paper or plastic?

Today, I went grocery shopping in my new neighbourhood Whole Foods Market. It's a bit pricey, but ValuMart had already closed for the day and I desparately needed some food for the week. At the til, the person who bags groceries asked me, "Paper or plastic?" To which I said, "Pardon?" I am not accustomed to having a choice of bags. I chose paper, since I could. And lo and behold, I found that they are encouraging people to re-use paper bags (get 10 cents off next purchase when you use one).

I may choose to use them there or another grocery store. It's still pretty cool to have such fashionable bags for toting food.

Moving Day

As you can see, this is my new little bachelor pad in Yorkville. It took about a little more than two hours to load, drive downtown and unload. It was so great to have the sofabed, bed and curtains ready. The weather was great, too. A bit foggy in the morning, but no rain or snow. Thank God. I'll give you the 50-cent tour of the place:



Sadly, my kitchen is really, really tiny. Oh well.



And ... my mattress, which was on the floor in my London apartment now has a frame. How perfect is that? After the move, I crashed on the couch for an hour or so. It felt so great to unpack my stuff ... and feel settled for once in about three months. Oh yea, my large closet doesn't have a hanging bar ... it has these tiny little hooks where you put your hangers.



The bathroom is a decent size, at least for one person. I love this curtain I found at Wal-Mart.



And that's all. It already feels like home.

Bollywood meets Corner Gas

Hmmm ... the CBC announced it is producing a new comedy sitcom called, Little Mosque on the Prairie on its official blog. Does this sound familiar at all?

The series creator, Zarqa Nawaz, hopes that "... by using comedy to disarm people of all races, it will invite them to think outside of their fixed cultural perceptions." Perhaps the CBC is trying to ride the popular CTV sitcom Corner Gas, a truly homegrown show staring series concept creator Brent Butt, who grew up in a prairie small-town. Also, there's Little House on the Prairie which was a very popular series about life on the Western American frontier. I guess Little House on the Prairie was a hit. They have released the series on home video for everyone to re-live the pioneer life.

Does the creation of this new series suggest that Saskatchewan's popularity is still on the rise? Or is that the Canadian television viewing public are looking for more grassroots entertinament?

Looking back, Saskatchewan has produced many talented artists, such as songwriter and painter Joni Mitchell, bands like Northern Pikes and the Waltons, the Regina Five (artists), to name a few. Now Zarqa Nawaz, who has produced more serious films about how Muslims are perceived.

Corner Gas may have put Saskatchewan on the map for humour. People actually want to see the set of Corner Gas, which is set in Rouleau, Saskatchewan - a typical southern Saskatchewan town that has a row of buildings and is located just outside of Regina. Rouleau is a blip on the flat prairie land. Really, not much to see. Most people who say they've been to Saskatchewan say they've flown over it or driven through it or by it. It's not usually a place people choose to spend their hard-earned vacation days. I'm quite mystified how such a show has garnered such keen interest from the Canadian public. (Just a note: apparently there's a person who is hired to be stationed by the set so fans don't go too close to the set.)

Several years ago, Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert spent a few million dollars on an advertising campaign to promote how great it is to live and do business in Saskatchewan. This campaign caused quite the stir. Taxpayers did not want their hard-earned cash going towards what they considered a pointless cause. Who is going to come to a new province, start a new life based on one television ad they saw? It's hard to say (and tangibly measure) if these ads really had any impact on the Saskatchewan economy.

Maybe if enough people can laugh and relate with Saskatchewan folk, they might want to become their neighbours.