Join the new world

"The feeling of something uncanny is directly attached to the figure of the Sand-Man, that is, to the idea of being robbed of one’s eyes, and that an intellectual uncertainty has nothing to do with the effect. Uncertainty whether an object is living or inanimate, which is quite irrelevant in connection with this other, more striking instance of uncanniness."
--Sigmund Freud, "The Uncanny"

################################################################################

“Once a Canadian lad,
Exiled from hearth and home,
Wandered, alone and sad,
Through alien lands unknown.”
--'Un Canadien errant' / 'The Lost Canadian'


(at least we’ll always be welcome somewhere)


There’s been a lot of noise recently about our MPPs, or lack thereof, with certain allies. Understandably, there’s been an even greater amount of brouhaha over the occupation of our Maritime Provinces and Nunavut. There’s even been concern about whether eCanada is pro-Bro enough, or if EDEN has enough pro-Canny Dine support to see us liberated.

Now, to me, this sounds very much like typical RL Canadian navel-gazing worries about our position on the international stage, or as one American diplomat wrote in a wikileaked cable: “Canadians are sensitive to the issues of sovereignty and we have been reminded repeatedly that they are responsible for the overall security of the Games.”…in this case, eRepublik.

The current fracas hasn’t left me with the bitter taste of defeat. In fact, I’d say it’s added spice to an otherwise bland stalemate that tended to exist between France and eCanada. When I began eRep just two years ago, Operation French Toast fizzled in the pan before eCanada saw a very, very long dry spell of battles before our invasion in August ’09. Those were lean months of little to go on. So, compared to today’s hot climate of warfare, I’d say the game is being played as it is meant to be.

Before signing off with a song, I’ll wrap up this poor attempt at a rant with two observations:

A) TemujinCP did not make the best decisions regarding MPPs, but it hasn’t and won’t kill the nation. I’m not sure if it was his ‘frosty’ relationship with the American CP or the surprise “Natural Enemy” rule that came into effect, yet I’m willing to let him part-way off the hook.

B ) ‘Some like it hot’ and a wargame needs to be heated up before being served. We can play this like a round of Chess, with stop-clock and fianchetto flankings, or it can be done up with a messy platter of Resistance Wars in a hot sauce glaze, served with a multi-pronged Hot Tamale attack. Today, the Maritime territories run red with hot pepper paste, so why not enjoy the show.


Here’s the piece that I stole my title from. It’s a deeply significant song for Canadians, or rather the Acadians, who lost their Maritime homes during the Great Upheaval. It’d be too strange a twist to attribute it to our recent French occupiers of New Brunswick, Newfoundland/Labrador, Nova Scotia, and PEI, and the relocation they’ll soon experience. Instead, lets lay it down for the 343 Canadians caught in ‘French Territory’ ~~ time to bring’em home:

“343 Canadiens errant
Banni de ses foyers,
Parcourait en pleurant
Des pays étrangers.”


Click on the Royal Mariachi Band of eCanadian Congress to hear the rest of the song.


It seems only fitting the Mariachis should play the melody for Leonard Cohen’s “The Lost Canadian.” Sorry to say that something may have been lost in translation. Check out the real story here, for those interested in some old time Canadiana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un_Canadien_errant

################################################################################

UPDATE:

Great news everyone. Just over an hour ago, the chill in eUS-eCAN relations was soundly proven false when Josh Frost proposed an MPP with us. Everything would seem to returning back to normal, which leaves us us firmly on the upswing out of Mori's 'Uncanny Valley':


(Brolliance re-animated with Frost MPP proposal, putting eCanada at the 'Bunraku Puppet" level - yay!)