Sunday, June 5, 2011 Montreal
7:10 am
The temperature is +15 C, with a high predicted of +22 C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Today Cloudy with sunny periods. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 22. UV index 7 or high. Tonight Cloudy periods. 30 percent chance of showers this evening. Low 14. Normals Max: 23°C Min: 12°C
1:00 PM Geocaching
I am back from my second geocaching trip in downtown Montreal. I found 5 out of 5 geocaches with two others not attempted due to muggles near the cache site. I was lucky to meet another geocacher who helped me with one of the finds.
- GC15JFX ...Tu me donnes le goût!
- 10:00 am This was my first find of the morning. Right in front of the Bell Centre where the Montreal Canadiens play hockey.
- GC28X4P TB Hotel Centreville Downtown MTL (LÐV-02)
- 10:15 am I picked up a geocoin in this TB Hotel and will take it west with me before placing it in a local cache.
- GC2KCN2 Place Bonaventure
- 11:00 am I found this one by remembering its location on the google map. The GPS really bounces when one is among the skyscrapers.
- GC24V4H PVM
- 11:20 am I was lucky on this one. After searching the area and not finding it I started to leave when I noticed another geocacher. We chatted for a couple of minutes and then he decided to look in a spot that I had already checked. Except he found it whereas I missed it. Thus I was able to log a find after he had completed signing the logbook.
- GC10V3R Lula (µ 2)
- 11:50 am This was my second attempt at this as when I was here earlier there were some muggles playing on the playground equipment. This time the area was empty and I made a quick find.
My Quebec total is now 13 finds, and my global total is 980.
8:00 PM History
I have begun reading "Picturing the Land" by Marylin McKay. The book is a summary of Canadian art from 1500 to 1950 with a focus on landscape artists. The opening chapter caught me by surprise as it discusses map making. I had never thought of maps, particularly early maps, as art. More importantly it provides a quick and well written summary of Canadian history from 1500 to 1760. Cartier, Cabot and Champlain, the three C's of early Canadian history, are all mentioned.
The short vignettes about Champlain reminded me of a book I bought a couple of years ago on Champlain. I really must read this!
Although this book is primarily about art, it also is about Canadian history. I am motivated to create a few notes about both. My initial thought is to build 2 tables, one for Canadian artists and one for Canadian history with entries ordered by date.
| Canadian Artists | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Name | Description |
| 1871 - 1945 | Emily Carr | West coast artist who's art was inspired by First Nations people. |
| 1877 - 1917 | Tom Thomson | Associated with the Group of Seven |
| 1881 - 1969 | Frederick H. Varley | One of the Group of Seven |
| 1882 - 1974 | A. Y. Jackson | One of the Group of Seven |
| 1885 - 1970 | Lawren Harris | One of the Group of Seven |
| 1890 - 1945 | Franklin Carmichael | One of the Group of Seven |
| 1898 - 1992 | A. J. Casson | Joined the Group of Seven in 1926 (replacing Frank Johnston) |
| 1913 - 1931 | Group of Seven formed (7 original members, 10 when it disbanded) | |
| 1933 | Canadian Group of Painters formed (28 members) | |
What is striking to me is how few names I can recall (I used google to obtain the dates). Also none of the artists that I can name are alive today.
The table for Canadian history only needs 2 columns, one for the date of a particular event and the second for the description of the event.
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 1497 | John Cabot discovers Newfoundland. |
| 1534 | Jacques Cartier visits mouth of St. Lawrence River, claims the land for France. |
| 1535 - 1536 | Cartier's 2nd visit to Stadacona (Quebec City) and Hochelaga (Montreal). |
| 1541 - 1542 | Cartier's 3rd visit and a failed attempt to establish a permanent settlement. |
| 1605 | Champlain helps establish first European settlement north of Florida (Port Royal, Acadia). |
| 1608 | Champlain establishes settlement of Quebec City. |
| 1759 | Wolfe defeats Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham (Quebec City) |
| 1867 | Canadian confederation. |
| 1869 | Red River Rebellion led by Louis Riel. |
| 1885 | North-west Rebellion led by Louis Riel. |
| Last spike driven on CPR rail line from Ottawa to Vancouver. | |
| 1905 | Alberta and Saskatchewan join confederation. |
| 1914 - 1918 | World War I. |
| 1929 - 1935 | The Great Depression |
| 1939 - 1945 | World War II. |
| 1972 | Hockey: Canada defeats Russia in an 8-game series. |
I need to add a few more items to this table!