I’ve been seeing ads lately for The Top 20 under 20, a campaign that seeks out movers and shakers who are - obviously - under twenty years of age. It’s all across Canada, but I’m so used to seeing contests that exclude the province of Quebec that I was pleasantly surprised to see that the rules allow Quebec residents to compete as well.

Surely Montreal can be well represented. If you know anyone under 20 (as of December 31st 2006), or if you yourself fit the bill, go nominate. Let’s get Montreal in on this.

I’ve been trying to think of some people. Does anyone know the age of the Dawson student who organized the blue bracelet campaign after the shooting? He would be a great candidate if he’s still young enough.

Who do you know or know of that could be entered into this?

Since my last Habs entry, so much has happened to our beloved Canadiens. The biggest fuss of the week pitted a former Habs goalie and now Hall of Fame inductee, and an up and coming super-star (ok, well in the eyes of many Quebeckers).

Patrick Roy was having difficulty in understanding how it was that Guillaume Latendresse was playing in the NHL for the Habs, when at the age of 19, he should be racking up goals in the Juniors.. Roy launched a few taunts towards Latendresse stating that it was Latendresse’s mother tongue that got him the job with the Habs and not his skills as a hockey player. Latendresse to his credit, replied in a rather mature manor and wondered why it was that Roy felt the need to taunt the 19yr old.

Some theories came about, the most popular was that Roy, who is owner of Les Ramparts, wanted to trade for Latendresse with his former junior team Les Drummondville Voltigeurs. With Latendresse playing for the Ramparts, the team which Roy owns, they would pack the arena and thus increase ticket sales.

After a week of taunts and media overreaction, Roy apologized and Latendresse got down to scoring his first goal. Not a pretty goal, but his first nonetheless. He now has 5 points with 4 goals.

What also is starting to become clearer and clearer for the Habs is their choice of starting goalie. In the past two starts, Aebischer has been pulled from the nets and replaced by Huet. It could be argued that the Habs played poorly and that Aebischer was not to be faulted, but Huet managed to hold his own afterwards.

The Habs return from a four game road trick to play Atlanta in Montreal Saturday

MIRA- the local group which provides trained guide dogs to visually impaired individuals has launched an ultra-cool, tail-waggin’ online fundraising campaign.

Visit monnchienrapporte.ca to register to the site and purchase virtual ‘cookies’ to send to your favorite dogs. For only $1 a biscuit, you can help to support this vital organization. You can also upload photos and videos of your dog and get your canine friends involved in the action. The first 5 dogs to get to 500 cookies, will get a gift basket valued at $100.

With costs of $20,000 a year and two years time for training of a guide dog (MIRA trains 180 dogs each year) this is an organization that needs our assistance.

Looks like Audrey and Phil are in need of a few positive thoughts this week.

From photographic heaven straight to the bottomless pit of Hell…assuming that you can replace fire with water. October is my favorite month with its crisp blue skies and gorgeous foliage. Maybe I was enjoying it even more because I knew that Novembore was just around the corner…and boy was I proven right.

While I love snow and don’t really mind cold weather, I need light to survive. Now it’s dark when I leave the lab and I have just learned that we have had only three hours of sunlight in the past 9 days. No wonder my blogging has been lacking, I have been spending the past two weeks curled up in a fetal position.

But today, another creature of the light (sprinkled with savvy marketing) will appear in our local SAQ stores, the Beaujolais nouveau which always shows up on the third Thursday of November. It may not be the best vintage out there but its different and only here for a short time. Just don’t forget to chill your bottle to about 12-14 degrees to better bring out their mild fruity taste.

Check out all the cool Metroblogging gear that’s available for sale now! As a self-confessed shopaholic, I love hearing about new stuff to buy. And what could be better than some MB wear. For those of you who don’t like to fight the crowds come holiday shopping season, online shopping is the way to go. You can even get Metroblogging hipster undies. Perfect for the ultimate hipster Metroblogger. Check out the site and happy shopping!

Voting has begun over at the Canadian Blog Awards. There are over 300 nominees in the 20 different categories. This blog has been nominated in four. Best Blog, Best Group Blog, Best Local Blog, and Best Blog Post. I had originnally thought I would check through all of the nominees and find those from Montreal, but the number of blogs has prevented me from doing so. So I have put together a list of noteworthy nominations that I recognize. If you know of any others, please give me a heads up and I will add them to the list. Voting runs from today until next Tuesday. You may vote once per day. It’s not required that you vote in every category, but you must make all your selections before submitting your votes. So vote for your favorites and make your keyboard heard. The list is after the jump:
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Any Verdunites out there? Fighting from Home is a new book by Serge Durflinger, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in the study of war and Canadian society. Here’s a blurb about the book:

In Verdun, English and French speakers lived side by side. Through their home-front activities as much as through enlistment, they proved themselves partners in the prosecution of Canada’s war. Shared experiences and class similarities shaped responses based first and foremost in a sense of local identity.

This book might be of particular interest to anyone that either grew up, lives, has lived or knows anyone with any relation to the burrow of Verdun. I am proud to be one of those people and I intend on purchasing a copy. It can also make for a nice Christmas gift to anyone with an interest in military history, especially Canadian history.

A copy can be purchased directly at UBC Press right here. The hardcover edition is also available on Amazon.ca, they will hopefully have the paperback version available soon.

Yesterday, at the ungodly hour of 9:00 AM and under a light drizzle of rain, hundreds of bar owners gathered in front of the Palais de justice to support the Union des tenanciers de bars du Québec in their bid to win a temporary injunction against the province’s smoking ban.

The injunction would exempt bars from Bill 112 until the Quebec Superior Court hears the UTBQ’s constitutional challenge to the law, which has led to a 30% fall in revenues and the closure of over twenty-five establishments since June. The injunction, if one is granted, would not apply to restaurants or other public places, and bar owners would be free to continue to restrict smoking in their establishments if they so choose.

I can say with absolute certainty that my beloved and much-missed Café will not be one of them.
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It’sinteresting that tornwordo talks about civility. I just helped a woman who was carrying 500 posters and 1000 flyers.

We were going in opposite directions. As I walked by her (and her by me), I heard her mumbled some something. About a meter or two later, I turned around as she dropped everything she was carrying. I asked if she wanted any help and with a very grateful voice, she said “Yes”. I probably would have helped anyway. This was on Maisonneuve close to Saint-Denis.

As I helped her bring all the stuff to her destination, I asked her where she was going and what the hell it all was. She was bringing all those posters and flyers to the Cinematheque Quebecoise, for a film for which she is the author. The flyer mentions something about the international documentary meeting of montreal, so I guess the film is a documentary.

The fine prints are dates and locations of the representations:
November 22 @ 7:00 PM @ Place Emilie Gamelin (metro berri-uqam)
December 2 to 8 @ Cinema Beaubien, 2396 Beaubien Est

She was so grateful that I just feel the need to advertise this. Besides, I haven’t written anything here in 13 days… hum… 13.