After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Candace Plattor

The Portland Hotel Society gets a stick for extravagant spending

I just couldn’t let this story go by without writing about it again. The long and short of it is that the higher (no pun intended) authorities of the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) and several of their...

Why Valentine's Day is the best day to take care of you

Ah, Valentine's Day, the fantasy-filled holiday that comes right after we've managed to get ourselves through another year of Christmas and New Year's Eve! Have you ever wondered whose bright idea it...

New Year's Resolutions? Try Intentions Instead

In the immortal words of John Lennon, another year is over and a new one’s just begun. Isn’t it interesting how we, as a society, agree that this is the time to give ourselves and our lives a...

Rob Ford and how we are enabling vs. helping him

Unfortunately, Toronto’s mayor Rob Ford has become quite the laughingstock. He’s the guy people love to shoot down at the water cooler—and anyone who watches late night TV is aware that of the...

Loving an Addict, Loving Yourself: Surviving the Holidays - Free Tele-class

This is a departure from my usual blog posts, but I wanted to let you know about a free Tele-Class that I am offering—so I’m sharing some information here. The Tele-Class is called Loving an Addict,...

About Matthew Perry and addiction

Last week I did something I rarely do anymore—I bought a People Magazine. I used to buy one faithfully, every week, pouring over it to see what was going on with the rich and beautiful who seemed to...

What if...addiction isn't really a 'disease'?

Almost 26 years ago, on July 18, 1987, I made the decision to stop my addiction and begin my recovery in earnest. MY STORY I started by going to daily meetings of both Narcotics Anonymous and...

Addiction in the family: is someone you love affected by another person's addiction?

You always hear about people with addictions. But, what about their loved ones? For several years, I've been writing and speaking about the roller-coaster chaos they often experience while...

Terror in Colorado: The Dark Knight of No Soul

I must admit, I am stymied. How could such a thing happen? How could somebody be so completely insane that he committed such a treacherous, deliberate, premeditated, totally horrendous act against...

Sir Elton John: A man of courageous moxie

This morning I listened to Elton John’s interview with Matt Lauer on The Today Show. This amazingly brave man spoke candidly about how he “squandered” (his word) many years of his life by giving in...