WAY-Off topic question for Sask_Tinplater

[Anonymous]

Have you seen any of the CTV episodes of Corner Gas, shown the past couple of weeks ? It's written by, and stars, Brent Butt....yes that's a real name.

It's got to be the first TV comedy series ( or any kind of series ) based in rural Saskatchewan ever tried.
Not too deep, but kind of funny in a deadpan-droll kind of way.[:D][:D]
It's even got it's own website, cornergas.com

regards;
Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

Sorry to "butt" in to your almost private Canadian topic here, but were is Red Green from? Oh yeah, he's from Manitoba, eh? Here in Minnesota, we receive this Canadian export rather fondly. Canadian geography is truly foreign to most Americans, but Canadian humor is not. I can think of a rather long list of funny Canadians, but I had no idea that there was regional or provincial humor. I, like you, eagerly await Sask's response. He should be home from school in a little while.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Hoo Hah, BigBoy...you're not "butting" in at all, and there's no such thing as a private Canadian topic, especially from our close friends and neighbors in Minnesota.
With your lakes, forests, and whacky politicians, and all.....you know, to me,
Minnesota always seems so similar to Canada in so many ways, except for more iron ore still remaining, and for those Viking-type Scandinavian references by Betty White.[:D][:D]

Glad you like Red Green....although he's not a Winnipegger...Steve Smith ,who conceived Red Green and plays his character, is, sadly, a Toronto native.

If you are interested in the history, do a google search , typing in "Steve Smith as Red Green", and there's lots of websites to see.
The title narrows the search engine down so you don't get all those 'other' Steve Smiths out there, like NBA people or Minnesota legislators.[:D][:D]
regards
Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey Mike, I was actually thinking of the show, not the actor, but either way he's still funny.

I'm probably a somewhat rare American, and have traveled most of lower Canada, and even some of it by train. Beautiful country, but the money still looks strange. Been to most of the major cities too, but not Toronto. I have always wanted to see the Twins play the Blue Jays at Sky Dome.

Meanwhile back here in St Paul we are hosting the NHL All Star Game this weekend, and if I'm not mistaken that is your national sport, but we like it too. I have had season tickets to the Wild since the beginning, and will be taking my son to the young stars and skills on Saturday. Look for the ice palace, if you watch any of the coverage, I haven't been in it yet, but I hear its "COOL". I'll also say hello to the cup for you if you like, since it has been a while since it has resided in its homeland. [:P]

By the way, on a train related note, one of my favorite cars of all time, is the CN rainbow grain hopper. Lionel made them a few years ago, and I have two, one on the layout and one in the box, as they are hard to find because they are so pretty. Let's see what Sask thinks of that.[:D]

[BR60103]

Big_Boy_4005
What major cities are there besides Toronto?

[Big_Boy_4005]

Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnepeg, Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, the NHL never would have located teams there if there weren't some people.

Is this a geography quiz? Because I can go on for a little while without an atlas. Of course the cities only get smaller.[:D]

There is something to be said for Toronto though, as it is the only one that can support baseball, and the CN Tower ain't too shabby either.[swg]

[Anonymous]

Hello Big,

I think Dave was trying to be funny Torontonians have a centred view of Canada. It's hard to blame them the 1st 4 cities in your list have almost enough people together to populate a small Engli***own. Toronto is way too cold to support intelligent life, my brother lives there.

By the way Dave, Brent Butt was born the same day Lenny Bruce died.

My favourite Canadian regional humour is Black Fly, the history of the Maritimes.

[Anonymous]

Formerly a Torontonian, I migrated east which is considered by some "against the flow". When I first met my wife back in 86' her family went to work bashing the Upper Canadian or as they would say Uppety Canadian out of me. They consider the effort a success. "Hog Town'rs" aren't always known for their humility.

And your right those from Toronto do consider themselves above the rest. They consider them selves Easterners as Canada stops at the Ontario/Quebec border. One of Dad's old girlfriends had the gaul to ask me if we had any Canadian Tires Stores in Nova Scotia. I believe my response was, Yes we got them just after running water, which preceeded that last of the Indian wars.

By the way the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) boasts a population of 500, 000 and is the largest, in area, municipality in Canada. A legacy left to us by one of our former premiers. In this case legacy is defined as cash grab!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
.....I'll also say hello to the cup for you if you like, since it has been a while since it has resided in its homeland. [:P]

I am a Leaf fan, so that kind of stings.
But we're used to it. I haven't seen a game in your arena, but there's likely a fair bit of space available for your first Cup banner.[;)][;)] Hopefully it's before the Wild move to Texas...[:p]
Only kidding of course...honest....

I actually remember the last four Leaf Cup wins, in '62, '63,'64, & '67...[ well, as well as anything else I remember from the 60's[:I]], back when regular folks could afford to go to the odd game ...Toronto didn't have that "Center of the Universe" stigma back then, so some of us rurals visited there more often. The 60's were so long ago, that Montreal was the largest city ,and you could get by in Engli***here.[8D][8D]

Lightbender quote:" My favourite Canadian regional humour is Black Fly, the history of the Maritimes."
Not bad, Anthony, but not cutting edge ,like the old CODCO series was , IMHO. [:o)]

regards;
Mike
BigBoy...regarding baseball, sad to say, Toronto only supported baseball when the Jays were winning. So they haven't supported it since the '94 strike.
Train time...........so how long have you been in Lionel........?????
If I wasn't so old, & retired I'd seriously consider a switch to it.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robmik

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005
.....I'll also say hello to the cup for you if you like, since it has been a while since it has resided in its homeland. [:P]

I am a Leaf fan, so that kind of stings.
But we're used to it. I haven't seen a game in your arena, but there's likely a fair bit of space available for your first Cup banner.[;)][;)] Hopefully it's before the Wild move to Texas...[:p]
Only kidding of course...honest....

Sorry Mike, ouch, I guess we're even now. [:D][:D]

Been doing Lionel most of my 42 years, never got rid of them, but did have adventures in N, HO, and 2 rail O. I decided to focus on Lionel about 20 years ago. Once in a while I wonder what I could do in HO or even N with the space that I have, but I always manage to come back to reality. What would you do with 38' x 46' , which I just saw this morning, is almost the exact size space that Andy Sperandeo, MR's Exec. Editor, has for his HO layout.

Is there much Lionel available north of the border? It has to be priced outrageously, with the exchange rate.

This topic has taken on an interesting twist, and I'm not sure why you haven't heard from Sask, since he's usually around. But this is fun too, the lone Minnesotan vs all of Canada[:D] Where's my buddy Gordon? There seem to be a lot of Canadians that like trains!

Here's one for you. Back in the mid 70's I was in the Hudson Bay Company store in downtown Winnepeg, and came across this game called The Last Spike, it looked like fun so I bought it. Its about building the Canadian Transcontinental Railroad. Anyone ever see it? Is it still around?

[Anonymous]

Maybe I should just be emailing you, BigBoy, I hate to hijack a forum thread for personal notes....
BUT... there's some trian stuff back in this thread now, so here goes.....

Lionel is very much available up here, in fact there's a well known home-based retailer just over an hour from me, "The Train Cellar" in Mount Forest, Ontario, also another one, "2B in Trains" a bit farther, in Fergus.
The prices seem very high to me. Even with our improved dollar, a $100 item in the USA costs us at least $135 Canadian.
I do have a lottery ticket for tonight, however, soooo......[:D]

That "Last Spike" game is a great thing to hang on to. I never did buy one. It's named for the book of the same name, by probably the best-known Canadian historical writer, Pierre Berton.
regards;
Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

Mike, if you want to email me, that's fine, but there's nothing in our "laundry" that's dirty, so airing it in public doesn't bother me. Actually, since we have drifted back to trains, there is all the more reason to share it with everyone, but I'm not sure that many are looking because of the topic title. That's their loss, since this has turned into a fun and interesting discussion.

I actually have a small collection of train related games and puzzles. I haven't played The Last Spike in many years, but I remember that it was fun, but had a flaw in the way that it played, so I made up a couple of rules to make it better. If I remember correctly, it had a problem similar to Monopoly, where it took forever to reach the end. My solution was to infuse cash into the game, to keep the players moving ahead with the track.

Here's another Canadian connection that I have. Are you familliar with the Gramazien brothers? They were the ones who developed the West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping mall in the world. They also started Mall of America here on the site where the Twins and Vikings used to play, and across the street from the old Met Center where the North Stars used to play. I was one of the mall's original tenants.



That's me standing in front of the exterior of the display. That photo appeared in both MR, and CTT back in 1993 along with others accompaning an article in each magazine. Unfortunatly, the display closed shortly after the articles were published.

That story may be better told in an email.[8)][:(][:I][:D]

[Anonymous]

I found this topic just now. Yes, I have seen Corner Gas. It's not the best sitcom I've seen, but it isn't too bad. The thing some of us here in Saskatchewan have thought of is that to people from the east who watch the show it might make us people from Saskatchewan look like a bunch of idiots. I'm also from small-town Saskatchewan (I live in the small town of Langenburg, of about 1000 people), so I can really relate to the setting. We aren't nearly as strange here as they are on the show, though! You never forget what province the show takes place in because they mention that it's in Saskatchewan so much. I do think it's good have something from here be on national TV because (althought I hate to admit this), Saskatchewan doesn't seem to get nearly as much recognition as the other provinces (mind you we only have a population of about 1 million which is far less than the others).

There's been mention of Red Green here. I've got to say that The Red Green Show is probably amongst the best television Canada has to offer! Incidentally, did anyone see that episode of Red Green where he has a Lionel steam engine run on a layout on the roof of his car with a brush duct-taped on to it to make the windsheild wipers on all the windows move? An interesting idea, but I wouldn't want to try it in the rain like he intended to.

Keep your stick on the ice!

[jrbarney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

One of Dad's old girlfriends had the gaul to ask me if we had any Canadian Tires Stores in Nova Scotia. I believe my response was, Yes we got them just after running water, which preceeded that last of the Indian wars.

Fergie,
Maybe I have a lot of gall to ask this, but were you trying to subtly imply your Dad's old girlfriend was from Quebec ?
Bob

[Anonymous]

Pardon eh moi. There's no spell check on this thing. As you can see mon francais ain't to chaud either.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sask_Tinplater
....to people from the east who watch the show it might make us people from Saskatchewan look like a bunch of idiots.... We aren't nearly as strange here as they are on the show, though!

Well, Sask, the Corner Gas show does not make people from Saskatchewan look like idiots...it makes them look "average". Go to any village, town, or city in North America and you'll find carbon copies of the characters from every comedy show there is....even where Fergie now lives....go figure !
We here in the "urban" section of Meaford ( it includes two rural townships also), there's about 5000 people...and I personally know someone that's exactly like a Corner Gas character.
Problem is, I think I'm the guy who plays Brent Butt's DAD.[:o)][:I][:0]...that snarky old curmudgeon.[xx(]
Our cops aren't quite as smart as the ones on the show.[}:)]

I remember the Red Green episode with the Lionel engine...good stuff.

BigBoy...hope you and your son enjoy the NHL AllStar ,''young stars'', and skills competitions. I'll be watching for you....wear the train hat & coveralls please.[:D]
regards;
Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey Mike, after an hour and a half standing in line, our quest for hockey's holy grail resulted in this. That's me on the left , my son on the right, and I think you know the guy in the middle.[:D]



We even saw the cup's caretaker, the guy in the Master Card commercial, and in the evening, at the game, a number of team mascots were running up and down the aisles including the Leaf's Carlton the bear.

[Anonymous]

BigBoy & Son:
Way to go ![8D]
Really Wild shirts, too ![;)][:D]
regards, Mike

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robmik

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sask_Tinplater
....to people from the east who watch the show it might make us people from Saskatchewan look like a bunch of idiots.... We aren't nearly as strange here as they are on the show, though!

Well, Sask, the Corner Gas show does not make people from Saskatchewan look like idiots...it makes them look "average". Go to any village, town, or city in North America and you'll find carbon copies of the characters from every comedy show there is....even where Fergie now lives....go figure !
We here in the "urban" section of Meaford ( it includes two rural townships also), there's about 5000 people...and I personally know someone that's exactly like a Corner Gas character.
Problem is, I think I'm the guy who plays Brent Butt's DAD.[:o)][:I][:0]...that snarky old curmudgeon.[xx(]
Our cops aren't quite as smart as the ones on the show.[}:)]

I remember the Red Green episode with the Lionel engine...good stuff.

BigBoy...hope you and your son enjoy the NHL AllStar ,''young stars'', and skills competitions. I'll be watching for you....wear the train hat & coveralls please.[:D]
regards;
Mike

Hey Mike looks like you had a very good time.

As far as Corner Gas, Robmik is right that could be anywhere in NS. Besides and I'm not bragging we got "Trailer Park Boys" which believe it or not is filmed 5 miles down the road from me. And it's not suitable for young audiences either. Personally I'll take Corner Gas any day. Good clean fun for the whole family!

[electromotive]

Hey, all you guys..This was a great topic, as one who was raised in Wpg, we always enjoyed our trips down to Minneapolis... AND I remember when the Cdn. dollar was worth 1.05 U.S. !!
Moved to Vancouver in 65.. WARMER,
I model HO, and not CP or CN, but BNSF.....
Cheers.. and I hope the west wins the hockey game today..!!!

[Big_Boy_4005]

Oops Fergie, that's not Mike in the photo. That's Big Boy, and Big Boy Junior. Now you can see the other part of the reason I call myself "Big Boy", cause I ain't small. We went over the train related part back in your topic Remotoring an old big boy.[:D]

[Anonymous]

No I knew that I split the thread and addressed both of you sorry for the confusion. How's Mrs Big Boy?

[Anonymous]

Wow, guys....I got confused for a sec'.....what a "M.E.S.S." [:0]

I'm not little myself......I'm 6 feet and weigh about 250.[:I] But I think BigBoy has an edge on me.[8D]
I wear XXL plaid polyester pants for Hallowe'en...I used to wear them to the office.[:I][:o)]
But...I am almost 61, and my hair & moustache are rather white.[:p] BigBoy is a youngish fellow.
regards
Mike

[Big_Boy_4005]

I'm 6'-1" about 340 these days, but losing very slowly. As for Mrs Big Boy, junior's mother, she and I are recently divorced.

Big_Girl_4005 has been "sharing the roundhouse" with me since Mrs' departure, and in all honesty has a much better demenor than her predecessor, as this whole train thing is beginning to grow on her.[swg]

I hope that this explaination has not added to the M.E.S.S [:D] And I'm not offended Fergie, its an easy and honest mistake, and I find it kind of funny anyway[swg]

[Anonymous]

hi fergie--

the roundhouse is nice and comfortable

Big_Boy showed me the Pentrex video but I fell asleep after about 4008---but since I was awake for 4005 my place in the round house should be secure[:I]

I have been following all you guys' posts --- Big_Boy calls me over whenever there is something interesting going on--which is always[;)]

talk to you guys later

[Anonymous]

Well my wife suprised me tonight, she started to say seductive things like, Consolidated, 2-8-2 and wow where's this coming from. Sorry if this is TMI.
What's next?

[Anonymous]

Welcome, Big_Girl;
We Canadians post on this forum a lot because it's something our government hasn't figured out how to tax us for.[:0]
Plus the people here are very tolerant of our accents, eh ? [:I][;)]
regards;
Mike

[Anonymous]

fergie,

[;)]i will have to remember those kind of "sweet nothings" when i am trying to lure Big_Boy away from the puter[(-D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robmik

Welcome, Big_Girl;
We Canadians post on this forum a lot because it's something our government hasn't figured out how to tax us for.[:0]
Plus the people here are very tolerant of our accents, eh ? [:I][;)]
regards;
Mike

thanks for the welcome robmik,

you are preaching to the choir about the taxing[:D]

i work for a canadian company and there are several of your countrymen there as well so i am well used to the accent-- we in the U.S. love an accent especially those of us in Minnesota since we don't have one[;)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergus

Well my wife suprised me tonight, she started to say seductive things like, Consolidated, 2-8-2 and wow where's this coming from. Sorry if this is TMI.
What's next?

Well, Fergie, what's next COULD be a "wardrobe malfunction", as they call it these days.[;)][;)]
regards;
Mike