Breakfast for Anarchists is Norman Nawrocki's newest collection of rebel verse, fantasy, rant, short fiction and anarcho-agit-prop recipes. It is, however, best fitting for you to come up with your own description after you've read it yourself. It contains over 30 stirring, provocative capsules of Nawrocki's trademark wit, passionate rage, love, and reflection. It also includes original artwork & photos by several North American artists including Vancouver's own David Lester. But, you ask, just who is this Norman character anyways? Well, here's where the Vancouverite gossip begins. It all starts with a book, its launch, and a lad named Norman.

Norman Nawrocki is an internationally acclaimed, Vancouver-born, Montreal-grown cabaret artist, musician, author, educator and actor. He has several books and over 50 albums (solo & with his bands Rhythm Activism, Bakunin's Bum, DaZoque!, The Flaming Perogies, The Montreal Manhattan Project, etc.). His last CD: 'Letters from Poland / Lettres de pologne.' His last book: 'The Anarchist & The Devil Do Cabaret' (Black Rose Books) has now been translated and published in French and Italian. So, you could say, this lad is pretty prolific. I will continue...

By all accounts he's a spectacular man. He teaches part-time at Concordia University and tours Canada playing music, giving workshops about 'Creative Resistance' (how to use the arts for radical social change) and performing funny shows about sex (like 'Lessons from a 7ft Penis'). Read on for more....

Vancouver-based Headlines Theatre has been creating powerful socially-conscious theatre for 26 years. Based on the principals of Theatre of the Oppressed, a form of theatre/protest/therapy that is the brainchild of Brazilian politician-cum-director Augusto Boal, Headlines uses theatre as way to help struggling communities gain a greater understanding of the issues plaguing them and, in that understanding, to find an inner empowerment. Their most recent project, Meth, examined the roots of addiction and the effect addiction has on communities. They're currently preparing for 2 Degrees of Adaptation, taking on that hot button issue of global warming.

David Diamond has been heading up Headlines since its inception in 1981. He is also the author of "Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-Based Dialogue," which he will be debuting at a free lecture tonight, Thursday at 8:30pm at the Westin Bayshore as part of the annual American Alliance for Theatre and Education conference.

It's only been a day, and I already feel your absence, your distance. Your accepting arms, your generosity, your wisdom, your humor, your passion... I am bereft of all of them.

I'll admit that I have spent time with others: the glitz of cable TV, the well-worn charms of used bookstores, the newer offerings of Chapters, and of course, the slightly schizophrenic appeal of the Internet. But they can be fickle. Cable and phone can be cut off, Internet connections can fail, and Chapters will throw you out for trying to read the entire run of Naruto in one day. But not you.

L-R: Marius, Stefanie and Christian work the lineup outside Chapters

Oscar's Art Books shouldn't exist. It's been operating for 17 years in its current location, on West Broadway near Granville, and has prospered even when the Chapters megastore opened almost directly across the street. Sean O'Flynn, the owner, attributes this success to specialization and no staff turnover.

Two years ago, O'Flynn decided to undercut the launch of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He sold copies at a 21 per cent discount instead of Chapters' 20 per cent, and on the night the book went on sale, he walked across the street with a sandwich board and lured people to his shop, like the Pied Piper.

Another piece of what made downtown Granville South the tenderloin of Vancouver is going away. The ABC Book & Comic Emporium (1234 Granville, between Davie and Drake) will be closing this fall and moving elsewhere, casualty of increasing rent downtown.

I've always loved used bookstores. Moreso than first-sale bookstores, they're a testament to the continuing success of the book in our society. Books are so cheap yet durable that they're still usable decades after they are first sold. Long before Napster putting the music industry into a panic, the publishing industry was quite comfortable with an entire industry devoted to buying and selling books after their first sale, technically piracy, but also providing a valuable service in keeping out of print books available and cheap.

Photo courtesy of Juliainc in the Beyond Robson photo pool

When I was in university and partying (or complete lack of comprehension...ahem...math) got in the way of exams and studying, I used that old faithful trick: stack your notes beneath your pillow before bedtime and hope for the best. This splendid process of osmosis is one thing I did retain from biology class, although the scientific validity of stuffing a textbook under your pillow to enhance intelligence is certainly up for scrutiny.

I've continued this trend well past my university career, although with much better intentions. I love buying books. I think I've got at least a dozen waiting to be read, and it's not unusual for me to have 5 books on the go at any one time. When I feel like my brain needs a boost, I go and buy books. Just walking through the bookstore or library makes me feel smarter, although if I had learned anything in math class I would know that paying full price for books that simply wait their turn on my bookshelf doesn't really add up in the favor of my finances.

So it's a good thing the Vancouver Public Library Summer Sale goes down this week, with prices ranging from $0.55 to $2.25. Now those are numbers I understand!