Let Me Fix That Nameplate For You

35 Replies to “Let Me Fix That Nameplate For You”

1. How many potatoes do ya figure Ann McRae McIsaac, ever dug and put in those traditional baskets?

2. “When I’m out speaking overseas, what’s next to my name is U of M and Canada,” he said. “There’s a high PR value in the kind of work I do, and the kind of profile I frankly give to Canada.”
   All said without a hint of awareness of just how pathetic it is.
   That being said, the government shouldn’t be prioritizing anyone. Leave that up tot he free market.

3. We already do LAS…Are you in on the potato basket lottery?

4. The Red Star should rename itself to Canada 180. The nitwits there truly do live in a bizarro parallel universe.
   You can already hear the endless laughter of the Chinese!

5. Well I can stick steel together with a fair degree of success but just ‘tween you ‘n me….welding is truly an artform….
   Besides we don’t dig spuds by hand anymore….and welders are neccessary to maintain the mechanical harvesters….basket weavers not so much.

6. I’d like to be one of the first to declare the value of said potato baskets, firstly just let me say that I come from a long line of potato lovers, just so I’m not seen as some sort of *potato hater*.
   My offer, is $1.00 for each ash-split basket, capable of holding a minimum of 50 lbs. without heaping, of any particular type of the best canadian potatoes, those grown in the Craven, Saskatchewan valley area.
   There’s your market value.
   As for the market value of Mark the greek pottery guy, I like the Medicine Hat Pottery types, especially for making crab-apple juice in fall. If he’d like we could arrange a trade, I’ll give up my prized crab-apple juice recipe, for any of Victor David Hanson’s books that I don’t already own, that he might have in his collection, assuming he’s read anything outside of strictly greek pottery.
   There’s your other market value.
   I’m sure these two are real fine canadians, I’m a bit sorry that Ann hasn’t been able to improve the family stock from anything the egyptians were capable of doing 3000 years ago though, as important as that may be to us potato lovers.

7. Having read sasquatch’s commentary @ 1.21 am, I’d just like to add that in no way am I prepared to trade hours (minutes?) repiping or repairing the pipe works in either of these peoples houses for any amount of knowledge of greek pottery, either the greed pottery standards, or design, or for any number of split-ash potato baskets for anything other than my initial offer of $1. per basket or some Victor David Hanson books. I’d especially like, “A War Like No Other”. My offer for the crab-apple juice stands. It’s excellent. Well worth it, and a worthy addition to canadiana.

8. While I find the ancient world fascinating and I prefer hand-made items to mass produced ones, what is the real world value of hand made potato baskets in todays world of moulded polyethylene containers and mechanized potato harvesting? Since I don’t have any amphorae to be examined I have no use for someone with a PhD in greek pottery. Speaking of which, a Doctorate of Philosophy concerning Greek pottery actually exists?! Both of these people want someone else to pay for their careers while they practice what is really a hobby.
   A good welding and steel fabrication shop is the modern equivalent of the village blacksmith. Welders are absolutely essential to industry and agriculture. My local shop is busy 16 hours a day during harvest season repairing combines, wagons and grain augers.

9. Come on folks lets be generous. If you end up struck lost in a Jungle. It would be mighty handy to know basket weaving. Lets be honest.

10. “Basket weaving” was common vernacular describing any soft university degree a few decades ago.
    Jason Kenney wasn’t singling out basket weavers; he was suggesting as far as prospective immigrants go: welder trumps social scientist.
    Who can argue with that?
    Cue the communist/victim outrage. They actually interviewed a basket weaver. The comedy.

11. Blametrudeau beat me to it:
    The Toronto Star is so stupid, they don’t know that “basketweaving” is code for “stupid,” so they stupidly go out and interview a basketweaver. And think they’re clever for doing so.

12. Multiple skill sets and various talents are vital to a vibrant economy. Having said that I am guessing that the Canadian economy probably only neeeds one expert in potato baskets and one PhD in greek pottery. Jason Kenny is right despite the Torstar efforts to not make it so.

13. This guys ego is bigger than a 50 pound potatoe basket. And yes basket weaving is a very nasty epithet for totally useless courses in uni, I of course took something useful, a degree in engineering. Made a few more dollars than the basket weavers throughout my life too.

14. Yes! Let the basket weavers in! We need basket weavers!

15. …….

16. What is lost in all this is the simple fact that in the real world of her ancestors, basket weaving was done at the end of the day when all the real work was complete.

17. Now you know why nothing good every happens in PEI. It is a backward place, kept that way by EI, Government payments, all for 150000 folks to make apple dolls and dance around toothless fiddlers.

18. Never mind the pot headed potters!!!
    What do Tranna’s intellectual urban bee keepers think? And the anorexic hipsters and gay beardos???

19. The real story here is how petty and to what lengths the Star will go to to find fault in any and all policies proposed by the Conservatives no matter how much sense thet make. It just makes their editors look rediculous.

20. The real story here is how petty and to what lengths the Star will go to to find fault in any and all policies proposed by the Conservatives no matter how much sense thet make. It just makes their editors look rediculous.

21. Now, now, now, all you haters out there! Surely we can agree that “a post-doctorate degree in ancient Greek pottery” is more useful to your nation than one in “Womyn’s Studies” or “BLGBT Studies“. I won’t discuss the value of “Black Studies” lest I offend the sensitivities of BM.

22. Cam from Canada,
    Don’t forget the girls putting on red pigtail wigs and straw hats for the amusement of Japanese perverts. You’d make better money in any gentlemen’s club in Ontario, if you had a mere soupcon of ambition in life.
    Oh, and the four Commons seats Pierre Trudeau granted PEI as their reward for not opposing his miserable constitution, the understanding being that the seats would be Anne Shirley red till Judgement Day.
    Anne of Green Gables has to be one of the most overrated books in the Commonwealth’s literary history. Maud Montgomery was stuff out of Captain Capitalism’s nightmares, a backwoods postmistress unmarriageable except to a certifiably insane and barely employable minister. She won the literary lotto and started putting on airs.
    And even she had the good sense to leave. Her relatives have been eating out on that book since her death.

23. Cam from Canada,
    Don’t forget the girls putting on red pigtail wigs and straw hats for the amusement of Japanese perverts. You’d make better money in any gentlemen’s club in Ontario, if you had a mere soupcon of ambition in life.
    Oh, and the four Commons seats Pierre Trudeau granted PEI as their reward for not opposing his miserable constitution, the understanding being that the seats would be Anne Shirley red till Judgement Day.
    Anne of Green Gables has to be one of the most overrated books in the Commonwealth’s literary history. Maud Montgomery was stuff out of Captain Capitalism’s nightmares, a backwoods postmistress unmarriageable except to a certifiably insane and barely employable minister. She won the literary lotto and started putting on airs.
    And even she had the good sense to leave. Her relatives have been eating out on that book since her death.

24. Kate, I think you’re being extremely unfair here. Comparing the Toronto Star to The Onion? Come on.
    How are those poor guys at The Onion going to live that down?

25. “I have no use for someone with a PhD in greek pottery.”
    True,Al, YOU may not need a person with a Phd. in Greek pottery, but if someone DOES, he’s there ready to help!
    Like Shaidle says,the intellectuals at torstar are SO dumb!

26. The Khmer Rouge might have been on to something no?

27. http://www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca/eng/Accountability/ProactiveDisclosure/GCAwards/Pages/Details.aspx?pno=192875&rty=2008&rtp=4
    “Disclosure of Grants and Contributions over $25,000
    Details
    Recipient Name:
    Basket Weavers of PEI Co-operative Limited
    Location:
    LOT 14
    Date:
    2008-01-27
    Value:
    $50,000.00
    Type:
    Non-Repayable Contribution
    Purpose:
    Construction of a new facility to expand operations
    Comments:
    The grant or contribution awarded spans more than one fiscal year.
    * Select another grant or contribution
    * Select another reporting period”

28. I like pottery types, especially Demi Moore in Ghost.

29. Me? I still remember how to clear core.
    (and why)

30. Stan, it is time for a certain troll to comment as the material for basket weaving was farmed in some manner.

31. With idiots like that buggy whips will be making a comeback.

32. Jason meant it as a metaphor. I don’t see what the big deal is

33. Jason meant it as a metaphor. I don’t see what the big deal is

34. What part of “Onion” did all these commenters miss?

35. OMMAG, ya wet fuzzy sweet baboo, it is so tempting to leave yer post up unremarked upon. If’n ya’ll be click in’ on the link embedded in the picture and headline, yoo’d be find in’ that it went to The Star (toronto’s flagship paper of record for many small community newspapers in Ontario).
    And THAT IS THE HUMOUR