[cubby]

A music industry friend of mine just told me that Gord has been invited to be a speaker at ideaCity2005 here in Toronto.

"In its brief history ideaCity has become a celebrated venue where interesting people say important things about the world. The next 'meeting of minds' (to be held 22, 23, 24 June 2005 in Toronto), will once again bring together some of the most fascinating and influential personalities of our time for three days of thought-provoking ideas, memorable performances, stimulating conversations and dazzling social evenings."

Gord will be speaking on Friday, June 24th, fom 5:00-7:15 PM. You can read more about this at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ideacityonline.com">www.ideacityonline.com</a><!-- w -->.

[beanmedic]

In case anyone wants to go hock: hock: hock: hock:

Registration rates for 2005 are as follows:

FULL PASS
ideaCity05 will be held June 22, 23, 24, 2005, in Toronto.

If you register now, you'll save!
Between April 1st, 2005 - May 31st, 2005: $2500 CDN + GST
Between June 1st, 2005 - June 22nd, 2005: $2750 CDN + GST

DAY PASS
ideaCity05 day passes are also available for $1000 CDN + GST per day. Day passes include access to that day's sessions and to that evening's party. Day passes can be purchased in advance, and a specific day can be chosen up to one week prior to the start of the conference.

SESSION PASS
ideaCity05 session passes are available for $250 CDN + GST per session and include access to the session of your choice.

PARTY PASS
ideaCity05 party passes are available for $125 CDN + GST per person, per party. There are three ideaCity05 parties, held at the end of each of the conference days (June 22, 23 and 24, 2005). Please check back here for more information regarding these parties.

[beanmedic]

Gord's bio on the site

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.ideacityonline.com./2005presenters/downie.html">http://www.ideacityonline.com./2005pres ... ownie.html</a><!-- m -->



Gord Downie is the lead vocalist and driving creative force behind "Canada's band", The Tragically Hip, who have thrilled audiences around the world with their live performances for two decades, as well as giving their services selflessly to numerous charities including War Child, Music Without Borders, the WaterKeeper Alliance (for whom the band invited on tour in late 2004 to promote healthy waterways across Canada), and the recent Canada for Asia concert. When not writing, recording and touring tirelessly with The Tragically Hip, Downie also enjoys a successful career as a solo artist. In the summer of 2001, he released Coke Machine Glow - an album accompanied by a book of poetry, of the same name. Coke Machine Glow garnered critical acclaim, paving the way for 2003’s Battle of the Nudes, Downie’s second solo endeavor. In addition to music and poetry, Gord Downie has also acted in several short films including “At the Quinte Hotel” a film based on the Al Purdy poem.

[Stephen Dame]

Wow, very cool, but it aint cheap is it? I'll have to wait till it airs on a non-stop loop on *STAR* for the next year.

I don't wanna say Moses is strapped for content, but...

[chris]

As only GD can... In this month's Toronto Life, Gord Downie is quoted as saying, "Canada needs to get its head out of its ass and then get its head out of America's ass."

[KittieKatFish]

As only GD can... In this month's Toronto Life, Gord Downie is quoted as saying, "Canada needs to get its head out of its ass and then get its head out of America's ass."

cratch:

[tigerthelion]

While I appreciate what he's trying to say, Canada relies on the US. Canada shouldn't bow down to the US but they can't separate themselves completely either. In reality, the US could crush Canada if they wanted.

[Lizard King]

In reality, the US could crush Canada if they wanted.

Good for them, that would be like beating up an old man in a wheelchair :roll: besides it will never happen, but if it did I'd kamikaze myself into the white house... :lol: Kidding aside I can appreciate what GD is saying as well, to a degree. But its been taken out of context and I would like to know why he said it, was it in response to a question asked or something?

[chris]

That's all that was quoted, and it didn't give any context. Typical Toronto Life "reporting".

They've revamped the magazine since hiring a new editor, and now it sucks. Even more than it used to. 5 more issues and my 3 year subscription is done.

[FighterAndLover]

My interpretation of Mr. Downie's quote is more along the lines of Canada needs to stop criticizing the U.S., but that probably doesn't make much sense considering his past and current political standpoints, especially on the war in Iraq.

[briansmccabe]

While I appreciate what he's trying to say, Canada relies on the US. Canada shouldn't bow down to the US but they can't separate themselves completely either. In reality, the US could crush Canada if they wanted.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011">http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011</a><!-- m -->

very odd to me indeed that you, bieng located in Canada, would echo the sentiments of the most disgusting, hate-filled American on the airwaves.

[FighterAndLover]

While I appreciate what he's trying to say, Canada relies on the US. Canada shouldn't bow down to the US but they can't separate themselves completely either. In reality, the US could crush Canada if they wanted.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011">http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011</a><!-- m -->

very odd to me indeed that you, bieng located in Canada, would echo the sentiments of the most disgusting, hate-filled American on the airwaves.

I don't think you can fairly say he "echoed the sentiments," in fact I think it's ignorant. If you took the quotes out of context, they may seem very similar, sure. But we have reason so that we can take things in context.

TTL wasn't saying that the US should or would destroy Canada, he was merely stating that Canada and America thrive off of each other. We go together like PB&J. I don't think anyone would expect CA to win if we went to war, and that's what makes our cooperation so essential.

[tigerthelion]

While I appreciate what he's trying to say, Canada relies on the US. Canada shouldn't bow down to the US but they can't separate themselves completely either. In reality, the US could crush Canada if they wanted.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011">http://mediamatters.org/items/200412010011</a><!-- m -->

very odd to me indeed that you, bieng located in Canada, would echo the sentiments of the most disgusting, hate-filled American on the airwaves.

Well, I despise Coulter. I think she's mostly upset because she's 45 years old and still a virgin but that's beside the point I guess. Her comments seem to reek of jealousy. In reality, the US is the far bigger military power and by shutting off trade, they can effectively harm Canada's economy.

The funny part is that Canada seems to be praised by most Americans as a great place to live, but a self righteous nut like her seems to disagree.

Also, Tucker Carlson is a grown man who wears a bowtie so his opinion on any matter is completely irrelevant. Tucker is essentially a little boy who had a rich upbringing and was the guy who got a wedgie every day at school. Now, he feels powerful because he's on that gossip channel that is CNN and feels that people actually agree with anything he has to say.

My point was that Canada has to co-operate with the US a little. We can't just turn our backs on the US because we do rely on them for trade and protection. We can disagree on certain issues but we can't declare war on them so to speak. I wish Canada was the more powerful nation, but it's not.

[das_hips]

I'm not sure about the whole 'relying and bi-satisfying' implications from Gord's quote. As far as I can tell, when somebody has their head up their ass, they're ignorant and blind to their surroundings.

So how I see it, in the quote from the Toronto magazine (without any context), Gord Downie thinks Canada has to wake up, deal with its own social conflicts, and then completely detangle itself from the pressures of American policy (that being the removal of head from ass).

And comparing TTL's comments to Coulter is pretty absurd. I'm fairly certain that nobody with a concious mind can take Coulter seriously.