We Canadians have almost made a cottage industry out of dissing our politicians. American Rep. Joe Wilson's little outburst during a recent speech by Obama to the joint session of Congress was nothing compared to what goes on in the Canadian House of Commons. It is famous for being rowdy and noisy, with MPs often shouting insults at each other, even when someone else is speaking, and there is a lot of pounding of desks going on. And Canadians love to hate their politicians. It doesn't matter who's in office -- we love to hate them. So, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I rather like Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen. I know I am going to have a lot of Canadians who will jump on and say, "Whaaaaat!?" The thing I like most about the Harpers, though, is they're from Western Canada, and they actually acknowledge that Canada's third largest city is on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Also, Eastern Canadians are always so smug, and it gets tiresome.Prime Minister Stephen Harper is known for being just a tad straight-laced, even though he's married to a blonde who rides a motorcycle. Harper has a Master's degree in Economics and he is a bit on the stuffy side, and he may be what is known in the U.S. as "Republican Lite". However, I have always believed that still waters run deep. So ... here is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the National Art Centre gala in Ottawa on Saturday night. As the National Post said, "This is not a man who puts himself 'out there' and it must have taken considerable guts to have stepped on to a stage with one of the greatest musicians of our time."
Occasionally we have to stop taking life so seriously, and just have fun.
Ha, then you have to see what goes on in the South African parliment
ReplyDeleteHe must be a beautiful man, Brilliant person...gentle...
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Bill Clinton playing the sax on late night TV,for a bit of "man of the people feel."
ReplyDeleteI have seen the Canadian parliament in action and it always struck me as the shouting was always a show seeing as how the decisions and discussions were done in smokey back rooms.
you have a lovely blog...though i dont comment, i read all your posts. Nice writeup...Thanks
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post! I think I like the way Canada and great Britain "discuss' things, and the shouting and slice and dice language used , oh so carefully, is exciting!
ReplyDeleteI watch British TV news and see the English House of Commons also sometimes erupts into a noisy shouting match, which can be quite entertaining.
ReplyDeleteAnd although I don't live in Canada any more I always had the impression from news and TV that Harper was a reasonable and likeable man. And his voice isn't that bad either LOL.
Hope your eyes are feeling better Jo!
This was so much fun! (And PM Harper has a great voice to boot!) Thank you for the delightful share!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, he's got quite a nice voice, really! That was a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI also had fun imagining the collective stroke the American people would have if one of our politicians were to sing the lyrics, "I get high with a little help from my friends..."
People would have a fit and fall in it. There would be an investigation into whether or not he inhaled! Oh the furor would be deafening!
Americans, more uptight than thou!
I was also amused that evidently certain things are universal. When you wrote a few words about Western Canadians, and Eastern Canadians, I got the giggles.
Human behavior knows no geographical boundaries. "Well, what do you expect, he's a New Yorker?" "Texans talks so slowly I want to blow my brains out, luckily, they are usually carrying a gun, so there is that."
We all do it, don't we?
even though he's married to a blonde who rides a motorcycle. ...
ReplyDeleteShe's not the blonde who asked her blonde girlfried when on holiday in Oklahoma: "Which is furthest away, Florida or the Moon?"
Blonde friend: "Doh...Hellooooo... can you see Florida...???"
Thanks for this! A friend was telling me about it yesterday...we discussed the cynical motivations for doing this but really, anything that shines light on the arts in Canada has my vote. Whatever is reasons, I'm glad he did it. Not bad Harpo!
ReplyDeleteThat's it....I want to move to Canada when I retire. You guys know how to lighten up and have a good time!
ReplyDeleteAny friend of Yo-Yo Ma's is a friend of mine.
ReplyDeleteLaureen Harper is going to need a lot more than a motorcycle to outdo Margaret Trudeau, though. :)
That was great fun! I had the exact same reaction as Shimp - Americans would be saying "he gets HIGH, does he?" Heh.
ReplyDeletethat was great!!!
ReplyDeleteSeems like canadians and Indians are quite similar when it comes to politicians :)
ReplyDeleteNow THAT'S a fun video! It's nice to see that all of us are just human. Here's this very powerful man who must have a lot of influence, and he is sitting at a 9-foot Steinway playing one of my favorite Beatles songs.
ReplyDeleteHe sort of smiles when he sings he wants somebody to love...! I guess we are all more alike than different.
I don't know a thing about your Mr. Harper but he seems like a pretty good fella in this video.
Take care.
Firefly, Oh, I can just imagine. *chuckle*
ReplyDeleteNomore, well, people have definitely called him other things, that's for sure. :-)
Mark, yes, it reminded me of Bill Clinton playing the sax too. And yes, the shouting is for show only, but what a show... *heh*
ZB, Thank you! And thank you for visiting. :-)
Kathy, yes, the very "proper" Brits and Canadians can get rather racous. :-)
Sharon, my eyes are feeling much better, thank you for asking. :-) And yes, I think Harper is very likeable, and rather underated overall. I like him.
Sparkle, I know! He sounds great, doesn't he?
Alane, oh, yes! Canada is very polarized! And then we have those French Canadians, don't you know... *heh* But I guess Canadians are a bit more relaxed than Americans. We can poke fun at ourselves, and we don't take ourselves too seriously.
Phillips, Oh, goodness, I love blonde jokes...! Thank you for the giggle. :-) That was a great one!
JoMo, well I think he had several reasons for doing, but he obviously had fun. And yes, I think Iggy got bushwhacked. *heh*
Kathy, oh, yes. We don't take things too seriously here in Canada. I guess that's why all the best comedians come from here. :-)
Hearts, oh, goodness, Maggie Trudeau. Oh yes.... The Rolling Stones groupie. *heh* We all loved her, though. We still do.
The Bug, if you knew Harper, he is actually an evangelical Christian, so it was quite a change of pace for him.
Ruth...! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :-)
Toon India, hello! Yes, I think both our countries have the same persona and sensibilities. :-)
Russell, yes, I rather like Harper. I even voted for him. Well someone must have voted for him -- he was elected twice. *heh* But everyone "hates" him, so the song was sort of ironic. That was the fun part. :-)
Jo, I've a bone to pick wid yu!
ReplyDeleteI've just found, for the very first time, one of your adoptive country-women: Lara Fabian!
Why have you not told me, and the rest of the world, about this fabulous female!
I have been crying my eyes out listening to some of her songs; she has that effect on me with the depth of feelings she engenders.
I've just uploaded a clip of her singing 'Caruso' - and she has captured my heart entirely.
Phillip, my goodness, I have never heard of her!!! I will check her out. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat clip was great Jo! :-D
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. gentle?
ReplyDeleteHater. Anti women.
Awwwwwwwww, isnt it so cute!
Are people really this shallow as they appear in the comments here?
We are in trouble aren't we?