Yeah, you might say I have a little thing for Douglas Coupland
I spent my childhood about 2 hours from the Canadian border in upstate NY. It was four hours to Toronto (give or take a little depending on border traffic; my dad often timed it) and 5 hours to Ottawa. I often forgot where I could get vinegar for my french fries and which penny was the Canadian and which the US one as a child. When my friends teased to go to Darien Lake or Seabreeze, I teased to go to Canada’s Wonderland.
I met Douglas Coupland on Wednesday February 2cnd, 2005 at 7:30 pm Central time. He was speaking/doing a reading at a Borders. He talked a great deal about the Simpsons and read an entry from his upcoming book entitled J Pod in which the main characters write love letters to Ronald McDonald. Choosing which book to have him sign was difficult. I’m not one of those annoying people at book signings that brings every book of the author she owns. Cinchel had him sign our copy of Girlfriend in a Coma (my favorite book of his) and I picked Souvenir of Canada. When he asked me if I was Canadian, I responded no just some girl that wanted to be. I was sure he’d met a few like me.
Here’s what I wrote to my mom that night:
“Well, Coupland was great-very funny and animated, warmed us all up with Simpsons trivia questions-very epitome of Canadians with a cute little accent. He asked me if I was Canadian when I had him sign Souvenir of Canada and I said no that I was just born in the wrong country but that I am sure he has run into alot of people that feel that way and he talked to me a little bit about how he was following the recent SS debacle.
Anyhow, a good night but odd and I just came off as weird I’m sure but atleast I was able to locate words in my head and produce some necessary sounds.”
You could say I was a little nervous. You could say I have a little thing for Douglas Coupland.
SOUVENIR OF CANADA 2:
Souvenir of Canada 2, much like Souvenir of Canada explains what is unique and special about Canada. Coupland uses both archival photographs, his own modern art as well as his sense of history to highlight everything from nanaimo bars to pictures in old Eaton’s catalogues. In the beginning book flap is a great statement: Canada continues to feel more Canadian than ever. There are times I laughed at loud, like when Coupland insists the secret to speaking French well is to “speak with a comical exaggerated accent.” (Um…I don’t know if that is so true but I can just picture him trying!) I laughed quite abit about a quiz show featuring the top four high school students (Reach For the Top) There were also times when I actually felt nauseous, like when Coupland relates how he accidentally ate moose meat once in his younger days. There’s a bit about a Canadian way of being shocked and appalled and forming committees on the subject (that’s a paragraph next to a really lewd pic of “The Mountie”) Coupland also talks about regional differences and the rest of Canada’s attitude towards Toronto until the SARS outbreak of 2003. There are things that really made me think about my own experiences in Canada as well, as when Coupland talks about the military and Canada’s relation to the US. He addresses some of the other differences between the US and Canada such as decriminalized marijuana and universal health care. Coupland also talks a bit about how before the year 2000, some Canadians had the idea that Canada would inevitably become a 51st state and how “Around the year 2000, Canadians stopped identifying themselves as a place that existed only as an alternative to US culture.” I’m glad that Canada exists and isn’t part of America. The world needs a Canada and so do I.
Here’s some of my own souvenir of Canada pictures that I haven’t posted before. Most of them are digital photos of old manual photos, some taken when I was very young:
Me as a very young girl-probably 4 1/2 or 5yrs. We were at Ontario Place at the CNE. If you couldn’t guess, I am the one in the middle with the white shorts and the red and white striped shirt. (having the time of my life I might add!)
This is me when I was probably six or seven at the Toronto Zoo. I can’t even remember what animal I was so entranced with at the time.
Me at I think the petting zoo that was at the CNE one year.
Cinchel and I in downtown Toronto about six years ago (back when I used to be a blonde).
same trip same park.
Ottawa Parliament decorated in the spirit of winter holidays.
This was taken around Parliament.
One of many royal Parliament cats.
Cinchel in Ottawa about four or five years ago.
Cinchel and my mom in Ottawa-same trip.
The architecture of the Ottawa Art Gallery is amazing as is the collection. I strongly recommend going.
This is an incomplete profile of the Ottawa Art Gallery. It is a very large structure with an extensive collection.
My mom took this picture of me in this public fruit and vegetable market in Ottawa without me realizing she was taking it at the time.
This was a picture I took of Ottawa from the hotel room we were staying in at the time.
This was a postcard I picked up from a photography exhibit in Ottawa.
I believe this is the Edmonds Kingston ferry
mmm Canadian chocolate. This new edition of smarties has cute little maple leaves on some of them.
my parents bought me this little guy a long time ago at the CNE. He’s even holding an identification badge.