Happy Canada Day!

I was away for the weekend. I went to Ontario for Canada Day. At least, that’s what the postcards I could find said. There were no local postcards at all.

We went camping which included hiking, canoeing, cooking a feast on the fire, and taking several pictures with the flag, the National Flag of Canada [1].

We walked along the shore Saturday morning and I saw a terrible sight. Someone had allowed the Canadian flag to become faded, tattered, and fly upside-down.

It reminded me of the Rules for Flying the Flag which says:

Disposal of Flags

When a flag becomes tattered and is no longer in a suitable condition for use, it should be destroyed in a dignified way by burning it privately.

There is no pledge of allegiance to the flag. The government website says: “There is no official pledge to the Canadian flag; however, there are no laws or statutes which prevent an association or an individual from adopting a form which will suit the purposes.”

One I have seen around and even got on a bookmark from my local MP read thusly:

To my Flag and to the country it represents, I pledge RESPECT and LOYALTY
Wave with PRIDE from sea to sea and within your folds, keep us ever UNITED.
Be for all a symbol of LOVE, FREEDOM and JUSTICE
God keep our FLAG
God protect our CANADA

I don’t like that pledge very much. I don’t think it is worded very well.

O Canada!

1. The correct designation for the Canadian flag is the National Flag of Canada.

France’s win over Brazil in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup ensured all-European semi-finals and final. Only once, in 1958, has a non-European team won the cup in Europe. That year Brazil won its first of what is now five world titles over hosts Sweden.

That was also the first time that a team won a tournament that was not on its own continent. All South American tournaments have been won by South American teams. Also, of the four that have been off the aforementioned continents Mexico twice, USA, and South Korea & Japan, South American teams have won those as well.

So, is the world unfolding as it should?

For those that want to look for meaningless patterns or quirky things:

• Six of seventeen cups have been won by the host country
• South American teams have won nine times; this tournament will result in Europe’s ninth
• Brazil has won five times
• From 1962 to 2002 the record of winners was symmetrical, except for England and France both one-time winners. Italy won in 1982; Argentina won before and after that, 1978 and 1986; West Germany won before and after that, 1974 and 1990; Brazil after that; then England earlier and France after, then Brazil again.

Last week I heard from Amanda D formerly Amanda P. She works as a graphics designer now. I liked looking at her portfolio. It has some really good work.

Amanda DeVries Graphic Design Services

Wondering what’s the next step to giving your business a professional image? Do your marketing materials (logo, business card, website, promo materials) have a co-ordinated look?

I am a part-time graphics designer in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, available for any kind of graphics design work - from designing newspaper & magazine advertisements, to creating logos, postcards and business cards, from crafting wedding programs to building websites. I also offer website search optimization that will help your site find its way to the top of search engine lists.