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Corner Gas Wins Comedy Award

Corner Gas is a quirky comedy set in the mythical town of Dog River, Saskatchewan (actually, Rouleau, about 60 km south of Regina). Last night Corner Gas won the Gemini award for the best comedy program on Canadian television, a medium usually dominated by programs made in and about Toronto.
Brent Butt – a comedian and actor originally from Tisdale, Saskatchewan – developed the concept of the program and stars in it. In the program he operates a gas station in Dog River, a job which he thought he might have done had he stayed in Tisdale.
The program is about people in Dog River, but it's universal. The writing is multi-layered and quite brilliant: if you liked Fawlty Towers you'll love Corner Gas.
Last year my wife Merle and spent some time in Regina and, on our way home, took a detour to see the Corner Gas set. The sign on the grain elevator close to the gas station and Ruby Café said Dog River, not Rouleau ( which is promoted on the web as Saskatchewan's first million bushel town).
I was surprised and pleased to find that there is an excellent Wikipedia posting on Corner Gas, the actors, writers and the DVDs which have been released.
Corner Gas airs Monday nights on CTV. Drop in and spend some time with Brent and his friends: or buy the DVDs. I'll see you at the Ruby – and it's my turn to buy the coffee.

Back to Africa

Many years ago I spent time in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as a student volunteer with Operation Crossroads Africa (The Canadian organization Canadian Crossroads International evolved from its American counterpart, OCA).
Later this month I'll be returning, for the first time, to speak to an agricultural conference in Entebbe, Uganda. I'll be discussing the potentials for e-books, blogs, podcasting and distance education in a University context with the help of co-authors Ross Wein, Todd Anderson and Richard Roth.
Our paper was written first as a scientific publication, then adapted to create an online essay with links, a PowerPoint presentation, and a podcast. I'll link to these later: and I'll discuss the conference and our subsequent travels and research on this blog.