Several years ago, at the opening dinner of a sculptor friend's debut 2-person show, I found myself playing the oh-so-sophisticated New York collector at a giant round table in a Chinese restaurant for a mix of folks, including the other artist's parents.
I offhandedly pronounced Minneapolis to be the most Canadian of American cities: not just because of the freakin' weather, but because of public radio. First, there's Garrison Keillor, and besides, everyone--including every immigrant taxi driver I met--listened to public radio.
Well, the other artist's mother said, we're from Minneapolis. Apparently, calling a Minnesotan Canadian is almost as bad as calling a Quebecker Canadian, except the Minnesotans are too nice to say anything; they just keep it all inside. And of course, they're so hardy, they didn't need a jacket for the chill that blew over the table. My recovery attempt--"I meant Canadian in a good way. As It Happens is one of my favorite CBC shows!"--was unwelcome, and the table split into two conversational crescents for the rest of the night.
Anyway, I was reminded of this this morning when Rex pointed out that "Live in Canada" is one of Minneapolissers Minneapolitans' most popular goals. [of course, since in the two days since he posted it, it's dropped from #11 to #18, so they must still be very self-conscious about it.]
[update: and they're quick to correct. I didn't really think it was Minneapolisser, but I figured--rightly--that someone'd clue me in real fast. Thanks, Jason.]
