|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
The slightly mistimed cross quarter day; the end of the quarter with midwinter smack in its center. AKA Imbolc AKA Groundhog Day AKA Brigid Candlemas.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
In Winnipeg, where I grew up, that would be "Ukrainian Christmas", and I think both the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholics celebrate it then. There's a huge Ukrainian population in the Canadian west, especially in Winnipeg and Edmonton. The world's largest Ukrainian Easter Egg ( http://www.icomm.ca/emily/pictures/vegreville.jpg) is in Vegreville, Alberta, near Edmonton, and there is a world's largest perogy somewhere, I just can't seem to find it right now. I have more links of photos of large monuments of strange things in Canada. PM me if you're bored and want some amusement!  [edit] Here is the largest perogy, in Glendon, Alberta: http://www.infomagic.net/~martince/wlpyrogy.htm
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 508 |
Thank you for the pierogi (Polish spelling) link, Bean! I make them from scratch myself twice a year (too much work to do more often), and, astoundingly, they look very much like the one memorialized in the monument - except much smaller. My youngest son is the pierogi addict in our house, so I'll send the link along to him.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
Jackie asked, over a month ago now, why the Queen's mug shot was plastered all over New Zealand's legal, if pretty much worthless, tender. (Wonder where she got that money from, hmmm?)
Well, the fact is that Zild is a Dominion of Her Nibs. She is Queen of New Zealand, of Australia (and I think) of Canada. She can, if she choses to do so, come on down and queen it up anywhere she likes.
Why? you may ask, and probably will, being such a crotchety, contrary and nosey set of sods. "Because we haven't thrown the English monarchy out yet," is the only answer I can vouchsafe. Although the Strine is desperately trying to do just that for reasons which I fail to understand so completely that it frightens me.
Because I can't really understand why anyone would want to throw the monarchy out. For Britain actually foots the bill for a Head of State for those countries which acknowledge Lizzy 2 as head of state, no matter how tenuous and tongue-in-cheek that acknowledgement may be. I feel this is a very important and noteworthy point, if I may make so bold as to state it. Boldly.
Note that for Zild and the others, we don't have to have nasty and expensive elections for a head of state. Costly business, really, and the outcomes aren't always that crash-hot. You can wind up in Chad, if I remember correctly.
In our neck of the woods, the government puts up some worthy citizen (or not, as the case may be) to be the Governor-General, the GG, who will stand in for the usually absent monarch (HoS pro tem, so to speak). The Queen says, "Fine, waddever," because she actually has no power to refuse the person that the Zild government puts up. In theory, Zild could put up a serial killer as GG, and 'Er Nibs would have to smile and say "Fine!". But Zild doesn't do that, it would rather have its serial killers in Parliament.
Queenie generally knights the GG-to-be if that worthy has not yet been dubbed. (Down, Wordwind, I didn't mean you!) Or dam(n)ed in a number of recent cases. The GG is then installed in a house of some antiquity for a three-year term, gets to wear a ridiculous uniform which appears to have been handed down from GG to GG since the 1840s, and goes around making (usually) boring speeches, cutting ribbons, handing out gongs and generally having a fun time. Not. Occasionally the GG says something controversial, but that's rather rare and is usually brought about by an overindulgence in his or her favourite tipple.
The GG has absolutely NO political power. Australia Rules used to allow the Ozzian GG some leeway, but that was soundly abused in 1975 (or it wasn't, depending on your view of the situation) and the GG in Oz now has exactly the same powers as the GG in Zild. That is to say, none. It's a purely ceremonial post that doesn't even pay very well, at least in the Zild. And s/he doesn't get to have his/her mug shot on the currency. That's the Big Cheese's perogative.
There is a fringe movement to remove the monarchy trying gain some headway in Zild. I don't think it has a prayer of success. Most Zildians are actually rather attached to a head of state who is safely and more-or-less permanently stashed 12,000 miles away at no expense to them. They believe, I believe, that that is the best place for any head of state. Come to think of it, most Zildians would actually rather like the rest of their government to be 12,000 miles away, as well. Preferably also paid for out of the privy purse.
Admittedly, we are sometimes jealous of the American system. Why can't we, we plaintively cry, have a Monicagate? Why can't we, we bark, have a First Dog, run over or not as the case may be? Why can't we, we stammer, have a head of state who is hopelessly tongue-tied and short on knowledge of the finer points of English? Like, how to speak it? Most of our GGs are depressingly articulate, being formerly judgmental. Why can't we, we opine, have Republican and Democratic conventions in a town near us, instead of tawdry little election meetings over stewed tea and wine biscuits in cold and draughty church halls? Why can't we, we beseech the unfeeling heavens, pay through the nose via our taxes to support all three branches of government in the style to which they wish us to accept that they should become accustomed? Instead of the two that we ... hang on, hang on. Did I get that last one right?
Oh, well.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Just confirming that CK was right about Canada, the Queen is also our head of state, we also have a Governor General, although of course they won't be knighted because it's against the law for a Canadian citizen to be knighted (and ever since Vincent Massey sometime in the 50s, I think, all the GGs have been Canadian). Our current GG (Adrienne Clarkson) is a woman (though not the first); apparently they made her and her common-law husband (author John Ralston Saul) get married before she became GG. Each province also has a Lieutenant Governor (pronounced Leff-tenant, the Canadian way - Edit - also of course the British way ), same symbolic role as the Governor General. And yes, the Queen's head is on all our coins as well. I think we've done the coin discussion before.
(Aside: An interesting scandal arose when the Canadian newspaper magnate Conrad Black was offered a knighthood and told he had to renounce his Canadian citizenship to accept it. So he did. Farewell, and don't return, I say! He was kind of a jerk anyway.)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Oh, CK, I have tears streaming! As a matter of fact, I believe Florida DID wind up in Chad...
Your HoS pro tem is GiGi? So that's where all those bad movies were made! I gather that Zildeans don't give any financial support to the Queen, then, since you said this comes from the outhouse funds (the privy purse).
But you still didn't answer one question: Is it her money?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
But you still didn't answer one question: Is it her money?
No. And she wouldn't want it. The NZ$ isn't known as the South Pacific peos for nothing, which is exactly what it's worth in worldwide terms.
The most interesting GG we've had in recent times was Dame Cath Tizard. She is the wife of a former cabinet minister and she was also Mayor of Auckland for at least one term. She's apparently a gin drinker and gets quite "chirpy" when she's had a couple. That was fun.
The current GG is Dame Sylvia Cartwright who was Chief District Court Judge for some time and was also the head of a Royal Commission into a medical imbroglio a few years ago. She's very smooth, very earnest, and very, very boring. Unlike Zild's current Prime Minister, Helen Clark, who is very rough, very direct, usually wrong about everything and yet, in spite of this, she is also very, very boring.
Which is less than you could say about Rob Muldoon. He was a lot of things and usually drunk with it, but boring he was not ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
Lizzie 2 love it! Is that as in Tin Lizzie or Lizzie Borden? And this from the mouth of President Bush today: And terror will never enable us to achieve peace. D'oh! And, yesterday: Not over my dead body will they raise taxes. Well, I guess not.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,371
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
803
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
