#Montreal First Peoples Festival

[rabbitcruiser]

Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day

Learn about the various cultures and traditions of Canada’s Indigenous People, or join an event or ceremony to see how they have been preserved over time.

The culture, language and social systems of the original inhabitants of our world have had a significant impact on how we live our lives today. Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day is all about focusing on the contribution that these groups have made to our societies and helping people to learn about their heritage and culture. By celebrating this day, we can help keep Indigenous languages, traditions and culture alive for future generations.

Learn About Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day

The day officially first began in Canada in 1996, to celebrate the contributions and history of the Métis, Inuit and First Nation peoples. Since then, the day has been observed and celebrated internationally. Originally organized on the Summer Solstice (when the different peoples sometimes celebrate their heritage on the longest day of the year), the day’s events often include traditional feasts from each Indigenous People, festivals, dances, and the opportunity for people of all ages to learn about traditions, spiritual beliefs and culture. You might be lucky enough to see a sacred fire extinguishing ceremony or participate in a feast with a traditionally prepared meal.

It’s all about bringing people together from different walks of life to share in the contributions of Indigenous People to our society. You’ll find an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional music while learning about how Indigenous Peoples helped to develop our agriculture, language and social customs. The day is also about how governments are creating crucial partnerships with Indigenous Peoples to protect their land, heritage and culture in modern times.

You can all get involved as the website has educational material for the whole family. There are also awareness events hosted in schools and local communities. If people want to get more involved they can even submit their ideas to get them registered as part of the event, so there are hundreds of opportunities to get involved. It also forms part of more extensive celebrations over an entire month that includes days like Multiculturalism Day and overall, aims to celebrate people from all walks of life and culture.

History of Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day

The day was officially recognized in Canada by the Governor-General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc in 1996. A year earlier in 1995, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples put forward the idea for the day to be created. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was a Commission put forward to reconcile the relationship between the Métis, Inuits and First Nation peoples and the Canadian Government. In 1996, Aboriginal Day was born, later changed to Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2017.

In 1995, it wasn’t just the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that suggested the day should be celebrated. A team of non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples gathered and named themselves the Sacred Assembly. Chaired by Elijah Harper (Canadian Politician and Chief of the Red Sucker Lake First Nations) they called for a day for Indigenous Peoples to be celebrated and recognized for their contributions to our society. In 1982, what is now known as the Assembly of First Nations, set the path for the creation of this day, which led to Quebec recognizing the day as early as 1990.

However, there has been chatter about creating this day since 1945, when the day was first termed as ‘Indian Day’ by First Nation Chiefs, led by Jules Sioui. Jules Sioui was part of Huron Wendake First Nation and led two conventions during World War II which started to challenge the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The first meeting was chaired in 1943 in Ottawa and was attended by 53 people. The conference grew remarkably, and in 1944 was attended by four times as many people. Since then calls for a day of recognition have gained increasing traction and popularity.

Meanwhile, in late-1970s America, an International Conference began to suggest that America should host a celebration of its Indigenous peoples on Columbus Day. In 1989, it was first celebrated by South Dakota, and by 2019 was observed by multiple towns and states, including Louisiana, Dallas and Vermont. Brazil has also been celebrating since 1943, by decree of the then President, Getúlio Vargas. The UN also launched International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in 1994, celebrating worldwide contributions from global Indigenous populations.

The United Nations had issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, which aimed to create a global framework for the preservation, dignity and well-being of each Indigenous culture. This process started in 1982, when the UN created the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, to discuss the discrimination that Indigenous Peoples had faced worldwide.

How To Celebrate Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day

This is the perfect time to learn about different Indigenous Peoples and their cultures and traditions. For example, in Canada, this day celebrates the First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures. Why not learn about the Michif language of the Métis, or find out more about the storytelling traditions of the Inuits? Learning about the separate cultures will help us to understand how each independent group contributed to many of the things in society we take for granted today.

Why not get involved in a local event and participate in a traditional feast or watch a sacred ceremony? Dive right in and download some of the online material – why have some fun with family and friends and learn about Indigenous Peoples in the process? If you don’t have an event near you, why not host your own and reach out to the local Indigenous community for some assistance.

Learning about the history of Indigenous Peoples is also part of understanding why a day of celebration is so vital for preserving cultures today. From land disputes to reconciling with Governments across the world, the story for all Indigenous People has not been an easy one.

Luckily now we can preserve and enjoy all Indigenous cultures and appreciate the vast contribution that has been and is still being made today. So get stuck in, participate in a traditional event and learn all you can about different cultures. Help us send a big thank you to the original inhabitants of our planet for making it what it is today.

Source

[respectthepetty]

You're American?!

Anon, this is the expression I feel you had while you wrote that sentence.

Yes. Yes, I am American. What gave it away? Me stating all the time I'm American (rural Southwest, Catholic, bisexual, a slut, Hispanic/Black, a Leo, a vegetarian) or was it the way I spell "colors"?

For an aging millennial who knows better, I actually offer up way too much information in the tags. So . . . fuck it, let me offer up more - I was born in Japan due to America's strategic colonization in over 80 countries (aka my father was in the Air Force), so my first passport has a picture of a week-old me! Whenever I renew my license or fill out any type of legal paperwork, I have to present five documents to prove my American citizenship since I was born in a regular Japanese hospital instead of the one on the American base. When I travel, internationally or domestically, it never fails that I get held up because my passport is American, my place of birth is Japan, and my place of residency is . . . just know people don't realize it's an American state. I travel often, but I think about two years ago, I might have fucked an international criminal at a Canadian music festival because I got held up in the Montreal airport for hours trying to leave and since then, I always have to go to the counter to print out my boarding pass and I always get asked additional questions. Odd, but if the criminal was who I think it was, the sex was worth it.

[flanaganfilm]

Hey Mike! Can you talk about your experience going from Absentia to Oculus? That process after Absentia went on its festival run to pitching Oculus? Would love to learn about that time in your life & career!

I moved to Los Angeles in 2003, right after I graduated college. I went to Towson University in Maryland, was an EMF major (Electronic Media & Film) and had wanted nothing more than to make movies my whole life. We were a comfortable middle class military family (my dad was in the Coast Guard) and for most of my life, making movies for a living felt like an impossible dream.

When I moved to LA I took whatever work I could find. I shot and edited those local car commercials you see on TV at 2am, I was a logger and an AE for reality TV shows, and I eventually worked my way to editing.

I said I'd give myself 5 years to make it in Hollwood. By the time we shot Absentia, I'd been here for 7 years, and in that time I hadn't gotten any closer to my dream.

I've already written at length about how Absentia came along and what it was like to make that little movie, and I've recently blogged about how the Oculus premiere changed my life and birthed my career, so I won't rehash those - but I don't often talk about what went on in between.

I finished editing Absentia just before my oldest son was born in 2010, and went back to working full-time as a reality TV editor. In fact, in the months leading up to his birth, I was working double-time - I spent my days at a company called Film Garden working on a series for DIY Network, and my nights editing packages at Nash Entertainment for those true crime clip shows. Whatever it took to keep the lights on and provide as much support as I could for my son.

While this was happening, I'd submitted Absentia to a pile of film festivals. We didn't get into any of the majors - Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto all passed on the film. Our world premiere was at the Fargo Film Festival, where Tom Brandau, one of my former professors from Towson - and one of my mentors - was teaching.

(Our original festival poster, WAY better than the weird clip art that would come later)

The movie got into a fair amount of film festivals, and we traveled with it as much as we could. I have fond memories of the Phoenix Film Festival, San Luis Obispo (where I met Greg Kinnear at a party and very awkwardly asked for a picture - you can see how thrilled he is about it) and my personal favorite: the Fantastia Film Festival in Montreal.

(At one of the screenings, I believe the San Luis Obispo Film Festival)

While this was happening, the film was picked up for a tiny VOD and DVD release through Phase 4 Films.

They were a Canadian distribution company whose claim to fame was putting out Kevin Smith's Red State under a very unusual distribution model. They acquired the movie, which led to a company holiday part in Hollywood.

There, I briefly met Kevin Smith for the first time. We've met again since, and I've now had a chance to thank him for the kindness he showed me back then - I was just some starstruck kid at a party, but he was gracious and available and inspiring. I really admire the way Kevin deals with his fans, and I've tried to emulate it over the years.

So that was kind of it for Absentia. We went to a few festivals, went to a few parties, and posed for a few pictures with some people we admired. Phase 4 designed some truly godawful cover art, dropped the movie into video stores, and that was that.

($2.99 is a pretty good deal)

So Absentia had pretty much run its course. It had a passionate following of fans, but between the crappy art design and glut of low budget horror films on the market, its moment had already come and gone. I was back at work, editing a series for DIY Network called Extra Yardage, and yearning for another chance to make a movie.

Absentia might not have broken open the industry doors like I'd wanted it to, but one thing it did yield was a meeting with an entertainment attorney named Joel VanderKloot.

I had been represented a few times over the years by various managers (to be honest, they were actually Jeff Howard's managers, and they took me on because we had a co-written project together.) But those relationships hadn't gone anywhere, I'd never sold a script or booked a job, and when I suggested making Absentia they were not supportive ("You've already tried the indie thing, haven't you?") so by the time Absentia was made, I was completely unrepped.

Joel was a family friend of Jason Poh, who was one of our Absentia Kickstarter backers. He was a guy who'd just found the project online and donated a thousand bucks. He kept up with us, and loved the final movie. He told me he knew an entertainment lawyer and offered to arrange a lunch.

I left my editing job at Film Garden for a long lunch and met Joel in Santa Monica (this was a day-killing drive for me). Joel had seen the movie and really liked it. We had a good lunch, but wasn't immediately sure about taking me on - it's a lot of work to take on a new client, and there wasn't much heat on my movie. But there was something there that he liked, and he called later that day to say he would take me on as a client.

I was elated. I felt like I'd made my movie to the best of my ability, and that it had flashed in the pan and then died... no one had noticed outside of a few festival audiences and critics. But here was someone who worked in the industry and he saw something in the film that he believed in.

Joel started looking for managers while I clung to my day job. He passed the movie around and we had a few nibbles, which led to the first manager in my career who wanted to simply represent ME: Nicholas Bogner.

Bogner went about setting general meetings at production companies who specialized in horror films. There weren't a lot of takers, and not everyone was willing to watch an entire feature film in consideration of a general meeting. So it was hit or miss - I was a nobody, after all, and they get these kinds of incoming inquiries all the time.

But there were a few takers. And the very first meeting I had was with Anil Kurian at Intrepid Pictures.

Again, I took an extended lunch from my editing job and drove across town to Intrepid's offices in Santa Monica. I was beyond nervous when I sat in the waiting room. The young man working the front desk signed me in and offered me a water. And then, just before the meeting started, he leaned over and he said "I loved Absentia, by the way."

Anil was a really cool executive and we had a good general meeting. At the end of it, he introduced me to the heads of Intrepid: Marc Evans, and Trevor Macy.

We all ended up in the conference room, where posters for Intrepid's other movies - at that time, The Strangers and The Raven - were hanging. I vividly remember staring at them while I pitched all five of the ideas I had for movies.

One of them was a story about a little boy whose dreams manifested in real life, and another was a take on Stephen King's novel Gerald's Game. But at the time, none of these ideas worked. The meeting was over, and everyone was politely going about their day.

I felt a panic in me. It was my first real meeting, the door had been cracked open just an inch by Absentia, and I was about to walk away with nothing. Would my new manager want to keep me? Would my new lawyer think he was wasting his time?

I stopped in the doorway and turned back. "I've got one other thing," I said. "I made a short years ago about a haunted mirror, and I have a take for a feature."

They kind of laughed at the idea of a haunted mirror. "How do you make that scary?" Trevor asked. I said "Think of it like a portable Overlook Hotel," and the room got a little quieter.

"I'd like to see that short," Trevor said. I agreed to send it immediately.

I ran back to work, stayed a few hours late to make up the time I'd burned on my lunch hour, and went home to find a DVD copy of Oculus: The Man with the Plan.

I'd made that short in 2005. It was 20 mins long, and a lot of fun. Over the years whenever I'd get into meetings (all courtesy of Jeff Howard, who had sold scripts long before we started writing together), people would see it and ask about a feature. Every time, though, the conversation stalled because they wanted the film to be a found footage movie, or they'd balk at the idea of me directing a feature.

I sent the DVD to Intrepid and waited. About a week later, they called and asked me to come back in.

I took another long lunch (this would become quite a habit as the project advanced) and drove back down. We met again in the conference room, but this time the mood was a little different.

Trevor said "We're interested in this. How would you expand it? I know there are cameras in the room with the man and the mirror, which begs the question of found footage..."

My heart sank.

"... but we're thinking that's a mistake. It looks like all the fun is in playing with reality, and you can't do that with found footage. So how would you do it?"

And we were off.

I won't rehash the long journey between this meeting and the Oculus premiere at Toronto (scroll down to find another blog about that), but that was really the moment when things changed.

I drove back to work a little giddy. Intrepid optioned the short film, I called Jeff Howard to see if he'd still want to work on a feature with me, and we were commissioned to write the script.

It was my first Hollywood job. I was paid the bare minimum, but I was also able to join the WGA because of the deal. I still didn't quit my day job (and wouldn't for a long time, not until the movie was really shooting in Alabama the following year) but I was off to the races.

Once the script was done, Oculus would lead to my first agents (at APA, and they treated me very well) and my first "real" movie.

What's particularly neat about this time, looking back, is that I owe it all to Absentia. We'd made this tiny little movie to try to kick open the door of Hollywood and start a career. And despite the enormous pride I had in the finished film, it felt for a long time like it hadn't quite succeeded in that.

But quietly, subtly, the movie did exactly what I hoped it would. The festival screenings built up a small but confident word of mouth. The movie led directly to my attorney Joel (who still represents me to this day), which led directly to my first real representation, which led directly to Intrepid Pictures.

Trevor Macy is now my business partner and has produced every single thing I've ever made since. We run Intrepid Pictures together, and I see that same eagerness in the faces of young filmmakers who find their way to us for general meetings. I try to be as supportive and accessible to them as I possibly can, because I remember very well what it feels like to stand in their shoes.

And Trevor even ended up making those other pitches he'd rejected all those years ago - Before I Wake and Gerald's Game followed soon after Oculus was done.

Absentia did everything I could have wanted it to do, and much more. I'll always remember that period of time with great affection... but man, it was stressful. The uncertainty of those years still exists in me, I don't think it'll ever leave.

Someone told me, along the way, that there wouldn't be a moment when I realized I "made it." It would happen while I wasn't looking. That ended up being absolutely true.

[warningsine]

Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels can’t seem to quit each other. For two seasons, the love-hate relationship between Hacks’ imperious, old-school comedian, Deborah (Jean Smart), and the woke, down-on-her-luck, 20-something comedy writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) hired to update her material fueled some of TV’s funniest and most provocative humor about people who tell jokes for a living. Then, for a year or so, it seemed as though the joke was on Hacks. First, Smart needed heart surgery. Just days after she’d recovered and the Emmy-winning series had gone back into production, the WGA and then SAG-AFTRA went on strike.

Hence the two-year wait for Season 3, whose first two episodes debuted May 2 on Max. Such a disjointed production schedule could have been disastrous for a show that relies so heavily on the chemistry of its cast—and especially between its intergenerational leads. Fortunately, the actors seem to have flourished amid adversity, just as Deborah and Ava often do. Creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky have crafted Hacks’ best season yet, one that allows the characters to grow without killing their spiky, push-pull bond. Smart and Einbinder further elevate that story arc with a rapport that feels more natural and intimate than ever.

When we last saw the divine Ms. V, her career was soaring on the strength of a smash-hit, self-released special in which she dropped her dated stand-up schtick and told the funny, sad, real stories she’d amassed as a pioneering woman in a male-dominated entertainment industry. It was Ava who pushed Deborah to push herself, and Deborah thanked her by pushing her out of the nest. In the Season 2 finale, the diva fired a protégée she’d come to respect, in hopes that the younger woman would seize the opportunity to start making her own dreams come true.

But Hacks would not be Hacks if its stars spent all their screen time apart. Season 3 picks up one year after its predecessor left off, as the Vance-aissance continues with Deborah’s appearance on—what else?—the TIME 100. Things are going great for Ava, too. She’s secured a staff job writing for a comedy-news show in the vein of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight and is living with her actress girlfriend, Ruby (Lorenza Izzo). Then she runs into Deborah at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival and they bond over Tom Cruise’s coveted coconut cake.

Ava misses working with a boss who can certainly be a self-absorbed pain but who also really gets her sense of humor. Deborah is surrounded by sycophants, from the two mediocre writers she hired to replace Ava to the stylist who co-signs her bad fashion choices to audiences who laugh appreciatively even when she isn’t cracking a joke, and longs for a collaborator who will tell her the unvarnished truth. So, with Deborah in the running for her dream job as a late-night host, Ava agrees to spend her show’s three-month hiatus helping her prepare.

Deborah’s new place at the center of the comedy universe gives Aniello, Downs, and Statsky an excuse to survey the strange, fragmented and often-contradictory state of that art form in 2024. There’s a roast that brings both hired-gun comics and Deborah’s aggrieved adult daughter, DJ (Kaitlin Olson), together to say the meanest things they can think of about her. Then there’s her G-rated gig cheerily co-hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At one point, Deborah’s history of insensitive humor resurfaces. While she initially vows never to apologize for any joke, Ava urges her to at least hear out a generation that wasn’t even alive when she made many of them, in what is perhaps the least hysterical “cancel culture” plot TV has produced.

For all its timely self-awareness about the industry it represents, Hacks is, in many ways, a traditional sitcom. It’s a professional will-they-or-won’t-they centered on a classic odd-couple duo: two women of vastly divergent ages, politics, and bank balances, one just starting her career and the other a battle-scarred veteran. Season 3 smartly ups the show’s focus on another well-mismatched pair, Deborah and Ava’s dangerously decent agent, Jimmy (Downs), and his flighty assistant, Kayla (the wonderful Megan Stalter, now more than just wacky comic relief), who have left the agency her dad runs and struck out on their own. (The season’s one notable flaw is the dearth of substantive storylines for two chronically under-developed characters, DJ and Deborah’s repressed deputy Marcus, played by Carl Clemons-Hopkins.)

The writers make inspired use of sitcom standbys, from the character who absolutely needs to be in two places at once to the bottle episode; Deborah and Ava are forced to spend hours alone together, as Deborah finally confesses her mixed emotions about getting everything she’s always wanted so late in life. “You know,” she tells Ava, “your whole life you say, ‘One day I’ll do this, one day I’ll accomplish that.’ And the magic of ‘one day’ is that it’s all ahead of you. But for me, ‘one day’ is now. Anything I want to do, I have to do now, or else I’ll never do it. That’s the worst part of being old.” The speech resonates whether you’re Deborah’s age or Ava’s, made all the more poignant by Smart’s gradual shift in mood, from tough to vulnerable. In this scene and others, the tumultuous love between her character and Einbinder’s has a familial authenticity. 

Like its best forerunners, from Seinfeld to 30 Rock, Hacks is hitting its stride a few seasons into its run because it takes that long for a cast and a writing staff to learn how to make each other as brilliant as they can possibly all be. Early on in the series, there was a bit of a disconnect between Einbinder’s affable performance and some of Ava’s nastier moments. Now, the character seamlessly coheres. Deborah has always been the role of a lifetime for Smart, and in the new episodes, the creators reward her virtuosity by giving her more fodder for introspection and growth than ever before. In the heyday of broadcast comedy, a sitcom that had achieved such ideal synergy could retain its audience—and the support of its network—for upwards of a decade. It’s fitting, when you consider that one of its heroines is the ultimate Hollywood survivor, that Hacks has become the rare streaming show with the potential to have the same longevity. 

[sippinggossip]

"Regardless if they are a PR couple they are cute"

Sorry but what does that mean? They are together for almost a year already at more than official events.

Here's a timeline of their relationship (Damiano and Dove) the not aware people:

First they started dating in New York when the band was there to start their tour and for the VMA thing. Then continued in LA where a video of them kissing got out, also they left together that party, Dove was wearing his Daddy hat and she did hang out with his friends. The Thomas guy (not the Thomas from the band, their LA friend) posted a pic of them, also there's a pic on Dove's instagram from that night.

Next. Dove went to Brazil and first they were seen at Anitta's party together. Then they were seen at the hotel lobby in Rio. Then Dove was at the concerts and lastly they were seen leaving in a car, also joined by Ethan.

Next: Australia: She joined for the concerts there. Fans saw them holding hands in Adelaide. Later the beach pics from Melbourne got out too.

Next: She joined him in Dublin, Ireland where they stayed a few days and were seen in a bar with his brother and friend by a fan girl who later posted the pics and said she talked to both of them, more to Dove who was very nice.

Next: Damiano took her to Rome after Dublin where they were seen having a dinner being very in love. Also seen with his friends again.

Next: Then went to Manchester together. Last concert of the tour at the time. After that he took Dove to Rome again. His tattoo artist posted a pic and said she was the photographer.

Now on to 2024: I will mention only the times fans saw them because probably everyone knows about the official pics.

In January, Damiano went to LA and they were seen multiple times there. At the flea market by a few guys. One guy took a pic with Damiano and a girl with Dove.

They were seen by fans holding hands, walking around Krustyland with Damiano's brother and a friend who were visiting.

Next seen at Disneyland with Damiano's brother and his girlfriend.

Next they went to Las Vegas with his brother and girlfriend. Tea Hacic, a long time friend of Damiano and Vic posted a video of her and Dove. They did hang out together. Later they followed each other.

Next: They went to Rome for a few days. They were seen before the Roma game, holding hands, looking happy. Then the pics from the match itself are probably known.

After that they went to Milan to work on their Met gala costumes. Also in Paris for a few days. Damiano posted about Paris himself.

Then they returned to LA where they were seen shopping and looking in love, kissing. Some girl even saw them at a sex shop other day.

Latest: Girl sees them possibly getting food at 2 am. She wasn't sure what they were doing but she saw them pass by and shared the video.

After that Damiano leaves LA after Met gala to do festivals. Dove couldn't go because she films new series in Montreal.

Damiano goes to Canada to see her in his free days from festivals. He was seen on the plane. Dove's latest post is assumed to be from them going out in Canada.

If you still wanna believe it's PR and they pretend all the time , go ahead.

I didn’t say that I believe they’re a PR couple. I personally don’t think they are. I also meant to say “regardless or not”, but I forgot.

I honestly don’t know why I said all of that, lol. Oops.

[crossbackpoke-check]

56 and any Yamo pairing! 🫶

i just wheezed so hard when i saw what the song was i almost snorted coffee out of my nose i am so sorry for this one

#56 - kyoto phoebe bridgers + yamo

the story of how this song ended up on my wrapped is too long so it’s going in the tags but. let me set the scene for you.

2026 NHL GLOBAL SERIES™️ JAPAN - Presented by YPPI

November 13 & 14, 2026: Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan

It’s a pitiful excuse of a consolation prize for not being able to go to the Olympics, but Kailer’s not going to look a vacation horse in the mouth. The arena’s cool. It’s huge. The people are cool. There’s so many more of them than he thought there’d be with jerseys that have his name on the back, and a lot more that have the familiar orange and blue. He takes a picture of the fifth Oilers Yamamoto jersey he signs—this one’s the good Reverse Retro—and texts it to Connor, says,

no one here has even heard of mcjesus

and gets a moon face emoji in response. Leon’s influence. Kailer’s still never really deciphered what that one means, and he doesn’t think Connor knows either.

They don’t have a lot of time off between games, but Kailer’s trying to be a good tourist. His dad had been so happy when Kailer had told him about the series that Kailer’d had to stop him from trying to book a flight a year in advance, and his mom’s been just as bad, sending him every article she sees about Best New Spot in Tokyo! Cool Restaurant! Have You Seen This Japanese Cat Café? that she scrolls across on Facebook since June. Suzy’s in the same boat, so they’ve been crossing off their compiled travel-guide list together, looping in as many guys as they can. Everyone’s been pretty game. All the teams are crammed into close quarters at the same hotel, which means everyone wants to spend as much time as possible outside of it, and it helps that Kailer’s gotten pretty close with all the other guys that the NHL picked up as Global Series figureheads. Robo’s memes? Absolutely fire. The groupchat loves them.

For every item he crosses off the list, Kailer takes a picture and keeps it tucked in his phone notes. It’s like speed-running a scavenger hunt—they’re only here for four days—but he’s doing a pretty good job. His favorite so far has been all the gardens. They’re stunning, trees shining bright red and yellow, and every vendor has been selling maple candies, maple cakes, and even fried maple, though the official maple festival doesn’t start until next week. The second garden he visits, he does it on his own after practice, buying two cakes from a cart near the gate and walking until he loses the bustle outside. It’s easy to get lost in the winding pathways, heading deeper into the quiet, and there’s dozens of benches underneath the burnished leaves where young couples are tucked away on dates, or old friends are laughing and catching up. In some of the little clearings, there’s small shrines where people leave offerings, a prayer for good luck or good fortune.

Kailer stops at one without any people and sets the second maple cake on top of it, then sits and scrolls through all the texts that he’s missed. His mom gets replied to with a picture of him outside the garden gate, grinning and surrounded by other travelers. He sends his brother a picture of a trashy graphic I Love Japan t-shirt with the threat that he’ll buy one for him, and Kailer’s dad gets a picture of the meticulously arranged and cut bonsai that are across from the bench where he’s sitting. The Seattle groupchat gets a recycled meme from Robo, and he gets two thumbs up and an “LMAO” before he can even exit the thread. Finally, Kailer takes a picture of the half-eaten maple cake in his hand, holding it next to a fallen maple leaf on the bench, and gets halfway through typing another message before he thinks better of it.

(On the plane over, Drieds was reading them a story about how when they first introduced the high-speed railway, people were afraid to use it because they thought it would be too fast for their souls to keep up.

“Bro, if that were true, you just left your soul in the middle of the Pacific,” Ebs had laughed. “Planes are faster than trains.”

“Are they?” Matty asked. “Isn’t the train in Japan the fastest in the world?”

Drieds couldn’t make it through the rest of the story over the sound of everyone ripping Matty to shreds, so Kailer didn’t get to ask whether or not they found out anything about planes. Kailer’s not worried about his soul, but the logic makes a strange kind of sense; after all, he traveled 429 miles in five and a half hours once, and that was a little too fast for his heart to keep up.)

Fuck it. Kailer’s been trying to write a response for the past ten days, and he’s sick of swiping in and out of the message, staring at the keyboard so long he starts to see swirls in his vision.

Kailer drafts the text again and sends it, no context, no caption. A text travels faster than a high-speed train or a jet. Maybe it’ll pick his heart back up on the way.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

It’s been a very busy couple of days but I finally have time to sit down and write about this. Went to Montreal a couple of nights ago for the Just For Laughs Festival. Absolutely amazing night, from start to finish. Well, maybe not from the very start. I really like the Old Montreal neighbourhood so I went there beforehand, and found that I like it a lot less when it’s full of JFL-related crowds.

So I gave up on that, went to the festival. Walked around the festival itself for a bit. The outdoor festival area is full of big screens and big crowds and loud music and had several outdoor stages where I heard bits and pieces of various people making various bad jokes. Maybe a little big cool, I guess, in a very small dose, if you like that sort of thing.

Luckily, the venue where I was seeing comedy was inside, and much smaller. Well, it was a very large arts complex with a lot going on it, multiple theatre rooms as well as a bunch of other stuff, but the room where I was was the smallest one. Capacity 128, but for both shows, all the seats in a whole third of the room didn’t get used. I’d estimate there were about 60 people in each show, maybe a few more in the first one than in the second one. I saw Nish Kumar last year in that same room, small room but I’m pretty sure it sold out (I didn’t notice any empty seats, anyway, there could have been one or two), and the felt like a very small and intimate performance. So this was even more so, same room but a crowd about two thirds of the size.

When I first walked in and saw the crowd size, half of me was thinking, “What the hell? Tom Ballard is a very successful Australian comedian, he has two officially released stand-up specials and a book and he hosted a topical comedy TV show for a couple of years. He’s an internationally touring comedian. How the hell has he traveled all this way to be here, and only about 60 people (plus whoever came to his show the previous night, he did two in total) have turned up to see him? What is everyone doing, missing out on this?” The other half of me was thinking, “He’s well known in Australia. He hosted a TV show in Australia. Who are all these people who live near Montreal yet know enough about Tom Ballard to have paid a bunch of money and come out to see him? Why are there so many of them?”

Then Tom Ballard came out, and… well, they don’t call him the white gay Australian Nish Kumar for nothing. I mean, they don’t call him that, I do, but I don’t do it for nothing. The two times I’ve seen Nish Kumar live, he started shouting at the audience from the moment he came out and did not calm down until it was over (oh yeah, Nish Kumar’s special gets released tomorrow, it’s his 2022 show, the one I saw twice last year, it’s fucking incredible, I’m going to make everyone watch it). Tom Ballard did something similar. Maybe there was slightly more variation in the intensity levels. At one point he took a bit of a break from shouting about the world ending to talk about his sex life, and I’ve never seen Nish Kumar do that, not even in his early stuff from before he went so political.

It was pretty much what I expected, based on the reviews and on who Tom Ballard is, but what I expected it to be based on that was very good. Got the personal stuff out of the way early – he gained weight during lockdown, he’s got a boyfriend now, he used to hook up with weird people. Then got back to what we came for, which was shouting about the end of the world and talking shit about the monarchy. I realize neither of those things are new in comedy, and he realizes it too, at one point comments that he knows it isn’t particularly edgy to say “Fuck the queen” in a world where all reasonable people think the royal family can go fuck themselves, but on the other hand, if this opinion is so commonplace and repetitive, why are they still there? And he’s got a point. It’s hard to call anti-monarchy material tired and overdone when you look at scale of the pro-royalist queen death coverage and the coronation coverage that have happened in the last year.

And it’s not even that overdone among comedians. Every once in a while during the Tom Ballard show, I was struck by how much his voice sometimes sounds like Adam Hills’, because they both have the Australian accent, but they also both do the Australian vocal fry thing where the pitch goes up at the end of sentences. So it felt a little bit like being shouted at by Adam Hills, except that you won’t hear “fuck the dead queen” from Adam Hills.

This show does make me want to formally apologize to Tom Ballard for that post I wrote before I listened to the post-coronation Bugle episode, when Tom Ballard and Mark Steel were the guests, and I said Mark Steel is going to be the star of this show, he’s been waiting his whole career for this much royalist bullshit to get righteously furious about. Listening to the actual episode reminded me that Tom Ballard should never be counted out in a competition of “Who can talk the most shit about the British monarchy”, and this stand-up show makes me realize I definitely should have known that all along.

This show did do the sort of thing that I thought made Nish Kumar’s 2022 show (Your Power Your Control, released on August 1, 2023, everyone in the world needs to watch it) work so well, which is to tie his larger political points around something personal. In this case, Tom Ballard got the main political themes around the story of his grandmother who lived in a care home. I had just visited my grandparents’ in their care home the other day, and might have laughed too hard at some of his impressions of what it’s like in those places.

I really, really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it’s for everyone – I mean, obviously it’s not for royalists or climate deniers or those who hate the elderly, I guess – but it may even be not for people who agree with him but just aren’t into shouty comedy. If you like that sort of thing, though, this is a very, very good example of it. And I really like this sort of thing. I’ve seen his two previous specials, and I enjoyed them, but this is by far the best Tom Ballard stand-up show I’ve seen.

Actually, that came up during the show. At one point he mentioned that he’d released a stand-up special on Paramount Plus in 2022 (it’s called Enough, it’s not as good as this one but it’s still really enjoyable and I recommend it), but no one watched it because no one in the world subscribes to Paramount Plus. To prove this, he asked the audience who in there has seen that special. I said that I did, assuming my voice would be drowned out among the other people speaking up. But it turned out my voice carried through the room, because I was the only person who answered. He made some jokes about how it’s proof that Paramount Plus is obscure because of a whole crowd of people who’ve paid to see him, only one person has seen the special (to be honest, I don't have Paramount Plus either, there are ways to find comedy specials that don't involve subscribing to steaming platforms, that's a good thing for everyone who doesn't have Sky TV to remember when Nish Kumar's special is released on there tomorrow). The he looked at me, said thank you for watching it, and asked me what I’d thought of it. I said I thought it was very good, and he said that’s the kind of crowd interaction he wants, and then the whole room applauded.

Oh yeah, it’s relevant to know that right before that, a guy had been heckling annoyingly. Tom Ballard had humoured him at first but was becoming less forgiving of him by this point, the audience was getting really annoyed with him too. So Tom Ballard’s point was that I’d shown a good example of how an audience member should behave, by giving him a quick two-word answer when I was addressed and then shutting up, in contrast to the guy who kept talking for too long. And then the whole audience applauded me for not being an obnoxious heckler (later in the show, the guy who’d been heckling got kicked out of the room). So that was fun. This is the same room where Nish Kumar briefly addressed me at this same festival last year, when my reaction to one of his jokes made him laugh (have you ever made Nish Kumar laugh? Nish Kumar? The guy who has that fucking laugh? Like making an angel fly), and he asked me a question about it. So the smallest theatre in Montreal’s Place Des Arts is now where I’ve been personally addressed by both Nish Kumar and by White Gay Australian Nish Kumar.

The show ended, and they cleared the room. Tom Ballard went from 7:30 to about 8:40, so at 8:40 I walked out of the room and straight into the back of the line that had already formed for the next show. When they let us back into the same room, I got almost the same seat (front row, but there are only four rows in total, this is not a large room). Josie Long’s show started at 9 PM.

God, it was good. Really fucking good. I came out of that night thinking both shows were incredible (I definitely made the right choice with where to spend my limited funds on JFL tickets, I can’t imagine there being any shows at the whole festival that I’d have enjoyed more than these two), but Tom Ballard’s might be an acquired taste, and Josie Long’s is just perfect no matter who you are, unless you’re a fucking Tory, I guess. But God, I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it. I think if you’re a Tory and you see this show, you might just come out a socialist. Just because your options are “turn into a socialist” or “hate this show”, and you can’t hate that show. It’s too perfect.

I’ve heard almost all Josie Long’s old shows in one form or another, multiple versions of a few of them. Starting back at 2006: Kindness and Exuberance, Trying Is Good, All of the Planet’s Wonders, Be Honourable!, The Future Is Another Place, Romance and Adventure, Cara Josephine, Something Better, Tender, Re-Enchantment. The only one I’ve not heard in any form is Something Better. Of the ones before this year, I think my favourite was Cara Josephine, possibly Romance and Adventure. But they were all good. They were different from each other in many ways – from the excitable whimsey of Trying Is Good to the darker stuff in the next few years to the angry political stuff to the optimistic political stuff to the more personal love life and family stuff and back around to the really intense political stuff. All there, in different variations at different times. There’s something to love in all of it.

It felt like all that stuff was packed into Re-Enchantment. The best of everything she can do, all packed into an hour, and all tied to each other, it doesn’t feel like she separated any of it out. The personal and political so deeply intertwined that I can’t tell which bits are meant to be which (well, with some exceptions). And, not to be incredibly cheesy or anything, you can feel how much of this one comes from the heart. Like she was really, really passionate about everything she talked about, like this show didn’t just get written because it was a new year and she needed a new show, like she had all kinds of stuff she couldn’t wait to say to people. Re-Enchantment is my favourite Josie Long show, and there is a lot of competition in that area.

She also did the thing I like in Tom Ballard, talking about larger issues and tying them to something personal. And she did it so well. It helps that the personal things she has to tie it to at the moment are beautiful. Living in Glasgow, which she loves, and raising two small children, which she loves. And finding ways to tie those things to all the political issues that she hates. I think that’s what makes it work so well. That she can hit the worst things in the world, the things that make her (and us) angry and terrified and feel hopeless, but she keeps bringing them back to these things she loves so much, so the show doesn’t feel bleak. It’s dark at times, but she gets on stage, walks through all these dark topics, manages to dig into them and excavate these tiny gleams of light, and then puts her hands out to show us whatever glittering morsels she’s found, and I apologize for drifting into sappy prose but that’s what it feels like to watch a Josie Long show live.

There were no obnoxious hecklers at Josie Long’s show. The crowd was good, and I think knew what they were getting into better than the Tom Ballard crowd had. A couple of times Josie Long translated things for the Canadian audience (year 11/grade ten, explaining who Nicola Sturgeon is), but I’m not sure she needed to, the audience was on board with everything she was doing. At one point she needed to reference a company that does windows, and said she usually used a British company but had been trying to find a company that’s well known in Canada to use instead while over here, but she didn’t know any, and that’s when I realized I don’t think we’ve got any famous window companies. She asked if we knew of any, and the audience seemed like they were genuinely trying to help her out, I think if anyone had thought of one they’d have said so. I guess Canada just isn’t that big on windows.

I’d heard a couple of versions of this show before – she livestreamed a version of it last month from the Glasgow Library, so of course I got in on that. So I did already know it was a good one. But God, it’s different seeing it live. Seeing how good she is at just being on the stage, throwing her voice and her face and her mannerisms and her whole body into everything she’s saying, using all of that to convey everything. Running around the stage at times, engaging with everyone. I can’t imagine anyone’s attention drifting even for a moment.

It’s structured really well, too. Done relatively subtly, I think, some of the callbacks were obvious but some not as much. She put stuff in at the beginning that seemed small and came back, sometimes in little ways and sometimes tied into the whole theme of the show. You get to the end and realize everything was building toward a couple of messages, but it was all so funny along the way that you barely notice while she goes from routine to routine. And by “you” I mean “me”, I guess. That was my experience of the show. It was a very good experience.

The show ended, and I was so full of adrenaline from watching bot of these shows in a row, that I could barely remember to stick to the plan I’d made beforehand, which was to see if I could find Josie Long after the show. I’ve never tried to meet a famous comedian before – or any famous person, for that matter – but I’d decided I wanted to meet Josie Long enough to give it a try. I’d followed some advice and scoped the place out beforehand, to try to work out where the comedians would exit. So after the show, I went outside the building and tried to run around it to see the door where I thought they might be.

While I was looking for that door, I nearly walked into Josie Long on the sidewalk. She was walking with someone and talking to him, and I didn’t want to interrupt her conversation, but also I have one of her old posters on my wall and I’d brought it in a bag with a pen to see if she’d sign it, and I really wanted to meet her. So I hesitantly said “Um… sorry… excuse me?”, and she looked at me, and then said, “You were in my show.” She hadn’t addressed me during her show, the way Nish Kumar and white gay Australian Nish Kumar had. But apparently, she had remembered my face.

I said yes, I was, and sorry to bother her and I won’t take up much time, but I’m a huge fan, and I have something with me, and could she possibly sign it? Then I reached into my bag, and I don’t know what she was expecting me to have in that bag, but from her reaction, as she stood on a sidewalk in Montreal, Canada at 10:20 PM talking to an incoherently excited Canadian she’d never met before, she was not expecting this person to pull out a cardstock printout of a poster for her 2010 and 2011 shows. She definitely sounded surprised to see that.

But she was very, very nice. She signed the poster, asked me my name, wrote a bit on it about how she appreciated me seeing her in Montreal. Honestly, I really was barely coherent. I can hardly remember what I said now. I was stammering as I tried to think of something reasonable to say. I definitely managed to say I love all her old shows but this latest one is one of the best comedy shows I’ve ever seen in my life, which is true. I think I mentioned several times that I love her book. The whole interaction was maybe a minute long. Maybe two minutes? I don’t know, time had stopped.

Then I walked away, and about twenty seconds later, realized I’d forgotten something. So I turned around, saw that she was still there and still talking to that same guy (this was clearly a guy she actually knew, not a random fan who’d accosted her on the street), and when she saw me coming back, she didn’t look surprised. I said “Sorry… I should have asked for this before… could I get a picture…?”

Basically, I was so fucking excited to meet Josie Long that during that first interaction I completely forgot to ask for a picture with her. She looked liked she’d expected me to ask and was surprised when I didn’t, and she was unsurprised when I came back for it. I took out my phone and her friend took it from me, so he could take a picture for us. Josie Long asked me if I minded if she put her arm around me (very cool of her, getting consent before touching a stranger, even a stranger who has made it quite clear she is not averse to contact with Josie Long), and I managed to say “No I don’t mind” rather than “You putting your arm around me would be the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me, actually.”

I look normal, right? I looked like a normal person who's a normal amount of excited be meeting Josie Long and she should definitely not feel creeped out by the intensity of that? Does it make me look even more normal that you can see a bag in my hand, which I held onto through two comedy shows just in the hopes that I might see Josie Long after the show and get her to sign a poster she made ten years ago?

After that, I stopped at Bounstan Shawarma, a place that was recommended by Nish Kumar, actually. During an episode of The Bugle that he did before he came to Just For Laughs last summer, he plugged his shows there, and then said that while he's there, he'll be eating at Bounstan, which is a great shawarma place in Montreal. My own city (two hours from Montreal, I travelled for this) happens to be known for its shawarmas (we have a large Arab population here, there are a lot of shawarma places), I have a few favourites and think of myself as knowing the local shawarma places fairly well. But there's a Bounstan in my city too, and I'd never been there before Nish recommended it. On his recommendation, I ordered some from my local one, while thinking I bet this won't be as good as he says, they probably just don't have as much shawarma in England as we do in my city (honestly, I have a several friends who grew up in Lebanon, where that dish is actually from, who've told me that shawarma from my city is the best in the world, including in the Middle East), so he's not going to be familiar enough with it to know what's good or bad. God, was I ever wrong. He was right, Bounstan is some of the best shawarma I've ever had. Doesn't quite beat my favourite place, but it's become something I order somewhat regularly. After the shows the other night, still buzzing from the excitement of both shows and meeting Josie Long, I stopped at Bounstan (which is right next to the festival, that would be how Nish Kumar knows about it) and got a shawarma. Then I ate it in my parents' car before driving that car two hours home, because I honestly needed to calm down a bit before I could drive. I'm pleased to say I made it home safetly, returned the car I'd borrowed to my parents' place, fell asleep.

The next morning I got up and flew halfway across the country to my grandparents' house, which is why it's taken me two days before I had time to sit down and write this post.

It was one of the best nights of my entire God damn life. Genuinely, if I think about my entire life and what are my favourite days of it, July 29, 2023 is on the list. I don't know exactly where it ranks on the list. Somewhere below the day I won the regional championships in the sport that I'd then been competing in for four years. Below the first time I coached an athlete to a national medal in that same sport. But above quite a few of my favourite live music memories. Above the day I climbed Signal Hill in Newfoundland and spent three hours at the top of it staring at the ocean and then went down the hill and took a road trip through the outport villages and had cod that had been caught two hours before for dinner. It's definitely on the list.

[burlveneer-music]

Hailu Mergia — Belew Beduby (Live) - teaser for forthcoming live album Pioneer Works Swing (Nov. 3)

Hailu Mergia — Keyboards, Accordion, Melodica, Vocals Alemseged Kebede — Bass Guitar Kenneth Joseph — Drums It’s been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia re-emerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival. Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities.

[exsqueezememacaroni]

I’m so jealous, the band didn’t stick around to meet fans on the first date in Baltimore but it seems like they’ve gone out at every single other show 😭 I’m so sad I didn’t get to meet him, there was only a couple of us waiting there but they went right to their hotel apparently!

omg, don't feel too bad - i'll give you the quick (edit: lol) rundown of my experience: NYC: I didn't know where the backstage entrance/exit was until after the show, and I was too anxious about it all/too excited to talk to some folks I met at Zorn@70 to scope out trying to meet them coming in...after the concert, Scott and Trey came over to say hi, Dave, Mike and Trevor went straight to the car.

Montclair: it fuckn rained most of the afternoon...I get the feeling they went in for soundcheck early and then never went out again before the show. I had a long, chill, lunch/dinner. I think bc the venue was smallish, and maybe security wasn't like....super serious with their briefing, AND the boys had the day off the next day, AND there was a jazz festival the same day so they had to like, walk of shame/fame over to the parking lot where the vehicles were...Mike felt comfortable enough to say hi to folks on the walk...at the place I was waiting there was literally just me and one other guy (the obvious fan) with his gf. There were also maybe a couple of people waiting on the parking lot end? But I bet not a crowd at all. (That night I was just like....laser focused on getting the belt to Mike....I think everybody in the band did some fan-greets)

Boston: I kid you not, it was just pure dumb-fuck luck that we ran into them coming into soundcheck. All I was actually doing was showing off where the tour bus was parked (that I saw on the way to the venue) and taking a walk around the block....and there they were! Security stopped us, but again, I dunno, maybe because they had the day off before, maybe because Mike was loopy as apparently he hadn't eaten all day, maybe he knew he was getting his Pig and Hip friends in a sec so he was in a good mood, but he said yes when I asked if we could come say 'hi', and security let us through. After the show, I definitely did not want to bother them again, but I was super curious what the band would do, so I hung out after the show, but back a ways - everybody except Trevor got into the car and booked it pretty soon after the show (they had to drive to Montreal). Trevor for some reason came out much later and straight up chatted with whoever was left, and no one seemed to take any selfies, so I kind of wonder if they knew him or were connected to him in some way??

So like, out of three shows, only at one of them did the band as a whole (and mike at all) come out and say hi to fans. And to be honest, if circumstances had been slightly different, it could have been 0/3. It feels a little shitty of me to have this perspective, since I did get to talk to him twice (also to be super honest, he definitely did not recognize me the second time, why would he?), but I dunno...if things were different, and I didn't get to meet him at all, I would like to think that would be ok...these old fucks have to live that tour life (asshole-tight schedules, sleeping on coffin-sized bunk beds on the bus), they really don't have to come over after the show. I will say, I was NOT lucky enough to get a whiff of that bastard, so like, can't have everything!!!

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

MEGADETH Joined By CRISTINA SCABBIA For 'À Tout Le Monde' Performance At Italy's AMA MUSIC FESTIVAL

LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia joined MEGADETH on stage on August 27 at the AMA Music Festival in in Vicenza, Italy to perform the MEGADETH song "À Tout Le Monde". Fan-filmed video footage of her appearance can be seen below.

"À Tout Le Monde", which originally appeared on MEGADETH's 1994 CD "Youthanasia", created controversy in September 2006 because the song was cited in an online post by Dawson College killer Kimveer Gill as one of his favorites before his Montreal shooting spree. MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine contended that he wanted to give the song a second shot at success, as the original video for it had been banned by MTV, and most radio stations followed suit. The track ended up featuring Scabbia after "the first singer didn't work out," Mustaine told Straight.com. "The second one didn't work, and the third one was Lisa Marie Presley. She was on the way to the airport, and we had to call and say, 'Sorry, we changed our minds.' I would have loved to have heard what Lisa Marie Presley would have done, but because of the demographics of the LACUNA COIL fan base, and Cristina's reign in the heavy-metal business, it was the right thing to do."

In a 2008 interview Cristina stated about her collaboration with MEGADETH, "[Dave Mustaine] actually asked me to be part of this duet, and I was really surprised about it because 'À Tout Le Monde' is a song that I've always loved, even if it's not like the new [version] because [the original song] [was released on] the album 'Youthanasia'. It was a big surprise for me to get this invitation — I was really honored to be part of it. And seriously, when I heard the final result, I was awesomely surprised 'cause I think that the two voices are fitting incredibly [well together]. I think that the version of 'À Tout Le Monde' 2007 has a stronger attitude. If the original version was for the mellow mood, this one is way more rock, way more powerful. I totally love it. I was surprised myself, and I think that a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised. It was recorded, like an hour from Birgmingham [England]. So I flew in and recorded my parts with Andy Sneap [producer]. He's [Andy] an amazing guy — super professional — and the atmosphere in the studio was so relaxed. It was like a family vibe, and I think that's the most amazing thing when you have to work. You can work and still smile, you know, and be relaxed. I tracked the entire song because we weren't really sure what we had to do, so we just wanted to be totally sure, so we recorded all the parts that Dave sung with some improvisation with it, double vocals. We basically made anything possible, so they could pick up whatever they wanted to."

"À Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)" appeared on MEGADETH's 2007 album "United Abominations", which was released via Roadrunner Records.

[rabbitcruiser]

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

A national holiday in the Canadian province of Quebec and celebrated by French Canadians worldwide, especially in Canada and the United States, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, June 24,  honors the traditional feast day of the Nativity — or birth — of St. John the Baptist. The religious nature of the holiday has been de-emphasized for civic events, and “la St-Jean” is now mainly a celebration of francophone culture and history filled with public events, parades, barbecues, picnics and fireworks. Bonne Saint-Jean-Baptiste!

When is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day 2022?

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, or St John the Baptist Day, is celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec and by French Canadians across Canada and the United States.

History of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is a national holiday celebrated on June 24 in Quebec, where it’s also known as ‘Fête nationale du Québec’ (‘national holiday of Quebec’ in English). Many Canadian Francophone communities outside of Quebec also celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.

The holiday festivities start on June 23 and people gather to celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and Francophone culture with outdoor activities, parades, concerts, and fireworks. Smaller celebrations are also held in neighborhoods, like bonfires, barbecues, and picnics. The white fleur-de-lis on the flag of Quebec is the symbol of this holiday. Blue and white are the colors of the day, and the flag is waved and hoisted at Fête nationale du Québec events.

The history of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is more than 100 years old. The day originally marked the honorary remembrance of the Christian saint, John the Baptist, but all this changed in 1834 when Canadian-French journalist Ludger Duvernay witnessed a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Montreal. Seeing the grand celebration for an honorary figure inspired him to form a similar holiday for French Canadians to honor their heritage. Duvernay established the charitable association, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, in the same year, and the holiday was observed for the first time on June 24. The association was chartered in 1849 with the aim of promoting moral and social progress.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day was celebrated on and off for years until it finally became an official holiday in Quebec in 1925. The day has been observed every year since and has become a mark of Francophone culture.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day timeline

1646 Shots fired

One of the first recognized celebrations of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day took place on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River with bonfires and shots from a cannon.

1694 Holiday declared

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is declared a public holiday by the second bishop of Quebec, Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier.

1744 The bishop of Quebec ruins the party

According to some sources, Henri-Marie Dubreil de Pontbriand, the sixth bishop of Quebec, tries to abolish Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations because he felt they had strayed too far from their religious origins.

1834 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Promoted

Journalist Ludger Duvernay, inspired by Montreal’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, establishes the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society to promote Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.

1977 Fete Nationale du Quebec

Lieutenant Governor Hugues Lapointe declares June 24, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a national holiday in Quebec.

Traditions

Many celebratory events are organized around Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. From small family gatherings like picnics, bonfires, parties, and yard sales, to large organized events such as concerts, parades, sports tournaments, and firework displays, there is something for everyone. Church bells also ring in celebration, and local funfairs and dances are hosted. These events are also sometimes broadcast live on TV or live-streamed on social media. The celebrations are coordinated by the Mouvement national des Québécoises et des Québécois.

The colors for the day are blue and white, with many people wearing these to attend events. The public holiday is a day off from school and most businesses are also closed.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day FAQs

Why do we celebrate St-Jean-Baptiste Day?

St-Jean-Baptiste Day is a public holiday in Quebec, on which John the Baptist is remembered.

What is Québec's national holiday called?

The official holiday of Quebec, Canada is called Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day or ‘Fête nationale du Québec’ in French.

What is Saint Jean the patron saint of?

Saint Jean is the patron saint of Canada.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Activities

Have a neighborhood picnic

Grab a seat near the water for fireworks

Learn French

One of the great things about la St-Jean is that the party spreads outward from the main city events into all the neighborhoods and communities. Organize a potluck picnic with your friends from the block.

There's no better way to watch fireworks than right next to the water, where you'll get a front-row seat for the spectacular, booming, sparkling displays — both in the air and in the magical reflection on the waves.

French is one of the world's most beautiful languages. And it's the official tongue in a multitude of countries — not just France and Canada. Learn the language so you'll be prepared when you run into a fellow francophone.

5 Facts About Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

The holiday has many names

Symbols for the day

He baptized Jesus

John the Baptist saved

John the Baptist is also mentioned in Islam

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is also known as St John the Baptist Day, ‘la Saint-Jean,’ ‘Fête nationale du Québec,’ and Quebec's National Holiday.

The flag of Quebec and the fleurs-de-lis represent Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day.

Jean Baptiste is French for John the Baptist, a Jewish preacher who baptized Jesus Christ.

John baptized Jewish people in the river Jordan on their confession of their sins.

St. John the Baptist is perceived as a prophet in the Islamic religion.

Source

[respectthepetty]

15 Questions

Tagged by @italianpersonwithashippersheart and @pandasmagorica

1. are you named after anyone?

Yes. First name is after my cousin's imaginary friend because my parents were wild. Middle name is after the song I was conceived to because my parents were really wild.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Externally? I joke that I haven't cried since 2009, but I really think that is the last time I cried. Internally? Every single fucking day.

3. do you have kids?

Oh, Lord, no.

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

Basketball, volleyball (horrible at it), fast-pitch softball, but I love watching all live sports.

5. do you use sarcasm?

Strange story, but many educators have to get "empathy training" because we do not understand declarations of self-harm to be serious. We think they are sarcastic comments. I think as an aging millennial, sarcasm is all we have, so we do not recognize when someone else is being serious. So . . . yes, I use sarcasm.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

Vibes. I travel alone, so if the vibe ain't right, I'm out.

7. what’s your eye color?

Very dark brown

8. scary movies or happy endings?

Happy Endings. Both kind. *wink*

9. any talents?

Navigation and directions. Stick me anywhere, and I will find my way to where I need to go. Metro, bus, interstate, walking. Doesn't matter. I will figure it out. Also driving. I can drive loooong distances and any vehicle is my friend, which is why I got a ticket on the autobahn because I was just vibin' in the Audi at 150 km.

10. where were you born?

Japan

11. what are your hobbies

Traveling, especially for live music. I've seen hundreds of artists individually and have been to almost fifty music festivals. Some of my favorites are Austin City Limits (Austin), Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas), Lollapalooza (Chicago), Country Music Awards Fest (Nashville), Osheaga (Montreal), Ultra (Miami), Primavera (Barcelona), Mad Cool (Madrid), and Pa'l Norte (Monterrey, México). Some of my favorite venues are Meow Wolf (Santa Fe), Red Rocks (Denver), and Fenway Park (Boston), and I had a ticket to see a concert at the Palace of Versailles in France for May 2020, then everything went to hell in a hand basket. But strangely, I saw Bad Bunny, Big Freedia, and French DJ Gesaffelstein in 2020.

I could talk for hours about music, but I'll stop with this picture (not mine because none I took came out good) of Gesaffelstein who dresses like this for his shows with an all black background and all black equipment. Ah-maze-zing.

12. do you have any pets?

Oh, God, no. I'm a Disney villain. I don't mess with animals. Or plants.

13. how tall are you?

5'9" (This is a good country song too)

14. favorite subject in school?

Languages & Literature, which is why I teach English now.

15. dream job

What I'm doing now. Teaching. Except I would like to grade less than ~150 essays every month, but education is a mess right now, so y'all be nice to your professors.

[scotianostra]

Birthday Gregory Edward “Greg” Hemphill born 14th December 1969 in Glasgow.

I think the majority of us will know who Greg is, one half of the successful partnership with partner, Ford Kiernan that is Still Game.

The family left Scotland when Greg was twelve years old, and he spent much of his childhood in Montreal, Canada. Greg returned home to study at Glasgow University,  in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, graduating MA in 1992.

Greg made his acting debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1990. His work includes roles in God Plus Support in the Theatre and Only an Excuse. He is a regular on the comedy circuit. He also ventured into radio as the original presenter of football show, Off the Ball on BBC Radio Scotland and The Eddie Mair Show. As well as writing for Still Game and Chewin The Fat he has written for Channel 4 programme Space Cadets, BBC’s Pulp Video and The Ferguson Theory.

Still Game has transferred successfully onto the big stage and has sold out countless times at The Hydro. The third and final run of the shows Still Game: The Final Farewell was officially announced on 1st November 2018. The ninth and final series of Still Game was screened in 2019 The show won an ‘Outstanding Contribution’ TV award at Scottish Baftas that year.

Away from his work Greg is a bit of a card shark, he plays in competitions, he has won over thirty thousand dollars in competitions and was third in the Scottish Championships in  2002

Greg has been kind of quiet of late, but the good news is he returns to our screens  on Hogmanay with a new sketch show. The show is set to bring up all the biggest talking points of this year – from COP26 to the wild swimming phenomenon. The show titled “Queen of the New Year” will star Greg and Robert Florence along with Barbara Rafferty, Clive Russell, Gayle Telfer Stevens, Louise McCarthy, John Gordon Sinclair and Juliet Cadzow, so some familiar faces from Still Game and Burnistoun.

Greg is married to Balamory star Julie Wilson Nimmo, 46, they announced they are to their own production company launch Blue Haven Productions Limited. The latest from Greg and Julie who live in the West End of Glasgow, is they will be teaming up  who live in the West End, are appearing together in Olga da Polga, the first-ever  television adaptation of Paddington creator Michael Bond’s beloved books.  The new 13-part, live-action and animation series is produced by Glasgow-based production company Marakids, and it has been made with the full support of the Bond family.

Greg and Julie have been married since 1999, they met while both were working on the 90s sketch show Pulp Video. Greg says of them;

“We met on sketch shows, and we always laughed a lot. We still do. There are lots of laughs, lots of carry on when we work together.”

The couple have another joint project on the go, a documentary about wild swimming, which Julie took up in lockdown in 2020, the second pic shows them both ready to take a dip in Loch Lomond.

“Most people who don’t do it think people who do it are crazy,” says Greg, adding: “As did I, when Jools started doing it. I’d say to her 'come on, it’s Scotland, you’re swimming outside. We just don’t do that'.

“But once I went along and tried it I really loved it. And the documentary is not just about us, we talk to people who tell their stories and look at the science behind the benefits of wild swimming. It’s a deep dive - no pun intended - into how it has changed people’s mindset about the outdoors.”

[chromalogue]

I finally did get paid, two days before I hopped on a plane home for the holidays, my mom having covered the ticket. 

The trip took 55 hours.  I’d booked a hotel in Frankfurt to be at the airport early enough, but then the people at the main train station directed me to the wrong train for the airport, and it was a high-speed train, so even getting off at the next stop and going back made me a couple of hours later than I should have been, and I lost my hotel reservation and had to crash on the airport floor.  Then in Montreal I went to scan my passport and realized it wasn’t with me.  I’d dropped it on the plane, and fortunately the flight crew turned it in at the international lost and found, so I managed to run to my gate and all was well.  And then they ovefuelled the plane and we had to change planes and gates anyway.  And then a midnight bus trip to Sudbury, via North Bay, that I simply could not stay awake for, and a twelve-hour wait in Sudbury for a ride to Espanola because the bus here doesn’t run on Saturdays.  And then like a week to recover.

My dad found out the week before I came back that he was getting his cancer surgery on December 21, so I had exactly two days with my parents before they drove down to Toronto, and they’ve been there ever since.  Dad’s very tired of the hospital at this point, but he popped a stitch today so they’re not letting him go yet.  My mom’s getting worried that they’ll be down there until I have to head back to Germany, but she says they’ll visit in the spring. 

So Will and I have been celebrating here at the apartment.  No cookies, no fancy baking, no skiing (I could, the skis are in my parents’ garage and I have the key, but my cell phone doesn’t make calls in Canada, and given my wanton klutzery it doesn’t feel wise to put myself in a situation where my parents are gone and I can’t call for help), but we did decorate the tree, and I’ve been spending my two months of accumulated salary on a) ingredients for the festive meals we planned, b) delicacies I haven’t been able to afford since 2012, c) snacks I couldn’t get in Germany, and d) stuff that got marked down after Christmas. Those last two months in Germany were kind of lean, so I have not been exercising any restraint at all, and it’s been marvellous.

We’ve also been watching Netflix stuff that I’ve missed.  I told myself I was going to get Netflix of my own when I got paid, but, well...

I find myself looking a bit forward to the work I’m going to do when I get back, which is a good sign.  (I did miss one of the deadlines I set for myself. I was writing an application for a research centre that processes applications twice yearly, and trying to do this 1500-word writing thing, and then I got a text that Dad was in the ICU and realized applications weren’t where I wanted to focus my energy.  I can try again in six months, and I hope the folks I’m accountable to understand.)  And now that I know I can turn the heat on, things will be much more comfortable.  Moreover, now that I’m paid there are a dozen other promises I made to myself that I can keep now.  A bus pass.  Bandcamp.  Books.  A pilgrimage to see the Magdeburg Unicorn. 

But I am emphatically not ready to go back yet.  It’s been a weird Christmas, my first one I’ve spent without my folks, and when they do get home it’s going to be really hard to leave them.  I’m also not looking forward to the marathon trip back.  I enjoy travelling, but that was a bit much.  But I’m here now, and everything feels wonderfully ordinary in a way I would have given anything for in November.  So I’m doing my best to just enjoy myself and goof off and not worry.  

[roomchailimited]

Cultural Encounters Across North America: A Traveler’s Exploration

North America is a continent of profound cultural diversity, where the tapestry of traditions, languages, and lifestyles weaves a story of rich heritage and contemporary vibrancy. From the historic streets of New Orleans to the indigenous communities of the Canadian Arctic, every region offers a unique cultural experience that is as diverse as the landscape itself. Embarking on a journey across this vast continent, one encounters a variety of cultural expressions that reflect the history, struggles, and triumphs of its people.

Starting in the southern United States, New Orleans stands as a beacon of cultural fusion. Known for its vibrant music scene, particularly jazz, and its unique Creole and Cajun cuisine, the city is a living testament to the blending of French, African, and Spanish influences. Walking through the French Quarter, the sounds of live music fill the air, while the scent of gumbo and beignets tempts the senses. The city’s annual Mardi Gras celebration is a cultural phenomenon, drawing visitors from around the world to experience its parades, music, and festivities.

Moving northward, the cultural landscape shifts to the metropolitan hub of New York City. Often referred to as the cultural capital of the world, New York is a melting pot where every neighborhood tells a different story. From the immigrant-rich streets of Chinatown and Little Italy to the artistic enclaves of Greenwich Village, the city’s diversity is its defining feature. Museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art showcase the global influence that New York commands in the arts, while Broadway remains the pinnacle of live theater.

Crossing into Canada, the province of Quebec offers a distinctly different cultural experience. Quebec City and Montreal are the heart of French-speaking Canada, where European influence is palpable in the architecture, language, and culinary traditions. Quebec’s Winter Carnival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival are just two examples of how the province celebrates its cultural heritage with the world. The fusion of old-world charm with modern innovation makes Quebec a unique destination for cultural exploration.

Further west, the indigenous cultures of North America come to the forefront. In the Canadian Arctic and Alaska, indigenous communities like the Inuit and the First Nations offer a glimpse into a way of life that has been sustained for thousands of years. Traditional practices such as dog sledding, carving, and throat singing are not just cultural artifacts but living traditions that continue to thrive. Visiting these communities provides a deep respect for the resilience and ingenuity of the indigenous peoples who have adapted to some of the harshest environments on the planet.

The Pacific Northwest, encompassing parts of the U.S. and Canada, presents another cultural facet with its strong indigenous presence and its embrace of environmentalism and sustainability. Cities like Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland are known for their progressive cultures, vibrant arts scenes, and connection to nature. The region’s indigenous heritage is celebrated through art, totem poles, and festivals that honor the traditions of the Coast Salish, Haida, and other indigenous groups.

In the American Southwest, the blend of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican cultures creates a unique cultural identity. Cities like Santa Fe, New Mexico, with its Pueblo-style architecture, and the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, Colorado, provide a window into the region’s deep history. The art, music, and cuisine of the Southwest are deeply rooted in these cultural intersections, making it a fascinating area for cultural exploration.

North America’s cultural diversity is a reflection of its history as a land of immigrants, indigenous peoples, and settlers. Each region offers a distinct cultural experience that contributes to the rich mosaic of the continent. For travelers seeking to understand the soul of North America, exploring its cultural landscapes is as essential as visiting its natural wonders. Whether it’s the jazz-filled streets of New Orleans, the bustling boroughs of New York, the French-speaking cities of Quebec, or the indigenous communities of the Arctic, every destination offers a chance to connect with the diverse cultures that make North America unique.

As you plan your cultural journey across North America, Roomchai Limited is here to assist you every step of the way. With customized travel packages that highlight the cultural treasures of each region, Roomchai ensures that your exploration is both enriching and unforgettable. Let Roomchai Limited guide you through a continent where every turn reveals a new cultural encounter.

[courtierimmobilier]

Discover Your Dream Home: Property for Sale in Montreal

Montreal is a vibrant city known for its rich culture. It is also famous for its diverse population and stunning architecture. If you are looking for a property for sale in Montreal, you are in for a treat. This city offers a unique blend of old-world charm and modern amenities. Thus making it an ideal place to call home. Montreal has something for everyone, whether you are a first-time homebuyer or looking to invest.

Why Choose Montreal?

Montreal is one of the most livable cities in the world. It boasts excellent healthcare, education, and public transportation systems. The city's diverse neighborhoods each have their distinct character. So you can find a property for sale in Montreal that perfectly suits your lifestyle.

Affordable Living

Compared to other major cities, Montreal offers affordable housing options. You can find a property for sale in Montreal that fits your budget, whether you are looking for a cozy apartment or a spacious family home. The city's relatively low cost of living makes it an attractive option for many buyers.

Cultural Hub

Montreal is a cultural hub with a vibrant arts scene. Something is always happening in the city, from world-class museums and galleries to music festivals and theater productions. Owning a property for sale in Montreal means you can access endless entertainment and cultural experiences.

Education and Career Opportunities

Several reputable institutions of learning are located in Montreal. It places it among the best cities in Canada to find a university or college. It is why it is ideal for students and working people, in general, to make it their study point and workplace. There is also a competitive employment sector, especially in IT, finance, and healthcare. If you are interested in buying a property in Montreal, you will discover that the city provides a perfect environment to build a personal and career.

Diverse Neighborhoods

Montreal's neighborhoods are as diverse as its residents. Whether you prefer the historic charm of Old Montreal, the trendy vibe of Plateau Mont-Royal, or the family-friendly atmosphere of Westmount, you can find a property for sale in Montreal that meets your needs. Each neighborhood has a unique appeal so that you will find the perfect fit.

Outdoor Activities

If you love the outdoors, Montreal has plenty to offer. The city is surrounded by natural beauty. It includes parks, mountains, and rivers, all within easy reach. Whether you enjoy hiking, biking, or simply relaxing in a park, owning a property for sale in Montreal means you will never be far from nature.

Real Estate Market Trends

The real estate market in Montreal is dynamic and growing. The demand for housing continues to rise, making it a great time to invest in a property for sale in Montreal. Whether you are looking for a primary residence or an investment property, the market offers plenty of opportunities.

Finding Your Perfect Property

Working with a knowledgeable real estate agent is essential when searching for a property for sale in Montreal. They can help you navigate the market. They also find properties that meet your criteria and negotiate the best deal. With their expertise, you can be confident that you are making a sound investment.

Making the Move

Moving to a new city can be daunting. However, Montreal's welcoming community makes it more accessible. Once you find a property for sale in Montreal, you will quickly feel at home in this vibrant city. The friendly locals and diverse culture will make you feel like you belong.

Conclusion

In conclusion, finding a property for sale in Montreal is exciting. The city's affordable living, cultural richness, educational and career opportunities, diverse neighborhoods, and outdoor activities make it an ideal place to live. Working with a real estate agent lets you find the perfect property that fits your needs. You can start enjoying all that Montreal has to offer. Whether you are moving for the first time or looking to invest, Montreal is a city that promises a bright future. So, start your search today and discover your dream home in Montreal.