Happy Birthday CAW-NAH-DAHHH! Not!

On July 3rd, it'll be the 400th anniversary of QUEBEC - the city first, then the province, in that order yes... (More on that in a sec - ok?)
But today, it's only the 141st of CANADA OVERALL... what gives?!?

Well, that just gives you a sense of how screwd history can get when it pertains to a HISTORICAL MISTAKE...!!!
I've made it no secret how I feel about this country that is located north of the 49th parallel on the North American continent - or, more commonly referred to as "north of the border" or simply "north of the USofA" - yup! It is a historical mistake, begotten out of the basest human desires (quest for riches, expansion, conquest, demential empirical yearnings - AND the pernicious French jealousy towards all of the English endeavours...!)

As such, the end result could only turn out as it is - a misbegotten country that owes its name to either a simpleton term or an insult, and one that has trouble holding it all together...!

Hence the recent "reasonable accomodations" dossier up there...
And up in the air too!

Hence the constant separation and dissolvement threats...

And all this truly is UNDENIABLE PROOF that we do pay for our fathers' sins - in this case, most ancient forefathers, if "you-are-Canadian" or worse yet - if you're "Québécois"...!

They are complaining over there, this summer - for more reasons than usual...

Movie productions are not coming to their lousy locales anymore - which should automatically increase the quality of the films, I say! But that is another story...

The technical crews are therefore with a much lighter workload all of a sudden...

They'll spend summer - the only time you can shoot a film in Queubec, basically - twiddling their thumbs, between two of the rare LOCAL productions that got greenlit AT ALL... And one wonders WHY... But that is another story too!

At least local "talent" (we mean the thespians here) is quite philosophical about it all - and, thank GOD, they're LOGICAL about it too! Take Alexis Martin (something like the Quebec equivalent of a Woody Allen - with less talent and a girly name!) - he makes no big deal about it, understands that, with the CURRENCY PARITY prevailing now, there is absolutely NO ADVANTAGE AT ALL for American productions to come shoot their films in Montreal, Quebec, Halifax, Vancouver or even Toronto! All of these locations SUCK - and they'd rather shoot their films in a small town in Ohio rather than go out of their way to cross the damnable 48th parallel at all...

Besides, as Martin candidly and humbly admits in the video linked below, whenever American productions did come over there, they never hired him or any of the other average "local talent" like Pierre Lebeau, Céline Whatshername (not Lomez, much less Dion) or even Roy Dupuis - not even for a bit part lately! Sad, eh? Maybe I should have posted this on the Lethargic Blog instead...

Martin is told to be a "king of multi-tasking" by the local media - trying to encourage him to keep going, are they? At least he gets some kind of good press and some kind of support - it is already that! Lest this is another example of what they call over there "se peter les bretelles" - then, it would NOT be a good thing!


Alexis Martin : roi du « multi-tasking » !

The other day, I caught a lame attempt at a talk-show from the NATIONAL BROADCASTER, the SRC, French side of the CBC... "Bons Baisers de France" is misleading at first because it seems to be originating from FRANCE - and just basic knowledge of the French language lets you realize that it couldn't possibly be! Most guests are, of course, Quebeckers - and they are known for mangling their language beyond recognition! No, the show is set in Montreal alright - the nearly unknown hostess is named FRANCE, that's what it is! France Beaudoin, I do believe - one of those mercenary types that has no sense of loyalty whatsover; she displayed that when she jumped ship and came over to the SRC, abandoning the network that made her a "star" - or really remotely known at all (and that would be TVA - which also broadcasts nation-wide, but is privately-owned unlike the government-sponsored SRC with a very strict mandate... But that is another story again!)

So, France comes over and gets rewarded with her own talk-show for the length of summer, a regal reward for betrayal, even if it is only locally and all...!
And even though they broadcast nationally, only those who speak French at all will give this a shot - and that is NOT a given either! But anyway - she gets the talk-show and tries to INNOVATE the genre by working only 4 nights-a-week. Plus, she does so with the assistance of a co-host for the week! A different one each week too - woo-hoo. The one I caught a bit of was one Fred Pellerin I think - Fred who? Good question. Many in his own province would ask the very same question, really! They try and they try, but Quebec' own tiny local "star-system" only spawns obscure ephemeral celebrities - the only ones that truly pierce through are the ones who obtain lucrative commercial deals! Shooting commercials for a car dealer, the local grocery store chain or some governmental program; THAT is the only way for them to truly remain in the forgetful "public eye". Yup - this does belong on the Lethargic Blog too! Ramblings In Writ will have to do, this time...

So then - Pellerin. Because his name is FRED, his theme music for the week, whenever he makes his entrance, will apparently be The Flintstones theme. Ugh.

They can't buy celebrity, they borrow tidbits of it from their NAMESAKES. Logical.

Then Fred Pellerin speaks of his beloved native village - and invites "guests" who are villagers indeed, to talk about it some more... Great. They left their forks and torches are the door, I see...

And then I finally realize what this guy, this "star" there, really does: he's some sort of village legends pillager! He bases his short stories and/or novellas upon the local legends; which are then the ideal source material for the unimaginative local filmmakers (no Scorseses around there; I assure you...) for either movies no one will bother to go see in a theater, or even purchase the DVD of - they might as well have shot these things striaght up as made-for-TV fluff, because that is where everyone will give it a shot - and then again, THAT is not for certain either!

All-around lethargic - indeed.

The cherry on top:
the international coverage these local gems, stars and even the national festivities (even when they reach the milestone numbers of 400... or 141...?!?) wind up getting - that is, even when it is other French-speaking countries covering the stuff!

France, of all nations, should do a better job than that - after all THEY are responsible for this Quebec mess even EXISTING IN THE FIRST PLACE! And still - the prestigious PARIS-MATCH made such a monumental gaffe (hmm - maybe Gaston LaGaffe works for them?) when they actually FAILED TO DIFFERENCIATE THE CITY OF QUÉBEC FROM THE PROVINCE OF QUÉBEC... A definite no-no for the FRENCH COUSIN across the pond - heck, LE BEAU-FRÈRE (the step-brother!)

Not merely lethargic now - utterly pathetic!

And to think that high-browed journalists STILL claim that their rigor, their meticulous verve, their "professionalism" by far eclipses that of the best of them "bloggers" (and, for them, "bloggers" as "blog" have become four-letter words - yes! HA! Up yours, elitistic jerks! You're just scared shitless for your JOBS - nobody buys your RAGS anymore and, besides, your brand of journalism is either yellow or THE SELLOUT TYPE - one stands a better chance to get to the truth via a BLOG indeed - one like MINE, that is! Where there sure is CONTENT - where there sure are editorials worth reading and where THE TRUTH is PARAMOUNT; not sponsorships!


But enough ramblin'...

For now!