The rules of the interview game:
- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed
- I will respond; I’ll ask you five questions.
- You’ll update your website with my five questions, and your five answers.
- You’ll include this explanation.
- You’ll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
Finally, here are my answers to Lana’s questions:
1. The ‘peg. What is the the Winnipeg cafe experience compared to Montreal?
Like comparing Mark’s Work Warehouse to Prada, actually. Winnipeg has one main street where cafe culture is alive and well, but as with most things Prairies, even this has been subverted by the blandifying influence of the suburbs.
Going down Corydon Avenue can often feel like you’re stuck in an outdoor mall crossed with a cheesy pick-up bar - lots of families and wanna-be-hipsters wandering around, and hairy, potbellied men trying to attract the attention of dolled-up hussies. Then again, that’s not much different than Toronto, but here the chic level is much, much lower.
Winnipeg has a lot of things going for it, but that oh-so-beguiling Montreal cafe culture is definitely not one of them. Still, it’s all we’ve got. (Can you tell I long for Montreal?)
2. Now that you’re a full fledged teacher - what is the funniest student question that you had last year?
I’d love to answer this, but because my students know about this site, I had better decline. Why make life more difficult for myself? 
3. Was DNTO better when it was broadcast from Winnipeg?
This is perhaps a bit of a confession, but I very rarely listen to any of the CBC’s radio shows anymore. I haven’t listened to Brave New Waves in years, and haven’t listened to Definitely Not The Opera for ages and ages. That said, there’s something profoundly discombobulating when venerable media institutions hire what they believe are utterly cool types to try and appeal to people in my age demographic. Leah McLaren and Russell Smith are perfect examples of this - can I stop projective vomiting yet?
That said, you could do worse than Sook Yin-Lee. Still, whenever I think of DNTO, I’ll always think of the original host, Nora Young.
(Speaking of Nora Young, she narrates a rather unusual story entitled Bert in the latest issue of CBC Radio 3: “One day, Bert work up, and Ernie was gone.”)
The last time I listened to the CBC regularly was when we lived in Toronto: Andy Berry’s Metro Morning, and sometimes The House with Jason Moscovitz on Sundays. Bring on the “I’m an old fart before my time” t-shirt!
Don’t put me anywhere near a radio playing the cloyingly antics of Shelagh Rogers, though. It makes me violent.
4. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
That’s a tough one, as this answer probably changes as often as I change my socks. One place I come back to often, though, is Montreal. I went through a short-lived infatuation with France for a while before my girlfriend and I went to Europe, but quickly realized that it might not be the nirvana I imagined. I guess I found it just a bit too stuffy and intolerant in some areas for me, though Paris is undoubtedly lust-worthy. Remind me to tell you the story of the h�telier in Avignon some day.
Montreal, however, has everything going for it, at least for me: cultured, wordly atmosphere that isn’t too self-aware, deep, meaningful connections with its past history, and French. Did I mention I’m a bit of a francophile?
That said, there’s so many places I haven’t gone to yet, so I reserve the right to change my mind as many times as necessary.
5. Segways - geek chic or losermobiles?
All I know is you sure look ridiculous riding one of them, if that’s any indication of its place in the weiner parthenon.
