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I once heard that Scientology was born of a wager between science fiction writer L.Ron Hubbard and his contemporary Kurt Vonnegut, that the real money was in religion and not novels. I walked into the Church of Scientology’s neat brick building, located within the shambles of East Hastings, with an agenda: I would have a good laugh about the obvious cult and its gullible followers. But I tell you this, now the wiser for my experience: nobody is immune to the lures of practicality.
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November 3, 2005 | Leave a Comment
I have a thing for words. It’s comparable to the obsession of those who spend their Saturdays and Sundays watching football, or to the addiction of those who camp out under their desk light for several hours surfing the internet. It really is an ailment, and the main symptom is that I love the unity of words and phrases.
In a recent interview, rapper Common was asked to comment on the title of his new album, Be. The Chicago native went on to describe his album by offering his definition of its namesake, the word “be”: “to do without trying.” I fell in love with that—so much so that I wrote it down on the back of a business card, which now adorns the speedometer in my car (along with other favourite sayings).
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November 3, 2005 | 4 Comments
Douglas Coupland
Nothing like the talented novelist next door. Our home town man Douglas Coupland has not only written many awe inspiring pieces of fiction but recently published a book about the life of Terry Fox. He is also involved with his own artwork, theater and film. You can’t stop this mastermind author from bringing us such cutting edge “commentaries on society books” like, Microserfs and All Families are Psychotic. All his stories describe what its like to grow up, even though in real life we can’t pinpoint those moments that change us. Coupland does this by chronicling youth and writing reality in a new format. His Award Winning novel Generation X talks about everything we knew but couldn’t put into words. Coupland isn’t just a great writer because of his heavy thematic plots or poetic stylistic writing, but because he gives a relentless spirit to every novel he writes.
- My Recommendation: Hey Nostradamus
