Antonine Maillet attended Thursday night's opening of her La Sagouine at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. After the show, Maillet, who lives on the street named after her in Outremont, explained the impact that La Sagouine, written in 1971, had on the development of the now-flourishing Acadian culture. Before the play premiered, in French, at Theatre du Rideau Vert, in 1972, the Acadian dialect had not been heard on stage. Later, the play had its English-language premiere at the Saidye Bronfman Centre, which is now called the Segal Centre. Muriel Gold, who was the artistic director of the SBC at that time, also attended Thursday's opening, saying afterwards how amazing it was to see Viola Leger, who had created the role in 1972, then reprised it in English in 1979, performing it again now, at the age of 80.  Click here for my Gazette interview with Leger and click here for the review of the show, which continues until April 10, 2011 at the Segal Centre.

La Sagouine, the only character ever born into Canadian theatre to have a theme park named after her (Le Pays de la Sagouine, in Bouctouche, New Brunswick) is a salty equivalent to the Cathleen Ni Houlihan of W.B. Yeats, the female incarnation of the spirit of Ireland.

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Location: SW 4th and Hall Hours: Weekdays 11am-3pm The Story: In a cart that looks more like a little bungalow with a piqued roof, you’ll find a chef creating dishes out of a the rich Cajun and French country tradition. … Continue reading →

Street fairs can be unruly events. But when the whole purpose of the gathering is to create as much muck as possible, they move into a league of their own.

Food fights are surprisingly common festival activities the world over, and more often than not the weapon of choice is the humble tomato. Each year, on the last Wednesday in August, as many as 30,000 people descend on the small village of Buñol in Valencia to celebrate the Tomatina Festival. They’ve been coming here since 1944 to pummel each other with over-ripe tomatoes grown especially for the event. Sure, the scene is messy but at least it’s relatively pain-free (and low-fat).

Not so in Piedmont, where partygoers are armed with welt-causing oranges. Legend has it the catalyst for the event was a local woman in the 12^th century who, on her wedding day, refused to let the local duke sleep with her. She chopped off his head and (presumably) hurled it at him. Ouch.

For organizers faced with the unbridled enthusiasm of gathering hordes, even the gentlest festival can quickly turn messy. Take International Pillow Fight Day for example, a flash mob event now celebrated in more than a hundred cities all over the world, from Accra to Zürich. The pillow fights are so ferocious the pillows often burst on impact, sending plumes of stuffing sky high like a mushroom cloud. (Participants are encouraged to use hypoallergenic pillows.)

While a street full of stuffing, tomatoes or oranges might not be the most beautiful sight to behold, some messy festivals result in a painted wonderland. In Galaxidi, a small fishing village in Greece, revelers hurl multicolored flour to celebrate one of the holiest (and most ironically named) days of the year – Clean Monday. The coloring in the flour is so strong is stains the brickwork (homes and businesses tend to wrap their property in plastic, a la Christo and Jeanne-Claude).

Only one messy festival does not requires an Olympic-sized clean up crew – theTintamarre festival held in the sleepy bayside town of Caraquet in Canada. The population swells from 4100 to almost ten times that amount during August when the Acadian French community celebrate its national day. Participants arrive with foghorns on trailers, blade-less chainsaws, and noise-makers of every description with the sole intent of creating an unruly din.

And how did this odd, cacophonous gathering come about? In 1963, two centuries after British forces attempted to oust the Acadian French from the region, the local priest in Caraquet asked his parishioners to make some noise to let the world know that Acadians were alive and well. Not surprisingly, the celebration grew. Like their fellow tomato throwers and paint hurlers around the world, the people of Caraquet just wanted a chance to make their mark on the world.

(From Lonely Planet)

• Relatively Curious About Genealogy http://relativelycurious.blogspot.com/
• Clue Wagon, http://www.cluewagon.com/
• Family History Tracing, http://familyhistorytracing.blogspot.com/
• The We Tree Genealogy Blog, http://wetree.blogspot.com/
• Roots and Rambles, http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com/
• Greta's Genealogy Bog, http://gretabog.blogspot.com/
• Elyse's Genealogy Blog, http://elysesgenealogyblog.com/
• footnoteMaven, http://www.footnotemaven.com/
• Creative Gene, http://creativegene.blogspot.com/
• Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, http://www.eogn.com/
• You Go Genealogy Girls, http://yougogenealogygirls.blogspot.com/
• The Educated Genealogist, http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/
• SpittalStreet.com, http://www.spittalstreet.com/
• Olive Tree Genealogy, http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/

• Granite in My Blood, http://granite-in-my-blood.blogspot.com/
• Digital Cemetery Walk, http://digitalcemeterywalk.blogspot.com/
• Over Thy Dead Body, http://stiffsandstones.blogspot.com/
• Tombstone Territory, http://tombstoneterritory.blogspot.com
• Escape to the Silent Cities, http://escapetothesilentcities.blogspot.com/
• The Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal, http://oj-graveyardrabbit.blogspot.com/
• Gen Wish List, http://genwishlist.blogspot.com
• Gravestoned, http://gravestoned.blogspot.com
• Cemetery Explorers, http://cemeteryexplorers.blogspot.com/

• ·         Dienekes' Anthropology Blog, http://dienekes.blogspot.com/
• ·         Renee's Genealogy Blog, http://rzamor1.blogspot.com
• ·         MacGenealogy.org, http://www.macgenealogy.org/
• ·         Genealogy's Star, http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com
• ·         MobileGenealogy.com, http://www.mobilegenealogy.com
• ·         Moultrie Creek Gazette, http://moultriecreek.us
• ·         JLog, http://www.jgen.ws/jlog/
• ·         Ancestry Insider, http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com
• ·         Family Oral History Using Digital Tools, http://familyoralhistory.us/news
• ·         GeneaNet Genealogy Blog, http://genealogyblog.geneanet.org

• The Scottish Emigration Blog, http://scottishemigration.blogspot.com/
• Geniaus, http://geniaus.blogspot.com
• Anglo-Celtic Connections, http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/
• The Knowles Collection, http://knowlescollection.blogspot.com/
• George Geder Evangelist for African Ancestored Genealogy, http://gedergenealogy.com/
• Acadian and French-Canadian Ancestral Home, http://acadian-ancestral-home.blogspot.com
• Luxegen Genealogy, http://www.luxegen.ca
• Wandering and wondering (a'spaidsearachd agus a'meòrachadh), http://direcleit.blogspot.com
• Tracing the Tribe, http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/
•  Of Trolls And Lemons, http://haugenhistory.blogspot.com
• Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors, http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/
• Black and Red Journal, http://www,blackandredjournal.blogspot.com
• Georgia Black Crackers, http://georgiablackcrackers.blogspot.com/
• Donna's Ireland blog, http://moughty.com/Site/Ireland_Blog/Ireland_Blog.html
• Scottish GENES, http://scottishancestry.blogspot.com
• The French Genealogy Blog, http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/

• Personal Past Meditations, http://www.thepersonalpast.com
• Shades of the Departed, http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com/
• Genealogy Tip of the Day , http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com
• Gena's Genealogy, http://philibertfamily.blogspot.com/
• Paula's Genealogical Eclectica, http://paulastuartwarren.blogspot.com/
• a3Genealogy, http://a3Genealogy.blogspot.com
• The Family Curator, http://www.thefamilycurator.com/
• FamHist, http://famhist2.blogspot.com
• The Armchair Genealogist, http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com
• Family History Research Tips, http://familyhistorytips.wordpress.com/
• Pollyblog, http://pk-pollyblog.blogspot.com
• NARAtions: The Blog of the United States National Archives, http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/

• Grey County Historical Society, http://greycountyhs.blogspot.com/
• Virginia Historical Society Blog, http://vahistorical.wordpress.com/
• MoSGA Messenger, http://mosga.blogspot.com/
• Midwestern Microhistory, http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/
• Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog, http://ewgs-spokane.blogspot.com/
• Utah Genealogical Association Blog, http://ugagenealogy.blogspot.com/
• Brooklyn Historical Society Blog, http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/
• Iawamba History Review, http://itawambahistory.blogspot.com/
• California Genealogical Society and Library Blog , http://blog.californiaancestors.org/
• New York History, http://www.newyorkhistoryblog.com/
• My Ancestor's Name, http://myancestorsname.blogspot.com/
• St. Vincent Memories, http://56755.blogspot.com
• Williams County, Ohio Genealogy, http://williamscountyohiogenealogy.blogspot.com
• Sandusky History , http://sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com/
• Alberta Family Histories Society Blog, http://afhs.ab.ca/blog/page/3/

• The Faces of my Family, http://thefacesofmyfamily.blogspot.com/
• The Scottish Emigration Blog, http://scottishemigration.blogspot.com/
• Adventures in Genealogy Education, http://www.genealogyeducation.blogspot.com/
• Have You Seen My Roots? http://haveyouseenmyroots.blogspot.com/
• The Mashburn Collection, http://themashburncollection.com
• The Turning of Generations, http://www.turning-of-generations.blogspot.com
• Pursuits of a Desperate Genie, http://desperategenie.com/
• Nolichucky Roots , http://nolichuckyroots.blogspot.com/
• Journey to the Past, http://journeytothepastblog.blogspot.com/
• The Family Recorder, http://thefamilyrecorder.blogspot.com/
• Old Stones Undeciphered http://oldstonesundeciphered.blogspot.com/
• Climbing My Family Tree, http://www.climbingmyfamilytree.com/
• myirelandhome, http://myirelandhome.com/
• My Tangled Vine, http://mytangledvine.blogspot.com
• Sassy Jane Genealogy, http://www.sassyjanegenealogy.blogspot.com
• Roots Traveler, http://www.rootstraveler.com/
• Heritage Zen, http://heritagezen.blogspot.com/

• Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors , http://ancestories1blogspot.com
• Tangled Trees, http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/
• Begin With Craft, http://beginwithcraft.blogspot.com/
• Nutfield Genealogy, http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com
• Slovak Yankee http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/
• Greta's Genealogy Blog, http://gretabog.blogspot.com/
• Little Bytes of Life, http://www.littlebytesoflife.com   
• BeNotForgot, http://benotforgot.blogspot.com/
• What's Past is Prologue, http://pastprologue.wordpress.com
• TJLGenes: Preserving Our Family History, http://www.tjlgenes.blogspot.com/
• Circlemending, http://circlemending.blogspot.com/
• West in New England, http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/
• TransylvanianDutch, http://transylvaniandutch.blogspot.com
• Reflections From the Fence, http://www.reflectionsfromthefence.com/
• Finding Our Ancestors, http://researchingoconnells.wordpress.com
• Mississippi Memories, http://www.mymississippimemories.blogspot.com
• AtlasFamily.Org Blog, http://blog.atlasfamily.org
• Gene notes, http://geneanotes.blogspot.com/
• The Accidental Genealogist, http://www.theaccidentalgenealogist.com/
• Everything's Relative, http://genealogybycindy.blogspot.com
• The Internet Genealogist , http://shbwgen.blogspot.com/
• Tonia's Roots, http://www.toniasroots.net/
• My Channel Island History, http://jerseymo2010.wordpress.com
• Finding Josephine, http://dionneford.wordpress.com/

1. Please choose FIVE Blogs from the EVERYTHING category.

Clue Wagon, http://www.cluewagon.com/
Creative Gene, http://creativegene.blogspot.com/
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, http://www.eogn.com
Elyse's Genealogy Blog, http://elysesgenealogyblog.com/
Family History Tracing, http://familyhistorytracing.blogspot.com
footnoteMaven, http://www.footnoteMaven.com
Greta's Genealogy Bog, http://gretabog.blogspot.com/
Olive Tree Genealogy, http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
Relatively Curious About Genealogy, http://relativelycurious.blogspot.com
Roots and Rambles, http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com/
SpittalStreet.com, http://www.spittalstreet.com
The Educated Genealogist, http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/
The We Tree Genealogy Blog, http://wetree.blogspot.com/
You Go Genealogy Girls, http://yougogenealogygirls.blogspot.com

2. Please choose FIVE blogs from the CEMETERIES category.

Cemetery Explorers, http://cemeteryexplorers.blogspot.com/
Digital Cemetery Walk, http://digitalcemeterywalk.blogspot.com/
Escape to the Silent Cities, http://escapetothesilentcities.blogspot.com/
Gen Wish List, http://genwishlist.blogspot.com
Granite in My Blood, http://granite-in-my-blood.blogspot.com/
Gravestoned, http://gravestoned.blogspot.com
Over Thy Dead Body, http://stiffsandstones.blogspot.com/
The Graveyard Rabbit Online Journal, http://oj-graveyardrabbit.blogspot.com/
Tombstone Territory, http://tombstoneterritory.blogspot.com

3. Please choose FIVE blogs from the TECHNOLOGY category.

Ancestry Insider, http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com
Dienekes' Anthropology Blog, http://dienekes.blogspot.com/
Family Oral History Using Digital Tools, http://familyoralhistory.us/news
Genealogy's Star, http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/
GeneaNet Genealogy Blog, http://genealogyblog.geneanet.org/
JLog, http://www.jgen.ws/jlog/
MacGenealogy.org, http://www.macgenealogy.org/
MobileGenealogy.com, http://www.mobilegenealogy.com
Moultrie Creek Gazette, http://moultriecreek.us
Renee's Genealogy Blog, http://rzamor1.blogspot.com

4. Please choose FIVE Blogs from the HERITAGE GROUPS category.

Acadian & French-Canadian Ancestral Home, http://acadian-ancestral-home.blogspot.com
Anglo-Celtic Connections, http://anglo-celtic-connections.blogspot.com/
Black and Red Journal, http://www,blackandredjournal.blogspot.com
Donna's Ireland blog, http://moughty.com/Site/Ireland_Blog/Ireland_Blog.html
Geniaus, http://geniaus.blogspot.com
George Geder Evangelist for African Ancestored Genealogy, http://gedergenealogy.com/
Georgia Black Crackers, http://georgiablackcrackers.blogspot.com/
Help! The Faerie Folk Hid My Ancestors, http://irishfamilyresearch.blogspot.com/
Luxegen Genealogy, http://www.luxegen.ca
Of Trolls And Lemons, http://haugenhistory.blogspot.com/
Scottish GENES, http://scottishancestry.blogspot.com
The French Genealogy Blog, http://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/
The Knowles Collection, http://knowlescollection.blogspot.com/
The Scottish Emigration Blog, http://scottishemigration.blogspot.com/
Tracing the Tribe, http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/
Wandering and wondering (a'spaidsearachd agus a'meòrachadh), http://direcleit.blogspot.com

5. Please choose FIVE Blogs from the RESEARCH ADVICE/HOW-TO category.

a3Genealogy, http://a3Genealogy.blogspot.com
FamHist, http://famhist2.blogspot.com
Family History Research Tips, http://familyhistorytips.wordpress.com/
Gena's Genealogy, http://philibertfamily.blogspot.com/
Genealogy Tip of the Day, http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com
NARAtions: The Blog of the United States National Archives, http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/
Paula's Genealogical Eclectica, http://paulastuartwarren.blogspot.com/
Personal Past Meditations, http://www.thepersonalpast.com
Pollyblog, http://pk-pollyblog.blogspot.com
Shades of the Departed, http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com/
The Armchair Genealogist, http://www.thearmchairgenealogist.com
The Family Curator, http://www.thefamilycurator.com/

6. Please choose FIVE blogs from the LOCAL/REGIONAL RESEARCH category.

Alberta Family Histories Society Blog, http://afhs.ab.ca/blog/page/3/
Brooklyn Historical Society Blog, http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/
California Genealogical Society and Library Blog , http://blog.californiaancestors.org/
Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog, http://ewgs-spokane.blogspot.com/
Grey County Historical Society, http://greycountyhs.blogspot.com/
Iawamba History Review, http://itawambahistory.blogspot.com/
Midwestern Microhistory, http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/
MoSGA Messenger, http://mosga.blogspot.com/
My Ancestor's Name, http://myancestorsname.blogspot.com/
New York History, http://www.newyorkhistoryblog.com/
Sandusky History, http://sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com/
St. Vincent Memories, http://56755.blogspot.com
Utah Genealogical Association Blog, http://ugagenealogy.blogspot.com/
Virginia Historical Society Blog, http://vahistorical.wordpress.com/
Williams County, Ohio Genealogy, http://williamscountyohiogenealogy.blogspot.com

7. Please choose FIVE blogs from the NEW BLOGS category.

Adventures in Genealogy Education, http://www.genealogyeducation.blogspot.com/
Climbing My Family Tree, http://www.climbingmyfamilytree.com/
Have You Seen My Roots? http://haveyouseenmyroots.blogspot.com/
Heritage Zen, http://heritagezen.blogspot.com/
Journey to the Past, http://journeytothepastblog.blogspot.com/
My Tangled Vine, http://mytangledvine.blogspot.com
myirelandhome, http://myirelandhome.com/
Nolichucky Roots, http://nolichuckyroots.blogspot.com/
Old Stones Undeciphered, http://oldstonesundeciphered.blogspot.com/
Pursuits of a Desperate Genie, http://desperategenie.com/
Roots Traveler, http://www.rootstraveler.com/
Sassy Jane Genealogy, http://www.sassyjanegenealogy.blogspot.com
The Faces of my Family, http://thefacesofmyfamily.blogspot.com/
The Family Recorder, http://thefamilyrecorder.blogspot.com/
The Mashburn Collection, http://themashburncollection.com
The Scottish Emigration Blog, http://scottishemigration.blogspot.com/
The Turning of Generations, http://www.turning-of-generations.blogspot.com

8. Please choose FIVE Blogs from the MY FAMILY HISTORY category.

Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors, http://ancestories1blogspot.com
AtlasFamily.Org Blog, http://blog.atlasfamily.org
Begin With Craft, http://beginwithcraft.blogspot.com/
BeNotForgot, http://benotforgot.blogspot.com/
Circlemending, http://circlemending.blogspot.com/
Everything's Relative, http://genealogybycindy.blogspot.com
Finding Josephine, http://dionneford.wordpress.com/
Finding Our Ancestors, http://researchingoconnells.wordpress.com
Gene notes, http://geneanotes.blogspot.com/
Greta's Genealogy Blog, http://gretabog.blogspot.com/
Little Bytes of Life, http://www.littlebytesoflife.com
Mississippi Memories, http://www.mymississippimemories.blogspot.com
My Channel Island History, http://jerseymo2010.wordpress.com
Nutfield Genealogy, http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com
Reflections From the Fence, http://www.reflectionsfromthefence.com/
Slovak Yankee, http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/
Tangled Trees, http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/
The Accidental Genealogist, http://www.theaccidentalgenealogist.com/
The Internet Genealogist, http://shbwgen.blogspot.com/
TJLGenes: Preserving Our Family History, http://www.tjlgenes.blogspot.com/
Tonia's Roots, http://www.toniasroots.net/
TransylvanianDutch, http://transylvaniandutch.blogspot.com
West in New England, http://westinnewengland.blogspot.com/
What's Past is Prologue, http://pastprologue.wordpress.com

Musts ...

• Sending Holiday Greetings and Gifts Outside of Canada?
  You might want to step on it if you want business partners, clients, family and friends outside of Canada to receive your holiday greetings and gifts by Christmas. My About.com colleague Susan Monroe prepped a Canada Post deadline list categorized by continent and mail service to help you stay on schedule.
• Santa Claus Parade
  The big one. Saturday. 11 a.m. Route details.
• Dark Owl
  Laval Goupil's Djibou, translated by Glen Nichols and directed by Jessica Abdallah explores the dysfunction behind a fishing town family isolated from the community and themselves over a rape, a nightmare they're about to relive as if their lives are stuck in a twisted loop where gray hairs multiply as their lives pass them by. Originally written in Chiac, a French-English dialect unique to New Brunswick's Acadian population ...Read More
• M for Montreal
  If you want a bird's eye view of who's who in Montreal's music scene, then do not miss M pour Montréal's 2010 edition, featuring 19 breakthrough and established acts, including ex-Zeroes-now-SUUNS, recently transplanted The Barr Brothers, Monogrenade, The Dears and more. Now through Saturday. Admission varies by event. Various venues.
• Woyzeck
  South Korea's physical theatre troupe Sadari Movement Lab use chairs as their only prop in presenting Georg Büchner's Woyzeck, an 1837 tale depicting exploitation we see every day on every continent in the form of menial pay and sociobehavioral disrespect imposed on the financially vulnerable -- beggars can't be choosers, now can they -- subsequently forced to work otherwise inhumane hours and perform less desirable, sometimes dangerous tasks in the hopes that one day, they'll make enough money to dig themselves out of a hole, which in more cases than we care to admit, they didn't create in the first place. If they don't stay upbeat, positive and grateful for every crumb as they live the cutting reality of this "lifestyle," they risk losing "opportunities," friends, loved ones, bone-throws from the higher-statused and their sanity, in no particular order. Admission $15.94 to $24.81 plus taxes and service charge. At Place des Arts' Cinquième Salle (map).
• Concerts This Weekend
  Delorean, Hannah Georgas (love her!), Ritchie Hawtin, Luke Doucet (love him!), JD Samson (MEN, ex-Le Tigre) in DJ mode and more perform Thursday through Sunday.
• PSY
  PSY probes inside the mind of an agoraphobic, illustrates a man in the throes of an identity crisis, and shows what happens when another follows the instructions of voices inside his head, among other acrobatic vignettes anticipated from a Montreal troupe fast becoming a household name. Watch clip. Running now through Saturday. Tickets starting at $34.80 plus taxes and service charge, for kids 123 and under starting at $27.90 plus taxes and service charge. At la TOHU (map).
• Christmas Craft Fair Presented by Pam Davy
  "The Christmas Craft Fair will have 30 artisans selling jewelry, pottery, homemade soap, organic baby clothing, quilts, lamps, Christmas decorations. We will have a sweet table presented by www.sweetlees.ca and there will be a free door prize give away valued at $150 (winner must pay applicable taxes). Free craft table for children from noon to 3 pm." On Saturday. At St. Philips Church (map).
• Salon du livre
  Meet your favorite French writers and find the perfect bookworm gift. Admission $8, $6 seniors and students, free for kids 12 and under accompanied by a parent. At Place Bonaventure (map).
• Buy Barilà
  Barilà's pop-up shop wraps up its sale next Wednesday, November 24.
• Buy More Stuff
  Stuff is good, especially with retail markups chopped off.

Maybes ...

• Reader-Submitted Events
  A gig signed The Superstitions on Friday, Bolsheviki continues its run through December 5 and we've got a singles fling party for your outing consideration, also on Friday. Wanna see your event plugged? Details here.

• More:
  
• Montreal Events in November
• Free Things to Do in Montreal
• Montreal Weather in November

• Stay Connected:
  
• Receive the Montreal Newsletter
• Have Your Say in the Forum
• Follow Me on Twitter

The following guest post continues a series of posts leading up to the Gold Medal Plates Event in Ottawa. It's from the wonderful people at foodiePrints. Consider you are the well-traveled son of parents who were stationed around the world while you were growing up. You were born in New Brunswick where you learned to speak Acadian French (le français acadien). You earned your degree in Germany, having spent 16 years of your life there (in 4 year intervals). You graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada in Prince Edward Island (PEI). Your girlfriend of 4 1/2 years and you are deciding where to settle in the world, she being a talented artist. Ottawa was the lucky city chosen. More than a decade later, it would be a strange twist of fate that Chef Steve Mitton (@murraystreetkwc) returned to the same building in which he...

This is just a summary. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more!

CBC.ca

Besnard Lakes, Karkwa, Radio Radio on short list Montreal Gazette And Acadian rap trio Radio Radio (who rhyme in French and English), now based in Montreal, makes similar inroads with the nomination of its album Belmundo ... Tegan & Sara, Sadies make Polaris short listWinnipeg Free Press Polaris Prize 2010 Short List AnnouncedSpacelab Polaris Prize short list unveiledCBC.ca Toronto Sun -Globe and Mail -Billboard Business News all 87 news articles »

Got French Candian ancestors? You’ll be thrilled to know that subscription genealogy site Ancestry.ca (the Canadian sister to Ancestry.com) is making its Drouin Collection—best available French Canadian genealogy resource—free for three days from June 24-26.

See the full Ancestry.ca announcement on Dick Eastman’s Genealogy blog. The freebie celebrates Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a national holiday of Quebec on June 24. You’ll need a free Ancestry.ca registration to access the records.

(Note that the Drouin collection also is on Ancestry.com, but isn’t being made free there.)

The Drouin Collection has millions of names from family books of the Drouin Genealogical Institute, founded in 1899. Information comes from Quebec vital and notarial records, Acadian Catholic church records, Ontario Catholic church records and early US French Catholic church records. The collection dates from the beginning of European settlement to the 1940s, documenting many Quebec families over three centuries.

Want more information on researching your French  Canadian ancestors? See the French Canadian research guide in the June 2006 Family Tree Magazine, available as a digital download from ShopFamilyTree.com. (Family Tree Magazine Plus members can access the guide on FamilyTreeMagazine.com.)

La Sagouine: Viola Léger can’t be faulted for consistency. The 80-year-old former New Brunswick senator has performed the title role—a washerwoman—in Antonine Maillet’s Acadian masterwork some 1,400 times, in French and English. She’ll do the same in Toronto for the first time since 1979 as part of this Pleiades Theatre production. Find out more >>

NOTE from DearMYRTLE: If learning more about how to do research is a priority, the following announcement from our friends at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies will be of interest. Please address all inquiries to admin@genealogicalstudies.com

Two new INTENSIVE SHORT TERM COURSES are starting on May 3rd. Registrations are accepted until May 9th.

For students who have been waiting for a long time for a new course on JEWISH research, we have a new INTENSIVE SHORT TERM course on this subject. Please welcome Micha Reisel, a new instructor for his course called: Research Jewish Genealogy on the Internet. Micha is from Isarel and helps genealogists publish their Jewsih family Histories. To learn more about Micha, please go to our site at www.genealogicalstudies.com, click on menu item INSTITUTE, click on FACULTY, & click on his name name.

Lisa Alzo has another new course for you --- it is an INTENSIVE SHORT TERM course called: Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Family Story. Her last course BRICKWALL Research, was very popular. Register early for the next offering of BrickWall Research, it will fill up quickly. The next start date is August 2nd.

Both of Linda Rakita's 'Investigate' courses are running again this month --- Investigate: Adoption Records & Investigate Lost Friends and Family Records.

Two courses that became compulsory courses for the Canadian Certificate program after the program started are Canadian Geography and Maps and Canadian Immigration Records. You may want to consider these two courses if you did not take them during your program.

Dr. Penny Christensen's English Court Records-Criminal, Civil & Ecclesiastical course has gotten some very good reviews. Lots of valuable information which may be handy when you are hitting brickwalls in your English research.

The US: Military Records with Beverly Rice has also received some very good comments. Consider this course if you need tips researching in these records.

Here's a short description of the above courses. For a more detailed description go to our site, click on COURSES, click on COURSES again, click on INTENSIVE SHORT TERM & NON-CREDIT COURSES, & click on the name of the course.

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RESEARCH: JEWISH GENEALOGY ON THE INTERNET: This course provides detailed information about search engines, general genealogy sites, Jewish genealogy sites, JewishGen, Holocaust research, archival research sites and many other resources accessible from the comfort of your home. You will learn how to go about searching these sites and what to expect from the searches.

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WRINTING YOUR FAMILY STORY: You don't have to be a prize-winning novelist to capture your familyʼs story on paper! This course will cover how to document your family's story in simple manageable steps. Learn how to conduct an oral history interview-including what questions to ask, when and how to record an interview, how to handle privacy issues, how to write from family photographs and documents, and how to blend genealogical and historical facts with family stories to produce a compelling and lasting narrative.

INVESTIGATE: ADOPTION RECORDS: Learn successful methods for gathering information from those who hold the keys. Once contact information is attained, you will be gently guided through your important first contact. This course provides not only instructions of how to search, but addresses the emotional aspects that affect such a deeply personal and poignant endeavor.

INVESTIGATE: LOST FRIENDS AND FAMILY RECORDS: Have you ever wanted to locate a lost love or missing relative? Reminisce with a military buddy or childhood friend? Tried and failed because those distant cousins you just discovered have appear to be impossible to find? Do not let another year pass without that special someone back in your life! Invaluable techniques and tricks of the investigative trade will help you turn that question mark into an exclamation point!

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Remember, the registration fee for the Intensive Short Term courses is under $50!

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CANADIAN: GEOGRAPHY AND MAPS: If you plan to be a successful family historian you must learn to look at maps and extract the basic, secondary, and even the third level of information they offer, and then evaluate that information. Some older maps show former political divisions and place names, where old roads, canals or railways once ran, perhaps ownership of land, or city plans that show every building, including the one where the emigrant ancestor was born. Is what it shows accurate, up to date or obsolete, misleading or intended to deceive? Maps can be many things and the more you know the fewer traps will catch you.

CANADIAN: IMMIGRATION RECORDS

ENGLISH: COURT RECORDS-CRIMINAL, CIVIL & ECCLESIASTICAL: The former importance of ecclesiastical courts is emphasized. Civil ones comprising manor courts, petty, borough and quarter sessions as well as chancery and exchequer courts are covered. Criminal assizes and records of prisoners & convicts, gaols & transportation are discussed. The availability of original records and indexes to the researcher situated anywhere in the world and their relevance to genealogical investigations is explained.

US: MILITARY RECORDS: Discussions will include the various types of records created by military service, such as service records, muster rolls, pension records, and draft registration. The content of the records and their usefulness for genealogy and immigration research is described. Records of conflicts of the United States and colonial America from the early colonial wars of the seventeenth century to the Second World War are included. The Army, Navy, and other branches of service are detailed. History of military action in America as it relates to records is also included.

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This message is also to let you know that 77 online courses are starting on Monday, May 3rd. Registrations are accepted until May 9th. Please see the list of courses below and instructions for registrations.

ALL DEPARTMENTS/COUNTRIES:

Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 1 Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 2 Analysis and Skills Mentoring Program-Part 3 Electronic Resources: Using The Internet Genealogy and Copyright Guidelines Genetics and Genealogy Methodology - Part 1: Getting Started Methodology - Part 2: Organizing and Skillbuilding Methodology - Part 3: More Strategies Methodology - Part 4: Effective Searching and Recording Methodology - Part 5: How To Prove It Methodology - Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice

Palaeography: Reading & Understanding Historical Documents

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SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS/COUNTRIES:

Canadian: Census Records - Part 1

Canadian: Geography and Maps

Canadian: Immigration Records

Canadian: Land Records - Part 1

Canadian: Land Records - Part 2

Canadian: Local History & Special Collections

Canadian: Migration Patterns

Canadian: Vital Statistics - Part 1

Canadian: Vital Statistics - Part 2

Canadian: Wills and Estate Records - Part 1

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English: Court Records-Criminal, Civil & Ecclesiastical

English: Land & Property Records Including Manorial Documents & Maps

English: Occupations - Professions and Trades

English: Parish Registers

English: Probate Records

English: Understanding Names in Genealogy

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German: Church Records

German: Civil Registration Records

German: Introduction to German Research for North Americans

German: Locating Places in Germany

German: Reading the Records

German: The Language

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Irish: Archival Repositories

Irish: Census & Census Substitute Records

Irish: Civil Registration in Ireland

Irish: Conformist & Non-Conformist Church Records

Irish: Electoral & Taxation Records

Irish: Estate, Plantation & Settlement Records

Irish: Major Printed Sources

Irish: Monumental (Gravestone) Inscriptions

Irish: Understanding Ireland, History & Source Records

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Scottish: Special Aspects of Scottish Research

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US: Cemetery and Mortuary Records

US: Census Records

US: Institutional Records

US: Land Records

US: Migration Patterns

US: Military Records

US: Religious Records - Part 1

US: Religious Records - Part 2

US: Vital Records, Understanding & Using The Records

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Librarianship: Developing a Genealogy Web Site

Librarianship: Developing Successful Genealogy Collections

Librarianship: Genealogy Reference Interview

Librarianship: Handouts, Brochures & Online/Multi-Media Reference Tools

Librarianship: Programming and Marketing Your Services

Librarianship: Specialized Genealogy Sources

Librarianship: Twenty-First Century Genealogy Services

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ELECTIVE COURSES:

Electronic Resources: Family Tree Maker

Planning a Research Trip Including Preparing for Salt Lake City Protect Your Precious Documents

Research: Acadian Ancestors

Research: Canadian Ancestors

Research: French Canadian Ancestors

Research: Irish Ancestors

Research: Newfoundland and Labrador

Research: Polish Ancestors

Research: Slovak Ancestors-Part 1

Researching French Forts of New France

Writing Your Family History Book

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INTENSIVE SHORT TERM COURSES

Investigate: Adoption Records

Investigate: Lost Friends and Family Records

Research: Jewish Genealogy on the Internet Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Family Story

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If you would like to register for any of the above courses, please do so by logging on to our site at www.genealogicalstudies.com.

If this is the first time you are accessing your Private Student Briefcase and you have not entered your own password, click on Login, enter your e-mail address and the password: institute. Naturally, if you are receiving this e-mail, you have a Student Briefcase. Therefore, if you do not remember your password, click on PASSWORD FINDER found at the bottom of the LOGIN window. Your password will be sent to your e-mail program.

To continue the registration process:

Click on Course Calendar (please be patient: this page can take a few minutes to load, since courses are listed up to 2012) Click on Chronological View then Scroll down Click on Register (for more details about the course, click on the course name) Complete the registration

Keep in mind, you can register and pay online to save time. These courses are starting on May 3rd, 2010. Please register as soon as possible. If you are past the start date, you can still register for one of the above courses, but simply choose the next date available. If you are within 7 days of the start date, once your registration is processed, go to your Briefcase area, click on the future date of the course, change the date to the current date. If you have any difficulties or you are later than 7 days from the start date, simply send us an e-mail or call 1-800-580-0165 (North America) or 020 3239 3835 (United Kingdom).

PLEASE NOTE (For students with packages of courses): If you have courses remaining in a package of course, click on the link to View/Register Courses beside the name of your package found at the bottom of your briefcase area. Complete the registration process. (Note: Librarianship courses can only be taken from the Librarianship packages.)

PRINTED COURSE MATERIALS: If you have an elective binder kit and would like to receive the printed materials for a course, please go to our site, click on the menu item OUR STORE, Login (right hand top corner), click on INSTITUTE MATERIALS on left hand side, click on the appropriate department, click on Select Course for Elective Kit, click on the appropriate course. You will only be charged the shipping costs.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to either call us:

1-800-580-0165 toll free in North America 020 3239 3835 in the United Kingdom

416-861-0165 Toronto area

LouiseStD for a SKYPE call

or send us a message at: admin@genealogicalstudies.com

Louise St Denis

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies

Because I'm Pretty Sure "Flagin'" Is Made-Up

I've always said it takes a big man to sport a name that has as many vowels as it does consonants. The other thing I've always said is that it takes a big man to sport the nickname "Booger."

So when I made the acquaintance of Mr. Boudreau "Booger" Freret in the wilds of the Internet jungle a while back, I knew I was on to, well...something.

And so, because I couldn't think of anything else to write about this week I know you'll find his particular take on "the world" as "intriguing" as I do, I've invited Boudreau here to the LJKGW megaplex in Escondido for a visit.

[Locks purse in bottom desk drawer.]

AL: So, how exactly do you pronounce your name? I'm counting out 15 syllables – is that right?

BF: Not in English, it isn't. Fifteen syllables might be right in Klingon, or maybe Elvish, but you have kids, right? So I’m guessing you’re probably not a virgin, and in that case, the chances of you speaking either Klingon or Elvish are pretty much zero. Why are you looking at me like that – hey, are you going to eat that?

AL: And that name is – what – Hawaiian?

BF: No, American. And by American I mean Acadian. You know, Cajun. The descendants of Acadian exiles, French-speaking settlers from Acadia and Nova Scotia, who live in Louisiana. (And yes, I do think “Acadian Exiles” would be a great reality show.)

AL: You have one of the most popular recipe-sharing blogs out there. To what do you attribute your success?

BF: Anna, I don’t, uh, have a recipe-sharing blog (though I am proud of a bourbon-based hollandaise I am marketing locally under the name “Boozandaise”) but I do write about my Adventures.

Because if I've learned anything on this planet*, I've learned these three things: people love reading about what I’m thinking and doing (as I wrote in my first-ever post, “... no thought or observation [is] too trivial to escape shameless public regurgitation for an audience of billions to ignore”), and English speaking Americans suck at math.

* I've been advised not to discuss (in public) any other planets I may or may not have learned anything on. Give me a call if you want to know more. Just make sure you’re wearing the hat I made you. (It isn’t just a hat. Wink wink.)

AL: Really? Huh. Then where did I get that recipe for toaster mutton truffles? Whatever. So you're what? Oh, right – a writer. How does that possibly overlap with having a blog?

BF: Sorry, no idea about either question. But speaking of blogs, I should thank you for turning me onto your friend’s blog, Ann’s Pants – I had no idea that corduroy was back in style. Until I read it at Ann's Pants. (Thanks, Ann!) Come to think of it, I hope that article wasn't too old...

AL: So tell us about the writing you do. Or, to put it another way, can you talk a little bit about your writing?

BF: I write in English, mainly using a computer to turn the words in my head into a format that (some) other people can read. Sometimes I don’t use a computer. Then I write the words longhand. Nothing fancy, just pen and paper. I would do the same with the voices in my head, but unfortunately I don't speak whatever language they're always jabbering away in... and, yes, I can talk about my writing. But just a little bit.

AL: You mentioned that you will be speaking at an event in March – a conference on "Social Imagery." What's up with that? [Note: I totally know what "social imagery" means, BTW. I know the crap out of it. I just want him to say it. It's an interview technique. Duh.]

BF: Yes, this year’s Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery conference in Colorado. It is real. Google it if you don’t believe me. (Go ahead, I’ll wait.)

AL: Will there be an open mic?

BF: I don't know, but it is difficult to imagine anything more open mic-ish than a venue that gives me an opportunity to speak. I mean, if this conference has standards, you couldn’t tell it from my participation. I'm reasonably certain that the panel following the one I’m on is composed entirely of used shoes. (And I don't mean nice shoes like Khenris, either, but icky smelly old worn out gym sneakers. Mismatched, even!) I'd bet someone else's money that since I'm being allowed to present, any bipedal hominid who asked would be allowed to speak, and even if that isn’t the case, I suppose someone who wanted to be heard could pull a Kanye to get their message across. I mean, I’ve never exactly been to a Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery conference before, but I’m pretty sure that there won’t be many people there willing (or able) stop even a halfhearted attempt to rush the stage, if you catch my drift. (Unlike the NFL conference I crashed last year, but I am SO not talking about that until after the trial. And the staples are removed.) Why do you want to know?

AL: No reason. Just curious.

BF: Really, you are? I mean, I've heard stories about southern California, but I always figured they were just stories. You think maybe it is something in the water? Were you curious before you moved there? Have you ever acted on your curiosity? My interest is strictly academic. If you have, are there pictures? Just curious.

AL: I understand you are also a musician. Can you share your thoughts on music's role in your life and how this form of self-expression dovetails with your literary pursuits? More importantly, is trashing a hotel room as fun as it sounds?

BF: To me, music and writing are inseparably intertwined, like two different currents in the same river of life. Like inhaling and exhaling are two parts of the unified act of breathing. (Which is a bad idea, by the way. Inhaling in a river.)

And math, too. Dang, I got distracted thinking about the river, and forgot to mention math. I can't really talk about my passion for writing and music without also talking about math.

Okay then. To me, music and writing and math are all inseparably intertwined, like three different currents in the same river of life. Because music is really just an audible expression of the immutable truth provided by numbers and the mathematical principles that represent everything. An audible expression of formulas capable of speaking directly to the heart. Similarly, writing is the symbolic expression of formulas directly to the heart. Only using words to form stories that can be widely understood, without all the “X” this and “Y” that and the numbers and crap that you get with just straight up hard core math.

(Just an aside, that photo on the right is a lovely, nubile model from Des Moines wearing an actual Boudreau Freret t-shirt. Just because she wanted to.)

Anyway, so really, music, writing, and math are all like three different parts of one unified thingy with three parts. Like inhaling and exhaling and, uh, hiccups or something, if you had hiccups all the time, and the breathing in and out and hiccuping were all working together in harmony, speaking directly to the heart and sending some message beyond merely “Man, all this hiccuping is really annoying.”

And I hate to disappoint you, but the thing about trashing a hotel room is that you don’t remember trashing the hotel room. At least I never did. Sorry. I know that it never looked like fun when I finally came to, but I’m certain that it always sounded like a good idea at the time. I mean, why else would I have done it, right? Unless it was self defense.

AL: What would you do if you knew you could not fail? [Interview Tip: it's good to scatter lots of inspirational needlepoint pillows around in case you run out of questions.]

BF: Honestly, not to be disrespectful to anybody's religion or anything, but if I could choose to do anything, knowing that I would not fail? I would totally choose to be the mortal mother of the son of God. Because, you know, in at least one of the world's religions that I can think of at the moment that involve an Earthly son of God, the Guy's mom was pretty much set for life - and then some.

Just for being the Dude's mom.

Most moms are grateful if they get a call on Mother's Day, the occasional greeting card, a school photo of the grand kids on odd numbered years. But being mortal mother of the son of God would totally rock. Just picture my Kia minivan with a yellow sign in the window: “Son of God On Board.” Suck that, smarmy iced latte sipping Volvo drivers. Or how about this for a bumper sticker: “My Kid is the Son of God.” Tell me that wouldn’t totally own all those cheesy “My Kid Didn’t Eat Paste For a Whole Week at Belcher County High School” stickers you see all the time. Losers.

So, yeah, maybe there is a selfish aspect to choosing to be the mortal mother of God’s Kid, if you want to look at it all “half-empty” like that, but you know what? If I knew that I would not fail? Then I totally couldn’t screw up the Kid by being a crummy mom! Humanity would be guaranteed that He’d turn out a-ok! So it’s got that going for it, too. Right?

AL: Um...wow.

BF: Is that it? Are you done? I mean, I just want to make sure that you got what you needed. From me. Right now. Because I can totally stick with you until you finish, if you need me to. Really. Just tell me what you want me to… [zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

AL: [clears throat, snaps pencil in half] Well, there you have it, folks. The philosophical stylings of Mr. Boudreau Freret.

Remember, you can always email us with your thoughts and questions at the address listed above.

And, on a totally unrelated note, we're looking for several additional interns to help staff our Complaints/Refunds desk.

Thanks for stopping by and have a snappy week!

Can the city's great culinary tradition survive the fallout of Hurricane Katrina? Oh yes

One of my favourite dining memories involves a lunch that became a ^­dinner at Galatoire's restaurant in New Orleans. I was with a party of locals including my friend Julia Reed, a writer and epicurean from Mississippi who considers nine-hour lunches part of the well-lived life. Needless to say, memory is not as precisely etched as one might hope where alcohol is involved, as it always is in New Orleans, but I had lots of time that day to become ­acquainted with the city's classic Creole cuisine, which is one of the few great indigenous culinary traditions in America.

Foodies everywhere wondered if this ­tradition would survive the devastation of Hurricane ­Katrina. When I visited some nine months after the deluge, the jury was still out. Galatoire's was open, but many of the city's great restaurants remained shuttered and those that were open were struggling. My most recent visit has left me wildly optimistic and several pounds heavier. While the old temples of Creole cuisine have mostly reopened their doors, the post-Katrina dining scene is more varied than ever.

All the local gourmands agreed that Herbsaint should be my first stop. Chef Donald Link is an improbably tall and skinny native of ­Louisiana who studied in San Francisco. His menu at ­Herbsaint is happily eclectic, with a strong grounding in the local traditions, beginning with gumbo. "Gumbo was what made me want to be a chef," he told me when I cornered him outside the men's room. Link grew up in Cajun country, cooking with his grandmother. "Every day the menu starts with the gumbo." That day's ­version, a dark brown, silky stew with homemade ­andouille sausage and tasso (ham), was one of the best I've ever had, the memory of which survived an excellent chicken and mushroom ­ravioli and a crispy, fatty Muscovy duck confit.

The definition of gumbo is almost as slippery as that of Creole. Just as gumbo can contain pretty much any kind of meat or seafood, ­Creole is a vague and inclusive term for native New Orlean­ians, who may be black or white, depending on whom you're asking. Gumbo may be based on an African okra dish called quingombó, or it may derive from bouillabaisse. Or both. By comparison, it's easy to define the Cajuns (originally ­Acadians), French loyalists who chose to flee Nova Scotia rather than pledge allegiance to the British crown. Improbably, they ended up in swampy Louisiana, though their rural culture remained largely isolated from cosmopolitan New Orleans. In the 1960s, a brilliant Cajun chef named Paul Prudhomme was largely responsible for transplant­ing their cuisine to the city and making it famous.

"The best meal you're going to eat is down in the bayou," claims Todd, a bear of a man in a volum­in­ous, blindingly colourful paisley shirt who accosts me at Bayona, chef Susan Spicer's 20-year-old restaurant in a 200-year-old cottage in the French Quarter. (Link worked here before opening Herb­saint.) Todd is a Cajun from Lafayette, Louisiana. He's in the oil business, but it's clear that eating is his true passion. We exchange notes on the French Laundry in Napa and the Fat Duck in Bray – and he has come from the bayou to eat at his favourite New Orleans restaurants, of which Bayona seems to top the list. Indeed, the sweetbreads (fried, of course) with a mustard ­vinaigrette are among the best I've ever had, washed down with an 08 Bastianich Sauvignon Blanc, though possibly bested by the smoked duck, cashew peanut butter and jelly sand­wich. Todd orders a fifth daiquiri and recommends the desserts at Lilette, where I'm dining that night.

Lilette is a very pretty bistro in the garden ^­district with a menu that seems at pains to avoid New Orleans traditions. Even the oysters are from the west coast, but the hanger steak is perfect and the fries cooked in duck fat are too good. My friend Julia, who lives nearby, says there are more ­restaurants post-Katrina than before, which is good news, though I realise I will have to eat more often if I want to scratch the surface.

The next morning I have a gut-busting breakfast at Brennan's, a local institution that opened its doors in 1955, just before its creator died in his sleep at the age of 45. I start, naturally, with turtle soup and move on to eggs bayou Lafourche – ­basically eggs benedict with a thick slice of andouille sausage – and manage to eat part of my friend's eggs Nouvelle Orleans, heaped with piles of ­crabmeat smothered in brandy cream sauce.

Less than an hour later I hit Cochon, Link's newest restaurant, which opened some six months after Katrina and serves Cajun-inflected fare like fried alligator with chilli garlic aïoli, and fried rabbit livers with pepper jelly toast. The fried boudin balls with pickled peppers are especially delicious, as are all permutations of pork, and I am also very fond of the catfish courtboullion (pronounced coo booyon), a spicy, tomato-based stew. But my friend Tom Piazza, author of Why New Orleans Matters, reminds me to save room for our next stop, which is ­Domilises, ­located in a somewhat ramshackle house in an ­uptown residential ­neighbourhood. Enough fine dining – it's time for an oyster po boy: fried ­oysters with tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise in a soft French baguette which may be the high point of my trip. Tom says when Domilises finally reopened, he felt as if the city would recover from Katrina.

New Orleans is a city that smiles on excess, so I didn't feel guilty about sitting down just a few hours later at August, chef John Besh's flagship, which is often cited as the city's finest restaurant. Situated in a corner town house at the edge of the French quarter, the main ­dining room is both ­dramatic and soothing, with 5m ceilings and soaring columns, full of very ­attractive locals, nearly all of whom seem to have consumed quite a few cocktails before dinner. My waitress gives me a black napkin to match my black suit and within moments, it seems, I am drinking an 07 JM Boillot Montagny which the very helpful sommelier has selected to go with my pumpkin ravioli. Halfway through the crispy sweetbreads, paired with a shockingly good 07 Mayer Nakel Spätburgunder, I am already ­planning my next meal here, and ­plotting my ­return to this supremely edible city .

Getting there Delta Airlines flies London ­Heathrow to New Orleans, from £296 return.

• Stay at Westin Canal Place, from £121 per room per night. For more information about the city and ­restaurants, go to New Orleans Convention & ­Visitors Bureau.

Find the best New Brunswick restaurants in the Maritimes, Canada, from the City of Fredericton to the French-speaking Acadian Peninsula.

Book the best New Brunswick hotels in the Canadian Maritimes from the city of Fredericton to the French-speaking Acadian Peninsula in the northeast of NB.

1. H1N1 flu panic. After the virus emerged in late 2008 and early 2009, the panic began. The fall's flu season began with public-health officials and physicians begging people to get vaccinated lest the pandemic turn out to be anything like previous, deadly flu pandemics. Though millions of vaccines were eventually given, a backlash was not far behind: many people spurned the vaccine and some -- unsurprisingly, in retrospect -- began spouting off their H1N1 flu vaccine conspiracy theories. One eccentric Quebecker, whose medical licence was revoked years ago and is now being prosecuted for tax evasion, even called the vaccine a "eugenics weapon," as Canadian Medicine reported back in August. As it turned out, the H1N1 is not nearly the threat it was made out to be. That's not to say it's a walk in the park, of course, but an element of the backlash -- the people who claimed the government was largely covering its behind and the media was blowing the story out of proportion -- turned out to be mostly spot-on.
   
   
2. The recession's impact on contract negotiations. There were many groups far more damaged by the recession than physicians, who have avoided the job losses that plagued the manufacturing industry and, we regret to say, the publishing industry as well. But doctors felt the economic decline, too. In New Brunswick, after the government agreed to a new collective agreement with the province's physicians in late 2008, cabinet ministers realized in the first half of 2009 that the recession would reduce government revenue so severely that they claimed they couldn't honour the agreement. Then-Health Minister Mike Murphy passed legislation that effectively canceled the collective agreement and imposed a two-year freeze in doctors' pay. Physicians threatened to take the government to court and, just as the court date approached, the government relented and the two sides came to a compromise that includes four years of 3.75% raises retroactively into 2008, followed by a two-year freeze from 2012 to 2014. With the recession now technically over but government budgets in no better shape going into 2010 than they were a year ago, the New Brunswick conflagration may prove to be just the first of several conflicts to come across Canada between governments and physicians.
   
   
3. The radioisotope shortage. The Chalk River nuclear plant, responsible for producing about half of the world's supply of the technetium-99 isotope used in many diagnostic imaging exams, was shut down in May for the third time in 18 months over safety concerns after leaks were discovered and it was determined radioactive water was escaping into the Ottawa River. When the plant was shut down in 2007 for similar safety reasons, the government, worried about a world shortage of the isotope, held emergency sessions in the House of Commons and, concerned about the issued an order overriding the nation's nuclear regulatory body's decision to shut the plant down. But by 2009, the safety problems had become so serious that the plant's operators had no choice but to shut down the plant, halting Canada's production of technetium-99. Canada has no backup plan and no other nuclear reactors ready to begin production of the isotope anytime soon, since the construction of two MAPLE reactors was scrapped in 2008 after years of delays and difficulties. Foreign plants supplied Canada and the U.S. as best they could, but the shortage became so severe at times that physicians were threatening to postpone patients' tests. In the summer, Chalk River was said to be ready to come back into service in late 2009. Late 2009 came and went. The latest estimate is that the reactor will come back on-line by the end of March. We'll believe it when we see it. In the meantime, as nuclear medicine specialists raise alarms about their technetium-99 supply problems, Canada appears to still have no long-term plan to deal with the radioisotope shortage.
   
   
4. The CMA elects Turnbull president. The Canadian Medical Association, which spent the previous two years under the presidencies of privatization advocates Drs Brian Day and Robert Ouellet, elected as its 2010-11 president the so-called left-wing candidate Dr Jeffrey Turnbull, an Ottawa physician with experience caring for the homeless, the addicted and patients living in poverty in Africa. Dr Turnbull has so far tried to play down his political views, just as Drs Day and Ouellet tried not to draw attention to theirs during their time in office, but many physicians privately believe that his election may mark a real departure from the CMA's recent politics. (Canadian Medicine spoke to Dr Turnbull a couple of hours after he was officially confirmed as president-elect. Read the interview transcript here.)
   
   
5. Alberta's deregionalization plan courts controversy. In 2008, the Alberta government decided to scrap the regional health authority model for healthcare administration used most everywhere across Canada, and reverted to a centralized system in which a government-appointed "superboard" of directors supervises healthcare administration across the entire province. (You can read my June 2008 article in the National Review of Medicine on that decision here.) The new set-up was supposed to cut costs and standardize good practices across Alberta, but in 2009 it was found that wait times had actually lengthened for emergency care, surgeries and longterm care placements. In December, government officials quietly admitted that the health system might exceed its 2009-10 budget by over $1 billion. New Brunswick also moved to a deregionalized model in 2009, cutting its eight regions down to just two. There, too, the government quickly ran into difficulties. French-speaking Acadians have launched a lawsuit against New Brunswick claiming the reform took away their control of healthcare in their communities. At one time, not long ago, deregionalization was a popular concept in some health-policy circles, even if not everybody agreed on all the details. The events of 2009 may make some of the reformists think twice.
   
   
6. Ontario health minister resigns over eHealth spending scandal. In early October, David Caplan (right) was forced out after months of revelations demonstrated all sorts of inappropriate procurement and spending practices by the government's eHealth agency. Many if not most of the issues began when George Smitherman was minister, but he managed to get out of the tough health portfolio before the scandal came to light and now has a bright political future ahead of him as the likely next mayor of Toronto. Mr Caplan was replaced by Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews.
   
   
7. Newfoundland breast-cancer pathology inquiry takes down health minister. Four months after the Cameron Inquiry released its findings into the reasons why more than a thousand women in Newfoundland and Labrador may have had faulty breast-cancer hormone test results -- "The whole of the health system, to varying degrees, can be said to have failed the... patients," Justice Margaret Cameron said -- and a cover-up attempt was exposed, Health Minister Ross Wiseman was swapped to the business portfolio. Business Minister Paul Oram took over. The Newfoundland pathology problems were just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Canadian pathology errors, however. Nearly half the provinces have encountered major pathology problems in the last two years, as first became clear in early 2008.
   
   
8. Brian Day sues BC over private-care ban. Former Canadian Medical Association president Dr Brian Day filed a bold lawsuit against the government of British Columbia, claiming the province's Medicare Protection Act violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by forbidding patients from seeking medical care in the private sector. The lawsuit may turn out to be the first heard in court of all the lawsuits being prepared across Canada that will attempt to extend the Supreme Court of Canada's logic in the seminal 2005 Chaoulli case beyond Quebec. (The Chaoulli case pitted a physician against the province of Quebec; Dr Jacques Chaoulli came out victorious, and whole sections of Quebec's medical insurance laws were declared void, opening an opportunity for private medical insurance for medically necessary care.)
   
   
9. Americans idolize and demonize Canadian healthcare. It's like the 90s all over again. Canada's "socialized" healthcare system: good or evil? That became a major point of contention in the United States this year as Barack Obama's Democratic Party continues to try to pass legislation to overhaul (or at least reform, or maybe just tweak...) the country's health-insurance industry and finally provide universal health insurance. As of this writing, however, the bill is still held up in the Senate. And, as of this writing, Canada's system has not been represented accurately even once in the United States.
   
   
10. Medicine goes green. As 2009 closes with the Copenhagen conference on climate change and greenhouse-gas emissions raging on across the Atlantic, it's become clear that environmentalism has become an increasingly important concern in the medical community. Doctors are, more and more often, trying to make their practices more environmentally friendly, and, more importantly perhaps, they are being more vocal in public on the connection between climate change and health. One sign of the growth of the movement occurred early in the year when the preeminent doctors' environmentalist lobby group, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), announced it had reached 4,000 members, up from just 400 a year and a half prior. Gideon Forman, CAPE's executive director, updated Canadian Medicine earlier this month: "Our growth has levelled off somewhat (perhaps because of the recession) but we've still grown about 10% since your article and are now up at 4,400 members." This year also saw the launch of MediClim.com, a new website created by a Toronto physician to track the health effects of weather conditions, and a major protest over uranium exploration in Quebec that saw over 20 physicians from a small town threaten to quit their jobs.
    

Honorable mention
This year marked the explosion in popularity of the smartphone -- the predecessor to the age of truly portable computing. Smartphones, especially the iPhone and the BlackBerry, have rapidly gained popularity among doctors and residents who use them to access information in the exam room or on the run. The next step is Apple's highly anticipated Tablet computer -- a sort of cross between a laptop and an iPhone -- which is due in 2010 and which we are willing to wager will be convenient and powerful that it will cement the role that portable computing will have in medical practice in the future.

The Acadian Village and museums are great places to learn about the French-speaking people of New Brunswick, Canada.