He = Douglas Coupland, not James

When James and I saw the film version of Douglas Coupland's Souvenir of Canada, he talked about this greeting which the government tried to get everyone to use in the 1970s, which I think was an Inuit word or something. Like all government-sponsored cultural initiatives (except the CBC?), it was a miserable failure. Anyone? Anyone? I want to find out what this word is, and start USING IT ALL THE TIME.

Ha! Using my mad librarian skills, I found it before I even had time to post this entry. It's "Chimo," which this handy website notes "may be accompanied by a gesture of salutation as well, namely moving the left hand in a circle on the area of the chest over the heart." I like the sound of that. Wikipedia adds, "In 1967, the Government of Canada attempted unsuccessfully to make "Chimo" the national greeting of Canada, akin to "Ciao" in Italy. This was the year of the Canadian Centennial, and the Canadian government was eager to establish a unique national culture. The phrase never caught on."

UNTIL NOW!

Chimo, Internets. Laters.