(Canscene) — As we approach Canadas 150th birthday in 2017, Sesqui fever will grow until, we hope, it generates the kind of pride and joy we experienced in 1967 on Canadas 100th birthday.

March 11-12, 2010, the Institute of the Public Administration of Canada and, MASS LBP, a consulting company, are convening the first major conference concerning Canada’s Sesquicentennial at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Patrick Tobin of Canadian Heritage has sent us this audio essay by MASS LBPs Peter McLeod. We hope youll enjoy it as much as we did:

http://themarknews.com/articles/759-canada-at-150

And dont forget our Comments section!

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(Canscene– We’ve come to that month when thousands of tv and radio personalities make me cringe at their wilful neglect of the word February. Listen chums, when I went to school it was Feb-Ru-Ary, not Feb-Yew -Ary
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This completely skipped my mind last month so here goes with my wish list for 1010…

• May the Man from ING buy a pink silk tie and wear it on his commercials;
• CTV news anchor and program host Sandie Rinaldo ( she of the lank locks) please go see a hair stylist;
• And PM Harper, if that’s not a rug you’re wearing why not let it blow around a little, let some air into that thicktatorial  head of yours;
• And, CBC, why not answer consumers’ complaint letters?
• Minister Jason Kenney, it’s MULTICULTURALISM not plurality, just in case you’re thinking of tinkering with the Constitution and the Charter;
• Will Price is Right host  Drew Carey stop repeating himself, in fact, will he give greater dignity to the show or depart? I’m sick of seeing those boobs bobbing up and down as the contestants mount the stage and he willingly succumbs to their advances. Yucchhhh…
• Will Russell Oliver get off the air?
• From Sinatra to Jackson the sound of American women screaming has sullied the ears of sensitive citizens. The real scream dates back to Canadian actress Fay Wray (King Kong,  1933) who did it best.  And that’s where it should have stopped!

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Once again, you have demonsrated the CBC’s penchant for combining brilliant programming with some of the most utter balderdash on air. Now during your Monday to Friday telecasts of Wheel of Fortune, you have the effrontery to insult Canadian taxpayers by signalling a portion of that program is for participation by US residents only. Our dollars go for this!

(Canscene) — Soldiers marching.
Sergeant Major: Squad Halt! Recalibrate!
1st soldier: Wot the ‘ell does ‘e mean?
2nd soldier: It’s the new word for “Mark Time!”

After much soul searching, I came up with my twelve favourite motion pictures of all time. Here they are divided into three language sections: English, French and Italian.

Lawrence of Arabia
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Singin in the Rain

Les Enfants du Paradis
La Grande Illusion
Le Salaire de la Peur
Rififi

Roma Citta Aperta
Ladri di Biciclette
Sciusca
Paisan
(more…) »

(Canscene) — We are honoured to bring you this article from Kevin Myers, ‘The Sunday Telegraph, London:

Salute to a brave and modest nation –

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region.

And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada ‘s historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. (more…) »

(Canscene) — My friend, the late great film maker Ralph Foster who was loaned to Australia to help organize that country’s national film board, once remarked to me on Boxing Day “and so begins National Cold Turkey and Hangover Week” Bless you, Ralph!
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By Susan Papp
Dundurn Press,
301 pages, $29.99

(Canscene) — Coinciding with the premiere screening of her OMNI financed documentary, Outcasts: a Love Story,
Susan Papp’s book details the moving story of the love of Gentile Tibor Schroeder for Jewish Hedy Weisz.

It is also a tribute to love on many other levels: brother for brother, friend for friend and Carpathian Hungarians for their country, taken from them first by Czechoslovakia after World War I, then by Nazi Germany, then Soviet Russia and finally by Ukraine. The principal figures in this book remain outcasts from their true home.

It goes without saying that a 300 page book can hold much more information than a 60-minute documentary and wisely, the director, married to Bela (Bill) Aykler, Tibor’s younger half brother has adhered to the main story in the film. But in the book we find much detail accentuating the background to the story. (more…) »