Posts Tagged ‘50 Canadians Who Changed the World’
Rob Ford turned me into a private eye
Rob Ford followed me to Ottawa. I thought I would escape him by coming here to do a book signing at Books on Beechwood. En route, I read about him in two newspapers, the Star and the Globe. Then I read about him in the latest issue of MacLean’s. That might have been the end…
Read MoreOcean-to-Ocean Book Tour Extravaganza Heads East
Part Two of the journey begins in Toronto next Thursday (Nov. 7). Yes, we’re talking The VIA-Rail, 50 Canadians, Ocean-to-Ocean Book Tour Extravaganza. We’re promoting 50 Canadians Who Changed the World by train. So far, we have whistle-stopped through Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Canmore, Banff, Jasper, and Vancouver. Now, we travel east: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and…
Read MoreThree reasons why I hate Vancouver
–> You knew it was coming. And now, having been here almost 24 hours, I stand ready to deliver. Why do I hate Vancouver? The first reason is the Seawall that encircles Stanley Park. Today is nothing but sunshine here and of course we went walking along that wall. Yes, in T.O. we have the…
Read MoreOur Hero regrets omitting Mordecai Richler
–> I omitted Mordecai Richler from 50 Canadians Who Changed the World. Now I am sorry. I realize that I was wrong. At a recent promotional event, someone asked me, “Have you discovered any omissions during this trip across Canada? Anyone you feel you should have included but did not?” At the time, I said…
Read MoreCalgary set to join ocean-to-ocean, 50 Canadians extravaganza
–> Great to see this article turn up in today’s Calgary Herald. Looks like my old home town is ready. I’ll be at Pages on Kensington Tuesday evening, at Global TV on Wednesday morning, and then at Cafe Books in Canmore that evening. By Eric Vollmers, Calgary Herald Pride is a peculiar thing. It…
Read MoreThis castle on the river is a Canadian landmark
–> Which grand railway hotel turns up on an album cover? Answer: the Delta Bessborough, a Saskatoon landmark known as The Bezz. The album is Clouds by Joni Mitchell, who grew up in this town on the South Saskatchewan River. She painted a self-portrait for the cover, and there, in the upper right-hand corner, we…
Read MoreSaskatoon Global TV: 4 minutes, 50 Canadians, and $5K can be yours
Turns out Saskatoon IS ready for me. This morning, 7:45 a.m. at Global Morning TV, host Kevin Stanfield got Our Hero talking. Cutting-edge Canada, 50 Canadians, almost 40 per cent women, Joni Mitchell of course, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, the VIA-Rail ocean-to-ocean book-tour extravaganza, the train ride itself, the easy-to-enter contest that can win you…
Read MoreFort Garry Hotel works contest magic for 50 Canadians
You’ve got to love the magic of Canada’s grand railway hotels. Soon after we checked into the Fort Garry here in Winnipeg, the first such hotel on our list, we discovered a fantastic contest announcement in the Globe and Mail. This year marks the 100th anniversary of this hotel, which was built in the chateau…
Read MoreDeparture Day: Ocean-to-Ocean with 50 Canadians
Later today, Sheena and I embark on a VIA-Rail journey that will extend from ocean to ocean, Pacific to Atlantic, Toronto to Vancouver to Halifax. The above photo, shot a couple of weeks back, finds us on the east coast of Orkney with the North Sea behind us. But the North Sea adjoins the Atlantic,…
Read MoreAlice Munro, the Toronto Star, and the bookshop ghettos of Canadiana
We were moving in the same direction. Today’s lead editorial in the Toronto Star noted that “as Thomas Hardy did with Dorset, and William Faulkner did with Yoknapatawpha County, [Alice] Munro chronicled and mythologized her corner of southwestern Ontario.” In 50 Canadians Who Changed the World, coming next week, I put it this way:”When readers…
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