My first entry is sort of a mixture of Canadian history and Columbus history, it's the history of hockey in Columbus.

http://bluejackets.com/news/history/

Here you can view the story of the first professional hockey franchise in Columbus, the Checkers; the story of the IHL's Owls/Seals; and one of the biggest reasons for the Blue Jackets' existence, the Chill of the ECHL, which proved that Columbus would support a hockey team. There is also plenty of information about the Blue Jackets' first few years of existence.

The Group of Seven

Problem Canada's most famous painter, the Group of Seven was J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franklin Carmichael, F.H. Varley and Frank Johnston, and Arthur Lismer, though A. J. Casson, L. L. Fitzgerald, and Edwin Holgate where peripherally associated with the group. They were certainly the most important Canadian painters in the 1920s.

Their paintings focus on the raw beauty and power of the Canadian landscape. I find most of their paintings to be tranquil and surreal, borrowing a lot from the Post-Impressionist movement. Their landscapes tend to be stark and simple, emphasizing the mood rather than the subject per se.

They also have a great deal of importance for Canadian Culture in general. They created a uniquely Canadian style of art when Canada was still trying to distinguish itself from Europe. They were really embodied the Zeitgeist of the 20s. Canada had just come out of the War, and there was a new sort of national identity emerging. The art of the Group of Seven helped solidify this new nationalism, and show Canadians the beauty of their country.


Algonquin Sketch by L S Harris


Last Gleam, North Shore, 1921 by L S Harris


Quebec Farm in Winter by A. Y. Jackson


Magnetewan River Near Canal Rapids, 1934 by A. J. Casson

The Art Gallery of Ontario has a really nice collection of them.

Some relevant articles from The Straight Dope:

Is Molson sold in the US watered down?

What's the deal with ice beer?

Where does "Canuck" come from?

-Unibroue-

Some of the world's best beers. Brewed in Quebec. The ones that I have had:

Fin du Monde is a sparkling, blonde, and slightly spicy triplec beer with a kick like a mule.

Trois Pistoles is a darker beer with a wine finish and a heavy nose. I like it when it is just a little below room temperature. My friend remarked that it "tastes a little like root beer." I have three bottles still at home.

Maudite is a Red-head. Again, it was pretty spicy. I had it with curry, though.

Blanche de Chambly is a white beer. They say that it has a "cloudy look" on the website, and that is an understatement. I was expecting something that was a little like Hoegaarden's Witbier or Berliner Kindl's Wiesse, but this is way more cloudy. Good though. Refreshing.

I have heard great things about Terrible too, but I have never had one.

They might be a little hard to find, but they are worth it.

Moose: FAQ


A dapper young moose getting ready for his prom

Plural: It's not Mooses, Moosi, or Meese (though "meese" is fun to say. Try it). It is just Moose. One moose, many moose.
Also known as "Elk" in Europe. Elk in North America belong to the deer family.

Habitat: Northern Canada, Europe, and Asia. Life in tiaga, tundra, and boreal forests.

Diet: Eats shoots and leaves. Ha. Never gets old. Generally browses the growing ends of twigs too. It's powerful jaws and teeth allow it to crush and grind these tough food-stuffs.

Ecology: Wolves and Black bears prey on the young and the sick. The Moose has to fight with the white-tailed deer for food, and the deer sometimes carry a deadly disease called, appropriately, moose disease.

Other: There is a cheap kind of beer in Canada called "Moosehead" that gets the job done in a hurry. Moose may or may not drink it, studies are still being conducted.


The Moose: King of the North

More on Unibroue...

Daemon's right, if you haven't tried a Unibrue, you don't know what your missing.

Terrible is an excellent dark beer. Seasonal in Ontario, it's available right now at the LCBO in the big 750ml bottles.

Ephemere is another seasonal brew, available only in late fall / winter. Simply outstanding. Brewed with a variety of fruit its a fantastic light apperitif. I recommend the Apple Ephemere. Distinct Granny Smith flavour. Yum!

Quelque Chose Apparently the Champagne of Beers. Unfortunately I have never tried it, not being able to find it in Ontario. A very strong Cherry Beer, if anyone has tried it in the T.O. area, please point me in the direction. This is supposed to be the beer.

Don de Dieu Named after Samuel Champlain's boat. Easily my favourite! Triple fermented, is as smooth as it gets. Unfortunately I can only find it in Unibroue's Sample Pack.

I highly recommend everyone who enjoys a pint to head over to their local beer store or where ever and ask for the Sample Pack. Unfortunately, this thing is rarer than pearls. When my beer store's actually have one, its covered in about an inch of dust because none of the Blue Light drinkers know anything about it.
It's an eight pack, in which you'll find:
Blanche de Chambly
Maudite (my second fave: highly recommended!! Great with steak)
Trois Pistoles
Fin de Monde
Raftman (a common light brew for those who are intimidated by the heavy triples)
Don de Dieu
Eau Benite ("Holy Water". Outlstanding stong blond fermented in-bottle. Fruity.)
1837 (Abbey-style strong blond)

Few things get me as excited as a good beer. And Unibroue has plenty of 'em.

I have tried Maudite and Fin du Monde.

Doesn't sound like a glowing review Ess! What did you think?

:lol:

Sorry - early and getting ready for work... :P

This was quite a few years ago, but I do remember how freaking powerful they were!
I believe I liked the Fin du Monde, but was not quite as enthralled with the Maudite.

I have a sissy palate! :D

Some images of Canada's natural beauty:

Lake St Claire, Windsor, Ontario


Lake Louise, near Banff, Alberta


Along the Trans Canada highway


Rapids (not sure where, exactly...)

Great!

Here's some of beautiful Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. Little known fact: a UNESCO World Heritage Site

"Pissing Mare Falls" Ha-Ha! :lol:

Since we're posting scenery and all...I thought of some places that deserve mention...

Montmorency Falls (near Quebec City):


Some part of the Canadian Shield:


Muskoka, Ontario:


No idea where this is, but I thought it looked really cool :D :

looks like Niagra region. Then again, could be wrong.

Wow. Striking resemblance to some of the twists and turns and scenery of the nile river

It looks like it could be just about anywhere in Ontario.



Anyways, where would Canada be without Molson Canadian commercials? :P

Molson Canadian Commercials

(only works in IE for me)

Less drunk off partially Canadian beer :P

It's time for the first edition of...

Useless Facts!

-The highest point in Canada is Mount Logan, located in the Yukon Territory, measured at 5,959 meters (19,550 feet)

-The province with the lowest high point is--not Saskatchewan! It's PEI, with an unnamed hill weighing in at 142 m (466 ft). This is the only province with a high point lower than Ohio's high point (as I stated elsewhere, it's 1,550 feet)

-The largest lake that is solely within the confines of Canada is Great Bear Lake, at 30,764 square kilometers (11,878 sq miles)

-The only one of Canada's ten largest islands that is not located within Nunavut or the Northwest Territories is the island of Newfoundland. Vancouver Island is eleventh on the list.

-The official horse of Canada is...the Canadian Horse. (shocking!)

-Ontario's official bird is the loon (no jokes, please) and their official gemstone is amethyst.

-Saskatchewan's official plant is wheat. Their official bird is the sharp-tailed grouse, which also accurately describes some people I know.

-Alberta has an official stone (petrified wood), mammal (Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep), and fish (bull trout). Now all they need is an official beverage... (no joke, Ohio has a state beverage: tomato juice)

-BC's official bird is the Steller's Jay. My question is, who is Steller? Also, their official gemstone is jade.

These and other exciting facts were found here: http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/learningre.../facts/faq.html

Alberta's official stone is petrified wood? Figures. :rolleyes: :D

Wow. That seals it. I'm off to see the International student Tutor on Tuseday when I'm next free. UoT, here I come!

Carb - check out Vancouver! (and other parts of B.C.) :P

A couple of links:

Simon Fraser University

University of British Columbia

and some pics:











Oh, and it's just after 5PM and it's 10C out! :D

Quit trying to steal Carb from me! He's coming to Toronto! :P

Not if I can help it!! :lol:

They never show you the pictures of Canada in winter do they...tsk tsk....



Move to saskatchewan! It's.....prairie - ish!

MrP - that pic of Vancouver could be in the winter.

Some winters we don't get any snow! :P

Hear that, Carb?! :D

That's true here too...

...Of course, when that happens, it typically means we get a foot of snow in late April...

I should have said "some years we don't get any snow."

Most winters we get some, but it rarely lasts long...

Nah, I think we all knew what you meant. I just took the opportunity to point out the psychotic nature of the weather here in the Midwest....

One Valentine's day about 15 years ago, it snowed.
Hubby and I lived approx. 10 minutes from where we worked. He'd leave his work and pick me up at mine.
The 10 minute trip home took 4 1/2 hours!
It wasn't that heavy of a snowfall, but most here cannot drive in snow, period!

:rolleyes:

For an area that gerts as much rain and snow as we do here, it seems no one around here knows how to drive in it either. We don't have ten-minute trips taking four and a half hours, but we do have the two extremes: those people that decide that no precipitation is worth slowing down for, and thus continue to go at or above the speed limit; and those who, when a drop of water/snow hits the ground, they panic and slow down to half the speed limit.

I think that's a plague on everyone's roads. Seems first couple of weeks of bad weather is as you describe it. Everyone's surprised to see snow in the middle of december!
I personally cant stand those clowns who, after a big snow fall, have the forsight to scrape off a bit of windshield just large enough for them to see through but lack the understanding that the rest of us behind them are caught in a solid white twirling vortex of icy debris flying off the 4 inches of snow they left sitting happily on their hood/roof/trunk.
I remember passing a sweet red mustang on the four-naught-one in the middle of Feb last year in which the young lady driving must have been sitting on a phone book or somethin' cause she was all stretched out trying to see over the glacier that made a home on her hood. ARGH! Jeez, wipe the damn thing off!
Man, some things just get my goat.

They're the ones that make a 10 minute trip an eternity! <_<

People leave their cars any which way on the side of the road, further slowing things.

We shoulda got out and walked that day, but by the time we figured that out, it was too late.

For anyone familiar with this area, we were coming from St. Edward's drive and Bridgeport in Richmond to just the Vancouver side of the Knight St. bridge!

Around here, at least, everyone is suprised to see snow *ever*. Of course, that may be a product of having irregular snowfalls, where it could be completely clear one week and under a foot and a half of snow the next. SO every snowstorm is a "surprise".

That bugs me too. It's like they can't take the time to be courteous to anyone else--and really, how well can you see out if it's not completely clear? I don't feel safe if I have any ice blocking my view on either the windshield or my windows.

I laugh when I see americans closing schools and such on "snow days" and freaking out about the "big blizzard", and I only see a foot and a half (if that) of snow on the ground.

Move to saskatchewan, where normally winters generally produce 5 foot snowdrifts. Last few years have been whacked tho. I imagine january this year may pick up a bit though

You guys hear about the people in the NWT saying its actually bright outside this time of year when generally there is a 24 hour midnight? Some are starting to think theres a polar shift going on, others think its a product of global warming......who knows :huh:

Couldn't find any references to this using Google. Do you have a report link anywhare?

saw it on discovery channel. try Exn.ca

I just drove in the snow for the first time just now....I had my friends in the backseat yelling "Slow down you maniac!" :D

To be fair, some schools have snow days only because it's difficult to keep the school buses running (which are typically old and unreliable anyway). And most of the "freaking out" comes from areas that don't usually get heavy snow, so it's highly unusual.

I know in my case, our school only closed when the roads were treacherous (like if there was ice, rather than snow, on the roads) or if the temperature dropped to something like 20 below. (that's Fahrenheit, not Celsius)

Oh, so YOU'RE the one...tsk tsk tsk.

It's time for...Hockey Trivia!

1) Who holds the NHL record for most PIM in a season?

2) Who was the oldest player to score 40 or more goals in a season?

3) Which team secured the first Stanley Cup title?

4) Who was the last player to win the Art Ross trophy prior to the two decades when it was only won by Gretzky, Lemieux or Jagr?

5) Whose name appears the most times on the Stanley Cup?

6) Who holds the NHL record for most goals in a game?

7) Name three players who have scored hat tricks for the Columbus Blue Jackets. (I couldn't resist putting my team in...)