# The Canadope Café 2016: The North Awakens **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883 "2016-01-01T05:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/721 "2016-08-25T00:10:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Living in the US with a misguided superiority complex. Aww, that stings. But I think you’re cool anyway and we should hang out sometime - what do you think about a hard day of cross border shopping in Port Huron followed by some girl watching in Canatara Park? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/722 "2016-08-25T01:47:06Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I only got the first three. I seem to have missed out on the entire Hip phenom. Odd, since I was in Kingston when they were starting up. Same here. I’ve even been to one of their concerts years ago. No idea who they were before I went and promptly forgot who they were immediately after. Sent from my SM-N910U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/723 "2016-08-25T05:16:57Z")
I went to the July 26th Hip show in Vancouver. It was the day after my mother had been diagnosed with cancer, and a long planned trip to Scotland was cancelled. I put 300 dollars of trip money into my pocket and went with the plan of spending max 200 on a ticket and getting some merchandise and being able to have a beer or two at the concert. 10 minutes into the show I managed to get a ticket in the nosebleeds behind the stage. I had a perect view of Gordie’s back. I laughed cried and sang with 20 000 other people. It was one of the most cathartic experiences of my life. Watched the Kingston concert at a near by movie theatre. Less fun, because we had a lot of polite tourists and newer canadians in the crowd, who weren’t singing or dancing. Fiddler’s green had me bawling , even thought Grace, Too seems to be the song that was the emotional focal point. If anyone doubts how Canadian the Tragically Hip is consider that there are Tragically Hip songa that reference Terry Fox (Inevitability of Death) and refers to the Henderson goal. (Fireworks). The 4th picture is Downie. Thus 3/4 of the pictures are related to the Tragically Hip. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/724 "2016-08-26T03:05:53Z")
My co-worker had to pick up his son early from daycare (by the Toronto lake shore) because of a “suspicious package” nearby. We all scoffed a bit, assuming that it was a false alarm. But now the police are saying it’s connected to a triple crossbow murder in Scarborough! Weird… > **[Toronto crossbow deaths in east end linked to suspicious package downtown:...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/stabbing-scarborough-1.3735718)** > > Toronto police confirm there is a link between the three deaths involving a crossbow in east Toronto and a suspicious package found in the downtown area of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/725 "2016-08-27T00:51:23Z")
They said the names of deceased were not being released due to a publication ban, which would be weird since the accused is in his 30’s, not a youth, but a later article says it’s the usual thing that the police won’t release the names until after next-of-kin have been notified. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/726 "2016-08-27T02:52:34Z")
A crossbow? I thought those were put on the restricted list after that guy killed his ex-wife with one in Ottawa about ten years ago. Where do you get a cross-bow? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/727 "2016-08-27T03:10:30Z")
Apparently Canadian Tire. ETA: Among many other sports equipment stores. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/728 "2016-08-27T05:01:03Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > A crossbow? > > I thought those were put on the restricted list after that guy killed his ex-wife with one in Ottawa about ten years ago. > > Where do you get a cross-bow? [Sawed off crossbows are prohibited, but two-handed ones are OK.](https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/regu/sor-98-462/latest/sor-98-462.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAIY3Jvc3Nib3cAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=2) [http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/faq/index-eng.htm#a4a](http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/faq/index-eng.htm#a4a) > [@](#): > > A5. Crossbows that can be aimed and fired with one hand and crossbows with an overall length of 500 mm or less are prohibited. You cannot lawfully possess or acquire a prohibited crossbow. > > You do not need a valid licence or registration certificate to possess any other type of bow, including a crossbow that is longer than 500 mm and that requires the use of both hands. Criminal Code provisions making it an offence to acquire a crossbow without a valid licence were never brought into force. > > If you plan to use a bow to hunt, please check provincial hunting regulations for information on hunting licence requirements and restrictions that may apply to the use of bows. For example, some provinces do not allow crossbows for hunting. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/729 "2016-08-28T05:09:32Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > They said the names of deceased were not being released due to a publication ban, which would be weird since the accused is in his 30’s, not a youth, but a later article says it’s the usual thing that the police won’t release the names until after next-of-kin have been notified. Now that more information is out, (a) the murderer is a convicted bank robber known as the “Fake Beard Bandit” and (b) it sounds like he blamed his family for his father’s death for some reason. Curiouser and curiouser. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/730 "2016-08-29T04:43:30Z")
I’m back from the cottage so I can write about the Hip finale now. For me, it was “Grace, Too” that did it. I was born and raised in Kingston, but just a bit too young to experience the Hip live when they were first emerging in the local scene. Born in 1971, I was just starting high school when the Hip were rolling themselves out at places like the Manor; by the time I was graduating, “New Orleans was Sinking” was already a massive hit, one I didn’t have a ton of interest in. My musical tastes at the time ran a broad spectrum but you were likelier to find me loading up Sting or Peter Gabriel. In 1989 - the year the Hip released thier first LP, “Up to Here” - I was rediscovering older music, too. “New Orleans Is Sinking” was a song they played on Muchmusic a lot and it wasn’t my style. I was aware they were from Kingston and did not really care, truth be told. I have little interest in where people are from; I’m not provincial. Lots of my friends liked them but so what, we all like different things. I started liking the band in 1991. Now at university, I was studying one night and “Road Apples” was playing on the communal tape deck, one of the sort that would just go from side to side endlessly if you let it. I like music being on when I work, and couldn’t bother to change it. After one play I thought, hey, this isn’t bad. After another, hey, this is really good. After a third, hey, who the hell ARE these guys? I’d never heard music like it. “Fully Completely” I rushed out to buy and was not disappointed. The ferocious rock of “Locked in the Trunk of a Car” fascinated me. I adored that song. And all the songs, really; I had never, in my life, heard an album that so spoke to me. I’d heard lots of great albums, certainly albums performed with more technical proficiency and albums that were better recorded (“Fully Completely” was not well produced, I’m sad to say; whenever possible you should choose the remastered versions of the tracks on Yer Favourites) but I’d never heard anything so damn FASCINATING. No band I’d ever heard was like that. They were my favourite band, full stop. A moment now, to discuss Gordon Downie as a lyricist; he is the best lyricist in the history of popular music, full stop. He is not the best Canadian lyricist, not the best lyricist of an era; he is the best ever. It’s not a close call, either; Downie is to rock lyrics what Michael Jordan was to basketball, Usain Bolt to sprinting, Gretzky to hockey. That’s a bold statement and I stand by it, but he is completely without peer. Others approach him from time to time - Springsteen, for sure; Lennon was often brilliant, Morrison crazy original, Zevon intelligent, Paul Simon beautifully and cleverly evocative, Roger Hodgson emotional and urgent. None are as effortlessly literary, as wonderful with words and metaphor and double entendre and feelings. Bob Dylan’s lyrics are hopelessly juvenile nonsense by comparison. Between “Up to Here” and “Phantom Power” Downie produced more brilliant written lyrics than has any other lyricst ever; there are more lovely, wonderful lines than I care to type here, 100 of which Canadian rocks fans know and hundreds more they’ve fogotten. Other writers write “My baby’s so hot” or in the case of Robert Plant, honey drips; he loves that. Downie; “My girl don’t just walk; she unfurls.” Later in his career he sort of lost his editing pen from time to time but there remain brilliant works of art in there. His lyrics are both accessible and deeply meaningful, evoke feelings when needed and say literal things when needed, speak with a remarkably natural voice, never rely on rock music cliche, and yet scan perfectly, always singable. The number of brilliant songs - it’s got to be three dozen. Maybe more. Fifty? There is little filler in their albums. You could have held a second concert of 30 songs with the stuff they didn’t get around to. “She Didn’t Know,” “38 Years Old,” “Everytime You Go,” “Thugs,” “The Luxury,” and on and on. Much of the talk of Downie’s lyrics, which merge perfectly with the band’s music, speak of the Canadiana in it, and God knows he unapologetically makes references to Canadian people and places. But it’s not about Canada; many of the band’s finest songs have nothing at all to do with Canada - Locked in the Trunk of a Car, Little Bones, Blow at High Dough, Cordelia, Nautical Disaster (contrary to belief, the titular disaster doesn’t sound like Dieppe, but it is awfully accurate in describing the sinking of the German superbattleship Bismarck.) All the songs rock. Downie did not write Canadiana in to impress you, and if an American reference worked better he used it. He wrote in Canadiana because he was Canadian, and it made sense to him. The sum total was rock lyrics raised to an art form never matched before or since. I could intersperse this whole thing with brilliant lyrics and never run out of material. But I won’t. Go listen to them. It’s worth it. Anyway, I attended a concert at Richardson Stadium in - geez, 1993? 1994? The band was just starting to put out “Day For Night” and one of the songs they started playing was “Nautical Disaster.” New songs always get less crowd reaction, no one knows them, but, Jesus. The crowd was awestruck. I was floored. What the hell did we just hear? The album came out and I immediately zipped to “Nautical Disaster” and listened, in amazement, at a song of the sort I had never heard before; a tight, hard rock song that has no chorus, no lyrical structure, just power and loudness and a story within a story within a story. I was amazed. And then I went back to “Grace, Too” and listened all the way through and was further amazed. I had never heard anything like it; the entire album was unapologetic genius. (Okay, I don’t like "Daredevil.) Over time it was “Grace, Too” that grew on me and became my favourite song from the album. There is, again, no song really like it. It is an epic rock anthem that in the end almost cries out in anguish and frustration and pain about a story that ten people will interpret ten different ways; one woman once told me it was about a man and an escort who had truly fallen in love, and they tried for real, but could never be together because of how they had come to know each other and she was the one strong enough to walk away. That seems as good an explanation as any I can provide you, and the poignancy and sadness of it would explain Downie’s fury and the crying, keening guitars that complete the song. After that the band’s output is a little shaky; there are great parts in the next three albums, especially the wonderful Phantom Power, and it kind of fell away from there, but occasional genius still seeped out. I do not know that I will ever appreciate a band more. Certainly no singer will ever speak to me before; in addition to being the best lyricist there ever was and a great singer, Downie was from my hometown, my province. He speaks with a voice not unlike mine, and so there is a comforting familiarity to it, but apparently I am not alone, based on the group’s prodigious record sales. It was the soundtrack of most of my life. It still is. Studying and listening in wonder to “Road Apples.” Riding in my car with the first woman I really fell in love with, singing together to the end of Eldorado… “Inside, inside, inside…” Rocking out to “Fully Completely” with my best bud. Doing a sensational karaoke rendition of “Bobcaygeon.” That night in Toronto. Singing “Fiddler’s Green” as a lullabye to my little girl. The same wind that moves her hair. I guess Gord Downie has little time left. He looked very sick. It is a shame that he cannot live longer. I hope he can find solace that he brought joy to so many and spent so much time at what he loves. But it’s a shame we all cannot live longer. The world is so full of wonders; 50 years is not enough, nor 80, nor two hundred. I wish he and I and all of us could live a hundred lives, but we can’t, so we get the most out of what we’re given, and that he did. God, their music was so wonderful. And then, towards the end of thier final concert, they played “Grace, Too,” because of course they would never not have. And after struggling most of the night, ill and sapped of most of his energy, Downie put every ounce he could into it, and the band rose up, and the music thundered, and my fiancee who loves that song and I watched in awe, and I burst into tears because I never want this to end, not them, not me, not my family, not any part of our beautiful world that is so full of art and love and wonder, but you know everything must end to have meaning in existing, so goodbye, Gord. One of thier innumerable strengths as songwriters was they knew to end a song (you will notice very, very few Hip songs fade out; most end on an ending note, and the few that don’t have a thematic reason to fade out.) And so, in that spirit, I’ll end on an ending note; Downie was the best lyricsts there ever was, The Hip were the greatest popular music act Canada has ever produced, and I am eternally thankful to them for the happiness they gave me and continue to give me. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/731 "2016-09-09T19:06:28Z")
How on Earth is the [Phoenix payroll](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/phoenix-manager-troubles-pay-files-1.3753794) system still so f’ed up? I had read stories earlier on about people working for months without getting cheques. Is that still happening? And why does the government need to spend another $50 million to fix this issue, isn’t that the providers issue to fix at no extra cost? I would guess that any level of government wouldn’t allow a private company to go this long without paying their employees. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/732 "2016-09-09T19:15:09Z")
I’m amazed people kept going to work. I gotta tell you, it wouldn’t take months for me to conclude that reporting to work for a place that doesn’t pay me might not be the best use of my time. It’s things like this that reveal the cowardice and ineptitude inherent in government operations. I work for a fairly big company and there’s rules and everything, but if someone didn’t get paid, that would be fixed very, very quickly, and whomever fixed it would have no fear of repercussions for doing what had to be done because, well, people have to be paid. It’s not an option. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/733 "2016-09-09T19:25:39Z")
How could it possibly be THAT difficult to pay people? Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/734 "2016-09-09T23:08:25Z")
I’d the employee entitled to take leave and can’t officially because of some bullshit computer system reason? Then dickless manager should just send her home and let her keep the pay. “I can’t manage my employees”, he says because the tool is broke. What a bureaucrat. Sent from my SM-N910U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2016, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/735 "2016-09-10T11:35:25Z")
I just don’t understand why the employees affected aren’t filing labour standards complaints under the Canada Labour Code against the government. It’s the same legal requirement that applies to private employers covered by the Code. Or, why no class action or union grievance? Are federal employees that supine? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/736 "2016-09-12T20:16:06Z")
Tootoo tabu. [http://a.msn.com/r/2/AAiN07S?a=1&m=EN-CA](http://a.msn.com/r/2/AAiN07S?a=1&m=EN-CA) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/737 "2016-09-21T13:10:56Z")
Just keeping an eye on this bizzare movie-like incident in Toronto yesterday. The basic story: a prominent defense lawyer was walking out of his office when he was approached by a man wearing construction gear. The man pulled out a gun and shot the lawyer several times. Then, when the man jumped in a car to drive away, he was shot down by some undercover cops who just happened to be on the scene, armed with rifles. Both would-be killer and lawyer survived and are in hospital. All of this happened in the Annex, a very upscale area, in broad daylight. > **[Lawyer shot in daylight in Toronto’s Annex; police wound suspect](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/shooting-in-torontos-annex-neighbourhood-leaves-two-injured/article31976090/)** > > Alleged attacker engaged in gunfight with undercover Halton police after shooting prominent criminal lawyer Randall Barrs multiple times Not many facts other than that released. Interesting to speculate wtf happened. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/738 "2016-09-22T12:07:39Z")
Very disturbing. Sun article speculates it was a contract hit and the shooter may have been under police surveillance at the time: > **[Was shooting of lawyer a contract hit?](https://torontosun.com/2016/09/21/was-shooting-of-lawyer-a-contract-hit)** > > Something doesn’t add up. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/739 "2016-09-23T07:51:58Z")
Turns out it both design and construction of [The Bridge that Went Sproing](https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/province-releases-cause-of-bridge-failure-421064) were botched. For folks who are wondering [what the failure looked like](http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/highway-bridges/nipigon-bridge/pdfs/ae-exec-summary.pdf), there’s one on page three of one of the reports. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883/740 "2016-09-23T13:25:59Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Very disturbing. Sun article speculates it was a contract hit and the shooter may have been under police surveillance at the time: > > [Was shooting of lawyer a contract hit? | Toronto Sun](http://m.torontosun.com/2016/09/21/was-shooting-of-lawyer-a-contract-hit) Heh, that was exactly what I was asking myself: mob hit, or angry/nutso client? The signs point to “mob hit”. Guy in disguise with car with stolen plates; target has a lot of clients into drug smuggling and nightclub ownership, both popular among organized crime types. I guess one question is whether the cops were watching the lawyer, or following the shooter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-canadope-cafe-2016-the-north-awakens/741883.md?page=38)