So the above is a composite of what my summer has consisted of thus far. A whole lot of sitting in parks with dogs, doing a whole lot of nothing. And it’s not that I don’t have anything to do. I have shitloads of work that needs doing. But I just don’t have it in me at the moment. It will all get done but for now, I just want to be bored. (Photo by Abby Campbell, the dog on the left’s mama.)

A few things of note. Remember my husband from this video? Well, he has a show on CBC Radio this summer called This is That, and it’s very funny. Margaret Atwood is a fan (she tweeted about it) as well as the National Post. Kind of like As It Happens meets Punk’d.

Rain City Chronicles had a great meeting this morning. Things are coming together quite nicely. In case you didn’t know, our next event will be at the Anza Club on Friday, Sept. 24th as part of Olio. The theme is…drum roll…SURPRISES! That’s the theme. Surprises. Kind of like Punk’d.

My dearest Louise Burns has posted new music that you should listen to right now.

Remember I told you about my friend Murray’s film Carts of Darkness, which you can watch online for free? Well, it’s been voted as best NFB film online. Holy crap. eh? It even beat the Log Driver’s Waltz! Wha?! I’m massively impressed. You should watch it. It’s profound and inspiring.

I’m doing a bunch of travelling in the next little while. Might be heading to a sweet destination within BC in the next few weeks, then LA, then Montreal, then North Hatley, then Toronto. So mentally preparing for that.

Things that have made me happy as of late…

Light summer lunches.

Two pound Pomeranians, that squeak.

Dutchie being taken for a walk by Olive, the half Boston half Wiener.

This part of my job.

Rukiya Bernard and Malikah!

The park is calling me. I’m out.

This episode featres the second half of a lovely evening called Rain City Chronicles that took place on March 29th at Vancouver’s Western Front. (Phew, long sentence.) The event is a storytelling series that focuses on a theme. The theme this time was luck.

So on this episode/recorded live event, we hear music by (former P3 guest) Louise Burns:

A story by Erin Millar about the time her smooth jazz ex-boyfriend’s luck ran out. (He wasn’t so smooth…)

Colin Horgan reveals why being a Pearl Jam nerd has its perks…

Lana Gay tells us about how she really paid her dues to get where she is today…

And a story  by Pamela Hart about how luck is about perspective.

Pamela chose not to use the mic so I couldn’t use her audio on the podcast. But let that be a lesson to ATTEND THE NEXT EVENT! I’ll be keeping you posted as to when that will be…

At the end of this episode, Karen talks about a bat signal and held up a sign that said #raincity. Basically, we created a hashtag for Twitter so that any time something story-worthy happens to you, you can hashtag it with #raincity. That way, we’re keeping the stories going until the next event. You can find us on Twitter here. We will soon be creating more of an online presence but for now, we greatly appreciate your support and enthusiasm.

Thanks again for everyone who attended, helped out and took part. It was a really special night. This city is full of fascinating people with incredible stories and we plan to hear as many of them as possible. It’s so encouraging to know there’s an interest. Yah for community and storytelling! Hip hip horay!

Yah! The second installment of Rain City Chronicles was a huge success! It was so packed that we had to turn about 25 people away. Wow. Luckily,   I recorded it as part of my podcast so you can live the magic. The second installment should be out next week.

On this episode we hear stories all about luck, including…

An introduction to luck, by philosopher Charles Macurdy…

A story by Vancouver is Awesome’s Bob Kronbauer about how he got away with a heated situation…

A tale by Nadiya Chettiar about the time she almost ruined a play…

Charlie Demers talks about how he’s lucky in love and a left-wing cult…

Marsha Lederman and the story of the lucky gold watch…

And Rebecca Slaven, accompanied by Andre of The Obvious Peaks and Valleys, told us about her lucky best friend.

It was a really special night and we want to thank everyone who made it out and showed their love. We certainly felt it!

Wow. The local blog world is on board for Rain City, which is really heartwarming. Here are some links to some press we’ve got/done in the last few days…

Sad magazine chatted with Karen. Note the beautiful photo of her. It’s hard not to.

Beyond Robson really loves us.

Here’s a little preview we did for our sponsor, Vancouver Is Awesome.

There was talk of some radio interviews come Monday but I don’t want to get too excited. Wow. The support is really wonderful and touching.

The line up for the second installment of Rain City Chronicles has been announced! (Coming from a journalism background, that’s not a good leading sentence ’cause it’s past tense. But it’s the sentiment that I’m stressing so forgive me and read on.)

RCC is an on-going storytelling night that was co-founded by Karen Pinchin and Lizzy Karp and me (all pictured above.) Storytellers are given up to seven minutes to tell a story about the evening’s theme. This time around, the theme is luck. It takes place on Monday, March 29th at the Western Front, 7 p.m.

So here’s who’s going to be on the bill:

Actor Nadiya Chettiar
Comedian, activist and author Charlie Demers
CBC Radio 3 host Lana Gay
Communications whiz Pamela Hart
Guardian blogger Colin Horgan
Vancouver Is Awesome founder Bob Kronbauer
Globe and Mail reporter Marsha Lederman
Journalist Erin Millar
Librarian Rebecca Slaven, accompanied by Andre of The Obvious Peaks and Valleys

With musical guest and former P3 interviewee Louise Burns aka Moonshiner!

CANNOT WAIT! ALL CAPS EXCITED!

Here is the second half of the event I co-organized on Dec. 1st at Little Mountain Studios. It featured performances by…

Jenna Rogers, who sang a song (you can’t really hear the guitar on the the podcast…sorry about that) and told a story about being in a band with a wizard, but I had to cut it out…

Vancouver Observer editor Linda Solomon, who talked about frenching a US president (!)…

Amanda McCuaig, who talked about taking her boyfriend home to Idaho and showing him what Republicans are really like…

Taz Van Rassel told a story about surviving life on the streets of Kitsilano (a fancy neighbourhood here in Vancouver) …

Lizzy Karp told a story about growing up non-Mormon in Salt Lake City…

And our last performer Lisa Joyce, who talked about the first time she thought she was dying, with a fitting song to accompany it.

There was also a performance by the hilarious duo of Good Morning World, Pat Kelly and Pete Oldring. But the audio was sort fucked up so I couldn’t really use it. Check them out on YouTube…they are super funny and talented.

Not sure when the next podcast will be out. Probably in the New Year. Until then, read my column and visit my Tumblr site, as those are easier to update. Happy holidays, y’all!

One of the things I’ve been working hard on recently is a storytelling night called Rain City Chronicles. We had our first event on December 1st at Little Mountain Studios. It was a great success. We’ve got nothing but really positive feedback and it seems like the city is ready for this kind of thing. We plan on doing it every season so the next one should be in March. This special episode of P3 features stories by CBC Radio 3‘s Grant Lawrence, who talked about his first experience with a pacific octopus…

Rain City Chronicles co-organizer and freelancer writer Karen Pinchin, who talked about her first time getting in a car with a stranger…

Sex guy and Manhussy‘s Cam MacLeod, who talks about the first time he realized girls go crazy when you’ve had sex with them…

Talent Time‘s Paul Anthony, who talks about his first parentless road trip…

And me. I told a story about the first time I sang with Belle and Sebastian on stage…

Music is by Basil Waugh…

I’ll try to have the second half of the evening out in podcast format by next week. In the meantime, enjoy!