Canada).


Until 1965, Canada's official flag was the Union Jack (the flag of the United Kingdom), although the Canadian Red Ensign (see below) was sometimes used as a more uniquely Canadian flag. The decision to change the flag was extremely controversial, but today most Canadians are fond of our flag and proud of what it represents!


I have taught a couple of classes on Canada's changing flag, but if you want to know more, you can read about the "Great Canadian Flag Debate" here.

Up in the Air

Tuesday, February 16, 6 pm:
Thalia Hollywood in Wiesbaden is showing the original English version of Up in the Air, starring George Clooney!


Up in the Air tells the story of Ryan Bingham, a businessman who lives a life without connections - to people, places, or things. When his job is threatened, he starts to wonder if he is missing out on all these things. The movie has been well reviewed and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, so check it out!

You can watch the trailer here.

Whistler

125 km north of Vancouver lies Whistler, where many of the Olympic skiing events will take place. Whistler is a small, picturesque resort town known for some of the best ski slopes in North America.


Until a few years ago, the road from Vancouver to Whistler was a scenic (but terrifying) stretch of highway known as the "Sea to Sky Highway", but nicknamed the "Highway of Death." Drivers enjoyed beautiful views of British Columbia and the Pacific Ocean, but the narrow road ran along a steep cliff with no guardrail, and there were many fatalities. Fortunately, the road has been upgraded for the Olympics and it is now much safer!

Many young people (particularly from Europe and Australia) live and work in Whistler temporarily. If you love to ski or snowboard and would like to live in Canada for a few months or years, you could be one of them! All those young people and the 2 million tourists who visit Whistler every year give the town a fun, relaxed atmosphere, and there's always a party somewhere!

Vancouver

Let's talk about the city where it's all going to happen!


Vancouver is a beautiful coastal city with a population of about 600,000 (2 million in the metropolitan area). Other Canadians like to joke about how much it rains in Vancouver (it rains a lot in Vancouver), but the truth is we're just jealous that Vancouver has a more temperate climate than the rest of Canada :p.

Q: What do you call two straight days of rain in Vancouver?
A: A weekend.

Q: What does Daylight Saving Time mean in Vancouver?
A: An extra hour of rain.

Vancouver is a liberal city with a thriving arts scene. It's also a very multicultural city - 51% of Vancouverites belong to a visible minority group, and 52% of Vancouverites speak a first language other than English!

But Vancouver is not perfect, and the city has significant problems with homelessness, gangs, and drug use. In the years leading up to the Olympics, Vancouver officials worried about how these social problems would affect visitors' perceptions of the city.

Olympic Mascots

The three official mascots of the Vancouver Olympics are based on characters from Native American mythology.


Sumi is an animal-guardian spirit, Quatchi is a sasquatch, and Miga is a sea bear - part killer whale, part spirit bear.

Which mascot are you like? Post your quiz result in the comments section!

The Olympics Return to Canada!

For the first time since the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary (my hometown!), the Olympic Games are returning to Canada! On Friday, February 12, the 21st Winter Olympics will begin in Vancouver, and I, for one, can't wait!