VWF Blues: Thursday, October 24th

The vine that has grown old on an old tree falls with the ruin of that tree and through that bad companionship must perish with it. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519) 

Corin Raymond is a singer-songwriter and performer of his one- man show, Bookworm. Raymond’s most recent release, Paper Nickels, is a live double album featuring his all-star band, the Sundowners (Treasa Levasseur, David Baxter and Brian Kobayakawa), that comes housed in a 144- page hardcover book. Raymond lives with his books in Toronto.

Up at 6:15 am so my bio-clock is starting to readjust 

Hi, Patrick - Just sent this e-mail and it bounced back cuz my cut&paste for your address didn't work so here it is to your correct address I hope.  C

----- Original Message -----

Good meeting but too long.  Takes a while to get 5 people all on the same page!   Thanks :-)  

Stats for today's ride:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/395090646#.UmoE6lIFKtw.email 

 Hi Cathy!

Loads and loads of work and very specific things which have to dovetail so thank-you for all your hard work and patience. Sorry I didn't really have time to chat and say hello last night. Not sure if you stayed for the event . We were fortunate enough to be able to do so. However, I must say that I found that Charles Demers, as moderator, seemed to "force" or direct the discussion, after the readings had taken place, in ways that were somewhat confusing, at least for me, and didn't really seem too advance or encourage the interplay among these wonderful storytellers. Some of the issues/themes, (Newfoundland as colony of Canada, its island isolation, etc., are valid and need exploration/discussion), but my take was that he turned panel into an almost academic forum. I would have preferred much more time for questions from the audience and then just let the authors run with things. I, for one, was expecting a much more raucous evening but I think the moderator muzzled, unintentionally, the proceedings.

This is not to say that I could have done a better job or that I think his intentions were not of the highest order. However, this particular approach certainly didn't work for me. As far as I was concerned it simply didn't allow for the sort of spontaneous interplay which was evident, from time to time, but wasn't fostered or really encouraged. I think back to last year's Festival when Denise Mina, Stuart McBride and Ian Rankin were together and it might as well have been an uproarious stand-up comedy routine, such was the  barbed, but nevertheless, good-natured and terribly informed banter/dialogue which ensued. I cannot remember who moderated the session but whoever it was really didn't intrude himself but acted more as a catalyst, letting the wonderful intellects and imaginations loose to combine and interact in novel, often sidesplittingly hilarious ways.

I mention this as while I certainly enjoyed the evening I don't think its potential was fully realized. I didn't expect or want a yuk-yuk fest but I was disappointed that the session was not as lively and entertaining as it could have/should have been. I'm very curious to know what others thought. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Georgio!

I'm beginning to wonder if the Kits/Granville Island Peloton is going the way of the NRBC and the Dodo! Glad you made it to Marcus Aurelius' Golden Land! For my part I did another SP Three-Ringed Circus Loop after I attended Word! (2) with Corin Raymond, Alison Wearing and Tanya Evanson. Cory started with excerpts from his one-man show, Bookworm, and you must get Tia Maria to see it if it is ever around. He talked about how he developed his love of books and reading in such a wonderfully humourous and engaging way that he literally turned the nerd bookworm stereotype into a super hero, Spider Man in his case. 

One of his most telling bits was the one in which he describes how friends and family react when they discover that he re-reads many of his treasured tomes. He argues that nobody seems to find it strange that one listens to a favourite album over and over again or returns to a special restaurant for another similar meal or even continues to see a close friend: "I met you once so goodbye!. I don't need to see you again!", was how he put it and had the audience, (mainly grade 8-12 students), rolling in the aisles by the time this section was over. I mention this, in part, since the MT wanted time alone to read the instructions for the new explosive device she is planning, apparently, to use against the Good Burghers of Ambleside, but also because his love of reading and books and comics was so palpable that I took the liberty of inviting him to the next NRBC. He'll have his work cut out for him as we can't even get people to read the selection once, let alone re-read it!

In somewhat the same vein, some of Tanya's spoken word poetry dissects the obsession with/addiction to social media and its technology, juxtaposing these fetishes with "normal" human interactions. Funnily enough, I had to ask the young male student sitting beside me to stop worrying a plastic wrapper that I assumed was a surrogate for the cell he couldn't use during the performance. He stopped immediately but couldn't sit still without his soother. For her part, Cora Lee was at a session, a few days ago, and the young man sitting beside her asked an unbelievably intelligent question, (So much so that one of the authors actually asked him if he was the same person who had asked such a question at an earlier session!), but he couldn't sit still either. She said he squirmed and writhed and knocked her, repeatedly, with his elbow. She wasn't really upset but just noted how impossible it was for him to sit quietly. We might live in the Global Village but it seems as if, more and more of our youth have marabunta ants in their pants!

I had heard Alison Wearing at the session, The Secret Lives of Parents, at Studio 1398, (our bar!), on Tuesday evening and was very, very impressed/taken with her and her articulateness and humour. In this session she was able to perform excerpts from her one-woman show, Confessions of  Fairy's Daughter, based on learning, at age 12, that her father was gay. Her initial reaction and eventual understanding/acceptance are pretty important messages, for all sorts of reasons, particularly for this age group, I would think.

Home to suit up for ride. Sun was shining and the south side of False Creek was bright as a summer's day but by the time I'd reached Plaza of Nations fog was pretty thick and completely obscured opposite shore. Its visual effects were more than spectacular as I rounded Brockton Point. Nothing but the tops of North Shore Mountains were visible, along with part of a huge blue, waterfront crane, looming, Star Wars-like, out of the mist, and the towers of the Lions Gate. Literally had to watch out, on each and every circuit, for all sorts of paparazzi, whether beside stopped cars, bicycles or on foot, snapping shots of the magical spectacle. Stats for ride:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/395090646#.UmoE6lIFKtw.email 

Home to shower and change and then over to Studio 1398 to set up the bar. Sales have doubled every night so pleased about that. Fun to chat with many of the people waiting until venue opens. We were fortunate enough to be able to get into the event, Rocking Again: From The Rock II: Wayne Johnston, Lisa Moore and Michael Winter. However, I must say that I found that Charles Demers, as moderator, seemed to "force" or direct the discussion, after the readings had taken place, in ways that were somewhat confusing, at least for me, and didn't really seem too advance or encourage the interplay among these wonderful storytellers. Some of the issues/themes, (Newfoundland as colony of Canada, its island isolation, etc., are valid and need exploration/discussion), but my take was that he turned panel into an almost academic forum. I would have preferred much more time for questions from the audience and then just let the authors run with things. I, for one, was expecting a much more raucous evening but I think the moderator muzzled, unintentionally, the proceedings.
 

This is not to say that I could have done a better job or that I think his intentions were not of the highest order. However, this particular approach certainly didn't work for me. As far as I was concerned it simply didn't allow for the sort of spontaneous interplay which was evident, from time to time, but wasn't fostered or really encouraged. I think back to last year's Festival when Denise Mina, Stuart McBride and Ian Rankin were together and it might as well have been an uproarious stand-up comedy routine, such was the  barbed, but nevertheless, good-natured and terribly informed banter/dialogue which ensued. I cannot remember who moderated the session but whoever it was really didn't intrude himself but acted more as a catalyst, letting the wonderful intellects and imaginations loose to combine and interact in novel, often sidesplitting, hilarious ways.

I mention this as while I certainly enjoyed the evening I don't think its potential was fully realized. I didn't expect or want a yuk-yuk fest but I was disappointed that the session was not as lively and entertaining as it could have/should have been. I'm very curious to know what others thought. 

Must away as I'm off to listen to Andreas Schroeder interview Jowita Bydlowska about her memoir, Drunk Mom, according to her, "an imperfect account of the events that occurred from 2009 to 2010 when I relapsed after three and a half years of sobriety." I really like him, both as an author and as a moderator. I had a chance to talk to him, briefly, a few nights ago, and he mentioned, in passing, that he had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour a year or so ago so he has had some considerable medical procedures to endure/recover from of late. 

Talk soon, ride soon I trust. Looking ahead, however, Sunday is out, for me, unfortunately. I'm scheduled to work from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm so it will be a long, long day. Will need a ride on Monday so hope that might work out. Cheers, Il Conduttore! 

Michele Darrow-Sutherland

Trastevere, Lazio, Italy

Last night in Rome and end of a wonderful holiday

Wayne Sutherland

in Rome, Lazio, Italy

Last day after five weeks in Europe. Went to the Roman Collisum today to watch the lions but they had the day off. No Christian available to eat.

Patrick,

This is just a friendly reminder about your volunteer shift TOMORROW, Friday Oct 25, for the Vancouver Writers Fest.

Please check your Assignments tab on My Volunteer Page for details about your shift, i.e. what you are doing, where, when and who to report to....

Many thanks! We are so looking forward to your help and are so very grateful!
Don't forget to stop by the Volunteer Lounge at the corner of Cartwright & Old Bridge streets, next to the Festival office. We really could not do this festival without you!
Kathryn Fowler, Volunteer Manager 

As you know thanks to an email a few days ago, we have a dedicated web page set up for volunteers to check about comp ticket availability for Festival events. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/volunteers/festival

We update the page daily and today added events that are SOLD OUT or close to selling out but which still might have a few tickets available at the door! These events will say 'limited' or 'very limited'. If you are absolutely keen, you may just get lucky by lining up 45 minutes ahead of time and getting your name on the Standby Ticket list. 

ALSO, we have LOTS OF AVAILABILITY for volunteer comps for Friday and Saturday evening events at Frederic Wood Theatre out at UBC: Event #56 "Our Last Best Hope" with Alan Wiesman on Friday evening and Event #73 "Command and Control" with Eric Schlosser on Saturday evening.

If you go out to Frederic Wood Theatre (6354 Crescent Road, UBC), please do sign up on the standby list and prepare to be wowed. The more of you who can attend, the more it shows off Vancouver and Festival audiences! Help us fill the house!

If you need any arm twisting about whether the Frederic wood events will be worth your while, please have a look at this link to recent newspaper articles:

Schlosser

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Eric+Schlosser+story+nuclear+weapons+like+chronicle/9054634/story.html

Weisman

http://www.straight.com/life/514181/alan-weismans-new-book-countdown-explores-how-defuse-several-population-bombs

Any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Kathryn Fowler, Volunteer Manager

Hey guys,

Gracias for keeping me in the loop even though I've been long absent from the peleton! Hope you are all keeping well, I continue to work on Tomorrowland which you may have seen evidence of at Boundary and Kent among other locations. It goes very well for me and despite the long hours and busy schedule it is enjoyable but I do look forward to wrapping it up  in the next 5 - 6 weeks and being able to rejoin for some riding and catching up.  Take care and we'll talk soon. Al

If you are coming this way, morning would work for me either today or tomorrow - let me know...
8^) cheers, Mark 

P,

mid afternoon today will not work for me. I will have to ride earlier. Friday morning may work well for me. W