Thoughts on culture, education, and having been a Canadian in the US

cat?!

I have only one thing to say: Laser Cats!

May was a crazy month, but I’m hoping June will be a bit more straightforward.

Here’s what’s on the agenda for this month:

• the last three weeks of my online class on Ondaatje, Atwood, and Jacques Poulin
• Making the transition to my new role as the Director of Canadian Studies here at UVM
• Radiohead concert in Montreal!
• Making some serious headway on the book project, which should have been done long ago…
• 6 morning advising sessions for incoming first-year students running from 8-12 each day, which will be good prep for the fall when I’m scheduled to teach an 8 AM class. The last time I taught an 8 AM class was at Mt. Royal College, and the 8 AM part is not one of my fondest memories of my time there…. (Otherwise, it was great! Really!)
• Prepping for my role as one of the leaders of the National Writing Project’s Summer Institute here at UVM, which runs for four days a week for almost all of July. Part of my preparation involves trying to convince myself that I know something about the theory and practice of teaching writing! Hmmmmm….

I always used to cringe when I saw or heard Edmonton calling itself “City of Champions.” These days, though, it feels like that title is deserved. Not only for the Oilers, but for the fans who’ve been, I think, a fairly integral part of the Oilers’ success through the playoffs so far.

Eric Duhatschek’s column from yesterday’s Globe and Mail captures this so well:

I only caught the last 7 minutes of Tuesday’s game, and an incredible third period it was, but since then I’ve hear as much about the fans singing O Canada as I have about the game:

EDMONTON — A day after the fact, Rexall Place was still abuzz over the stirring rendition of the Canadian national anthem, sung by Paul Lorieau, with help from the 16,000-plus in attendance for Tuesday night’s third game of the Western Conference final.

With five Stanley Cups and having had many of the greatest players ever to play the game on the team (at the same time, no less), it would be tempted to think of Edmonton as having been spoiled. Maybe we were a bit at the time. And maybe, in the years after Gretzky, Messier, and Coffey all left, we all felt like our team was a dim reflection of the Oilers of the past. Yet, the Oilers have always had sell-out crowds. Many of us have always followed the team. And we know today how special this team is. The fact that we’ve made it this far after so many years of either barely making it into the playoffs and losing in the first or second round, makes this playoff run all the sweeter. These guys have given EVERYTHING they’ve got and have outworked, outclassed, and amazingly outscored Detroit, San Jose, and Anaheim. They deserve to go all the way.

For the Canuck in the US, even in hockey-loving Vermont, there’s NO local coverage of worth, but fortunately there’s the internet. The coverage at the Globe has been great of late, and I’m also really enjoying Globe writer James Mirtle’s blog.

Hoorah!

I’ve been following the Oilers faithfully for years, even if I haven’t always had much time to watch hockey on TV. Since moving to the US, though, I’ve been watching as much as I can, especially when the Oilers make it on Hockey Night in Canada. (I don’t know what I’d do without CBC here in Vermont)

Anyhow, after watching so many heartbreaking seasons as the Oilers either barely miss the playoffs or get booted in the first round, it’s all the sweeter that they’re now heading into the third round after two phenomenal series. The Oilers have outworked both Detroit and San Jose and, collectively and individually, have brought their game to a new level — or at least to a level we’ve not seen in a long time. It’s been amazing to see Smyth and Horcoff play the way we Oilers fans have known they can play for a long time. For the rest of the country, though, this is a surprise to say the least. And what about Roloson?! Unbelievable. He’s made all the difference.

Bring on the Ducks!

Speaking of the Ducks, I think you need to listen to this to put it all into perspective…

Today’s Telegraph has one of the better articles of late on the imminent arrival of the iRex iLiad and the Sony Reader. The only question I have is who do I need to convince here to let me order one for, um, testing purposes. Seriously, though, find me a scholar who wouldn’t see any appeal in having a portable library of hundreds of books?

For the next generation, a library will mean a virtual library, and paper books will seem as quaint as the Ten Commandments chiselled out of stone tablets. The digital seems as sure to eclipse pulped wood and ink as the codex replaced the scroll. The advent of e-ink means the book industry is about to encounter its greatest tempest since Gutenberg, as one technology, viewed suspiciously at first, gives way in a torrent to another. So, which would you choose if you were forced into desert island exile beyond the reach of Amazon or Waterstone’s – a ship full of salt-stained, hide-bound tomes, or the exceptionally portable e-Reader? More important, which will eventually enjoy supremacy? If you are reading this online you will have answered that question already.

There are moments from time to time when I take guilty pleasure in NOT being an American. Here’s one of them:

BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was catching a big perch in his own lake.”You know, I’ve experienced many great moments and it’s hard to name the best,” Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001.”I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound (3.402 kilos) perch in my lake,” he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday

(Source: Bush’s best moment in office? Reeling in big perch | Top News | Reuters.co.uk)

You can’t do anything but cringe when you read this. You have to hope that somehow he was misquoted, or that he didn’t understand the question. Even then, the fact that this springs to his mind as a great event in his recent life says a great deal. It has to be hard to be an American and to read this, especially if you care what the rest of the world thinks about your country. There’s such a gap between Americans, who can be some of the best people you’ll ever meet, and this administration which is so disconnected from the real world.

I’ve been working tonight getting the feed up and running for our new Spotted Cow Press podcasts. You’ll soon be able to find them on the iTunes music store, but for now you can head directly to the Spotted Cow Podcasts blog.

People I know are sometimes surprised to see a “Support Our Troops” magnet on the back of our van. We’ve modified it with a Y to read “Support YOUR troops,” as this is not my family’s country, nor our war. And yet, we’re paying for it every paycheque when money comes off for federal taxes. There are many tragedies at the heart of the Iraq war, and one of them is the hundreds of thousands of troops who’ve been sent there to fight a war that should have never been fought in the first place. A war based on lies, greed, corruption, and a flagrant disregard for the lives and well-being of the troops.

I can’t help feeling that just by being here in the US, that we’re doing something to contribute to the war. The only way to live with that is also to do something to speak out against it, which I do whenever I can. I’m sure some people misread our magnet as a sign of our support for the war itself. It’s anything but that. It’s simply my way of saying that we are thinking of those men and women there who shouldn’t be there. It’s not that they are not doing good things. In the end, getting rid of Saddam should turn out to be a good thing. But at what cost? This is an end that will never justify the means.

Bring them home.

Here’s an excerpt from a great speech John Kerry made a few days ago. Powerful stuff. You can’t help but shake your head and think about heading back across the border when you look at who the American people didn’t chose (Gore, Kerry etc.) and think of who they did…

So now, as in 1971, we are engaged in another fight to live the truth and make our own government accountable. As in 1971, this is another moment when American patriotism demands more dissent and less complacency in the face of bland assurances from those in power.

When we protested the war in Vietnam some would weigh in against us saying: “My country right or wrong.” Our response was simple: “Yes, my country right or wrong. When right, keep it right and when wrong, make it right.” And that’s what we must do again today.

James Boyce: John Kerry Gets His Voice Back.