Trumpster Dumpster vs. Canada
This is a really good overview of the Canadian attitudes and thoughts on the upcoming election, the influence of Trump, and the thoughts about America in general. Please watch it, my American friends, so you get an idea of what’s going on up north.
It really has been a huge, palpable surge of patriotism over the past few months. Canada is very different than the US when it comes to overt, visible displays of patriotism. But there is a lot of blatant national pride right now. Flags everywhere, the “elbows up” thing, etc. It’s really, really interesting.
Fromage A Trois
What up, POSERS??
I’m back in Moscow for a stint. Did a marathon this morning and then went to WinCo.
The tariffs are already starting to hit grocery prices, huh? Prices at WinCo were, in general, much higher than I remember from last year.
The one exception? Dairy.
Consider this bag of cheese:
How much do you think this little buddy cost?
$1.98.
$1.98.
At absolute minimum, a bag of cheese this size in Calgary would cost like $5.95.
Insanity.
Anyway.
It’s Tariff-ic!
(No it’s not)
(And I’m not sure if that joke will land because now that I look at the title it just looks like I can’t spell “terrific”)
(Whatev who cares)
I mentioned this back when the first wave of crazy tariffs were implemented, but now there’s a CNN article on it so I figured I’d mention it again.
All the Orange Dumpster Fire is doing is uniting Canada – specifically, uniting it against the US.
Products made in (or at least packaged in) Canada are being highlighted in grocery stores.
People are being encouraged (more than usual) to buy local.
And Trudeau, knowing he’s stepping down very soon, has just stopped giving any shits and is overtly showing his frustration over this ridiculous situation.
More:
(Source)
(Source)
(Source. This is actually in Calgary)
And off we go!
It’s tariff time and the responses are pretty much what you’d expect up here.
The US-Canada relationship is going to be damaged for a long, long time. That’s so freaking sad.
Edit: this little mini film popped up in my YouTube feed this afternoon. It originally aired during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics talking about the close relationship between the two countries. Watching it now made me cry.
Oh Dear
Well this is an…interesting way to display this data.
I have mixed feelings about the use of Chernoff faces (or any derivatives) to visually display multivariate data. Unless done correctly, I think that this type of visualization can be difficult to interpret. I also think it lacks one of the main purposes of a visual – a quick and relatively easy way to understand the data – because it involves a lot of parsing of the individual pieces (eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, face shape, etc.) which is a pretty big ask if someone’s just quickly glancing at the faces.
But anyway, I do like the idea of trying to make “Chernoff emojis” for each state based on the variables in question. Using the color of the faces as a representation of one of the variables rather than face shape/size makes them all look a bit more uniform and makes comparing the other features a bit easier.
Also:
Yeah, that’s my expression whenever I think of West Virginia, too.
Hey, American Friends?
Y’all okay down there? It sounds scary.
Man…
We really do live in the dumbest timeline, don’t we?
United Canada
I don’t know how much of this you all are seeing down in the States, but all this crap about Trump and his stupid-ass tariffs has really united Canadians. There’s a huge country-wide push to buy Canadian (or just not buy American) and there’s a very vocal agreement across all provinces and territories that there’s no way in hell we want to become Trump’s stupid “51st state.” Stores are going out of their way to clearly label products that are made in Canada, sales of Canadian flags are skyrocketing, Canadians are cancelling vacation plans to the US and/or selling any US property they own, and there’s even been a strong pushback against the UCP because of their lack of response to Trump’s nonsense.
I’ve lived here for (a total of) about thirteen years and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this.
God dammit, USA
Trump hasn’t even been in office for two weeks yet, WHAT THE SHIT
Edit: this whole bag of nonsense has absolutely united Canadians. The “Buy Canadian” or “Don’t buy American” sentiment is strong. Stores are removing US products and/or clearly labeling which products are Canadian. Canadians are cancelling trips to the US; some others with winter homes in the south are selling them, not wanting to deal with this shit for the next four years. Even the US national anthem is getting booed at sporting events, which is wild.
It Was Hilarious While It Lasted
So TikTok was BANNED IN THE U.S….
For all of like 14 hours.
While the Americans were away, though, people from all the other countries definitely ran with the fact that they ruled the platform.
Examples:
(And in case TikTok goes dark in the US again, I’ve provided helpful screenshots, too!)
Canadian shenanigans
Commonwealth unites! Plus comments.
Anyway, welcome back, America!
I just have one thing to ask:
Why are the majority of Americans so FUCKING STUPID?
WHY IS TRUMPSTER DUMPSTER GOING TO BE PRESIDENT AGAIN??
I’m freaking JASON BOURNE
Got my very first Canadian passport today! Now I can go back to the States and not have an issue getting back up to Canada.
Fun fact: I am a citizen of about 80% of North America, area-wise!
Let’s Rank the State Tourism Logos
Because Reddit giveth (weird map posts) and Reddit taketh away (free time).
Note: I’m just copy/pasting these from that map, so some of them are a little tilty.
Colorado
I like the “C”.
South Carolina
This is a logo! Got the tree in there that’s on the flag, got the “SC” for “South Carolina” bolded in “discover,” got cool lettering…nice.
Mississippi
Love the curly S set!
New York
I was unaware that this thing was actually New York’s tourism logo. It’s a classic.
Alaska
This has the perfect amount of simplicity to it.
Missouri
Pretty. I like it.
Ohio
Good color scheme.
Hawaii
I like the rainbow.
Nevada
Looks like a compass. I approve.
Idaho
My bias is showing.
Indiana
I like the colors.
Arkansas
Not bad.
New Jersey
Simple, but I like it.
Louisiana
(This one kind of got eaten by the edge of the state, sorry)
I like the font.
Wisconsin
Just travel the website, that’s good enough.
Connecticut
This looks like a presidential campaign logo.
Utah
This looks like a sports team logo.
Maryland
They’ve got to put their weird flag on everything, huh?
Vermont
I think this is the logo that best matches how I would imagine a particular state’s logo to look. This is very “Vermont.”
Texas
Let’s not.
Georgia
I see what you did there with the peach-colored lettering.
Michigan
The upper peninsula is where Dirty Michigan is.
Washington
Poor Washington. They have to mention the “state” part on EVERYTHING so they don’t get confused with DC.
Florida
I dig the pink.
Rhode Island
I like yellow, but that would be pretty hard to see on any sort of printed thing.
Wyoming
Look, they managed to fit Wyoming’s entire population on this logo!
Pennsylvania
Lively, but not the kind of vibe that screams “Pennsylvania” to me.
Oklahoma
This looks like it’s trying to be a logo for the Olympic games.
Nebraska
At least it’s red and not black like 70% of these things.
Massachusetts
Too corporate.
New Hampshire
Where’s the rest of the quote, New Hampshire? Where’s the rest of the quote?????
Delaware
Meh. Too blue.
Alabama
Is the song stuck in your head now? IS IT????
Iowa
If you zoom in far enough into those blue brackets, it says “please stop confusing us with Idaho.”
California
OH GOD IT’S DROWNING
New Mexico
I like their little symbol thingy.
Arizona
Let’s ignore the desert parts!
Illinois
I hate the all-lowercase thing. I HATE it. Capitalize your goddamn state, dawgs!
Tennessee
That’s…that’s a lot of words for a tiny logo.
Virginia
Weird slogan, but okay.
South Dakota
A fancy font for a non-fancy state.
North Dakota
Or forgotten. Either one.
Oregon
Travel Oregon…because that’s better than living there!
Minnesota
Those lowercase e’s thrown in with all the capital letters make me want to diiiiiiiiiie.
North Carolina
Bro.
Kentucky
Sponsored by Dymo.
Maine
At least put a lobster on there, c’mon.
Montana
It’s only slightly more interesting than this logo!
Kansas
It’s a state!
West Virginia
Did a five-year-old write this in diarrhea? What in the actual hell.
What is my life?
Suburbia
North America is so broken, yo. I don’t think we even realize that our standard ridiculous cities and inaccessible suburbs are NOT the norm in other parts of the world.
I love this vid so much.
USAY2K
Not being able to go back to the US for more than a year has made me realize just how much stuff I still get from there. Mostly it’s stuff that I can’t find up here (like my particular brand of deodorant or the ONLY lip balm that seems to work for me), but a good amount of it is stuff that is WAY cheaper in the States. Examples:
- Sunscreen
- Vitamins
- Razors
- Shampoo
- The pens I use when I lecture (though I guess I haven’t been using these since we’ve been online anway)
- Clothes (like even the basic stuff like socks and bras)
- Earrings
That’s just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head.
And it’s too terrifying to go into a Walmart or a Superstore right now, so everything has to be bought at Safeway, which is SUPER expensive.
Yay. I hate this freaking pandemic.
The United States is in a Freefall
That is an absolutely terrifying curve. Remember when we thought that “second wave” curve in July was bad? This is so much steeper.
What a time for the dilapidated pumpkin we call “President” (at least for now) to go silent, eh?
It’s like the perfect storm has led the US to where it is now. A huge political divide in the country that crested in the form of that ridiculous election, a pandemic that seems to be deepening that divide, a frightening number of people who don’t believe in science, a frightening number of people who won’t accept the mildest inconvenience in order to possibly save many, many lives, and leadership that’s done nothing to try to ease the strain of the pandemic and that as gone radio silent as the pandemic is crashing through the country.
Like…this is horrifying to watch from outside the US. How are y’all doing down there in the US? Please stay safe. Please wear a mask. Please stay the hell away from other people.
I miss you guys and I hope you’re all okay.
And it goes on
I’d say this election is absolute madness, but it actually is fitting in quite well with the theme of 2020.
Which, I guess, is the theme “absolute madness.”
But anyway. Every time I see an update on the election from a Canadian news source, you can tell the reporter is trying to hide their exasperation and disbelief over the whole situation. I’m sure it’s the same sort of thing in the States.
And while it’s frustrating that the outcome is taking so long, it’s understandable (with COVID) and I’m glad that the remaining states seem to be trying their best to be as accurate and sure as possible so that Trump will have less ammunition to use against them if he loses.
(Not like that will stop him from going after people, though.)
Ugh.
Edit: I love this. The joy.
There’s freaking celebrations in the streets. I don’t remember such widespread joy at the changing of Presidents in the past. Like…did people rejoice in the streets when Bush (the second one) was finally out of office? I don’t think they did.
Edit 2: Hahahaha.
COVID PARTY 2020
Six-digit daily case counts in the States? Yeah, sure, why the hell not.
That is absolutely terrifying, America. I feel like it’s right on the verge of being past anyone’s control and the only way it’s going to slow down is by just chewing through the whole US population.
But Canada isn’t doing all that much better. Here’s our second peak going strong:
Alberta, specifically, has really dropped the ball. We were in new daily case numbers between 100 and 200 for the longest time, then things jumped up to the 500s a few weeks ago. Yesterday? 800 cases. Today? 1,441 cases. People keep gathering and are apparently not staying home when they’re exhibiting COVID symptoms.
Why is everyone so freaking stupid and selfish, I don’t understand.
Like, I get the whole “pandemic fatigue” thing, but holy hell. If people just calmed their tits for like TWO MONTHS and isolated as much as they could, we could probably cut this thing down significantly.
Why is that such a hard concept?
UGH I AM SO FRUSTRATED WITH THIS WHOLE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Wave goodbye to any sense of normality this year
So we are definitely in the “second wave” of COVID up here. It’s a bit scary because Canada was doing quite well as a country through July and August, but cases are spiking again nonetheless.
I guess the comforting thing (if you want to call it that) is that the second wave seems to be happening in almost every country that appeared to have the virus under control, so at least we’re not an outlier as far as that pattern goes. I mean, it could be worse, right?
(That, of course, is the US)
Canada did really well squelching the first wave. I hope people take this second wave just as seriously.
Edit: okay, just for funsies, Canada has had a total of about 197,000 cases and about 9,800 deaths. That’s about 0.52% and 0.026% of the Canadian population, respectively. The United States has had a total of about 8.1 million cases and about 219,000 deaths. That’s about 2.5% and of the population and 0.067% of the population, respectively. I’d say that’s a decent difference, especially in the percentage of cases.
USA! USA!
“How Many U.S. Cities Can You Name?” aka “Your Recall of the State Capitols is a Lot Worse Than You Thought.”
I can’t name a single damn city in West Virginia. What the hell is in West Virginia? I like to think my inability to recall a single location in West Virginia is because I’ve been traumatized by the shape of that freaking state and my brain is just trying to protect me.
“It’s okay,” my brain whispers as I cry in the corner. “West Virginia isn’t real. It can’t hurt you.”
Unpopular Opinion:
I hate how this virus has turned some people into “OMFG THE US IS A COMPLETELY WORTHLESS COUNTRY THAT HAS NEVER CONTRIBUTED ANYTHING TO THE WORLD EVER!!!!11!!11”
Like…chill.
Just because the United States is in Hell Mode right now does not negate the good things that have come out of the country. Also, a big reason for the US being in Hell Mode right now is how polarized the country has become. Posting stuff like this to Facebook/Twitter/whatever will either a) ignite people who agree with you and make them even more “everything about the current US is awful” or b) incite people who disagree with you and make them even more “everything about the current US is amazing” and both of those outcomes will make it harder for anyone to actually make any meaningful changes because the more polarized people are, the harder it is for them to agree to anything that doesn’t pander to every aspect of their polarized view.
I mean, obviously this is just my opinion, but it seems…irresponsible. The last thing we should be doing right now is trying to further polarize the country. I don’t think it’s the solution.
North of the Border
This is probably going to sound super stupid, but every once and a while I remember that I am not living in the country I was born in and I’m like…oh.
Yeah, that sounds pretty stupid as I’m typing it out. But it’s not something that I consciously think about very often, so when I do actually think about the fact that I live in a country where I’m not technically a citizen, it’s kind of a weird thing. It’s kind of a shocking thing. I never thought I’d be living anywhere other than the US, but HERE WE ARE in a world where I’ve spent more of my adult life in Canada than in ‘Murica.
Kinda wild.
Sorry, that’s all I’ve got for today.
Coronavirus Madness
Take a look at these two different graphs of daily cases of COVID-19.
Which one is the US? Which one is Canada? I’ll give you one guess.
Even with the population difference, Canada is seeing much smaller rates than the US. And we’re flattening a lot more. Will we spike again? Probably. But I don’t think we’ll spike to the extent the US currently is.
Hell, that isn’t even the second wave in the US. It’s still the first wave. It just picked up a lot of momentum.
That’s terrifying. Are you all terrified down there?
Good Lord, United States
This is scary. Compare this to a pic of this website that I took back on March 26 (almost exactly a month ago).
Too bad I didn’t have Canada on that first screenshot. We’ve shot up quite a bit, too, but not nearly to the extent that the United States has.
And some states still want to start opening things back up soon, huh?
Eigenblogger 