Jack Frost

BONJOURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so my thing... Bragging about my awesome city. We have this. You probably researched enough on the Village. It's not huge... just about several blocks along Ste-Catherine Street (one of the main shopping arteries in the city). I personally prefer to avoid it. Not that it's seedy or anything. Just not my thing and I don't feel the need to be with huge crowds of gays. I haven't been there since September (not my choice..,. my friend made me). http://www.diverscite.org/2009/anglais/index.htm It explains itself if you want to go there during the summer, unless you don't mind freezing your tits off during the infamous long Canadian winters. As I am speaking, -12C outside with wind chill down to -25C, ice/snow on sidewalks and roads, and 30 cm of snow on the ground. Not that I am complaining... I'm used to it. But you, as an Aussie, most likely you will consider 5C as bone-chilling. ;p Montréal has this concept of "la joie de vivre". It means "joy of living". That is, we work so we can live whereas Toronto just lives to work. Hence why Montreal has the best nightlife in the whole country. And that is just not drinking and clubbing, but also eating at restos because the city has the most restaurants per capita in the world. Plus, you'll get a taste of the culture unique in the Americas due to our French past. If you want to make good friends, it would be much better to call it "Québéois" accent. We love that much more than just the cliché "French accent". It would help a lot if I know what you are hoping to do (your interests), what you're planning so far (just Montreal? Or also visits to other Canadian cities such as Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto?), what possible dates, etc. Then I'll brag as usual. And Montreal is very liberal. You won't find a major city that has several of these on its main shopping streets... even if there are kids around and a church next to it. Note that the strip club is over a clothing shop for pregnant women (Lori). Erm... The link to NYT article, I'd like to make a disclaimer. <No one never does this today. At least for the Montrealers as morons outside of province keep thinking like this no matter what. Don't worry about the language issue that the article seems to show off. No one really cares as long as you're not being an idiot about it.

Thinking about doing in the Azores now.

hahahahaha God, you're already thinking about fleeing the country to escape from the cold.

It is... But the little boy in the video is not singing in Quebecois. We make a difference between the French spoken by every French-speaking person (neutral kind of accent) and the French spoken informally by every Quebeckers. Don't feel bad... I mean... I'm not trying to do anything... It's just that I found it weird how you categorize. It's a matter of dialect vs. standard language. Maybe we're more picky here when it comes to this because we don't say the people on Radio-Canada new stations speaks in Québécois, but the sitcoms on Radio-Canada channel, we do. And why do you keep on spelling "Québécois" as "Québequois"? Are you trying to drive me insane? ¬¬' ;p

Ofra Haza (Israel) - "Amen to Words" (Arabic) France Gall (France) - "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" (French - "Wax doll, sound doll") 10 + 2 (Catalan kid song) Wilfrid Lebouthillier (New Brunswick, Canada) - "La ballade de Jean Batailleur" (French - "Jean Batailleur's Ballad") QUÉBÉCOIS**** ¬¬' Note that not all Québécois singers sing in Québécois. Many of them do sing in Standard French. If you want singers that sing in joual, just check out the Plume Latraverse video I just linked. The Québécois videos you linked are in Standard French.

DAMN... The whole UK minus Northern Ireland is completely covered. O,O

(double post)

I'm a daily reader of BBC and pretty much I hear it's the worse since 1981. Not so long ago in a normal human lifetime. I did hear few tales there like a woman, aged 35, saying it was the worse since she was a girl about ice forming very hard on the sidewalks, roads, and so on, and actually sticking around for such a long time (UK-wise). Prolly the worst for your own generation. That's living memory. I'd reckon the eldery saw worse many decades ago anyways. Like you just mentioned... May have been just for your own region. We'll see as the worst hasn't truly ended yet. If I'm too badly informed, please do help me to correct my conclusions!

That's nothing. The Upstaters are quite used to the cold and lake-effect snow. And Europe is not suffering from the worst in 100 years, but in 30 years. I'd admit it's colder than seasonal normal, but nothing too new. It happens once or twice per decade as the weather is well known for being extreme at times. If you look at the record lows in Dallas and compare them to current temperatures, you'll see that cold snaps flirting 5 to 10 to 15 degrees over the record lows always happen once or twice every decade (or two depending on some regions). In a 15 years period, it shows that Dallas only experienced two nights at/under 15F, but does fall below 20F once per year. Just enjoy it... You don't get it very often, so you could try making a small ice rink out in the backyard, let it freeze overnight, and have fun ice skating (you can just use your shoes...) in the morning feeling so-so Canadian and Northern. It's nice here so far. It's 20F, so I didn't need my gloves today. It snowed... it was nice. Apparently we'll see a cold front coming this weekend and it is expected that the temperatures will struggle trying get out of the single digits F and out of -10s at nights. The wind chill is going to make it feel like -30/-35F... so I'm SO not looking forward to the wind chill. I hate... hate... hate the wind during winters and Montreal is too known for it. ¬¬

Well said... well said... well said, Mark.

"That's it, go on, piss off back to Narina" -Nan, Catherine Tate.

"J'ai tu

We invented and worship hockey like religion. It's ours. Now f**k off. :D f**kin love roll ups. Saved me over $10 on freebies. And Mark... We make fun of curling. I still don't get what's about.

:D I like.

I'm a (QC) nationalist, not a separatist. I'm not fully decided on the referendum question. See the difference? I am working on becoming a Canadian citizen nevertheless... Now is my position clear? *And* Take a look at my location on my profile. I wrote: "Montr

Equalization system is a way that federal government can distribute the wealth between the richer and poorer provinces. The have provinces are: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland (used to be a longtime have-not). Have-nots: Quebec (always...), Ontario (used to be a longtime have), New Brunswick, PEI, and Nova Scotia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equalization_payments_in_Canada If you want to piss off a province or two, just make an opinion about this system and watch the old shitstorm recreates itself. Trust me... you won't go wrong on this. The provinces and Ottawa always fight about this that it makes us sometimes wonder how this country has held itself together despite the feuding siblings. Of course, I live in Quebec... It's normal for me and you to think like this.

Quebec's share in the equalization is at Canadian average for such payments. Don't let the numbers fool you when you have to consider the $$$ per capita. The Maritimes take in much more... just not too many people there to turn the numbers into billions like Quebec can. ;p And Ontario is now a have-not. The federal government finally is letting it to be one. Amusing.

This only applies to Alberta. Don't bring the eastern provinces into this as it doesn't benefit from this boom. Well... except Newfoundland. I deeply protest the term "stiff english upper lip" being applied all over the country due to the fact that there is a major non-English province in the country. He wants to go to Quebec. That's all. Just to get in touch with his hidden dormant French-Canadian roots. And I totally encourage his sentiment.

People are more likely to find Canada and be more familiar with Canadians than finding Bahrain and knowing its inhabitants. I guess it's the whole Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition attempt disaster made Canadians a bit too mean than usual and that skewed up our reputation this year. I'm sorry, I'd like to accept this finding, but I can't. My deepest apologies if I caused any offence.

It needs pockets. That's where I keep all of my change less than $20. They get a special honour of staying in my right pocket. Other one where lives a lighter for my cigs. Rest go in my bookbag. I hate wallet in pocket. Too thick. It would be difficult to keep it slim enough not to give my butt or leg a large lump. Likewise for my cellphone. It's a bit big as it comes from 2005, not 2009. Besides, I always carry the bookbag no matter what. Mostly to carry my laptop and a metro reading book and during winter, gloves and toque. So I put my wallet and cell in there.

Please do so.

Please... Queen Mother is better... Or King Father... but it's weird...

CJ should get the lifelong title though... CJ, the Queen Mother of Cliffhangers.

Canadian bacon is either back bacon to us. It's purely an American term. Back bacon is from the loin (hence why it's leaner). Bacon is from the belly (hence why it's fattier). I love mushrooms all over my pizza.

Jivvie. Have a great one.