I thought the best way to spend Canada Day was doing things Canadian. Here are the highlights of what I did.
I rented "The Decline of the American Empire," the unofficial prequel to the Oscar-winner "The Barbarian Invasions" from Denys Arcand. I enjoyed seeing these people in an earlier light.
The movie is extremely simple in plot. There really isn't a plot. But the dialogue is wonderful. Men talk about sex. Women talk about sex. And Arcand wrote the script.
This film was actually the second Quebecois movie I had seen in 24 hours. As part of the free foreign film series in Chicago, I viewed "Seducing Dr. Lewis" (2003) about a rural fishing village in northern Quebec that needs a doctor to get a factory for people out of work. They have to lure a doctor up there and convince that doctor to stay.
The second film is charming and good for all audiences. The Arcand film is for adults only.
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I celebrated Canada Day food-wise with a dish of poutine with ex-pat Canadians. I tried a new place known for its poutine.
The Kith & Kin restaurant was very nice, and they treated us well, even if we were probably a little underdressed.
The poutine (pictured above) wasn't too bad, but was dry. The fries were thin, which I like if it wasn't a poutine. The cheese was pretty good, but I've had better. And there aren't usually green things on a dish of poutine. I've even had better poutine in Chicago.
But I had poutine on Canada Day with a bunch of Canadians. We even sang O Canada in the restaurant. That was cool.
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The nightcap was being able to see the CFL opener in high definition on my TV set. The Grey Cup rematch was the featured game on the NFL Network. The NFL Network picked up the TSN feed, except for the halftime and obviously, the Canadian commercials.
The NFL Network did its best to just let the TSN feed go unhindered, something Versus and the NHL Network could learn from in carrying hockey games from the CBC and TSN.
I'm fairly sure most viewers of the NFL Network have never seen a 122-yard TD return off a missed field goal as Tim Maypray of the Alouettes did against Saskatchewan. Or too many 54-51 OT wins as the Roughriders got a little revenge against Montréal.
For the other games, and throughout the month of August, I will have to rely on ESPN3 for my CFL fix. However, it will be nice to not have to work too hard to get an occasional CFL game.
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