what i'm watching: more canadosity

Once again, Canada is everywhere, and I don't mean outside my window or under my feet.

Yesterday we tested the new audio connection on our DVD player (it's finally hooked up to the stereo). What else would we choose for a test run but "The Last Waltz"? It's our favourite music movie - and one of our favourite movies, period.

I have no idea how many times I've seen The Last Waltz, but it must be dozens, dating back to 1978, when I skipped school and snuck into the city with friends to see it on the big screen the week it opened, on to all those video rentals when Allan and I were still long-distance, to our first VCR. When we got our DVD player, it was the first disk we bought. We know every word of dialogue, every squeezed-out guitar note, every drug-dilated pupil, and of course, when to fast-forward (Neil Diamond!).

So after all that, did I really never notice, until yesterday, that in the opening interview sequence, Robbie Robertson is sitting in front of a Maple Leaf?

I must have noticed, a long time ago, and forgot.

(Yes of course I know Robbie Robertson is Canadian. Along with the rest of The Band, minus Levon Helm. And Neil Young, blah blah blah.)

Only moments after the Canadian flag suddenly appears in our favourite movie, I flip on the TV and hear Montgomery Burns say, "There's more than one way to get to Canada!" The Simpsons is in progress, and we watch the remainder of what turns out to be a famous episode: "Rx Express".

There are (of course) a zillion fan sites about this episode, but none of them mention this hilarious line. Homer, Grandpa and Montgomery Burns have snuck over the Canadian border to buy a plane-load of prescription drugs. After "Johnny Canuck" helps them obtain crates of medications, Homer asks the Canadian if there's anything he'd like from the US. "Gee," he replies, "I've always wanted to see the state execute a man with the IQ of a child!" Homer is gleeful. "No problem! In America we do that four times a week!"

* * * *

L-girl trivia: The first time I saw The Last Waltz, 17 years old and a music fanatic, when Joni Mitchell came on stage and kissed Robbie Robertson, I thought, Oh. My. God. I want to be... both of them? It was a revelation!

To this day, every time I see that scene I sigh and think (or say - much to the dismay of my poor partner who has to listen to the same drivel year after year), Ohhh, Joni kissing Robbie, who would I rather be...?

You see, I've always loved Canadians!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

april 28: day of mourning for workers killed and injured on the job

Image
April 28 is the Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job.  The canary is a potent symbol and a powerful reminder.  This tiny, fragile bird was the only thing that stood between miners and a suffocating death. The world over, workers are little more than canaries in their own workplaces. No worker should ever be killed or injured because of work, yet it happens on a regular basis. The pandemic has put the spotlight on the many dangers that workers face every day -- but it hasn't led to employers or governments bringing an end to dangerous practices. In Canada and the US, a huge percentage of workers don't even have access to paid sick leave. And the pandemic has only extended the long reach of precarious work. When workers do not have guaranteed work, or don't get enough hours, or earn too little to survive, they are much less likely to speak up about unsafe working conditions. Employers know this. In the precarious workplace, all too often there is scant att
Read more

welcome to toronto, where everything is 1½ hours away

This is my favourite time of year in the GTA. The August humidity has cleared, the air is light and breezy, the sun sparkles during the day and you need a light jacket at night. It brings me back to our first month in Canada. After a pressure-cooker of a summer, we spent our days unpacking and leisurely taking care of business, then sat in our first-ever backyard and enjoyed the peace, both outward and inner. Sheer bliss. Next week we're off to our first-ever Canadian cottage experience, which I anticipate being much like our old upstate New York cabin experiences, hence wonderful. Looking at the map, the Kawarthas have to be at least 3 hours from Mississauga. But predictably, the Lake Edge Cottages brochure and website say it's an hour and a half. Ask anyone how long it takes to get anywhere from Toronto, and that's what they'll tell you: an hour and a half. I don't know if this is peculiar to the Toronto area, or if it's generally Canadian, but why does ever
Read more

what i'm reading: the sword and the shield: the revolutionary lives of malcolm x and martin luther king jr.

Image
When I read a review of The Sword and The Shield: the Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. , I knew it was a book I'd been waiting for someone to write.  I despise the way Martin Luther King, Jr. has been sanitized and diluted for public consumption. The version of King that is widely celebrated is a pile of sentimental goo that the real King would not have recognized, let alone endorsed. King's radical legacy is reduced to a kind of bland "why can't we all just get along". His memory is used as a pacifier. King is officially lauded because of the fear of Black violence, and the ruling class' desire to promote docility among Blacks. So the public doesn't see King. Doesn't see the King who railed against the U.S. war in Southeast Asia, the King who marched with labour unions, the King who knew that without economic justice, desegregation was a hollow promise. The anti-capitalist King. The anti-imperialist King. The anti-war King
Read more