>> “J Tru”

He’s just awesome.

>> Fort Mac Love

The town of Fort McMurray (“Fort Mac”) experienced a massive wildfire this year, and still found hope.

>> The Tragically Hip

News of lead singer Gord Downie’s incurable brain cancer hit us hard last month. The Hip’s music is woven deeply into in many Canadian lives; for me, snippets of songs bring back some feeling of nostalgia from teenage hood—camping and spending time in the sun with friends. I don’t even know why because I was never a huge fan, but with songs littered with various Canadian references, it just can’t help but fit with the landscape on a good solid road trip.

Despite Gord’s recent diagnosis, they are touring this summer, and I get bittersweet tingles and a little teary knowing that it will really be their last.

We really love the Hip.

>> Comedy, comedy, comedy!

The Kids in the Hall

Bob & Doug McKenzie from SCTV

>> Inclusivity

All lives matter here. There are still many socio-cultural problems and issues that need attention, of course, and no place is free of discrimination. But all in all, we’re pretty good at welcoming all backgrounds, sexual preferences, cultures and genders into the forefront. 

>> The National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Canadian favourites like The Sweater, The Blackfly Song and The Log Driver’s Waltz (all classic songs and stories crafted into beautiful and quirky animated shorts) played on CBC in the early mornings in the 70s and 80s. Many of us are entirely familiar but probably have no recollection of the first time we even watched them. For Canadian friends around my age, these make up a huge part of our collective memory.

Re-watching them always brings a smile to my (our) face(s). 

My favourite is the Big Snit, which admittedly was introduced to me recently but the others mentioned above are etched into my brain from childhood.

>> The Deaner

Circling back to the “Fort Mac” and beer themes, FUBAR (specifically FUBAR II) is one hell of a movie—it’s actually educational to the extent that it’s a social commentary on what life in a resource town is actually like—and the movie, believe it or not, is really f*cking good.

>> So Much Great Music

KD Lang, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morissette…the list of fantastic musicians is long and for that I am grateful.

(PS: Sorry about Nickelback, Celine and the Biebs)

Author: Renee Picard

Images: Imgur, Wikipedia