Happy Canada Day!
July 1, 2009 No, my northern friends, I didn't forget about you. For some reason your bakeries just aren't churning out the patriotic-themed Wreckage - and for that I'm torn between congratulating you and scolding you.
Fortunately I do have a few specimens to share, though, and I'll also be sure to liberally sprinkle in some "Eh?"s throughout today's post, to demonstrate my impeccable cultural sensitivity. (I know better than to tick off a country of people wearing those hats with the earflaps and hanging out with moose all day, Ok? I mean... eh?)
First, let us non-Canadians take a gander at what your flag is supposed to look like:
Simple, bold, graphic... I have to say, Canada: I like it. Eh?
And then there's this:
Ah, the airbrush...uniting the world in Wreckage. Eh?
The finger hole was the result of an over-eager guest, but that "leaf" is pure Wreckerator skill at work. Kinda looks like a monster on a Popsicle stick, doesn't it? Eh?I'm pretty sure this next one must be from Canada, too, because, well...
...it says "I heart flannel". And we all know what country loves flannel! Eh? (Right now the rest of you are jealous of my superior cultural diversity, aren't you? Yeah, I can tell.)
To leave you on a sweet note - Eh? - check out the beautiful Canadian flag-inspired cake Jessica J. found:
So pretty! It looks like this was displayed at a convention in the Philippines, but I don't see the baker's name listed. You can see more pretty cakes at the source page, though. Eh?
Nicole K., Michaelle P., & Lauren K., I would leave you with lovely French phrase, but I don't know any French.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Eh?
Reader Comments (99)
we really do love flannel...
Thanks for the call-out to us Canadians! The last one is sure purty, eh? ;)
Thanks for the Canadian post!
And, yes, we do love flannel. I have about 6 pairs of flannel jammies.
Thanks for the Canada Day wreckage, eh?
I slept in and missed the parade, so maybe I'll go out in search of some more specimens for next year.
Who sang the national anthem today? ever since they made it bilingual eons ago, i can't remember the words....and i live in montreal c'est dommage
I was WONDERING if you'd do something for Canada today or not. :D
Our flag is simple, and you'd think there is no way anyone would screw it up, but of course, WRONG. Seems drawing a maple leaf is a painful experience for some.
There will be many Canadians who will tell you nobody says "eh" and it's insulting. Don't believe them. Where I'm from, everyone says it. I still do and I haven't lived there for almost three decades. :P I remember visiting the US once an I was sitting in a room full of American friends and one actually asked me "Do Canadians really say 'eh' a lot?" and everyone else in the room pointed at me and said in unison "Have you listened to HER?!!" Heh.
Mind you, I haven't met a single soul in Canada that actually naturally says "aboot" for about. Sure we don't round out our vowels when speaking like a lot of Americans but we do not say "aboot". (Yes, I do say mum instead of mom, even if it's spelled mom.)
And that is your short Canadian lingustic lesson for the day.
Yes, we Canadians love being defined by an outdated regional linguistic quirk!
But we'll forgive you because we make fun of your drawling accents mercilessly. Just not to your face, cause we're nice!
You don't find a lot of Canadian flaggy cakes because we have a national tendency to suspect that anyone making a big look-at-me show of patriotism, just like anyone making a show of one's faith, is probably faking it to get me to agree/buy/vote, and we just aren't buying it.
But we let loose a bit on Canada Day.
Flannel is Canadian? I guess that's why I have so much!
Thanks neighbOUr!
:-)
I have friends and in-law family that is Canadian. I'm sure they'll enjoy this.
That last cake is amazing, though.
Au Revoir, Eh!
I kid you not, at least half the canadians who whine and moan that they don't say 'eh' do it without realizing it. It's not as obvious as you think it is. "It was pretty cool that he did that, eh?"
It's just an affirmation. Yikes, pplz. lol. Don't kid yourselves, I bet you all say it. It's aboot time you admit it ;) (and that one is just the ppl on the east coast)
Lol "monster on a popsicle stick" is EXACTLY what I think it looks like.
The thing you wear on your head with the ear flaps is a toque, not a hat.
And the candies we call "smarties" are called "rockets" in Canada. Canadian "smarties" are like our M & M's.
Yay, you did it! This here Canadian appreciates your work. We elevate self deprecation to an art form, so poke away.
Wow, the last one is amazing...
Take Off, Eh!
I'm so Canadian that today is my birthday, though I'm not exactly thrilled about it as I am now 37. (I'm not old! I'm 37, I'm not *old* /monthpython)
I used to like getting birthday cakes with Canadian flags on them but, honestly, CakeWreck 'greatness' in regards to my home and native land's simple flag design has been going on for...well, at least 37 years. I know usually buy little teeny flags and put them in myself AFTER I've picked up the red and white themed cake I've purchased. Seriously, you can mess up "White cake, red border"....right? ammirite?
Oh, and to further the hokey Canuckness of this comment, I would just like to add that it is also Jarome Iginla's birthday AND he happens to be the Capt. of my home NHL team. GO FLAMES...well, next year maybe?
Anyway, thanks for the Great White North Shoutout on Wrecks today. Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks, and Happy (early) Independence Day to my homies south of the 49th parallel.
For the first cake, I love how the wreckerator airbrushed with long strokes on the left, but must have gotten tired and took much shorter strokes when (s)he did the right. Very nice.
I'm also Canadian, and I agree with what Kevin @ 4:19 said. Well put, Kevin!
That last one is very pretty, but the rest are just...ugh. That leaf on the second cake looks like some weird deformed crown type thingy. The finger hole is funny.
I don't think I own any flannel, but I do say 'eh' once in a while.
On Canada day, we always have like, ice cream or fresh berries on angel food cake or something. Can't make a wreck with that combo, right?
(God, no-one prove me wrong, please.)
Hey, Danger Girl - a tuque is a knitted hat, sometimes known as a 'beanie' in some parts of the world.
I don't know what you call that hat with the flaps, but it's not a toque.
Thank you for the Canada Day Wrecks! Btw, if you want to say, "Thank you for the excellent wreckporting" in french, you say, "Merci pour ton wreckport excellent". Anyways, a big "Eh!" To all you Americans and Canadians alike, and thank you for the humorous post... Those dang leaves sure are hard to draw, right guys?
Happy Canada Day!
Now I must go out and find myself a red and white cake!
Love your site. So funny!
I have noticed Canadians on tv shows (like Wishbone!) saying "aboat" and "soary" (for about and sorry). I love it though! It's endearing, eh!?
I especially like my flannel when it is of the plaid variety.
Hey Jen, in honor of Canada Day today, my mother and I made a cake with the Canadian flag. Unfortunately the leaf didn't turn out too well and it looks like the entire tree in red sprinkles. I took pictures and I'll be sure to send them to you. -Amanda in Ontario
LOVE the Canadian inspired cake at the end. WOW! Kinda makes me wish I had maple syrup flowing through my veins...
A Canadian flag cake really isn't Canadian. IF we made a cake, it would be a big 2-4 with a sparkler stuck into it.
Like your blog. Has kept me from posting my wrecks.
Hey they do say 'aboot', I've seen it on 'Ice road truckers' so it must be true!
Happy Canada Day!
I may be an American, but the only cake I've ever decorated I made to look like the Canadian flag. I was in eighth grade at the time, yet still managed a better maple leaf than these Wreckerators, yeesh.
The only reason I even made a cake is because we had a contest to make a Canadian flag. There were artistic kids in my class, so I wracked my brain trying to think of something creative I could do, but darnit, when it comes to drawing, I'm doing good just to make a stick figure look human! So I made a cake - and won the contest! Totally didn't see it coming. People were JEALOUS of me - even before I got it to the classroom, people were telling me they wouldn't have bothered to enter if they'd known what my entry was going to be like. I still don't understand how it won out over the 3D renderings of the flag waving in front of beautiful pine tress...
The weirdest part? I don't even like cake.
Oops, maybe I shouldn't have said that here, considering what site I'm on...
Kevin:
As a Yankee who spent two years in Saskachewan/Manatoba, I met plenty of people who say 'aboot' (okay, it was more of 'aboout') and saw a great deal of patriotism, as well. Of course, those two years were 2002-2004, right when the US invaded Iraq, and I think the idea was to be separate from the US.
While I'm off on this linquistic side track, I'll mention that my sister lived in Texas while I was in Canada. She picked up 'Eh', and I started to say 'y'all'. Strange how that happened.
I personally am celebrating Canada day by making Nanaimo bars, then cutting them out with my maple leaf cookie cutter. I'll save the cake for the 4th. :)
I think the flannel one could also have been posted last month for Gay Pride. Don't lesbians <3 flannel, too?
Well, the first one reminds me of a skating rink, so it makes it more Canadian if you ask me haha. Doesn't excuse its ugliness though.
But of course the "I Heart Flannel" cake could have been for Al from Home Improvement, Eh?
Weird to end it with a French sentence, as Canada Day in Quebec (I know there is francophones in the ROC) is not very celebrated, as it is the day that people chooses to be the Moving Day!
Regardless, it IS easy to screw up a Maple Leaf, especially if you try it on a cake.
Anyways, thanks for the wishes :D
Happy Confederation Day :D
Kevin, I'll have to disagree with you on the "not to your face" bit. I married a Canadian, and as a Southerner, my accent gets more comments up there!
I keep getting told that Canucks is an insult, too. That I can go along with. The people that call me a "Yankee" tend to get history lessons in why I'm NOT one, thank you.
We need a maple syrup one, right? :)
tina
The "eh" and the "aboot" is more prominent the farther east you go. I'm on the west coast and we have the blandest non-accent ever. Of course, it probably IS an accent to y'all in the South :)
Now I'm off to Tim Hortons for a double double and some Timbits.
Oh I was *so* hoping you'd have a Canada Day post. You've filled me with national pride! Oh wait, that's just all that maple syrup and poutine in my belly, eh?
Good luck tomorrow, Jen, I'll be thinkin' of ya... and I hope you get a cake, if not some flowers... or a cake of some flowers! Should the whole 'innards' cake not pan out (get it? 'pan'? Cake? Pan? aw... good times).
The one with the finger hole looks like it's making jazz hands, no?! SO un-Canadian...
@BigFatMama--I know one Canadian who says "aboot"--well, actually it sounds more like "aboat". And "soary" for sorry like @Kerry said. Of course, it may have more to do with the 20 or 30 years she spent in Michigan.
And, OMG, 2 CW posts in one day? I'm in heaven!!
Don't these cakes sometimes make you want to...
http://engrishfunny.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/engrish-funny-explode-cake.jpg?w=320&h=240
We do indeed say 'eh' a lot and some of us do wear hats with flaps (if you knew what minus forty feels like, you'd understand). As for the hanging out with moose thing, it's apparently very common in Jasper, Alberta.
Thank you for this post; it got an extra chuckle out of me. :)
http://potsnpans1976.multiply.com/profile
this looks like the maker of the lovely Philippine work
Drkala
Here's how I tracked this down--there's a card on the cake that says "pots and pans" and its on cakes in some of the other photos; there's a label in the series that references "Southfood Ex 2006". Combine them and voila, you get to his magnificent site.
http://potsnpans1976.multiply.com/profile
DrKala
Haha Kevin cracked me up! "...we have a national tendency to suspect that anyone making a big look-at-me show of patriotism." Has Kevin travelled ANYWHERE? I thought it was a national requirement for Canadians to have at least three maple leaf flags showing at all times whilst abroad.
Side note, while travelling through Australia some guy on the coach asked me where I was from in the US. I asked him how he knew I was American and his response was "no flag on your backpack".
Perhaps the flags should stay only on the backpacks?
Wow that is a pretty cake! (the last one of course lol)
on the others...can we just make the evil air brushing go away now? pretty pretty please?
I'd want a Bob & Doug McKenzie cake with a big hunk of back bacon depicted.
Wow...so basically my love for flannel should lead me either to Canada, or into lesbianism, or possibly into the wreckeration of innocent cake items?
Um, I'll take a) and b}, please. Oh, and some cake for after. :)
(wv: astacki. Gladys took her treasured possessions--her sensible shoes, a 1982 Wilton Yearbook, and astacki flannel shirts--stuffed them into a duffel bag, and walked out the door into a new adventure.)
i know this is just me being really neurotic, but i hate it when people assume that just because your Canadian, all of your sentences end with "eh". I have never EVER in all 14 years of living in this country heard ANYONE talk like that!