Some cattle ranchers in British Columbia’s Okanagan region are taking the concept of steak and red wine a bit further by putting red wine into the cattle feed. Kelowna’s Sezmu Meats, led by Janice Ravndahl, who came up with the idea, says the meat tastes better and the fat tastes like candy, according to a report from CBC.ca.
Canadian food inspectors have checked it out and, even though they have some concerns, they haven’t shut the operation down.
From CBC.ca:
The idea of giving wine to cattle came to Ravndahl late last year during a TV food program that featured beer-swilling pigs. As the Okanagan is one of Canada’s premier wine regions, getting local beef on the bottle seemed like a good plan.
Ravndahl said she started with one young cow who took to the bottle immediately, quickly earning the epithet Wino.
“It definitely changes their personalities. They moo a lot more with each other. They get really chatty,” she said.
Something tells me the ranch’s inventory is going to grow pretty quickly.
America’s favorite “Idol” — OK, at least one of its two favorites — is moving to Canada.
Carrie Underwood is making the expected move north after marrying her beau Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators. According to Us Magazine, Mike and Carrie are building a dream home in Canada and a source tells them it should be done next month.
That’s all fine and good, but the last bit of the report was what struck me. Carrie officially changed her last name to Fisher after the wedding. Now, just stop for a moment and wonder whether you know any famous Carrie Fishers.
TV’s most consistently and infamously naked Canadian has struck again, but this time you don’t need premium cable to see it.
Anna Paquin and co-stars Stephen Moyer (her real-life fiance) and Alexander Skarsgard appear on this week’s Rolling Stone magazine completely nude and splattered with blood.
Of course, most relevant parts are fairly strategically covered — for the most part — but the magazine is sure to incur some reaction for the shot.
A quick, belated shout out and naming of Canadian of the Week to Montreal’s Arcade Fire to knocking Eminem off the top of the charts last week in the U.S., Britain and Canada with their new album, “The Suburbs.”
The band also earned raves from Rolling Stone, which called them “the biggest mainstream success to emerge from the indie-rock world this decade, a North American equivalent of Radiohead in critical respect and mounting commercial clout.”
Edmonton-born TV star Jill Hennessy is working on an album called “Ghost in My Mind.”
“I know there’s going to be a lot of skepticism,” Hennessy to the QMI Agency, via the Toronto Star. “People will say, ‘Oh, it’s a TV actress with a vanity project.’”
Hey, how did she know we’d say that? Seriously, we love Jill’s venture back into music, and her return to Edmonton makes her our Canadian of the Week!
“Not many people know that I actually started off as a musician. I would play on the streets in Toronto for money,” she continued. “Music’s basically where my heart has always been, to be honest. I was just lucky that acting took off. Music provides me with much more profound and personal satisfaction.”
She goes on to explain that she’s been working on the album for more than four years, and started it while she was filming “Crossing Jordan.” The songs are based on experiences from her life from 2005 to 2007, including one situation “of extreme loss.”
In an ideal world, Hennessy says she’d have a full-fledged music career on her hands. But she knows acting is what puts food on the table.
She’ll be playing the Edmonton Music Festival this weekend.
Check out Jill performing “Ghost in My Head” on QTV right here:
It looks like America’s sweetheart could be moving north.
Carrie Underwood’s new hubby Mike Fisher told reporters this week that Ottawa seems like a fine place to settle down.
“I love it here in Ottawa. She likes it, she knows how much I like it and I want to stay here my whole career if possible,” he said, according to CTV. “And it won’t be just up to me, it will be up to the team too after my contract is up.
“We’re both comfortable here. Home is where we are, so let’s make this home.”
Fisher went on to talk at length about their wedding, honeymoon and what his new life in the paparazzi’s spotlight has been like.
We here at Canadian of the Week might have fallen a bit behind on our one-time promise to resurface the classic Canadian Heritage Minutes, but we still love them.
And it appears we’re not alone. “Scara,” the venerable founder and editor of GhoulsonFilm.net and good friend of Canadian of the Week, ran into Seth Rogen’s longtime buddy and co-writer Evan Goldberg, who beamed with excitement at the mention of CanadianoftheWeek.com and our mutual love of the renowned Heritage Minutes.
“I contacted the government and asked if we could make new ones like three years ago,” Evan said. “Me, Michael Cera and Seth wanted to go up there and make new ones. We wanted to do part of our future heritage and try to do a thing where we get like Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Seth and Michael Cera — just get, like, every famous Canadian we can to do something like that. I’m still kind of into doing it.”
Scara and her morbid mind went straight to Dr. Wilder Penfield’s infamous “I smell burnt toast” bit.
“Burnt toast! Burnt toast?” Evan repeated. “I lived on Penfield Drive in Montreal. I lived outside the building of the man who came up with that. We’ve got a Chinese railroad worker episode … there’s more, burnt toast, the hockey mask one. Ah, those are the best.”
Editor’s note: Our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season continues with No. 5, whose particular brand of TV stardom is best served by “Scara,” who runs GhoulsonFilm.net, a tremendous site for ladies and by ladies who happen to be fans of horror films and TV.
Now, let’s sink our teeth into our choice for No. 5…
By Scara
Special to Canadian of the Week
Few of TV’s Top Canadians talents are so readily visible as Anna Paquin’s – who comes in a at No. 5 on our list.
Everyone’s favorite star of “True Blood” brings a special perkiness to the part of Sookie Stackhouse, the sunny lover of those who can’t go out in the day. You’ve got to hand it to this Winnipegger, she has done things onscreen that would make the average actress shiver with fear. Maybe it’s the hearty Canadian blood coursing through her veins that keeps her warm during her ever-increasing nude scenes. Or her northern pluck that allows her to go that extra mile when outrunning a Maenad, shooting a werewolf, giving advice to a newborn vampire and delivering lines like “BEEEEELLLLLLL.”
While not everyone is a fan of Paquin’s attempts at a traditional Louisiana accent, no one can deny that she has made the character of Sookie her own and fully embraced the campy aspects of the show including some thoroughly outlandish sex scenes. She claims those scenes are no big deal when the one you’re embracing is your fiancé. A fact she joked about to the Huffington Post:
“I’m really close with all of our cast, and we’ve all seen each other in various compromising and odd situations,” she told them when asked about her scandalous sex scenes. “I think that one great bonus is we don’t need a fluffer.”
Editor’s note: Getting back to our Top 10 Canadians of the 2009-10 TV season, we check in at No. 6, which is brought to us by a big fan of “Smallville” and, in particular, Canadian actress Erica Durance.
If you hadn’t figured it out yet, No. 6 is Calgary’s own Erica Durance. Here’s why…
By Nadia Costa
Special to Canadian of the Week
Erica Durance has been playing the iconic Lois Lane on “Smallville” for the past six years, and her growth has been clear to see. Over the years, Durance has earned praise for her professionalism and the great understanding she has for the character she is portraying. Lois has been on an amazing journey and Erica has done a great job playing her.
Previous choices: 10. Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”)
9. Graham Yost (“Justified” and “The Pacific”)
8. Pamela Anderson (“Dancing with the Stars”)
7. Howie Mandel (“America’s Got Talent”)
Last season, for the first time, Erica had the most screen time on the show (second only to star Tom Welling’s Clark Kent). Lois finally got a chance to shine and, boy, did she deliver. Lois Lane was linked to every major storyline, from the materialization of Zod’s evil plans to the emergence of Checkmate. Having Lois at the forefront gave “Smallville” a new lease of life. The Lois-centric episode, “Idol” was an instant fan favorite, achieving higher ratings than the season premiere. Not many shows have the ability to keep things fresh for its fans but in its ninth season, “Smallville” pulled it off.
Portraying a character as complex as Lois Lane isn’t an easy task. One minute she’s the Army brat fighting bad guys and the next she’s the woman with a crush on Clark Kent’s alter ego, “The Blur.” Erica has truly shown her versatility, which is why this girl from Calgary, Alberta, can easily be regarded as one of TV’s Top Canadians.
The Montreal Film and TV Commission is in the news today for denying a permit to the anti-meat organization and Pam Anderson, who was set to unveil her new PETA poster in the city today. PETA sought a permit to hold the unveiling of the poster, in which her body is marked up with labels for each body part as if it’s waiting for a butcher’s cleaver, in Old Montreal, according to the National Post.
“I have to inform you that we, as public officials representing a municipal government, cannot endorse this image of Ms. Anderson,” the commission’s Josee Rochefort wrote in an email to PETA. “It is not so much controversial as it goes against all principles public organizations are fighting for in the everlasting battle of equality between men and women.”
Anderson called the city’s behaviour puritanical. “In a city that is known for its exotic dancing and for being progressive and edgy, how sad that a woman would be banned from using her own body in a political protest over the suffering of cows and chickens,” she said.
You’ve heard of Mad Cow, and that’s no fun.
