>As an American who resided in Canada for 15 >years, my thoughts on QB distribution and its >supposed bias against Canadians. hey, I fit the same profile! >1. 90% of Canadians live within 200 miles of the >U.S. border and practically all of them receive >U.S. TV. true, though until a few years ago, those were Detroit stations. I don't know what to say about that. >2. Excepting news and sports on the CBC, >Canadian Nielsen ratings make it quite clear >that American TV shows and entertainment >dominate Canadian viewership. Hmm, that should make them good at CBI (and they don't seem that bad). I don't remember getting everything on cable though. When the Simpsons first started I think I used an antenna to get them from across the border. I guess that's not as hard as getting the Simpsons in Cuba. >3. Canadian high schools teach a comprehensive >amount of American history (albeit with some >rather weird perspectives--I know, I went to >one--once you've been informed that Joe McCarthy >made the U.S. morally equivalent to the U.S.S.R. >of Joey Stalin it's hard to take some of your >texts seriously). My high school American History course (I think it was called American History X) spent at least six months on the Seneca Falls convention and related events, but glossed over events such as the war of 1812, the Civil War, the depression and just about everything post-1945. Most people took this course because the entire class went on a week-long educational trip to shopping malls in the Midwest. I don't think any province requires an American History course for graduation, and I would be surprised if 10% of university-bound students had one. >4. I'll grant that the average QB distribution >tends to overemphasize the U.S. a bit much in >comparison to its place in world history. But if >you simply changed that emphasis to Canada for >some sort of Canadian-centric tournament, what >real difference would you see? Substituting 3 >"Canadian" questions for 3 "American" questions >would get you what? A bonus on the entire Atwood >corpus, a trash question on the Bare Naked >Ladies or Jann Arden, more questions on McLuhan, >a question on Captain Vancouver and a bonus on >Lundy's Lane. So figure maybe 50 more points a >game for a Canadian team in such a tournament. Don't forget all those comedians! I looked at some old packets and CBI questions, and I don't think American questions were much better back when the circuit was in its infancy, as it seems to be now in Canada. I know there's a lot more to write about than your short list. Canadian high schools have all those quiz games and they probably have a few more topics. As for maybe 50 more points a game, well isn't that 100 points overall? Would you spot anyone 100 points in the finals of a tournament?
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