Category Archives: Entertainment

Natalie Brown signed her Stamp!

by chadwickgendron Posted on February 27, 2013
CCT-MLF-Natalie Brown

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Natalie Brown was by Valhalla and let me tell you, she’s prettier in person than in any photo or film. That says a lot! After a severe reprimand about having spelled her name incorrectly, Natalie was kind enough to sign her Canadian Culture Thing MapleLeafForever stamp on the back of CCT0113. I had unfortunately projected my French-ness on her Italian-ness (these two of course have nothing to do with Loch-ness) and I added an “H” to her name.

CCT0113-QueenEast-1924-cleared

Timmins, Ontario native Natalie Brown (or Nathalie Brun as I like to call her) has appeared in a plethora (that’s right, plethora.) of films, television and commercials. She found her way into pop culture at a young age as the flirtatious Heinz Ketchup girl. From there her modeling career took off and she worked on campaigns for Noxema and Max Factor.

Natalie has appeared in countless films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey and horror classics like the Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Saw V (2008). Though she has appeared in more TV shows than you can shake a stick at, Natalie starred in the comedy series Sophie (2008-2009).

As the memorable Bailey’s “hot girl”, Natalie Brown inspired TV and movie-goers, to not walk but run, RUN to liquor stores everywhere on chilly winter nights.

In 2010, Natalie appeared as Carol Haplin on the short-lived but super-cool Happy Town. Happy Town was yet another example of an awesome show that got canceled because it was too great for masses to appreciate (et al Firefly, Pushing Daisies, the Tick).

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Reenactment of Natalie Brown explaining the proper spelling of her name.
Posted in Canadian Celebrities, Canadiana, Entertainment, Ontario, Pop Culture, Postcards, Television | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rachel Wilson signed her Stamp!

by chadwickgendron Posted on January 20, 2013
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The back of Canadian Culture Thing postcard CCT0106 featuring the lovely Rachel Wilson.

On January 14th Canadian sweetheart Rachel Wilson was by Valhalla and signed her Canadian Culture Thing MapleLeafForever stamp (CCT0106)! She was accompanied by her bombshell friend Bomb Girls’ Ali Liebert (upcoming MapleLeafForever stamp inductee).

Knockout Rachel Wilson at Valhalla with her MapleLeafForever stamp.
Knockout Rachel Wilson at Valhalla with her MapleLeafForever stamp.

Ottawa-born Rachel seems to have been in at least one episode of every show produced between 1994 and the present, as well as having a starring role in an impressive 7 series’. She has also been in such major films like Mystery Alaska, the Glass House and Saw 3D.

Greetings from Ottawa c1951, Rachel Wilson's hometown.
Greetings from Ottawa c1951, Rachel Wilson’s hometown.

But at the core, Rachel might hold a everlasting soft-spot in the hearts of the many fans of Breaker High, the cutting-edge drama of life on a high-school cruise ship…you heard me. Rachel co-starred with Ryan Gosling (upcoming MapleLeafForever stamp inductee) as socially-awkward teenagers trying to make their way in a complicated nineties-high-school-cruise-ship world. Laugh all you want at the premise but remember that Joss Whedon’s Firefly barely aired 11 of it’s 14 episodes before being flatly cancelled while Breaker High boasts a whopping 44 episodes. Disney even set sail on this premise again more than ten years later and managed to produce 4 seasons of another ship-school in the Suite Life on Deck. All of us 40-somethings still remember Square Pegs and it only aired 20 grody-to-the-max episodes.

Breaker High Episode 30 “He Shoots, He Scores”

One on my personal favourite roles was a short film Rachel did in 2009, 75 El Camino. 75 El Camino tells the story of a couple trying to make their way in a complicated lost-my-job-lost-my-house-got-a-case-of-the-cancer story of life, death and El Caminos. Rachel plays the ray of sunshine in her parents struggle while the audience wrestles with the philosophical question: Is it a car? Is it a truck?

75 El Camino – Short Film – Directed by Sami Khan from Kevin C. W. Wong on Vimeo.

Rachel has since starred on racey comedies like Show Me Yours with fellow MapleLeafForever stamp inductee Alberta Watson as well as the religious docu-drama My Pal Satan, historical bio-series the Kennedys and the animated-character Heather on Total Drama Island.

Total Drama Island Episode 1

Rachel Wilson has spent the past four years co-starring as fiery Dr. Nikki Renholds on the CBC’s acclaimed Republic of Doyle series.

Rachel Wilson's MapleLeafForever stamp on the back of #CCT0106.
Rachel Wilson’s MapleLeafForever stamp on the back of #CCT0106.
Posted in Canada, Canadian Celebrities, Entertainment, Movies, Ontario, Ottawa, Pop Culture, Postcards, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We Are More by Shane Koyczan

by chadwickgendron Posted on December 12, 2012

I remember slam poet Shane Koyczan at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing show. He was the icing-sugar on an Uber-Canadian cultural explosion of a beaver-tail-a-polooza, the Maple Syrup on a bottle of ice wine, beer splashed on a pair of hockey skates! It was just about the best live show I’ve seen produced in Canada.

Posted in British Columbia, Canada, Canadiana, Entertainment, Music, Pop Culture, Vancouver | Tagged , , | Leave a comment