Okay, America’s Independence Day is coming up, but tomorrow is Canada Day, and since Canadians have given me so many reasons for delight, I’ve just got to put together a quick (and by no means complete) list of some of my favorite Canadian contributions to popular culture.
- Catherine O’Hara, for so many reasons, but particularly for her sterling performances in the movies of Christopher Guest. (Note to self: watch Waiting for Guffman for the thousandth time this weekend.)
- Bryan Lee O’Malley, for Scott Pilgrim and Lost at Sea and just generally being delightful.
- Canadian-by-marriage Hope Larson, for Gray Horses and Salamander Dream and She’s From Away.
- The Beguiling, for being the most reliable purveyor I’ve found of books from Fanfare/Ponent Mon. Also, Chris Butcher works there.
- Scott Chantler’s Northwest Passage.
- Fametracker.
- Half-Canadian Brendan Frasier. Shut up. I love the Mummy movies, all right? And he was really good in Gods and Monsters.
- Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is very often like crack.
As I said, the list is hardly complete, but I couldn’t let the day go by without at least making a weak stab at gratitude.