Did you know there is more than one verse to Oh, Canada? The lyrics start to get a little uncomfortable somewhere between verse three and four...

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow.

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.

How dear to us thy broad domain,

From East to Western sea.

Thou land of hope for all who toil!

Thou True North, strong and free!

Refrain:

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies

May stalwart sons, and gentle maidens rise,

To keep thee steadfast through the years

From East to Western sea.

Our own beloved native land!

Our True North, strong and free!

Refrain

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,

Hold our Dominion in thy loving care;

Help us to find, O God, in thee

A lasting, rich reward,

As waiting for the better Day,

We ever stand on guard.

Refrain

My favorite line has always been, "The True North strong and free"

How many people around the world are listening to the same song as you at the exact same time? Not including listening to the radio, of course. 

How obscure do you have to get before you are the only person in the world listening to a song?

Say you mean it, seal it up
Say you wanna try
Say you haven’t had enough
Say you wanna

DC is studying right now, which means every day I get a nice email in my inbox with a lovely tune attached. Props to him for taking the time to brighten me day! Today, it is Bombay Bicycle Club's Shuffle. After you've heard it once, I really don't think you can do anything but listen to this song on repeat for a while. 

We had a pretty heated debate around the dinner table the other evening, all centered around this question:

At what point is it acceptable to tell a stranger that their bad manners are disruptive?

I am THE WORST for judging people on their table manners. I notice everything and I think less and less of you the more you offend me. I honestly believe that there are reasons behind everything considered to be good manners (for example: if you place your cutlery together at the end of a meal, people will know that you are finished eating and they can clear your plate. It also make it easier to clear multiple dishes at once without cutlery flying all over).

Since I take manners so seriously, you'd think I'd be up for telling others when they are being disruptive. However, I believe a part of having really great manners is not making other people feel bad about their lack of the same. Maybe it's a cultural difference, maybe it is a lack of education - to be honest, I can't pretend to know why someone lacks manners. Whatever the reason is, it really isn't my place to point it out to them.

After talking about this, it got me thinking about the parallels between coffee shop behaviour and Internet behaviour. Do you go around in real life telling people how to behave? If not, why do you insist on doing it online? There isn't a day that goes by that I don't read something from some mildly-Internet-famous marketing person (usually in the middle of a book tour), pointing out what not to do and what you've done wrong. Why does it matter? Isn't the Internet just as public a space as the coffee shop? 

We often talk about not posting anything personal that you wouldn't yell aloud or tell your mother. That same rule applies for finger pointing. If you wouldn't go up to a stranger in person and tell them something, don't do it on the Internet. It doesn't matter if what they are doing is "wrong" in your opinion, if you tell them, you are the one being rude. Instead, just be the best example of how to do things correctly. 

I pace the room every time you leave
I fall apart because you're all I need
You make me late for work, you make me late for church
So hard to leave

So bring it on, bring on the weekend

I can't get enough of this song, because I know this feeling. Ain't love grand? A truly enchanting tune. Check out Class Actress and buy her whole album kids. 

A text from DC earlier today:

"Failure of Fine Arts Education in Philly: Barista to middle aged woman, 'You like opera? have you heard of this new opera call Carmen?' Woman glares in disdain and returns to her conversation."

I'm torn between wanting to make fun of the barista and wanting to applaud her for trying to engage with a customer. At least she is putting in effort!

That text was followed by some back-and-forth. Where's the line these days? Is it socially acceptable to not know anything about opera? Is there a Fine Arts Canon that outlines what every person should know about to be considered cultured and well-educated? Do you only need to have read the books they force you to read in high school to get by in life? Can you grow up in a world without being exposed to music, art or literature?

I constantly hear complaining about how the Arts are dying. How can we expect children to appreciate fine art if we don't teach them anything? 

What do you think? Is important for children to learn these things?

How long before it's cool to say you don't participate on any social media platforms?