My one-act play, Daguerreotype, which debuted at UBC's Brave New Play Rites Festival in 2008, is included in volume 7, number 3 of paperplates magazine (available as a free PDF download on their website). I mentioned in a previous post that the play finally feels complete to me: it's been written, workshopped, edited, rehearsed, produced, had a staged reading, and now, it's been published. Paperplates has also included the stills which we used in the original production (taken by director Lauchlin Johnston), which reminded me how we had people crying in the audience when this first ran: I felt like a ghoul, but their sadness made me happy (the play's supposed to generate tears). Evan Frayne and Joanna Rannelli were awesome in the roles of Edgar and Mrs. Bosanko.

Last post I mentioned the strife Rhea Tregebov inadvertently caused when she signed a book to both my wife and me. As a couple we've gotten over the incident, but would you believe I've had another of those experiences?

Alison Acheson had a book signing recently for her latest novel, Molly's Cue, and my wife and I and the kids went to see her. Which might be where the problem began. Maybe I should have just gone alone. But I didn't, and we all came and, consequently, did Alison pick only one of us to sign the book to? No, she didn't. Did she sign it to my wife and I? No, something worse. Alison signed the book to my whole family. Now, instead of a two-way argument about who gets to read the book first, there are now four voices in the mix. However, like last time, Alison did weigh in with an opinion of who should be the first reader, and for that I whole-heartedly forgive her. She picked me. In fact, it's how she signed the book -- to the whole family, yes -- but she specified (in ink with a smiley face, no less) that I get to be first. Yeah, I know, it's a little and petty thing, but sometimes it's nice to be the first one to read a book.

I saw Rhea Tregebov last night at the Vancouver Public Library -- she was reading from her novel The Knife Sharpener's Bell and, as usual, she was fabulous. Not only did she read some gripping passages from her novel, she also explained the story behind her writing the book -- why the story was important to her, how she took a real life event from her family's past and then pondered a big what if to create something that almost happened (but very luckily didn't).

However, in being the super-kind and generous person that she is, Rhea ended up creating some strife between my wife and I last night: in our copy of the book, she dedicated it to both of us (something no one has done before). So while both my wife and I think it's cool, we're now arguing about who gets to read the book first -- both of us with seemingly valid arguments over who has the greater right (my name appears first, but Alison Acheson -- this other writer I know and respect an awful lot -- stepped in on my wife's side). Not sure who's going to win the argument -- I think we're both equally looking forward to reading Rhea's book.

At the beginning of the year, I started blogging about a recent trip to Mexico. I still have some more photos I'd like to post, so I'll kick myself in gear and get sharing again. One of the coolest sites we went to was the city of Cobá. Unlike Chichen Itza, Cobá was relatively unknown until recently and hasn't seen much archaeological or restoration work. Aside from the sheer immensity of the site, the smaller crowds, the ball courts, and the lack of curio sellers within the gates, the highlight of Cobá is the Nohoch Mul pyramid -- the tallest structure in the northern Yucatan (it's 42m high).

Nohoch Mul looking up

Another really cool thing about Cobá is that here, you're still allowed to climb the structures. Nohoch Mul's steps are uneven and very steep, but climbing to the top gives you a very cool perspective on the site. The temple on top of the pyramid was added during the Post-Classic Period (1100 - 1450 A.D.), and it's in quite good repair. There's another stele in the city with an inscribed date of November 30, 780 A.D., so it seems Cobá was used for quite a while.

Nohoch Mul looking down

From the top of Nohoch Mul, the view is spectacular. Looking down shows you how high you really are (when the trees which have been protecting you from the sun now look like toys). The surrounding forest looks like a flat green carpet in every direction, and you can see the top of another pyramid -- Xaibe -- poking through the canopy in the distance.

Nohoch Mul looking toward Xaibe

Because Cobá is so spread out (there are several kilometres between structural groups), we rented bicycles to get around. Riding with speed through the forest helps cool you down, is rather fun (we raced each other), and allowed us to see more of the city than we would have if we'd walked.

Xaibe

We saw Xaibe (also known as the Crossroads Pyramid) from the top of Nohoch Mul, so it was cool to see it again up close. This pyramid sits at the interesection of three sacboeb (or stone causeways) and seems to be unique in that its sides are round. However, who knows for sure? Most of the city hasn't been excavated and no one has found any ancient images of the city.