Dreamin'

Why, you... I can't believe that no one has mentioned flipper pie yet. Yum!

Well, maybe I'm getting a little carried away. It has been known to happen. Jeff may not stomp around like a mastodon on ACL, but there were some really nice moments.

That was one of the few TV performances that really made me feel something. Probably my favourite since Neil on SNL in 1989. Jeff sounds great!

I spot the bbop!

Vancouver and areas of the Pacific Northwest have a sorrowful and somewhat creepy vibe (think Twin Peaks). Maybe it's the light. Filming in LA, just couldn't convey that same feeling.

I guess I haven't missed my chance to be an extra after all.

I had to stop watching Babel because the scene with the nanny and the kids in the desert was making me too upset. I just couldn't take it! (I Googled the ending.)

Even more Couplandy goodness!

Happy birthday to you!

I've seen you twice, in a short time Only a week since we started It seems to me, for every time I'm getting more open-hearted I was an impossible case No-one ever could reach me But I think I can see in your face There's a lot you can teach me So I wanna know...... What's the name of the game? Does it mean anything to you? What's the name of the game? Can you feel it the way I do? Tell me please, cause I have to know I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow And you make me talk And you make me feel And you make me show What I'm trying to conceal If I trust in you, would you let me dow

Get well, Lou!

The last time I saw the NP (in Vancouver), I ignored Neko, Carl, and Dan and just watched Kurt all night. He's great!

I was trying to be sensitive to that.

Here's a review of the Oregon show.

I hear ya, Kevin. There's nothing wrong with being prudent. Inadequate funding is partly to blame for our waitlists. If the Canadian govt. allocated as much funding to health care as the US does, Canadians would probably have the best health care in the world. Americans pay more for the same health services than citizens in other countries do. The distribution of compensation is wider in the US than in other industrialized countries, and you have a super complex, fragmented, multipayer system that allocates greater market power to the supply side of the health system than to the demand

I don't think the Fraser Institute is making those numbers up, but they're probably being selective about what data they report (and how) and what they gloss over. The longest that I've ever had to wait to see a specialist is 3 weeks, but that's neither here nor there. If you really want to know what's broken and needs fixing, there's always the Romanow Report for a little light reading. Anyway, my original point wasn't that our system is perfect. I just wanted to point out that a publicly funded system is accountable to the public (voters) rather than corporate shareholders. Health car

Yup.

Larry David reminds me of my ex b.f. (Seriously!) Whenever I watch CYE, I can imagine what my ex would have been like as a middle aged guy. It's a little scary.

I've been covered under the public system all my life, so that's all I know. Until 1967, Canada's system was similar to the US. (Check out the CBC archives if you're really bored.) I think most Canadians really do value "equality and solidarity" in the same way that Americans value freedom and democracy (and capitalism, of course), so things would have to get really bad before we would be willing to embrace a largely private, for-profit system again. Our current system is relatively affordable because the single payer model is pretty efficient. I've never had a problem getting the care

BTW, as a Canadian, I know it's not my place to say what's wrong or right in America. I tried to stay out of this thread, but I'm super passionate about universal health care, etc., so I get sucked-in easily. Also, I find this topic endlessly fascinating, so please forgive my intrusion. I know that it's one thing to look on from the sidelines and quite another to live it on a daily basis.

Wow, cool! That movie really got me thinking and it helped me understand US politics a little bit better. Highly recommended!

Well, I guess it's up to the American people to decide how it should work. If you want different tiers of coverage based on ability to pay, then that's the system you should have. In theory, all Canadians should get the same standard of (medically necessary) care that the Prime Minister of Canada and his family receive. In practice, it varies from region to region, most notably in rural/remote vs. urban areas of the country. Some things aren't covered (e.g., dental, vision care, physiotherapy, etc.) depending on your provincial or territorial insurance plan, but if you are employed, you u