Geist Magazine sent me a Canada Day Greeting via e-mail.

They have pulled all sorts of Canadiana type articles from their back catalogue.  In typical Canadian style, much of the humour is self-deprecating.  Is this how we define ourselves as Canadians?  At least we have a sense of humour... is how we can always be grateful that we are not Americans.  Waitaminit... Aren't most of the great American comics really Canadian?  Jim Carey, Dan Akroyd, William Shatner,

Here's a few of the highlights from GEIST:

http://www.geist.com/featured/canada-day

A Canadian Etiology

Christopher Gudgeon

How Do I Know I’m Canadian?
1. When I go to a party with people from another country, no one expects me to be interesting.
2. I know all the words to my national anthem, except the French ones, and the tune is not that hard.

The Honorary Canadian Awards: A Modest Proposal

Christopher Gudgeon

It is proposed that: in the interest of fostering better understanding of the Canadian identity throughout the world,
The Geist Foundation sponsor the Honorary Canadian Awards Program (HOCAP) by identifying and rewarding non-citizens who “act in a manner befitting a Canadian.”

Chiquita Canáda

Stephen Osborne

Last month we had a visit from Eliz­abeth Anderson, who hails from Min­neapolis, Minnesota, where she is a graduate student at the state univer­sity. Her field of study is Canada, and she also writes about Canada for Utne Reader. We wanted immediately to know what there is about Canada that might constitute an object of study.