Canadian Prairies better than anywhere else? (per capita, of course)

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Guess Who, Royal Art Lodge, Joni Mitchell, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Bruce McCulloch, Leslie Neilsen, Brigitte Neilsen, Wendell Clark, universal healthcare, Dianne Warren (the writer writer not the songwriter), fibre optics, Wayne's World 2, corn on the cob, Stamped Wrestling, Seagram's booze and the Eiffel Tower.

Can any other region with so few few people spread of such a large area claim to have as much impact on the human condition? No, I didn't think so.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 30 January 2003 16:32 (twenty-three years ago)

the Mongols

― g.cannon (gcannon), Thursday, 30 January 2003 16:33 (twenty-three years ago)

You may be right! and you didn't even mention The Great One or TCB by BTO!

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Thursday, 30 January 2003 16:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Horace, WHAT HAPPENED TO VI/CO??!!??!!

― Bryan (Bryan), Thursday, 30 January 2003 16:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Fritz, that's right, I totally forgot Muhammad Ali was born in Lethbridge...no wait.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 30 January 2003 16:43 (twenty-three years ago)

bryon gysin was from edmonton, though he later disavowed any knowledge of the place ...

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Thursday, 30 January 2003 17:11 (twenty-three years ago)

i want to pettion to make something in edmonton a brion gysion memoiral (park, library, parking space, adult video store?)

― anthony easton (anthony), Thursday, 30 January 2003 17:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Bah, spot the westerner.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Thursday, 30 January 2003 18:18 (twenty-three years ago)

OK OK, BC never made a single contribution to the advancement of civilisation but WE GOT THE BEST WEED. So fuck u

― dave negative creep & Ii'm stoned q, Thursday, 30 January 2003 21:32 (twenty-three years ago)

OK OK, BC never made a single contribution to the advancement of civilisation but WE GOT THE BEST WEED. So fuck u

I thought it was conclusively PROVEN BY SCIENCE that that title had moved to the lovely province of Manitoba. Bryan, back me up here.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 30 January 2003 22:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Flin Flon to be exact. No really. But Snoop Dog was a big fan of BC weed, right before he gave up the smoke completely, so maybe it only seemed good when you were high. Like Frank Zappa.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 31 January 2003 03:52 (twenty-three years ago)

TS: BTO "Roll On Down the Highway" vs Burton Cummings' "Fine State of Affairs"

― dave q, Friday, 31 January 2003 07:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually, they ended up trashing the first crop in Flin Flon because of THC inconsistencies. The next crop should be KILLER.

― Bryan (Bryan), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 15:13 (twenty-three years ago)

What about Guy Maddin? (Or is Winnipeg not the prairies? Pardon my awful lack of Canadian geographical knowledge.)

― JD (JND), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Guy Maddin definitely counts here.

I'm listening to the Weakerthans right now, AGAIN, and it's still connecting with me in a really deep kind of way. There's just something about the way Samson turns a phrase that resonates with me....and I guess it doesn't hurt that I know a lot of the references he's making.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 15:55 (twenty-three years ago)

Guy Maddin, Tom Waits's favourite filmmaker (except, probably Jarmusch), is indeed Can-Prairinavian.
Fuck the Tragically Hip, Wpg is the real Paris of the Prairies (I was born in Saskatoon, and think it's a fine city, but Wpg is better)

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 15:56 (twenty-three years ago)

my love for the canadian prairies has grown deeply over the past two weeks. let's rate the prairie cities.

1) winnipeg
2) edmonton (we're closing in fast, just watch!)
3) calgary
4) saskatoon
5) regina

i don't know which is better, saskatoon or regina, but i'm guessing saskatoon. the running joke among some is seeing how long you can spend in regina without being offered drugs.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 16:25 (twenty-three years ago)

If it wasn't for the fact Im the only Maritimer on this bitch I'd be so up for an East Vs Prairies FITE.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 16:26 (twenty-three years ago)

actually i'm an honorary maritimer ... my dad is from nova scotia and i spent a lot of time there as a kid. i love nova scotia a LOT (except for cape breton, which is the creepiest place i've yet been to).

let's rate the maritime cities.

1) halifax
2) uhhhh ....

;-)

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 16:29 (twenty-three years ago)

I would rate Saskatoon over Calgary, but otherwise agree with F.O.S. Regina is literally a sinkhole. (built on an underground lake, so roads fall apart and winter is colder) I live here, but I have also lived in almost every major Cdn city (except Maritmes, Quebec City, and Victoria).
Regina turns 100 this year and deserves euthanasia. Is Wpg taking refugees?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 16:32 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm curious why you would rate saskatoon over calgary? i mean, i hate calgary too, but ...

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 16:58 (twenty-three years ago)

1. Halifax
2. Moncton
3. Saint Johns
4. Fredericton
5. Charlottetown

I also fab Saint John very much. Though it ets confusing in the AHL when Saint Johns Baby Leafs would play the Saint John Flames.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 17:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I always used to say that the best thing about Regina was seeing it in your rearview mirror. I like Saskatoon a lot, though...spent quite a bit of time there setting up one of the record stores when I was still doing the roving manager thing. And, of course, the jazz fest is ace.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 17:09 (twenty-three years ago)

What are we grading on? Economics or artistic output or livability?
If it's purely Econ, the Cgy takes the stupid cake, but Saskatoon is prettier, more vibrant, it's like a little Edmonton. Whereas Cgy is cold (in attitude more than temp.), and awfully dull considering all the things it could have going for it.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 17:10 (twenty-three years ago)

but Saskatoon is prettier, more vibrant, it's like a little Edmonton.

that's the answer i was looking for. what makes saskatoon vibrant these days? and are there any good record stores?

calgary well and truly sucks. everyone there is really hasty to tell you how much their shoes cost.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 17:23 (twenty-three years ago)

I was up there a couple of wkends ago, and really scored at the used record stores. My favourite was the Vinyl Diner on Broadway, they have a lot of great used soul.
What's making it vibrant? There are a lot of small businesses there, like boutiques I guess, whereas in Regina, if you're not in a mall, or a big-box, you might as well just buy red pens. No need for black.
The fact that about 20% of S'toon's population are Univ students makes a huge difference. I think the U of S is at 40K, in a city of just over 200K, so that works for them.
The big thing right now, from what I could gather, is a battle over a destination casino downtown. In Regina, the entire downtown hinges on the casino, even though there's virtually no spill-over spending in the neighbourhood, a complex and ugly series of skywalks and overpasses has seen to that.
It's sad to me, because I used to really hate Regina when I went to high school here, and then after all my traveling was done, thought of this town as a great challenge. But there's a real fatalistic attitude here. All the new employment initiatives have been centre around call centres.
"800 new jobs!' huzzahs the chamber of commerce. But that's 800 low-paying, mostly part-time, not at all long-term, bullshit jobs that people come to resent within a week of working there.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 4 February 2003 18:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ahh, so you're in Regina! I used to live there and run (what was then) the Music Baron on Albert. I kinda liked Regina. Can't remember why, though...

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 02:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Because you're a goofhead?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 03:19 (twenty-three years ago)

goofhead? har har

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 03:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, I guess so. Maybe it was because I got to live with STV and listen to him sing in the shower, "I want a dick in my mouth and a dick in my ass" every night. Good times.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 03:59 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, so Regina is where I should go to make the booty call. Noted.

(This thread has been great, however, since I of course knew nothing about the prairies except more or less what order the provinces go in, but really I had no concept of what Regina was actually like, as a city -- what US city, if any, it is most similar to, or how it varies from US cities -- and so reading these arguements about Calgary vs. Saskatoon has been terrific.)

― Chris P (Chris P), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 16:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, I can be a bit of a windbag about Regina (which, in a way, proves I belong here). I have a very, uh, passionate relationship with this goddamn city. So much going for it, but so much working against it. And so often unwilling to help itself.
About 6 years, we abolished the business tax (ostensibly to help save Eaton's, which WAS poignantly Quixotic) and every budget since City Council's come up short, plus the business lobby now acts as if they own the place. Which is odd, b/c since they don't pay business tax anymore, shouldn't that have meant they forfeited their voice? Haha, idealist me.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 16:47 (twenty-three years ago)

The guy who sang that song is no longer there (he's in Winnipeg). Regina is like Minot, ND, but 3 times bigger, and without nuclear weapons. The downtown mall in Regina is nicknamed 'The Cornhole Centre' (actually 'Cornwall'), maybe, Chris! There are cries from our Chamber of Commerce to abolish our business tax, too. It would be disastrous.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 16:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Unless of course you think that only rich people should be able to afford to use public transit/skating rinks/swimming pools/streets.
A small business man I know (take that any way you want, he isn't tall), says that since the elimanation of the bizztax he's saved approx. $12/year. And he's who the CFIB claims to represent. They're a shadowy organization if ever there was one.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 17:02 (twenty-three years ago)

And once again, WHAT HAPPENED TO VICO? I'm originally from Swift Current and I grew up on the stuff. I was shocked and dismayed to find it absent from the dairy case of the Shell on the TC in Moose Jaw last summer. I DROVE FROM BRANDON TO MOOSE JAW WITHOUT A BEVERAGE SO THAT THE VICO WOULD TASTE THAT MUCH BETTER!

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 17:12 (twenty-three years ago)

More on Regina from my past: when I spent time there, I was shocked that the entire city seemed to shut down at 6pm, including the malls. I mean, even Brandon's malls stayed open until 9pm. So in the end I wasn't really shocked that what people ended up doing for fun was getting into their muscle cars and racing them noisily up and down Albert street for hours on end. Oh, and going to bars. Needless to say, I didn't have any particular plans to move to Regina after spending a bit of time there in the hotel.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 17:19 (twenty-three years ago)

The closest I came to making friends with someone there was a guy who had a MASSIVE prog collection who turned out to be a stoner when I wasn't into hanging out with people like that. When I went to his place to pick up a Gong CD, he sprayed half a can of Lysol to cover up the smell, which made it worse than it started.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 5 February 2003 17:23 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm starting to think that Horace doesn't want to tell me about the VICO because he has something to do with its disappearance!

― Bryan (Bryan), Thursday, 6 February 2003 17:36 (twenty-three years ago)

I wish I had an answer for you. Apparantly, it's still available in Swift Current http://www.swc-biz.com/hamburgerpattis/ but it could just be a Kleenex/tissue thing.

I know a guy who has the answer, but he's real strange.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:05 (twenty-three years ago)

you ask him http://www.dairyfarmers.org/engl/images/producers/0_0/im_president.gif

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:06 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm gonna hunt him down like the dog he is if he's responsible! I'll be in Speedy Creek in March so I'll have to check that place out. I think they were likely just call chocolate milk vico as a general term. Thanks for clueing me in.

― Bryan (Bryan), Thursday, 6 February 2003 18:14 (twenty-three years ago)

FYI, that dude is the CEO or whatev of DairyWorld, which took over Dairy Producers (which made Vico) a few years ago so that may have something to do with it.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 6 February 2003 19:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Owen Hargreaves?

― Benjamin, Thursday, 6 February 2003 19:09 (twenty-three years ago)

My goal in life is to make some sense of that.

― Bryan (Bryan), Friday, 7 February 2003 15:48 (twenty-three years ago)

my hometown:
http://www.canadianart.ca/images/art/ca_gergl.jpg

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 7 February 2003 16:02 (twenty-three years ago)

while we're at it, here's mine.

http://www.fortmc.com/photogallery/flood02.jpg

kind of like venice, only not.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Friday, 7 February 2003 20:45 (twenty-three years ago)

OMG The Red Sea?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Friday, 7 February 2003 21:23 (twenty-three years ago)

hi.

i just moved to regina in january. the twenty fifth of january.

it's the only big city i've ever lived in so it's still kind of amazing. like, there are people from other parts of the world. i went to the italian star deli and there was a guy with curly hair and an italian accent. there are indians, and indian-indians, greeks, australians, every single kind of asian you'd ever want. when it's not cold and i'm downtown i pretend-wait in bus shelters and look at the girls who aren't caucasian and are waiting for buses.

it's neat that it even has a downtown, too. a real downtown with tall buildings. it's still neat to look from the front window of my house and see the tall buildings way downtown. and big planes flying in the sky.

i like how it seems like a well-designed city. i've been to lots of cities but i've never lived in one and it seems like a well-run city. regina seems like a well-run city. there are lots of people walking around downtown and lots of art galleries and a community radio station and a free independent newspaper and the policemen are friendly and efficient.

i haven't been offered drugs yet and i'm too shy to ask anyone about it.

in conclusion, i've only lived in regina a short time but it seems like a nice city.

― d k (d k), Sunday, 9 February 2003 03:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Where did you live before?

― Bryan (Bryan), Sunday, 9 February 2003 03:59 (twenty-three years ago)

It's nice there in the summertime. Go to Wascana Park and call the geese ducks until someone yells at you.

― Bryan (Bryan), Sunday, 9 February 2003 04:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Skipping 49 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Brandon. Would've taken journalism.

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:32 (twenty-three years ago)

I would've taken j'lism too.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Sign me up for a Bachelor of Jingoism, please.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

I miss 50 cent beer nights out east.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:38 (twenty-three years ago)

2 for 1 ginz!

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Sean has spurs that jingo jango jingo. And assless chaps.

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 19:54 (twenty-three years ago)

I never knew Sean had so much in common with David Lee Roth!

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:22 (twenty-three years ago)

You gotta rolllll with the punches to get to what's real about me, Kim.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Only the chaps, thank goodness. Well, that and the Vegas act, of course.

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Can't you see me standing here, I've got my back against the slot machine?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:42 (twenty-three years ago)

that would be a record machine I beleeeve

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, I'm in Vegas now, apparently.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:51 (twenty-three years ago)

good one.

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm a little slow sometimes see...

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Things tend to slow down a bit when it gets this cold. Don't worry. Actually, things here have been particularly yucky lately. Bryan was saying that Winnipeg hasn't been quite so bad as Toronto has this winter, which is pretty sad indeed. Probably for both cities.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:30 (twenty-three years ago)

You guys have had some shitty weather the last few days, huh? I'll take cold and dry over warm(er) and sleet/ice pellets/wet snow anyday.

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah, I took one step out there this morning, almost fell on my ass (er... as I do every morning) turned around and came back in. It was so beautiful for a few hours on friday afternoon too - I thought it was finally spring.

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:41 (twenty-three years ago)

So you just stayed home? They actually closed some schools just north of here because of the cold.

― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Yup. I probably shouldn't have (considering the pile of work I have waiting there) but I took the day off. Trying to get a few things done here at home.

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:57 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

I met Michael Dumontier from the Royal Art Lodge today. What a nice guy! Typical Winnipegger. As much as I've been thinking of leaving lately, I know in my heart it would be a mistake.

― Bryan (Bryan), Friday, 4 April 2003 23:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Wow, that Winni chick really gets around.

― Chris P (Chris P), Saturday, 5 April 2003 01:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks for not making any sense, Chris!

― Bryan (Bryan), Saturday, 5 April 2003 02:23 (twenty-three years ago)

What? I thought you told me there were, like, several hundred thousand of those Winni peggers!

― Chris P (Chris P), Saturday, 5 April 2003 02:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh for fuck sake.

― Bryan (Bryan), Saturday, 5 April 2003 03:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I refuse to believe that I'm the first person to come up with that.

― Chris P (Chris P), Saturday, 5 April 2003 04:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Yup. You're a fucking genius!

― Bryan (Bryan), Saturday, 5 April 2003 04:07 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

REVIVE!
It's spring on most of the Prairies. Poor anthony hasn't had much of one, but Horace, Jodi, and I have. Here's a picture from the pot decriminalization protest (in favour of, silly) at the Manitoba Legislature this past Saturday:
http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~bryang/Pot%20protest.jpg

― Bryan (Bryan), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Someone forget to write "ONE WAY" on that sign!

― Chris P (Chris P), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey, I think I know those guys.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:26 (twenty-three years ago)

I should clarify, the protest did end up being much bigger.

― Bryan (Bryan), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:34 (twenty-three years ago)

its cold and snowy here.

― anthony easton (anthony), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:42 (twenty-three years ago)

our premier just okayed skateboarding at our legislative building

your mayor might be gay, but our premier is a skateboarder (or at least a skateboard-sympathizer).

― H.Mann, Wednesday, 7 May 2003 01:13 (twenty-three years ago)

Our mayor is gay and is very conservative. He sings to himself in his Volvo on the way to work in the morning, though.

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 01:23 (twenty-three years ago)

what does Mr. Murray sing?

― H.Mann, Wednesday, 7 May 2003 01:25 (twenty-three years ago)

"Goin' Up The Country"

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 01:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, maybe I wrote the wrong EP after all. Hey kids, so my band's EP "Saskatchewan", which this thread was rather directly responsible for, will be coming out on Sunday on the beloved Tape Mountain label, and those who contributed to this thread (well, Horace, Bryan, Sean, and dk) will be thanked. Let me know if this horrifies you or if you want me to use some other name or something. E-mail me and shit. You're beautiful. Sorry if this seems like (just) self-promotion.

― Chris P (Chris P), Wednesday, 7 May 2003 03:35 (twenty-three years ago)

three months pass...

Guess who's reviving this thread, eh?

So, anyone know if this book is any good?

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0889951764-0

It's called "Saskatchewan History Along the Highways" by Bob Weber.

― Chris P (Chris P), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Never heard of it.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Interesting to note, according to AMG there are the following songs titled "Saskatchewan":
Albums with a song "Saskatchewan"

Performer
Composer
Album
Panam
Anderson/H/M
Under the Influence: 21 Years of Flying Nun Records [02]
Red Box
Saint-Marie
Circle & The Square [86]
Rheostatics
Bidini/Tielli
Double Live [97]
Rheostatics
Rheostatics
Melville [91]
Superette
Superette
Tiger [97]
Whidden, Jay And Hi
Gilbert
Piccadilly Nights: British Dance 1920's [94]

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

oh that didn't turn out good.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Prairie people chime in: has this not been (weather-wise) almost the nicest summer you can remember? So nice! A few days were too hot here, but generally we've been in the high 20s with lots of sunshine. But then we haven't had drought conditions here in the east.

― Bryan (Bryan), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

It's 36 today. It was 35 yesterday. My apt. is an oven. I barely slept last night. Could be also due to someone across the court blaring Pat Benetar at 3 a.m.
And there was a brief thunderstorm in the middle of the night, so it's also humid as all whatnot today.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 15:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree it has been the best summer in years, the heat is starting to get to me just a little (no air conditioning, so I am now calling my bedroom "hell's attic"!!). Good reasoning for sitting at Toad drinking large amounts of Pints. Camped out is Souris two weekends ago, they have been with out rain for three months now, and tons of grasshoppers everyware. Plus weather was good for Folkfest was mostly rain and mosquito free. All and all a good summer. Hope it holds for a couple more weeks. Stil got more camping to do.

― danielle g. (danielle g.), Wednesday, 13 August 2003 04:38 (twenty-two years ago)

eight months pass...

Author Yann Martel and girlfriend hope to make Saskatoon their home
SASKATOON (CP) — Award-winning writer Yann Martel and his girlfriend Alice Kuipers are smitten with Saskatoon and want to make the Prairie city their new home.
“There was no particular moment of illumination when we said, ‘Let’s buy a house here.’ It’s been a gradual thing we’ve talked about and now we’re sniffing around to see what’s out there,” said Martel, who was born in Spain and raised in Montreal.
The author of the wildly successful book Life of Pi came to Saskatoon in October for an eight-month stint as the writer-in-residence at the Frances Morrison Library.
In that time he has fallen in love with “the Paris of the Prairies,” its friendly people, easy pace and the scenic vistas provided by arched bridges and grassy banks of the winding South Saskatchewan River through the centre of the city.
“It’s big enough that there are things to do, but not so big that you get lost in it. There’s a real sense of community here,“ Martel said. “It’s laid back but intelligent, and people are easy to make friends with.”
Martel’s profile shot into the stratosphere of fame after he won the 2002 Man Booker Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Commonwealth and United Kingdom. Last month, he added the 2004 German Book Prize (Deutscher Bucherpreis) to his accolades.
The tale of a 16-year-old shipwrecked Indian boy and the Bengal tiger that shares his lifeboat takes on some of the greater questions of life, many spiritual in nature. It has become a major bestseller, available in 41 countries and 33 languages.
“I knew it was a good book in the sense that I liked it. Whether the world would agree with me was something else. I’m glad the world has,” he said.
Although Martel’s family is in Montreal and Kuipers’ is in south England, Saskatoon has won them over.
“Yann wants to live in Canada and I’m cool with that,” said Kuipers, a fiction writer. “Since we both love it here, we’ve been looking to see what we can get. It’s such a beautiful city and so easy to make friends, people are just so nice here. And some of the houses alongside the river are so lovely with a spectacular view.
“And it seems like a nice place to bring up children, which we want to have eventually.”
The couple met at a literary event in England last year. When Martel returned to Canada to attend an event in Vancouver, Kuipers followed. They travelled for three weeks across the country on the way to Montreal.
“Then I went home and got my stuff and moved to Saskatoon,” Kuipers said. “It’s been a whirlwind.”
Martel applied for the writer-in-residence position in Saskatoon long before Life of Pi became a resounding success. He honoured the commitment even though his calendar was quickly filling up, because the residency program has a reputation as one of the best in the country, he said.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 19:13 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the best things about Sask is what passes for news there.

― ...in bed. (Chris Piuma), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

You don't think that a Canadian novelist seriously thinking he can get a mortgage is news?

― Huck, Thursday, 15 April 2004 04:32 (twenty-two years ago)

If he was moving to Sask to live with his girlfriend who grew up in Swift Current, they'd probably get an 8-page color supplement!

― ...in bed. (Chris Piuma), Thursday, 15 April 2004 06:19 (twenty-two years ago)

To me, this story REALLY highlights the differences between Saskatoon (where I was born and raised) and Regina (where I've lived intermittantly for the last 10 years). Regina's axing its libraries, cutting funding to everything not to do with football or digging holes. And the Regina library freakin' pioneered the Writer-in-Residence program in Canada (and it was cancelled this past year, though it should be up again next year).
Meanwhile Saskatoon is hawt. An world-class novelist with serious clout says, "hey, I can live here." They have a downtown.
My "I Hate Regina" Campaign seems to have been usurped by the mayor and the chamber of commerce. They've done more to fuck this shit up than any old cyclone ever did.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Thursday, 15 April 2004 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

digging holes ?!

― anthony, Thursday, 15 April 2004 14:18 (twenty-two years ago)

They drained the civic lake and dug it deeper. It was the project of the century.
Now it's full up with water again though:
http://www.wascanalake.com/cam1.cfm

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Thursday, 15 April 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

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