"Gold to Me" by Ben Harper
"Aserejé" by Las Ketchup
"Me Gustas Tu" by Manu Chao
A few Christmases ago, or perhaps birthdays, my cousin Erika gave me Will Ferguson's Bastards and Boneheads: Canada's Glorious Leaders Past and Present. It sat on my shelf. And sat. Then it moved with me to Saskatoon. I figured that since I'd already taken a year of Canadian History (or as it was truly known, "Kate's Mid-Morning Naptime") during undergrad that there was nothing new this book could tell me. Bastards and Boneheads has been sitting, for those keeping score, in our bathroom for the past few months. I suggested to Miguel that he read it because 1) it looked like a funny approach to Canadian history (of which he knows only that Wayne Gretzky is the King of Canada), and 2) it would look good sitting in our bathroom (N.B. I am the girl who buys extra fruit and vegetables so that I look healthier in the checkout line at Sobeys). While sitting on the pot, however, it was inevitable that I'd pick it up and read. I was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps if Dr. D's lectures had been more humourous, like this book, I wouldn't have fallen asleep every class (and I mean every class - the man's voice was like a foghorn!). There wasn't anything I hadn't learned about in the book, although there were some things that I'd forgotten completely about. So I chuckled my way through, and left the book in the bathroom for Miguel.
He comes out of the bathroom nowadays shaking his head in disgust. He just finished the chapter on WWII and Canada's role in the Holocaust (the St. Louis anyone?). The chapter on Japanese Internment is up next. Keep in mind, this is all happening at the same time that The National is running "Your Turn" segments glorifying Canadian multiculturalism. Needless to say, I think he's finding Canada to be a bit of a hypocrite. I maintain that it's just that we've learned from our mistakes. But even that I'm not entirely sure of.
Regardless, if you want a little light reading that will help you pass any Canadian immigration exam (or Grade 10 Social Studies), get this book. Need further proof? Check out Ferguson's summary of the various Bastards and Boneheads in Canadian history in the final chapter of the book. Under "Highlights" for Sir John A. MacDonald, Ferguson writes "John A. was the alcoholic Father of the Nation, and with a father like that, is it any wonder we have been in therapy for so long? 'I know my dad loved me, but...'" (240).
Oh well that's just clever!
Enjoy.
I am intrigued! I want to read the book...but only (and ONLY if!) it comments on M. King's seances with his dead dog, Pat...whom he named his two subsequent dogs after and regularily consulted for guidance in running the country (for over 21 years!)
ReplyDelete"He communicated with his dogs and the ghosts of his dogs. (At one point he even asked the long-dead Dr. Louis Pasteur for a medical prescription for his dog.) He liked to 'redeem' prostitutes, and he often consulted with the spirit of his late mentor, Wilfrid Laurier. During one seance, King asked a spirit, 'Are you real or just a figment of my imagination?' When the spirit replied, 'I am real,' Mackenzie King was reassured. Yes, Canada's 'greatest' prime minister was a complete muttonhead when it came to things private and mystical" (257).
ReplyDeleteha. he said muttonhead.
now you must introduce that brit of yours to this book, in preparation for emigration.
tee hee hee hee....I'm on Miguelito's side. As Flaubert said, don't touch your idols...the gilding will come off on your fingers (or something like that).
ReplyDeletecheerio.