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Tag: Douglas Coupland

5 Things Vancouver: Kelly McKinnon

by Dan
Kids + Travel + Vancouver / February 26, 2010

Kelly McKinnon is the co-owner of Kidsbooks. 

Kelly enjoys travelling (especially on the seat of a bicycle), building Lego with her nephews, sports and eating (although in the email accompanying her answers, she suggests that the last two are linked!).

"I love my job running Kidsbooks, along with my business partner Phyllis Simon, because it is so much fun getting everyone excited books and reading," she says.  Amen to that!

What’s your favourite book about Vancouver?
City of Glass... Doug Coupland…he nailed it.

Where’s your favourite spot to eat on a budget?
Go Fish but the line-ups are terrible on a sunny day.

What is the best thing to do with kids in Vancouver?
The Aquarium...hands down!

What’s your favourite bar?
Rodney’s….the crabcakes are westcoast comfort food.

What’s your favourite free thing to do in Vancouver?
Waterfront…Walk, run, bike...
 

Thanks Kelly!

5 Things Vancouver: Anne Lee

by Dan
Travel + Vancouver / February 10, 2010

Anne Lee grew up in a small town outside of Vancouver where the abundance of green things growing made her sneeze every summer for a solid two months. She is currently working for a well-known book retailer in Toronto, Ontario where the less aggressive pollen output and the predominance of concrete reduces the need to mainline antihistamines.
 
What is the single best thing about living in Vancouver?
I miss the access to fresh seafood and the produce. I took it all for granted when I was growing up, and now I miss things like the fresh salmon and the tasty fruits that didn’t need to be shipped thousands of miles before I could enjoy them.

Who is your favourite Vancouver author? 
Douglas Coupland. I think he’s great at capturing the culture of Vancouver — laid-back, creative, and quirky.

Where’s your favourite spot to eat on a budget?
It can really depend on what I’m in the mood for, but Legendary Noodle is great for a casual, budget-friendly meal—including the free entertainment of watching them hand-pull the noodles.
 
Where’s the best place for coffee?
I’m more a tea drinker, so for me, Steeps is my preferred place for a relaxing hot beverage.
 
Why should people live in Vancouver and not just visit?
The scenery is gorgeous (those mountains! the trees! the ocean!), the winter weather forecast doesn’t include windchill, and you've got great access to fabulous food.

Thanks Anne!

5 Things Vancouver: Darren Barefoot

by Dan
Travel + Vancouver / February 08, 2010

We're continuing our series 5 Things Vancouver this week in the run up to The XXI Olympic Winter Games. First up on the docket is Darren Barefoot.

Darren grew up in West Vancouver, and current lives above the HomeDepot near Cambie and Broadway.

He’s a writer, marketer and blogger, and the co-author of Friends With Benefits: A Social Media Marketing Handbook.

What neighbourhood do you live in?
It’s called Fairview Slopes, though I think that’s a snooty invention by local real estate agents.

What is the single best thing about living in Vancouver?
I didn’t appreciate this until I lived abroad and returned to the city, but it’s really among the most beautiful cities in the world. Set between the Coastal Mountain range and the Pacific, on this relatively small patch of land, it’s really a joy to behold. And, as a result of this geographical accident, it’s an unusually (for North America, at least) dense city, which makes it feel more metropolitan than its size might merit.

What’s your favourite book about Vancouver?
I’m always a little reluctant to recommend Douglas Coupland, as we grew up in the same neighbourhood and I’m envious of how he wrote about being middle-class in West Vancouver before I could. That said, his book City of Glass is a terrific introduction to the city. I also like Timothy Taylor’s Stanley Park.

What is your favourite building in Vancouver?
I really like the Sun Tower, which is this lovely Beaux-Arts building right downtown. In a city full of glass towers, it’s a surprising change of pace.

What’s your favourite free thing to do in Vancouver?
My first thought was that, on a nice day, you can’t do much better than the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It’s about 30 minutes south of downtown, and right on the coast. It offers this highly unusual terrain for the region—there’s very little wetlands around the city—and a chance to see a ton of airborne wildlife.

However, I checked, and the sanctuary isn't free. It is really cheap—$4 for adults, $2 for children and 50 cents for a packet of birdseed.

But if you're looking for truly free, I'd recommend heading up into the North Shore and hiking a portion of the Baden Powell trail.

Thanks Darren!

Seth in Conversation with Douglas Coupland at VIWF!

by Dan
Events + Graphica / August 26, 2009

In what promises to be one of the highlights of this year's Vancouver International Writers Festival, Canadian cartoonist Seth will be in conversation with author Douglas Coupland on Friday, October 23 8:00 pm at the Waterfront Theatre.

Tickets, which go sale Friday, September 11, 2009, are $18 and are available from the VIWF box office.

I would get your in there early if I were you!

In the meantime, The Daily Cross Hatch have posted a great 3-part chat with Seth.

In the interview Seth discusses a whole range of topics, including Comic-Con, Charles Schulz's Peanuts, Watchmen, Alan Moore, WIMBLEDON GREEN, and Seth's most recent book GEORGE SPROTT (1894-1975):

I wanted George to be someone who was in the public eye, but obviously not a genuine celebrity, because then you'd have to deal with the problems of real celebrity in the story. It's not a story about fame, because that's too easy. But George's limited fame is an essential ingredient. It's a story about things falling away with time. That minor fame of his simply gave me another element of his life to fall away.

Read Part 1 of The Daily Cross Hatch Interview

Read Part 2 of The Daily Cross Hatch Interview

Read Part 3 of The Daily Cross Hatch Interview