Wife is Canadian,which I do not hold against her,although isn’t something I like known in public.
Canucks can be an odd bunch. Canadians hate Americans. They really do talk funny,and they are obsessed with hockey,much worse than any Yank (as they are wont to call us) is besotted with baseball or football. And they hate Americans.
On the plus side,Canada has given us excellent advances in cuisine,particularly in doughnuts and beer. Margaret Atwood,Alice Munro,and Robertson Davies are Canucks. They have spectacular scenery and they have Montreal. Best of all,they can be hilarious.
Second City’s Toronto outpost and its extension,SCTV,gave the world Dan Akroyd,Gilda Radner,Catherine O’Hara,Andrea Martin,Eugene Levy,Dave Thomas,Joe Flaherty,Rick Moranis,Martin Short,and,lest we never forget,the late,great John Candy. That’s not to mention “The Kids in the Hall,”“Trailer Park Boys,”and Jim Carrey,who,I understand,has fans who actually think he’s a laff riot.
Now,I point you to another great comedic innovation from the Great White North:the Canadian Public Service Announcement.
Before you read further,watch the video below. You will find it disturbing or you will die laughing.
This is undoubtedly one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
The television show mentioned above is an appropriate reference:the guy goes flying through the air like an SCTV dummy. I didn’t think,“Wow! Drinking and driving is awful!”but rather “That’s what you get when you’re a pompous ass talking into a camera and not paying attention to what’s going on around you. I also thought,“That’s awesome.”
I literally laughed until it hurt. Wife came over to look at me,and must of thought me a sicko. But as Mel Brooks said,“I stub my toe,it’s a tragedy. You fall into a hole and die,that’s comedy.”(Similar spots put out by the same outfit show people hurt in car crashes,and are definitely not humorous.)
There are also two other Canadian PSAs worth viewing,though I am reticent to post them. They show violence against women,which is not humorous in the least. However,these PSAs are so far over the top that they left me with my mouth hanging open,in the “I can’t believe they actually did this”sense of things. (See them here and here. Warning:at least one of you will find these offensive,or offensive that I found any type of humor in them.)
What will strike anyone about all of these PSAs is the violence,the idea being that showing a car crash or woman being soaked in hot coffee will horrify the viewer to think,“Hey,maybe drinking and driving or this domestic violence thing isn’t so great after all!”
I came across these nuggets as I was trying to recall yet another PSA from our friends north of the border,in one of my all-time pieces of lost television. In the spot,a man throwing down a Molson’s and his daughter are seen leaving a cookout.
We then see the father and daughter driving away. Dad runs through a stop sign,the daughter screams “Daaaaaaad!”,and a semi tractor-trailer slams into the side of the car. (As my brother-in-law aptly put it,“The T-bone!”)
Cut to the man who hosted the cookout. He’s on the telephone. The look on his face indicates that he’s just learned that the Maple Leafs have moved to Memphis,Tennessee,but it is something less serious.
“What do you mean?”he says. “They were just here.”I don’t know how the police would know that the victims were just at the cookout,especially the implication that they’re dead.
(If anyone out there knows where to find this clip,please alert me now. I will name our first born after you,especially if your name is Raoul.)
Now you know where Volkswagen got the idea for its own car crash commercials,the ones in which two people are riding along in their VWs,enjoying an afternoon of farfegnugen,when they get slammed.
There are others I’ve seen from Canada:a gambling addict screaming at his computer (“It’s not fair!”) and a psychotically cheery Home Ec teacher telling us to eat different colored vegetables at every meal. All these pieces have one thing in common:they end up parodying themselves.
Now there’s a role model
I have my theories why Canada puts out such sincere yet ludicrous stuff.
1. They are sincere yet ludicrous.
2. They need to get laid.
3. They hate Americans.
My best theory is that there is a dichotomy between the serious Canadians,those with utmost rectitude,and the ludicrous Canadians who make funny television and movies,and never the twain shall meet. Like I said,I SCTV might have made the video posted above,except it would be Johnny LaRue,Count Floyd,or Edith Prickley flying through the air.
And so you ask:Bookfraud,are you going to stop drinking and blogging?
The anti-drunk driving PSA that you shared looked like it could have been from a Kids in the Hall episode. Are you sure that they just aren’t recycling old comedy skits? I think that it is just a matter of time before the “Save the giblets”clip from early SNL is used. Imagine all of the kitchen mishaps that can be aided.
So you think we’re funny…Eh?
cheraldo:it definitely had a kids in the hall feel to it,combined with the “pipi longstocks”skit from sctv. if you were to see the other anti-drunk-driving commercials from the series,you’d know that comedy wasn’t what they were aiming for.
“save the giblets:”was that the dan ackroyd as juilia child skit whence she bled ten pints?
nick:oh,sure.
The anti-drunk driving PSA that you shared looked like it could have been from a Kids in the Hall episode. Are you sure that they just aren’t recycling old comedy skits? I think that it is just a matter of time before the “Save the giblets”clip from early SNL is used. Imagine all of the kitchen mishaps that can be aided.
The anti-drunk driving PSA that you shared looked like it could have been from a Kids in the Hall episode. Are you sure that they just aren’t recycling old comedy skits? I think that it is just a matter of time before the “Save the giblets”clip from early SNL is used. Imagine all of the kitchen mishaps that can be aided.
So you think we’re funny…Eh?
So you think we’re funny…Eh?
cheraldo:it definitely had a kids in the hall feel to it,combined with the “pipi longstocks”skit from sctv. if you were to see the other anti-drunk-driving commercials from the series,you’d know that comedy wasn’t what they were aiming for.
“save the giblets:”was that the dan ackroyd as juilia child skit whence she bled ten pints?
nick:oh,sure.
cheraldo:it definitely had a kids in the hall feel to it,combined with the “pipi longstocks”skit from sctv. if you were to see the other anti-drunk-driving commercials from the series,you’d know that comedy wasn’t what they were aiming for.
“save the giblets:”was that the dan ackroyd as juilia child skit whence she bled ten pints?
nick:oh,sure.
The shock value is undeniable,but maybe they are more effective in Canada than here. I think the US is so desensitized to those kinds of images that they elicit laughter rather that concern. Judging by the moronic comments left on YouTube,there’s a whole lotta wife beaters out there.
The shock value is undeniable,but maybe they are more effective in Canada than here. I think the US is so desensitized to those kinds of images that they elicit laughter rather that concern. Judging by the moronic comments left on YouTube,there’s a whole lotta wife beaters out there.
The shock value is undeniable,but maybe they are more effective in Canada than here. I think the US is so desensitized to those kinds of images that they elicit laughter rather that concern. Judging by the moronic comments left on YouTube,there’s a whole lotta wife beaters out there.
Previously,I didn’t “hate”Americans.
I believe,however,I can safely leave punishment to your wife.
Be well.
Don’t hate the player,hate the game.
I have a few kids from Canada in my 4th hour French class. They’re awesome and they let me tease them about being Canadian all the time. Of course,we’re so close to Canada that we actually know they don’t hate us. Well,not all of us,anyway.
Previously,I didn’t “hate”Americans.
I believe,however,I can safely leave punishment to your wife.
Be well.
Previously,I didn’t “hate”Americans.
I believe,however,I can safely leave punishment to your wife.
Be well.
There is no way that was a serious PSA.
That is one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy writing I have seen in a long time. I watched over and over and over.
Robin Williams put it best.
Canada is like a big empty drafty loft apartment over a really good party you weren’t invited to.
Mr. Adam “Edge”Copeland of the WWE is Canadian. Need I say more? Yum.
collin:i don’t know if the video posted here is more effective in the great white north —my canadian brother in law doesn’t think so.
but you are right. the meatheads who posted comments to you tube are assholes. i only meant to point out that these psas are so over the top,i just wondered what the hell they were thinking.
bernita:you mean my blog makes you hate us yanks?
you’re right;wife is going to do some butt-kicking once she reads this entry.
michele:don’t get me wrong. i love canadians. i love canada. i just wonder about who is making their public service announcements.
phoenix:yes,that was a serious psa. the others in the series are actually quite horrifying.
what really gets me is the fact that this snotrag is lecturing “me”on drunk driving,and then gets hit by a car —we don’t even know if the guy is drunk or not,or if was his fault! comedic gold,i tell you.
no comment on the canada slam. i may end up living there one day.
jordan:good to see ya here.
let’s not forget brett “the hitman”hart,“rowdy”roddy piper,chris benoit,ivan koloff,joe leduc,archie “the mongolian stomper”gouldie,abdullah the butcher,two dudes from quebec who wrestled as a tag team,and “the mountie.”great stuff. and scary i know all of it.
Don’t hate the player,hate the game.
I have a few kids from Canada in my 4th hour French class. They’re awesome and they let me tease them about being Canadian all the time. Of course,we’re so close to Canada that we actually know they don’t hate us. Well,not all of us,anyway.
Don’t hate the player,hate the game.
I have a few kids from Canada in my 4th hour French class. They’re awesome and they let me tease them about being Canadian all the time. Of course,we’re so close to Canada that we actually know they don’t hate us. Well,not all of us,anyway.
Raise your hand if you laughed at that DUI video because you thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit and then felt like shit when the guy at the end screamed “Call 9-1-1!”because you realized:they were actually being serious.
You know what I love about Canada? That their flag has a maple leaf on it and their national animal is a beaver and that nobody in Canada thinks this is weird enough to actually change it. This makes me do two things:(1) Breathe a big sigh of relief that Benjamin Franklin’s pitch to make the turkey the USA’s national bird fell through and (2) laugh and laugh and laugh. Which is probably why Canadians hate Americans so much. We just don’t take other countries seriously.
Drinking and blogging is F.U.N.! Sometimes,after I’ve drunk and blogged erratically? I do wake up the next morning kind of embarrassed,wondering exactly what I SAID on other people’s blogs. But then I realize I still have another bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer in my fridge and I do it all over again.
I just hope Mothers Against Internet Drinking (MAID) don’t hear about this.
There is no way that was a serious PSA.
That is one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy writing I have seen in a long time. I watched over and over and over.
Robin Williams put it best.
Canada is like a big empty drafty loft apartment over a really good party you weren’t invited to.
There is no way that was a serious PSA.
That is one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy writing I have seen in a long time. I watched over and over and over.
Robin Williams put it best.
Canada is like a big empty drafty loft apartment over a really good party you weren’t invited to.
Mr. Adam “Edge”Copeland of the WWE is Canadian. Need I say more? Yum.
Mr. Adam “Edge”Copeland of the WWE is Canadian. Need I say more? Yum.
collin:i don’t know if the video posted here is more effective in the great white north —my canadian brother in law doesn’t think so.
but you are right. the meatheads who posted comments to you tube are assholes. i only meant to point out that these psas are so over the top,i just wondered what the hell they were thinking.
bernita:you mean my blog makes you hate us yanks?
you’re right;wife is going to do some butt-kicking once she reads this entry.
michele:don’t get me wrong. i love canadians. i love canada. i just wonder about who is making their public service announcements.
collin:i don’t know if the video posted here is more effective in the great white north —my canadian brother in law doesn’t think so.
but you are right. the meatheads who posted comments to you tube are assholes. i only meant to point out that these psas are so over the top,i just wondered what the hell they were thinking.
bernita:you mean my blog makes you hate us yanks?
you’re right;wife is going to do some butt-kicking once she reads this entry.
michele:don’t get me wrong. i love canadians. i love canada. i just wonder about who is making their public service announcements.
phoenix:yes,that was a serious psa. the others in the series are actually quite horrifying.
what really gets me is the fact that this snotrag is lecturing “me”on drunk driving,and then gets hit by a car —we don’t even know if the guy is drunk or not,or if was his fault! comedic gold,i tell you.
no comment on the canada slam. i may end up living there one day.
jordan:good to see ya here.
let’s not forget brett “the hitman”hart,“rowdy”roddy piper,chris benoit,ivan koloff,joe leduc,archie “the mongolian stomper”gouldie,abdullah the butcher,two dudes from quebec who wrestled as a tag team,and “the mountie.”great stuff. and scary i know all of it.
phoenix:yes,that was a serious psa. the others in the series are actually quite horrifying.
what really gets me is the fact that this snotrag is lecturing “me”on drunk driving,and then gets hit by a car —we don’t even know if the guy is drunk or not,or if was his fault! comedic gold,i tell you.
no comment on the canada slam. i may end up living there one day.
jordan:good to see ya here.
let’s not forget brett “the hitman”hart,“rowdy”roddy piper,chris benoit,ivan koloff,joe leduc,archie “the mongolian stomper”gouldie,abdullah the butcher,two dudes from quebec who wrestled as a tag team,and “the mountie.”great stuff. and scary i know all of it.
Raise your hand if you laughed at that DUI video because you thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit and then felt like shit when the guy at the end screamed “Call 9-1-1!”because you realized:they were actually being serious.
You know what I love about Canada? That their flag has a maple leaf on it and their national animal is a beaver and that nobody in Canada thinks this is weird enough to actually change it. This makes me do two things:(1) Breathe a big sigh of relief that Benjamin Franklin’s pitch to make the turkey the USA’s national bird fell through and (2) laugh and laugh and laugh. Which is probably why Canadians hate Americans so much. We just don’t take other countries seriously.
Drinking and blogging is F.U.N.! Sometimes,after I’ve drunk and blogged erratically? I do wake up the next morning kind of embarrassed,wondering exactly what I SAID on other people’s blogs. But then I realize I still have another bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer in my fridge and I do it all over again.
I just hope Mothers Against Internet Drinking (MAID) don’t hear about this.
Raise your hand if you laughed at that DUI video because you thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit and then felt like shit when the guy at the end screamed “Call 9-1-1!”because you realized:they were actually being serious.
You know what I love about Canada? That their flag has a maple leaf on it and their national animal is a beaver and that nobody in Canada thinks this is weird enough to actually change it. This makes me do two things:(1) Breathe a big sigh of relief that Benjamin Franklin’s pitch to make the turkey the USA’s national bird fell through and (2) laugh and laugh and laugh. Which is probably why Canadians hate Americans so much. We just don’t take other countries seriously.
Drinking and blogging is F.U.N.! Sometimes,after I’ve drunk and blogged erratically? I do wake up the next morning kind of embarrassed,wondering exactly what I SAID on other people’s blogs. But then I realize I still have another bottle of wine or 6 pack of beer in my fridge and I do it all over again.
I just hope Mothers Against Internet Drinking (MAID) don’t hear about this.
I have never seen that PSA on my (Canadian) television in my life,but I laughed and laughed and laughed. That was really bad.
To be fair,though,we have Classy Canadian Commercials too–our Heritage commercials? Pure gold,definitely made with a bigger budget and less laughable. Especially the Burning Toast one. Your wife probably knows what I’m talking about. If you don’t,you cannot say you’ve really lived. I tried to find it on Youtube but came up empty handed,alas.
Oh holy crap I laughed myself hoarse.
Me,I love the Canadians. They’re nice,they don’t all carry firearms to school,and I grew up in Alaska,so I’m down with the climate.
On the other hand? They say “Zed”for “Z”. Now that’s just weird.
I have never seen that PSA on my (Canadian) television in my life,but I laughed and laughed and laughed. That was really bad.
To be fair,though,we have Classy Canadian Commercials too–our Heritage commercials? Pure gold,definitely made with a bigger budget and less laughable. Especially the Burning Toast one. Your wife probably knows what I’m talking about. If you don’t,you cannot say you’ve really lived. I tried to find it on Youtube but came up empty handed,alas.
I have never seen that PSA on my (Canadian) television in my life,but I laughed and laughed and laughed. That was really bad.
To be fair,though,we have Classy Canadian Commercials too–our Heritage commercials? Pure gold,definitely made with a bigger budget and less laughable. Especially the Burning Toast one. Your wife probably knows what I’m talking about. If you don’t,you cannot say you’ve really lived. I tried to find it on Youtube but came up empty handed,alas.
Oh holy crap I laughed myself hoarse.
Me,I love the Canadians. They’re nice,they don’t all carry firearms to school,and I grew up in Alaska,so I’m down with the climate.
On the other hand? They say “Zed”for “Z”. Now that’s just weird.
Oh holy crap I laughed myself hoarse.
Me,I love the Canadians. They’re nice,they don’t all carry firearms to school,and I grew up in Alaska,so I’m down with the climate.
On the other hand? They say “Zed”for “Z”. Now that’s just weird.
amy:you have been taking this drinking and blogging thing seriously,having you?
courtney:i have not seen the heritage commercials,but are they like the ones that featured canadian wildlife? i will ask wife.
madame d.:yeah,i had to get wife to stop saying “zed.”otherwise i wouldn’t have married her.
amy:you have been taking this drinking and blogging thing seriously,having you?
courtney:i have not seen the heritage commercials,but are they like the ones that featured canadian wildlife? i will ask wife.
madame d.:yeah,i had to get wife to stop saying “zed.”otherwise i wouldn’t have married her.
amy:you have been taking this drinking and blogging thing seriously,having you?
courtney:i have not seen the heritage commercials,but are they like the ones that featured canadian wildlife? i will ask wife.
madame d.:yeah,i had to get wife to stop saying “zed.”otherwise i wouldn’t have married her.