No, I don't mean me and I apologize profusely if I scared anyone into thinking that I'm moving to Canada! Nope, I'm not traveling to Canada anytime soon, let alone moving there.
What I'm referring to are the predictable people who say they're going to move to Canada if their preferred candidate in a United States presidential election fails to win. This has gone on for so long that it honestly isn't funny anymore.
Why? Because in reality, it's an empty threat: most Americans do not move to Canada if their political team doesn't win an election. In addition, I think it's petty because the best way to ensure that your team does win is to remain in the United States, convince people to vote for your side and also remember to participate in elections yourself. Quitting the country doesn't achieve anything.
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 March 2016
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Rob Ford
I was shocked when I saw this article appear in my newsfeed yesterday:
Rob Ford was the mayor of Toronto, being elected there in 2010. He became prominent in the news in 2014, in the months leading up to the mayor election of that year, due to his drug use and erratic behaviour. Ford withdrew from re-election when it was discovered he had a cancerous tumour. That cancer has since killed him.
On one of the days before his death, I thought about Ford and wondered what he was up to. He was a councillor in Toronto and had intended to run for mayor again.
Rob Ford was the mayor of Toronto, being elected there in 2010. He became prominent in the news in 2014, in the months leading up to the mayor election of that year, due to his drug use and erratic behaviour. Ford withdrew from re-election when it was discovered he had a cancerous tumour. That cancer has since killed him.
On one of the days before his death, I thought about Ford and wondered what he was up to. He was a councillor in Toronto and had intended to run for mayor again.
Thursday, 19 February 2015
Canadian ten cents
When out on a walk today, my brother found this coin:
It's a Canadian ten cents coin. When my brother spotted the coin, he thought it was a British five pence piece.
Thursday, 6 November 2014
"No Enemiesz" - Kiesza
My song of choice at the moment is this one:
It's "No Enemiesz" by Kiesza, from her second studio album, Sound of a Woman. Kiesza is a Canadian singer and is mostly known for her hit single "Hideaway"; "Giant in My Heart" is another notable song of Kiesza's but it didn't reach the same level of success as the former.
I think that "No Enemiesz" is an awesome song. Its official release is on November 23rd and I hope that it'll be a huge success; I prefer it to "Hideaway".
It's "No Enemiesz" by Kiesza, from her second studio album, Sound of a Woman. Kiesza is a Canadian singer and is mostly known for her hit single "Hideaway"; "Giant in My Heart" is another notable song of Kiesza's but it didn't reach the same level of success as the former.
I think that "No Enemiesz" is an awesome song. Its official release is on November 23rd and I hope that it'll be a huge success; I prefer it to "Hideaway".
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
"Self Control" - Laura Branigan
In the mid-2000s, I was introduced to this song from the 1980s, which was in my parents' record collection:
It's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which comes from her third studio album, also called Self Control. The song was a major hit in Australia, Canada, across Europe and in the United States in 1984. "Self Control" was co-written by Raf, an Italian singer; he co-wrote it with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Raf's and Branigan's versions of "Self Control" were hits simultaneously.
"Self Control" and "Gloria" are Branigan's best-known songs. In 1993, Branigan released Over My Heart, her final studio album. Sadly, Branigan died over a decade ago on August 26th, 2004, at the age of 47. The cause of her death was a cerebral aneurysm.
Interestingly, an instrumental version of "Self Control" was used in a modded version of an ancient (by computer standards) DOS game. I heard Branigan's original before I heard the game instrumental.
It's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which comes from her third studio album, also called Self Control. The song was a major hit in Australia, Canada, across Europe and in the United States in 1984. "Self Control" was co-written by Raf, an Italian singer; he co-wrote it with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Raf's and Branigan's versions of "Self Control" were hits simultaneously.
"Self Control" and "Gloria" are Branigan's best-known songs. In 1993, Branigan released Over My Heart, her final studio album. Sadly, Branigan died over a decade ago on August 26th, 2004, at the age of 47. The cause of her death was a cerebral aneurysm.
Interestingly, an instrumental version of "Self Control" was used in a modded version of an ancient (by computer standards) DOS game. I heard Branigan's original before I heard the game instrumental.
Friday, 15 June 2012
Daniel Powter's "Bad Day", and his potential return
Remember "Bad Day" by the Canadian musician Daniel Powter? It is a happy, positive-sounding song about having a bad day and was a massive hit back in 2005/2006. "Bad Day" was the biggest single in the United States in 2006, it charted in numerous countries, was the most played song in the United Kingdom during the 2003-2008 period, and earned Powter numerous nominations and awards.
Despite the enormous success of "Bad Day", every single that Powter has released since has flopped. None have reached the Billboard Hot 100, and outside the United States they have struggled to chart...and when they did they reached abysmal positions. His lack of chart success after "Bad Day" was remarkable enough for Billboard to declare him the top one-hit wonder of the 2000s, a feat in itself, but not one that any musician wants to be saddled with.
It is a shame that Powter's work since "Bad Day" has been unsuccessful, but it is even more of a shame that he turned to substance abuse for a period stemming from difficulties handling his sudden fame and being burnt out from constantly having to sing "Bad Day". Fortunately, he has since recovered and moved on from the habit, and is now engaged and has a daughter who is four months old, but it is still saddening and disappointing that he did have an addiction to alcohol and drugs for a time.
Powter is currently working on a new album and has recently released a new single titled "Cupid". Time will tell if his new work will elevate him out of one-hit wonder status, but I hope it does. In the meantime, we can listen to "Bad Day": it is still a brilliant song six years later, will certainly put you in a good mood when you hear it, and will remain in your head for days afterwards (when my brother and I were listening to Heart Cambridge last year, it was the first time we had heard "Bad Day" on the radio frequently since 2006, and that did please us).
Despite the enormous success of "Bad Day", every single that Powter has released since has flopped. None have reached the Billboard Hot 100, and outside the United States they have struggled to chart...and when they did they reached abysmal positions. His lack of chart success after "Bad Day" was remarkable enough for Billboard to declare him the top one-hit wonder of the 2000s, a feat in itself, but not one that any musician wants to be saddled with.
It is a shame that Powter's work since "Bad Day" has been unsuccessful, but it is even more of a shame that he turned to substance abuse for a period stemming from difficulties handling his sudden fame and being burnt out from constantly having to sing "Bad Day". Fortunately, he has since recovered and moved on from the habit, and is now engaged and has a daughter who is four months old, but it is still saddening and disappointing that he did have an addiction to alcohol and drugs for a time.
Powter is currently working on a new album and has recently released a new single titled "Cupid". Time will tell if his new work will elevate him out of one-hit wonder status, but I hope it does. In the meantime, we can listen to "Bad Day": it is still a brilliant song six years later, will certainly put you in a good mood when you hear it, and will remain in your head for days afterwards (when my brother and I were listening to Heart Cambridge last year, it was the first time we had heard "Bad Day" on the radio frequently since 2006, and that did please us).
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Coin coincidence
An interesting coincidence happened this afternoon. During a walk one morning before we moved from Littleport, I noticed an American dime in the gutter, and after picking it up I was quite pleased I had found it (after all, during our time in the United States we collected several varieties of foreign coins).
This afternoon, I went for a walk, then just as I left the house something reminded me of that dime, and I thought how interesting it would be to find more loose foreign coins around. While on my walk, I found a coin in the gutter, but it was dirty and I could not identify it, although I assumed it was a British penny judging from its size.
Upon returning home, I washed the coin and took a better look at it. On a close inspection, I saw the word "Canada" inscribed upon it: the coin was not British but rather, a 2007 Canadian penny. I was surprised to discover what the coin really was, but also surprised that I had found a foreign coin after thinking about finding them only half an hour beforehand: it is certainly an interesting coincidence.
Since the coin I collected is still too dirty to get a clear photograph of, I looked up pictures of 2007 Canadian pennies and can post a link to one. It depicts both sides of the coin:
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=613286&ppid=1122&image=117972067&images=117972067&formats=0&format=0
This afternoon, I went for a walk, then just as I left the house something reminded me of that dime, and I thought how interesting it would be to find more loose foreign coins around. While on my walk, I found a coin in the gutter, but it was dirty and I could not identify it, although I assumed it was a British penny judging from its size.
Upon returning home, I washed the coin and took a better look at it. On a close inspection, I saw the word "Canada" inscribed upon it: the coin was not British but rather, a 2007 Canadian penny. I was surprised to discover what the coin really was, but also surprised that I had found a foreign coin after thinking about finding them only half an hour beforehand: it is certainly an interesting coincidence.
Since the coin I collected is still too dirty to get a clear photograph of, I looked up pictures of 2007 Canadian pennies and can post a link to one. It depicts both sides of the coin:
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=613286&ppid=1122&image=117972067&images=117972067&formats=0&format=0
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