Why I Hate Canadians

This book is ironically on loan from, and recommended by my Canadian friends here in New Zealand. Much like them, the author, Will Ferguson, doesn't really hate Canadians (being one himself), but more sets out to dispel a few myths (The Beaver as a national symbol? Honestly!), right a few wrongs (the misguided ideals of separatist Quebecois), and bring people closer to understanding just what being a Canadian even means (in short, it depends on who, and where you are). I do think it's fair to say that there are a few Canadians that Mr. Ferguson cares for much much less than most. One item noted is the (generalized) tendency Canadians have for self-deprecating humor. With this in mind, it makes one of my favorite quotes from the book even funnier.

"[upon having difficulty finding a job]The opportunity for respectable work denied me, I became a journalist, although when my parents asked, I told them I was a piano player at a whorehouse to avoid bringing excessive shame on the family."

This book does have its comedic moments, but much more than that it is a view of Canada and Canadians that I never would've really suspected even existed. When one thinks of exciting regions of the world, and areas of historic and cultural distinction, one's mind doesn't likely jump to Canada...say...as even a top 10 or 20 choice. Canada is, however, a highly diverse country, and has been instrumental in the efforts of world peace (see: major supporter of U.N. peacekeeping operations). I would recommend this book, if for no other reason than to gain a bit of insight into the diversity possessed by this small population of a fairly large country.

Collapse: Redux

I posted a brief note about Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed awhile back and finally wrapped this book up a couple days ago. This book presented a really interesting read about a really interesting subject. He layed out examples of past civilizations of varying types...isolated, interdependent, seafaring, farmers...and broke down the various points that brought those societies to total ruin and failure, or allowed them to thrive in the face of adversity. He then discussed parallels and differences between them back then, and us today. To give away the ending, the author does indeed still have hope that humanity won't extinguish itself. After reading his book, he must be one heck of an optimist. The picture painted between the covers is some pretty alarming stuff. Ours is a planet on which our survival requires some strong leadership and some practical decision making. I'll leave it to you whether or not you think we have any shred of that kind of leadership at any level of any of the governments with the clout to make a difference.