Remembrence Day

PANARAMA!

Out here in the Commonwealth the holiday is known as Remembrance Day. It's a big thing. It's purpose is still to remember the fallen of the Great War. If it falls on Monday or Friday it's a day off. If not, there are assemblies in school. There is a moment of silence at 11:00 AM to commemorate the Armistice. But most apparent are the poppies.

In the states the holiday is called Veterans Day and is observed on a Monday or Friday close to the actual day, which is November 11th. Growing up I don't remember much hoopla or anything for this holiday. It fell in with Arbor Day and other holidays that kids get neither a day off school or a party at school. The reason for the holiday is simple enough to understand from its name--to celebrate all veterans for their service. It was only 60 years ago that this became official, though. Before then the holiday was called Armistice Day. The day was called such for the Armistice with Germany to end World War I, which occurred at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918, thus Novemeber 11th being the day of the holiday.
People start wearing poppies mid-October. I remember thinking, "Why is Mike Babcock wearing a flower?" Then I realized it was a poppy. Something tells me this is comparable to Christmas creep in the states. Every year some broadcaster wears the poppy one day earlier to try to one up everyone else. The poppy is a symbol from a poem written by a Canadian serviceman in WWI, "In Flanders Fields." The poem, in full, appears at the end of the post. It's a touching reminder to always remember the great sacrifice of those who gave their lives in serving their country. It was recited at the ceremony we attended today.
We attended the ceremony at the Calgary Museum of the Regiments. The perfect venue for a tribute to a nation's veterans. Inside are displays of Canadian troops and missions, and outside are my favorite--tanks. On hand for the event were distinguished veterans and the honourable Jason Kenny, MP, Minister of Employment (He was in charge of immigration up until two months ago, so he's kind of the guy who isn't really doing enough for me right now.) The ceremony was nice, although we had to leave after the moment of silence because the kids needed naps.
All in all, Remembrance Day is a well-respected and celebrated holiday.

Courtney, the baby and a tank

More tanks

My daughter, learning how to fortify her territory

"Hold the line!"

One last shot of the festivities

In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonol John McRae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep , though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

California Winter

The day after Halloween we were on a walk down by the river around dusk. Courtney commented on how beautiful the scenery was. I looked out and said, "It reminds me of winter when I was a kid." The bare trees, the light chill (10 C), the dead grass. Courtney laughed and said, "Oh, Keith, this is fall."

So it was, because Saturday, this happened:

And four days later, it's still here. This morning I left the house and it was -13 C (8 F).

This is what winter will look like. This is what winter will feel like. And it starts now.

It's not like I don't know what winter is like. I lived in Utah for the past six years. In Provo I learned that it snows and in Roosevelt I learned what -30 is like. But even in Roosevelt it's 10 C warmer than it is here now, and will be for the rest of the month. We're sub zero and we're in for the long haul up here in the great white north.

Ice Dancing with the Stars

I have never seen Dancing with the Stars. Not my thing. One problem is the name. It seems a little bland to me. You know what sounds more awesome?

Yeee-yah. Pairing random celebrities with dancers. Meh. Pairing hockey players with ice dancers and pairs skaters. Sweet.  My Freshman year of college I saw the movie 'The Cutting Edge', which is the best figure skating movie I've ever seen (and the only one). It's about a hockey player and a figure skater who get fail in the '88 Olympics and train for the next one together. Starring Moira Kelly. Win. So Battle of the Blades was a no-brainer when we stumbled upon it. Judged by Kurt Browning, Jaime Sale (Canada's sweetheart ice dancer, robbed of a gold medal by the cheating French in 2002) and ex-NHLer P.J. Stock, and previous competitors including Theo Fleury, Val Bure and Claude Lemieux. I laughed so hard the first routine I saw. Because generally, when I think of male figure skaters, I think of this:

But on the show, I saw this:

http://www.cbc.ca/battle/skaters/amanda-scott

Big difference. Courtney said it's the most the Canadian thing on TV because 1) it's a rip-off of an American show and 2) it's on ice. The only thing that could make it more Canadian is if they had a female hockey player on the show. After a quick trip to google, we found that they did, and she won last year (paired with Sale's partner David Peltier, of course).
Only five couples left. Can't wait to watch next week. The most Canadian thing on television.