http://www.last.fm/user/frenchelon

no, i'm a federalist. a proud french canadian. how i vote doesn't make me any less of a quebecer. i have unresolved issues with asymmetric federalism (which i categorically disregard on principle) but i also believe in certain political realities, in canada and quebec.

yes.
swimming and sea kayaking. for several hours every day.
hockey, if conditions permit.
i only run when chased.

yes and no.

did the whole catholic school thing, did/do the catholic girls, do a lot of reading on social catholicism and i love to debate theology with the jesuits.

but i'm by no means a practicing catholic or "christian" and i'm perfectly happy with my secular approach to life and respect for peoples of all backgrounds and beliefs. as a good quebecer, i generally ignore whatever the vatican and/or the archdiocese in quebec says - why should i live my life by what some old virgin says on television?

intellectual debate and a secular state for me.

hope that confused you enough.

Yes...I AM CANADIAN! But I live in the United States so I'm not eligible for the "Régie de l'assurance maladie" (what we call our health care program in Quebec). So I get my insurance through my stepfather's plan (he's a Yank). I'm incredibly lucky because it covers me even though I'm super old, it's affordable (unlike my work-based option) and I can't be denied care because of my preexisting conditions and massive bills (like the open market in America).*

Without being too oversharery, I'm an epileptic, I'm a cancer survivor, I'm fucking depressed and anxious all the time, I'm an insomniac, the cancer treatment damaged the parts of my brain responsible for memory, so I suffer from retrograde and anterograde amnesia in varying degrees, and I'm starting to lose function in some of my voluntary muscles. Don't feel bad, I have an extraordinary sense of humour about all of this and try not to bum out other people with it. I firmly believe in the joie de vivre. Without that, I'd go fully nuts, or fully Elliott Smith.

I take a metric shit ton of medication, all of it expensive. My insurance covers most, but the copays add up. C'est la vie.

*Yes, I contribute more than my fair share to my insurance benefits through payments and taxes I pay in my state and federally. I also look for ways to cut my own costs and any waste to my insurance company and I try to be a responsible patient. I'm a big supporter of single-payer/Medicare-for-all because it would help so many people and lower costs for EVERYONE in the long run. Without such programs, I'd have been dead a few years ago.

To end this on a happy note: AND THEN I FOUND FIVE DOLLARS.

- My first job was sort of a graphic designer/IT consultant to a manufacturer's representative/public relations company. Making websites, designing documents and presentations, giving advice on computing systems and mobile communications. This was like 1995. On the upside, I learned a ton about cutthroat business practices in the southern California semiconductor field.

- After that, still in high school, I worked as a personal assistant to Mike Ness. Yes, Social Distortion Mike Ness. He and my mom were BFFs.

- Then I did some paid promotional stuff for a southern California based indie record label and its corporate giant. It was lame and didn't pay much, but I got MAD street cred with the girls at school.

- In college I worked for more record labels, both in the US and in Europe. I also made coffee for yuppies and drove around my fuck buddy's boyfriend, so he could pick up packages of weed and heroin to sell to the hipsters of Boston. All I did was drive the car and take the free weed. My conscience is clear, yo.

- I also was one of those "hipsters" that gave away free packs of Camel Lights in clubs and at shows. Sometimes I just fudged the paperwork and sold cartons to hot girls and Beacon Street fraternities for cheap (pure profit).

- For a while I ran a semi-popular website that helped scene kids hook up and fuck. This was way before MySpace or Friendster. Take your guesses as to what website it was.

- Took sexy photos of indie rock girls for certain websites. Also wrote articles on sex and music.

- Moved to Los Angeles and worked for a huge, soulless corporate record label. You can personally thank me for the overexposure of some shitty bands circa 2002-2004. Also DJed some and wrote for an influential music/scene blog that shall remain nameless.

- Ran away to Europe, dated super hot women, took photographs for Swedish/Norwegian/French companies and slept on a shitty twin mattress for way longer than I needed to. Returned to Montreal/Vancouver every so often to do some freelance work for the CBC/SRC.

- Moved back to the U.S. and did some of the same.

- Went to New Orleans, worked in a coffeeshop while I waited for an extensive government background check to be completed. Worked on finishing my masters degree.

- Worked for the (federal) government in New Orleans, then Virginia. Think of what all those computer dork analysts did in "The Bourne Ultimatum", but not that exciting, I promise. Also got to indulge in some academic research.

- Now in Florida, working a little bit for The Man, trying to get back into the freelance do whatever the fuck I can and relax thing.

In retrospect, the living in Europe and Canada and having lots of sex and partying all the time probably should've been my true career calling. Fucking recession.

America:
Progressive liberal. I love me some Obama (when he was more to the left) and some Paul Krugman.

Canada and Quebec:
Formally, a Liberal, a Trudeau Liberal. More accurately, in the progressive wing of the Liberal Party. I believe in progressive statism, full equality, laïcité, women's and minority rights, decriminalisation, asymmetric federalism, multiculturalism, the arts, bilingualism, environmentalism, the welfare state, lefty bullshit, and celebrating the Canadian soul.

Mais on n'est pas faits pour la vision du Canada d'hier, une vision régionale et dépassé. Je ne veux pas de cette vision.

Sois qui tu veux être, c'est tout. Je me fous d'où tu viens dans le monde, si c'est ce que tu veux, super. On est patriotes, mais on n'a pas besoin d'en parler.

Ma mère est francophone et une souverainiste, but my father was anglophone and a federalist. We're from Québec and Montréal because it's the best part of Canada and it's our home - c'est notre pays. Pour moi, c'est ça l'identité canadienne! Est-ce que je peux juste être le fils de ma mère? Peut-on juste vivre ensemble?

a three-way tie between sunny day real estate's "diary" and at the drive-in's "relationship of command" and "in/casino/out"

my fav band? new order.

When I get some time off and a few bucks saved and a place to sleep for a few days, I'm SO THERE

I wouldn't. You mah guh toujours.

maximebernier.com

No joke.

the poutine gratinée at fameux and the poutine bacon at la banquise.

westmount, ville-marie. my family still has a place on redpath crescent. (there goes my street cred!) i'm a dual citizen, and i've pretty much chosen a career in america for the foreseeable future, but i identify more as a canadian and i fly our flag and preach the gospel (so to speak) of the true north every day of my life. one day i'll come back and go night skating on a silent, frozen lake through the twilight of my life.

a french accent? sometimes. i consciously drop it when i speak english because i was teased about it as a kid (thanks america). but when i'm tired and/or drunk, it comes out hardcore. and yes, i do say "about" and "sorry" weird. DEAL WITH IT, AMERICA - YOU SPELL COLOUR AND FAVOURITE INCORRECTLY.

It came from Tumblr.

Canadian/Canadienne

GOTCHA!

Of course. I LOVE MY HOME AND NATIVE LAND. But I'm having fun doing the Americun thing right now so I guess that's what's in the cards for me right now. I'm just waiting until I get really sick of it, or until they get really crazy and elect someone like Sarah Palin, and I'M THE FUCK OUT. (By the way, who wrote this?)

To keep things more family friendly for the work crowd, or to make things easier back before work blocked twitter. I MISS IT TOO, 'MANDS.

derrrrrr blue. AND YEESSSSSSS BUT ONLY IF WE CAN GET FACEBOOK MARRIED AND F'REALS MARRIED