The Bookless Club

My right arm is pretty much totally out of commission. I have a giant bruise blossoming on my shoulder. My left arm has its own complaints. The wages of curiosity ….  Tucked in off of… Read More »I CALL SHOTGUN

She raises her eyebrow and gives me the look. “What? What!”, I respond, exasperated. Wordlessly, she looks down at my shoes. Ahhh, yes. My shoes. My daughter isn’t registering her disapproval about my choice of… Read More »SHOES, ON OR OFF?

I’ve just discovered the magnifying app on my iPhone. You simply go to Settings, scroll down, slide right, face north, turn left and double click. Or triple click?  Dead simple though it may be, there’s… Read More »SWISS ARMY KNIVES

Imagine you’re a director. You want to convey a sense of freedom, the sense of being released into wide, open spaces. In a quick series of shots you want to get one idea across. That… Read More »CONVERTIBLES

I’ve just read Echo Burning, my first Jack Reacher novel. You know how these things unfold: the incorruptible, enigmatic hero materializes to save the day and then – poof! –  vanishes just as quickly. No… Read More »HITCHIN’ A RIDE

Woodfibre. Remember that? It was a small pulp mill just Howe Sound and, even standing under the Birks clock at the corner of Georgia and Granville, when the wind whistled down the sound you’d be… Read More »VANISHING VANCOUVER

It’s a little bit of backyard magic. A little bit of alchemy and thrift. And it’s one of the most responsible things you can do. I’m talking about compost. Turning what soil transformed into plants… Read More »THE ALCHEMY OF COMPOST

It wasn’t so much a ‘down tools’ moment as it was a slow realization that she didn’t like the direction things were going. What brought it to a head was the weather. It had rained… Read More »MOTHER’S DAY OFF

The phone rings. I recognize the name. I pick it up and announce: “I’m having chocolates for breakfast.” “And so you should!” is the ecstatic response. I’m on the phone with James McCormack. James knows… Read More »FOOD FIGHT

If you had to look for some sign that someone was conscientious, some indicator that they were dependable, what would you look for? Well maintained shoes, you say? Good choice, good choice. Clean fingernails, perhaps?… Read More »WATCH ME NOW