You’ve got cucumbers on your eyes

Once I get settled into a city, it can be hard to leave–even for a visit. I attribute it to Torontonian syndrome. This means paying lip service when friends suggest you visit them in Ottawa or Kitchener, but secretly loathing the idea of taking a Greyhound out there. Those who live downtown [...]

And you may ask yourself–Well, how did I get here?

I’m standing in a retirement home somewhere in northern, rural Taiwan next to a Taiwanese grandma. I met her while hitchhiking at a cemetery and now she’s showing me her family members, clad in full-dynasty wear, in a 150-year-old photograph. A lot of the time here in Taiwan, I wonder if my [...]

Royal Taiwanese Air Farce

Last night I witnessed a comedy, like in three-acts Shakespearean sense. Since I got here there have been posters and pamphlets all over Taipei promoting Canada D’eh. The literature explained it as a celebration of Canadian confederation held on a beach in Danshui on June 27 featuring a performance by Grammy-nominated artist [...]

Lies records

If I had one pound for every time I saw a skinny-jeans-clad boy in London wearing a Crystal Castles t-shirt, I’d have, well, three pounds. Or six dollars, when you convert it back to the good old Canadian dollar. Six dollars, however, is more than I had to pay to see Crystal Castles last night [...]

Continental pleasures

The reason I went to Norway last week was to write a feature about the Norwegian Opera House. This fjord-inspired building has attracted much fanfare for its remarkable architecture that allows visitors to walk up and all over the roof of white Italian marble. I received a press ticket to see the [...]