In the merry month of May…… Photo: Noriko Nasu-Tidball @ Frisch Farms @ Frisch Farms @ Frisch Farms @ Cypress Community Garden @ Cypress Community Garden @ Cypress Community Garden @ Cypress Community Garden @ Cypress Community Garden @ Cypress Community...

  An Interview with The Land of Deborah        By Lauren MacFarland Photo: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Described as sounding like “Sarah McLaclan and Jewel playing scrabble”, Vancouver-based singer-songwriter act ‘The Land of Deborah’ puts every inch of her infectious persona into her music. Her songs are introspective and upbeat, each written from the heart and telling a story. “Calling herself ‘The Land of Deborah’ was a unique way for Deborah to put a name on her creative brand, which doesn’t just include personal songwriting and performing, but also composing scores for television and film and video blogs. “Years and years ago I thought ‘Deborah’ was just so boring, so one night I decided to be called ‘The Land of Deborah’ and it just stuck,” she explained. “The way that I see it, the music comes from me and my mind is the ‘land’, so therefore ‘The Land of Deborah’ is songs from my mind! It’s not just the songs, it’s who I am, I also love art, and public art…and that’s what the ‘Land’ turned out to be. I get called ‘Land of Deborah’, or ‘Land’ or just ‘LOD’ and that’s kind of what it’s become.” Her various creative outlets have grown and expanded over the years as Deborah explored the different opportunities that came her way. “At the beginning it was just songs, but I’ve always wanted to do something with film and through a chance meeting I ended up writing a song for someone’s film. It’s not something I actively pursue, but if I meet someone and they need a score for a film I’m all over that.” Working for somebody else almost requires a separate muse, when someone asks for a specific type of song it allows her to exercise...

Fifty-six companies are involved in the making of my standard, late Tuesday night dinner: a can of chicken noodle soup. This almost laughably high figure is indicative of an increasing estrangement of human beings from their food. Much of what we eat is processed, treated, and injected with preservatives in some distant laboratory. It is shipped, often from thousands of miles away to the local supermarket where we, foragers of an urban landscape graze through linoleum pastures and fluorescent aisles; navigating a prepackaged terrain of endless food choices and rarely pausing in the process to wonder: where did this all come from?

Lauren, Keiko (Editor-in-Chief), Joyce                                                                      Photo: Noriko Nasu-Tidball “I am always inspired and in awe at their dedication, determination, and creativity. They are like my children!” – Editor-in-Chief Lauren MacFarland After spending the last few months interviewing and writing about some amazing people, it feels strange to talk about myself! I’m a third-year undergraduate student at UBC, currently majoring in History (which is a lot more interesting than most people think it is!), a staff writer for the Kerrisdale Playbook and occasionally I knit. I love studying the past and how it connects with the future, looking at how we went from sitting around in fires in caves to sitting around laptops in coffee shops. Knowing where you come from is so important to figure out where you’re going to go, and knowing the history of a place is the only way to understand the world around you. I’ve lived in India, Dubai, Panama, and now Vancouver, a city with such a rich story to tell, but still so young, and it’s incredible to think that I’m a part of that. Kerrisdale is a beautiful neighborhood, but before this year, I’d never really stopped to pay attention to it. The bus from Richmond to UBC (which I spend more time on than I do in any actual class) passes right through the heart of Kerrisdale and gives a prime view of the little boutiques, the signs announcing little league matches and sidewalk sales, bursts of color outside the florists and a display of macaroons in a café window that are ridiculously delicious. Unfortunately, during...