tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41611057073554210182024-03-10T12:13:07.710-07:00Kenneth OppelKenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-12244852799576819322022-02-11T10:59:00.000-08:002022-02-11T10:59:07.583-08:00Coming September 6th, 2022!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt77aXl5ci4kI_vISNUf38JkIF59zZ9B4uSosDWfcnzrHtCiwAhVkOy2kv7F5va702ZRBHzGJK_ryDs4V2MqbboLHpsL07ar6jVxuiiniskpuqjolQJ2aDyAGzXgFVcFU_ofwqi8RyRzZQdKuNopxHdY4ts1DwPiLvIGY8alA847WnxDWeuwX4IY62=s940" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt77aXl5ci4kI_vISNUf38JkIF59zZ9B4uSosDWfcnzrHtCiwAhVkOy2kv7F5va702ZRBHzGJK_ryDs4V2MqbboLHpsL07ar6jVxuiiniskpuqjolQJ2aDyAGzXgFVcFU_ofwqi8RyRzZQdKuNopxHdY4ts1DwPiLvIGY8alA847WnxDWeuwX4IY62=w549-h435" width="549" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a new book coming out this September, and I can't wait to share it with you! GHOSTLIGHT is about four teenagers (three alive, one dead) who team up to fight the "wakeful and wicked dead" of a very haunted Toronto. It involves lighthouses, an ancient order of keepers, the Toronto Islands, and the ghosts of the past, present and future. I absolutely loved writing it, I hope you will love reading it! </span><p></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">If you'd like to pre-order in Canada:</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/704325/ghostlight-by-kenneth-oppel/9780735272330?fbclid=IwAR3aL2h0Qe5uklNgbhS65GZDLx-WZ-y9BcVqf_w9cbtA0-xz4ExgTk26p_I" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/.../ghost.../9780735272330</a></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">If you'd to pre-order in the United States:</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://bit.ly/3ulKvrS?fbclid=IwAR3aL2h0Qe5uklNgbhS65GZDLx-WZ-y9BcVqf_w9cbtA0-xz4ExgTk26p_I" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/3ulKvrS</a></span></div></div>Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-71732197064439638162020-03-11T08:33:00.001-07:002020-03-11T08:33:43.683-07:00BLOOM -- the first in a new trilogy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-22156729187145579382016-04-20T07:34:00.000-07:002016-04-20T07:34:32.188-07:00Every Hidden Thing: Coming this Fall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-26742884039450906432015-11-02T07:31:00.002-08:002015-11-02T07:31:54.228-08:00Dreams and Nightmares: Writing The Nest<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration c. Jon Klassen from THE NEST</td></tr>
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I’ve been writing down my dreams (and nightmares) for years. Like morning mist, they burn off quickly, so it’s best to write them down first thing on waking. I’ve got a pretty big collection now. They always make good reading, sort of like hearing stories other people might tell about you, with the facts all mixed up, or altogether invented; sometimes with malicious intent.<br />
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There is definitely a Top Ten playlist to my dreams. Many share common ingredients and plot lines and themes and I can see my real life easily enough in the fun house mirrors; other dreams are more enigmatic, featuring strangers and locations with which I somehow have a deep personal connection. I am many ages and have many different homes: my dream self has many lives. My dreams do not tend to be serene and meandering; they are mostly fierce, intense things. There is a great deal of menace and peril --- not unlike the kind of books I write.<br />
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I had terrible nightmares as a kid. I slept under the covers with only a tiny air hole to keep me from suffocating. I was scared of the dark. I was paralyzed by the fear someone might be standing unseen in my room. I made a lot of night time sprints into my big brother’s bed, or my parents’. When I was a bit older, I’d even have nightmares about scary movies <em>other </em>people had seen (after, of course, stupidly begging them to tell me the entire plot).<br />
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It wasn’t just nightmares, of course. I also had many dreams of flying (some fraught with peril, others purely ecstatic) which might explain why I’ve written so many books about winged creatures and people who live in the sky aboard airships. To this day I continue to mine my dreams and nightmares for material. Sometimes it’s just an emotion, a striking image. In THIS DARK ENDEAVOR and SUCH WICKED INTENT, some of the young Victor Frankenstein’s dreams and nightmares are my own, pretty much verbatim. Perhaps this should worry me. I’ve even pilfered my daughter’s dreams (she’s quite a dreamer, too; it runs in families), one of which gave me an amazing idea for a new novel. (Please tell me your dreams, so I can steal them.)<br />
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So, it’s hardly surprising that dreams form such a big part of my latest book, THE NEST, or that my hero, Steven, is an anxious kid who’s scared of the dark. At the heart of the book is a series of dream conversations that Steven has with a mysterious winged creature he at first believes to be an angel. Like all of us when we dream, Steve discovers that he’s both powerless and powerful. He may not have control over the stage set, but he can say and do things he would never do in his real life. In THE NEST, Steven is able to confide things and wish for things he probably wouldn’t allow himself to do in his waking life. In his dream he can be reckless, but also be courageous. And in his dreams he must decide whether to say no or yes.<br />
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I’d been writing notes and bits of scenes for THE NEST for ten years, without being able to figure out the characters and story properly. But it kept pulling me back, insistent as a recurring dream. And when it suddenly made sense to me, when it finally came, the novel poured out of me in just six weeks, scene after scene, with the intensity of the best nightmares.Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-71141278194821257162015-09-25T06:46:00.002-07:002015-09-25T06:46:59.668-07:00The Nest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-31848166414896070632014-05-24T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-24T12:00:01.863-07:00The Boundless: Author With Train<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Ian Crysler</td></tr>
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I'd written a book about a train and I wanted a picture of myself with one. Fortunately
for me, photographer extraordinaire <a href="http://www.iancrysler.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ian Crysler</span></a> was perfect for the
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(Ian himself, I've learned, has a fascinating history with trains -- and a
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On a chilly November morning we went down to the Toronto Roundhouse and
looked longingly at the fenced off caboose and locomotive until the kindly
staff of the <a href="http://www.trha.ca/museum.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Toronto Railway Museum</span></a> took pity
on us and said we were welcome to take photos of whatever we wanted. (Thank
you, Bob Dickson, for your generosity!)<br />
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We started with the beatiful red caboose...<br />
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And then moved on to the locomotive....<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Ian Crysler</td></tr>
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To get an interesting shot of me inside the caboose cupola he decided he needed to climb on top of the locomotive. There he goes in his green jacket...</div>
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I was kind of worried because it was wet and icy and the ladder rungs were slippery, and he had all his camera equipment....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmliBDyVe65i9MVgvCLWi6c38syLD3_BgnLF1jen1cQYJIwT0o9X8bI2akGwYQZZjF_Mq-oD_KmDoM48W5eD4fjQsYuP9BcgUpxtEz3SQYV4oKt_mBXXIu2tgddxN-T2R-1KdUsFT0cM/s1600/ian3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmliBDyVe65i9MVgvCLWi6c38syLD3_BgnLF1jen1cQYJIwT0o9X8bI2akGwYQZZjF_Mq-oD_KmDoM48W5eD4fjQsYuP9BcgUpxtEz3SQYV4oKt_mBXXIu2tgddxN-T2R-1KdUsFT0cM/s1600/ian3.jpg" height="192" width="400" /></a></div>
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He made it up just fine. Because that's what a kickass professional photographer does.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Ian Crysler</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Ian Crysler</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.iancrysler.com/" target="_blank">Ian Crysler Photography</a></div>
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-256977933126038322014-05-22T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-22T12:00:02.953-07:00The Boundless: The Caboose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Of all the spaces aboard a train, the caboose is one of my favourite. It's not as luxurious as first class, exciting as a saloon, or thrilling as the locomotive, but it has the cozy charm of a self-contained little world.<br />
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Traditionally the caboose is occupied by the guard and a brakeman, who spend the entire journey there. They are responsible for braking the train when needed, and for ensuring the train's safety as it enters and leaves a station. There is a special cupola at the rear of the caboose which gives the guard an elevated view across the top of the train, and the surrounding area.<br />
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The guard and brakeman have bunks, a stove and kitchen, a bathroom, a little office, and lots of windows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqwJBx8zq_7RWq-DzGeiMKobtlO-F969esRbogsNbbKO-oLWpPUTrR1cNAKDbFkL7DD-fwqXpE-TSsufrVhabMZmnYHSJvuPa7x-VYXTXVOYnrhfOiI_MhJ-NeMNqEtTdlUFk1BaWOaQ/s1600/Caboose_interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqwJBx8zq_7RWq-DzGeiMKobtlO-F969esRbogsNbbKO-oLWpPUTrR1cNAKDbFkL7DD-fwqXpE-TSsufrVhabMZmnYHSJvuPa7x-VYXTXVOYnrhfOiI_MhJ-NeMNqEtTdlUFk1BaWOaQ/s1600/Caboose_interior.jpg" height="320" width="311" /></a><br />
One of my favourite scenes in The Boundless takes place in the caboose. At a station stop, Will almost misses the train and has to run to catch the caboose. The guard, a man nicknamed Sticks because he has a wooden leg, takes him in and sets him by the stove to warm up, and gives him a meal (a delicious stew). He gives Will a bed to spend the night, until the next station stop, when he can travel back to the passenger cars.<br />
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In <em>Wind in the Willows</em> there's a wonderful scene in which Rat and Mole get lost at night in the Wild Woods. It's deep winter, and they're cold and anxious -- and then they find the buried door to Badger's house. The kindly Badger admits them into his warm and cozy house. In the book there was a wonderful illustration that I loved to look at.<br />
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I think that scene inspired my caboose scene in The Boundless.<br />
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-37585987590213275892014-05-20T12:00:00.001-07:002022-04-12T07:04:56.790-07:00Aboard The Boundless: Zirkus Dante<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnentt1Je1aielf6XAX2-nN_b8Nr7YSDjO8VJcXabZu7gaIUySOAfKy1SffzW8tuHJmdYVzKwks0OlMRhALTs4xK8IYWq3AJOf0o3AhvKhkTmhK-hbUaby1nibyfsEZiJrYDs6tHoKVg/s1600/zirkus+double+ticket.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnentt1Je1aielf6XAX2-nN_b8Nr7YSDjO8VJcXabZu7gaIUySOAfKy1SffzW8tuHJmdYVzKwks0OlMRhALTs4xK8IYWq3AJOf0o3AhvKhkTmhK-hbUaby1nibyfsEZiJrYDs6tHoKVg/s1600/zirkus+double+ticket.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Behind the miles of its freight and boxcars, The Boundless pulls eighty cars belonging to the world famous Zirkus Dante. One of the first circuses to take to the rails, it has eclipsed PT Barnum as the greatest show on earth.<br />
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The ringmaster is Mr. Dorian, a Metis with a vague past, who oversees an unrivalled collection of performers, acrobats, wonders (he abhors the word "freaks"), automatons, and wildlife. He is always on the lookout for new talent and marvels to add to his circus. <br />
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He is particularly interested in acquiring a certain painting reputed to have miraculous attributes. <br />
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He may or may not have caught and trained a sasquatch.<br />
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Among his star talent are the Zhang brothers, conjoined twins who are expert stilt walkers.<br />
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Mr Beaupre, the tallest man in the world.<br />
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In the Zirkus Dante's collection of oddities is the Feejee Mermaid, the only known skeleton of a real mermaid.<br />
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The Zirkus has many acrobats, but the Miraculous Maren is the best. An expert wire walker, she is also an accomplished escape artist. <br />
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She is a very useful friend to have.<br />
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-25120186666301313952014-05-18T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-18T12:00:00.554-07:00Aboard The Boundless: The Funeral Car
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It was Van Horne's dying wish that his body be carried
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Crossing and re-crossing the continent on the rails he helped lay.</div>
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Forever.</div>
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<o:p>The f</o:p>uneral carriage is impregnable, welded together from plates of battleship
steel, no windows, no doors. Inside is a mausoleum which contains the
sarcophagus of Cornelius Van Horne -- and, rumour has it, other things of great
value. When at rest in a station, a guard stands watch over the car. To make it even more inviolable, the exterior is electrified with a high voltage
current. Anyone touching it would be electrocuted. </div>
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There is a key that turns
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And one other person
aboard The Boundless....<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-91537649909216807392014-05-16T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-16T12:00:00.110-07:00Aboard the Boundless: Cornelius Van Horne
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaJmrgB0iCFB7BQq9qz0txS83Mi0AI_f_hakoiJ9cl0_uoa0nhi6oOo4lb0ld_ZO7UuUWILXIjja_WAR8_ynySIBdqNY_UZMHu4BszEy-d9zPkreBPZcVopFjih8rOogGgxpnalF5ai0/s1600/220px-William_Cornelius_Van_Horne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaJmrgB0iCFB7BQq9qz0txS83Mi0AI_f_hakoiJ9cl0_uoa0nhi6oOo4lb0ld_ZO7UuUWILXIjja_WAR8_ynySIBdqNY_UZMHu4BszEy-d9zPkreBPZcVopFjih8rOogGgxpnalF5ai0/s1600/220px-William_Cornelius_Van_Horne.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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The General Manager of the CPR, Cornelius Van Horne’s job was to make
sure the railway got built, pushing it west to meet up with the tracks being
built into the mountains from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vancouver</st1:place></st1:city>.
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Van Horne's energy and drive were legendary. He joined survey teams and hefted a sixty pound pack through the wilds of the Rockies. No detail of the railway was too small for him to overlook. He had many and varied interests and hobbies, a restlessly curious mind; he slept very little.</div>
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Alas, he did not live to see his masterpiece, The Boundless, leave the station on its maiden voyage across the continent.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
He died just months earlier.<br />
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But he's still on the train...Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-72902705393619488932014-05-14T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-14T12:00:02.679-07:00Aboard The Boundless: Owney, the Mail Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVqbpmLIzpKtx6dlTJ_ntfy_pneiBk4jknzDinqZgvmpD9wNIV0aLaq9x5RW9WmMG4PtQd1kGTj9Sw7SPhCOxzKjOB1oyWaAOVSJ7naR5G4QDV_uWWulBM4S_cNeb4n_2HTyVBvyNOII/s1600/Owney2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVqbpmLIzpKtx6dlTJ_ntfy_pneiBk4jknzDinqZgvmpD9wNIV0aLaq9x5RW9WmMG4PtQd1kGTj9Sw7SPhCOxzKjOB1oyWaAOVSJ7naR5G4QDV_uWWulBM4S_cNeb4n_2HTyVBvyNOII/s1600/Owney2.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
Owney used to be the mascot for the United States Railway Mail Service. He travelled aboard the mail cars, through 48 states --<br />
<br />
Before joining The Boundless.<br />
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While many view him simply as an adorable mascot, others know that Owney has an uncanny for sorting and bagging mail.<br />
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And there is a great deal of mail aboard The Boundless, being sorted day and night by a small army of postal workers. Even as the train is in motion, new bags are being picked up and dropped off at various posts.<br />
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Owney doesn't really play a big part in The Boundless. He's just cute.Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-36835421365032603472014-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-13T04:37:58.207-07:00Aboard The Boundless: The Brakemen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpMhASAYm0Ma6_GcdgxdcfGQLUSK0DKoQvicrNfUNTTVQK3De2sY0nBy1WWIwQz0NLnYONPL404u8Kchu6Kdkp9RecC1Rt57jhzjrA6vndf4e2feD4GGId8aKBleZGzyQLlT_P-A4q68/s1600/brakeman.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpMhASAYm0Ma6_GcdgxdcfGQLUSK0DKoQvicrNfUNTTVQK3De2sY0nBy1WWIwQz0NLnYONPL404u8Kchu6Kdkp9RecC1Rt57jhzjrA6vndf4e2feD4GGId8aKBleZGzyQLlT_P-A4q68/s1600/brakeman.png" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
It is the most dangerous job on the railroad. <br />
<br />
A brakeman's job is to apply the brakes to slow the train. Sometimes this is done from the safety of a caboose or guard car. Other times the brakemen must cross on top of a moving train, to turn the brake wheels of individual freight and boxcars.<br />
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Every day during the 1880's, somewhere on the continent, at least one brakeman is killed on the job. It is common for brakemen to be missing fingers, hands, arms, or legs.<br />
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The Boundless has over 900 cars. There are dozens of brakemen aboard. <br />
<br />
Their pay is low, their chance of death or injury is high. Some of them, who risked life and limb for the CPR, are looking for payback. They think it might just be in that fancy funeral car of Cornelius Van Horne...Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-68403607130944218462014-05-10T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-10T12:00:00.762-07:00Aboard The Boundless: Sandford Fleming
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ePwdYSmC1TYbiz0EIUMcNIiRbglZ0kHNvEleArjTqxJK7MF3qzJ4lM5mhMC2zvuFz5ksvIr-VFnfLwQTyvBQsq6prxXvTyJ9es_4jYt58fXfBUQwzCZ2FkfGuCyEJ_Id4KnowhMVmGs/s1600/Sir_Sandford_Fleming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ePwdYSmC1TYbiz0EIUMcNIiRbglZ0kHNvEleArjTqxJK7MF3qzJ4lM5mhMC2zvuFz5ksvIr-VFnfLwQTyvBQsq6prxXvTyJ9es_4jYt58fXfBUQwzCZ2FkfGuCyEJ_Id4KnowhMVmGs/s1600/Sir_Sandford_Fleming.jpg" height="400" width="331" /></a></div>
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Sandford Fleming is an engineer and a surveyor for the CPR,
but he’s probably best known as the inventor of Standard Time. </div>
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Now that trains
were crossing great expanses at great speeds, it became necessary to develop
time zones. Before then, time was pretty much up for grabs, decided by every
town or region as they saw fit. Fleming divided the entire world up into 24
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What’s less well known about him is that he invented something called Cosmic
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Cosmic time never catches on
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about time zones in The Boundless, is that they’re a bit permeable.</div>
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Whenever the train
passes through a time zone, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there’s a
little, shall we say, shimmer. An adjustment. A moment of confusion, maybe just a few second, which makes
sleight of hand all the easier. </div>
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Imagine the possibilities...
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-40812869876006397102014-05-08T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-08T12:00:02.106-07:00Aboard The Boundless: Sam Steele<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUE_F1lfSshhLCmE6XXPo5RSgnvewLl6bxmOBRUtun0Tydgls7O1Dq3oT4lX9Y-voZkEZ1CG6HwVeZ1kQ8BeD95kBZF1_pEsWNML9IJI9qRTT-Sww9luXaIeu2tlKGOXhe-_7YCatvIY/s1600/sam-steele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUE_F1lfSshhLCmE6XXPo5RSgnvewLl6bxmOBRUtun0Tydgls7O1Dq3oT4lX9Y-voZkEZ1CG6HwVeZ1kQ8BeD95kBZF1_pEsWNML9IJI9qRTT-Sww9luXaIeu2tlKGOXhe-_7YCatvIY/s1600/sam-steele.jpg" height="400" width="330" /></a></div>
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Sam Steele, the first Mountie</div>
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An officer of the newly formed Northwest Mounted Police, he is asked to keep law and order on the maiden voyage of The Boundless, With so many people aboard, from all walks of life, this is no small feat. But Steele is more than up to the task. He's a mountain of a man, and conveys unassailable authority.</div>
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Steele may be the closest thing we have to a Canadian Action Hero. He marches across the country, parlays with Sitting Bull, battles Big Bear, keeps law and order in the <st1:place w:st="on">Klondike</st1:place>
during the Gold Rush, and fights in the Boer War.</div>
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But before any of that, he meets Will Everett on the maiden voyage of The Boundless.</div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-18184442669264220652014-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-06T12:00:00.359-07:00Inside The Boundless: Part II
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvMr2xP1r0M0IFwwDayl0hY1Y6u-3u98eUY1sfJwIPi0sV0oDJIvLssR08TbIqPfdaqnnSuPR1fjntqoChAnFgaZrRrMOsmQtAw7UIatDrfMhfKstCecJX7Os7ZBSfMFOkeU8FpsOk6s/s1600/2nd+class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvMr2xP1r0M0IFwwDayl0hY1Y6u-3u98eUY1sfJwIPi0sV0oDJIvLssR08TbIqPfdaqnnSuPR1fjntqoChAnFgaZrRrMOsmQtAw7UIatDrfMhfKstCecJX7Os7ZBSfMFOkeU8FpsOk6s/s1600/2nd+class.jpg" height="313" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p>Second Class aboard a train like The Boundless is also very comfortable. The passengers are accommodated aboard Pullman cars that convert to upper and lower berths at night time.</o:p></div>
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Shooting at passing wildlife through open windows was a very popular pastime in the early days of train travel. <br />
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The Boundless
made this all the easier by having a repurposed flat bed car for gentlemen and ladies to try their aim at the
magnificent, though fast dwindling, herds of buffalo. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN54NCSlmjOxbZNnFh4fGwPzoYzGEdtpkAG-d0Hu5R-Mx0fZOFIB6QMxxjEAVvxZSExNJrVAL5S_Ydk7Q7Sc4bt_Q2AtMDSP5g9cdeWWwgVHRFxf8041IPXa1jrPkK-hhLh7zrhln7B4/s1600/third++class.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFN54NCSlmjOxbZNnFh4fGwPzoYzGEdtpkAG-d0Hu5R-Mx0fZOFIB6QMxxjEAVvxZSExNJrVAL5S_Ydk7Q7Sc4bt_Q2AtMDSP5g9cdeWWwgVHRFxf8041IPXa1jrPkK-hhLh7zrhln7B4/s1600/third++class.png" height="295" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p> Third Class becomes a little more cramped, and less well appointed.</o:p></div>
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Fortunately, the Saloon Car gives passengers a chance to stretch their legs, have a refreshing drink or three, gamble, dance, and possibly engage in a gunfight.</div>
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Thousands upon thousands of immigrants began rail journeys from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Halifax</st1:place></st1:city> and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city> to begin new lives out west with their land grants from the Government of Canada.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Colonist Cars offered rudimentary accommodation at best. At times it was little better than a livestock car. There
were scant washroom<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>facilities, a stove
at either end of the car for heat and cooking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Passengers were responsible for their own meals.</div>
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In the next post, we'll take a look at some of the fascinating people aboard the maiden voyage of The Boundless!</div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-27754416580543446302014-05-04T12:00:00.000-07:002014-05-04T12:00:08.406-07:00Inside The Boundless<br />
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If, like Will Everett, you were lucky enough to be a first class passenger aboard The Boundless, you could expect unparalleled luxury.<br />
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<o:p> Will boards a double decker palace car</o:p>...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p>...where he and his father have a comfortable parlour on the ground floor, and then upstairs...</o:p></div>
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<o:p>... each has his own private bedroom.</o:p></div>
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Behind the sleeping cars are carriages containing comfortable lounges...<br />
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.... and dining rooms.<br />
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First class aboard The Boundless also boasts an elegant shopping arcade...<br />
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<o:p> ...a cinema...</o:p></div>
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...twenty-four hour laundry services...<br />
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... a botanical garden...</div>
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...and naturally a swimming pool.<br />
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And this is just first class! The Boundless is enormous, and you'll get to see more of it in my next post!<br />
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-35166257619062260502014-05-02T12:00:00.001-07:002014-05-02T12:00:04.578-07:00The Boundless: Sasquatch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is no satisfactory photograph of a sasquatch. There are tricky animals to track down. <br />
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Certainly the sasquatch in The Boundless look nothing like this burly fellow to the left. They are much, much scarier. But they are certainly a fact in my world -- as much a part of the mountain fauna as a bear or cougar.<br />
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other names<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> for this creature, nam</span>ely Big Foot, or --
and maybe Yeti, his Himalayan cousin. The name Sasquatch itself is possible
a derivation of a First Nations' word sask'ets, or stick man. I liked the notion of a stick man...<o:p></o:p><br />
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During the construction of the CPR, the sasquatch proved troublesome to the work crews. The young ones were merely curious, mischievous and disruptive. The adults were deadly. The work crews devised all sorts of methods for dealing with the sasquatch, many of them futile.<br />
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Will survives the avalanche -- but he finds himself between a young sasquatch and its mother...Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-57047847958294355222014-05-01T10:30:00.000-07:002014-05-01T10:30:01.469-07:00The Boundless featured in MacleansIn the May 5th edition of Macleans Magazine, Brian Bethune wrote a piece on <em>The Boundless!</em><br />
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"Adventure, history -- even if Cornelius Van Horne never did shoot at an engineer-hunting sasquatch -- and moral nuance. <em>The Boundless</em> deserves its name."<br />
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-78053486849575834502014-04-30T12:00:00.000-07:002014-04-30T12:00:00.426-07:00The Boundless: The Avalanche<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Avalanches were a constant hazard in the mountains when they were building the CPR -- one of the many hardships the workers had to endure.<br />
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When Will drives the Last Spike, pistols are fired jubilantly in the air; cheers ring out; and the company locomotive blasts its whistle.<br />
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It's avalanche season, and the noise is enough to trigger one.<br />
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A lot happens during that avalanche.<br />
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Someone tries to steal the golden spike, Cornelius Van Horne is swept over the precipice, and the local wildlife stirs...<br />
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(We're almost at the sasquatch part.)Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-8790512526716000052014-04-28T12:00:00.000-07:002014-04-28T12:00:04.227-07:00The Boundless: The Golden Spike<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdjJyI5otVbZEMIw2VmKs8qjJ3UwSZ9ug8JlQqJfxi5Obk8ZegOjugssz34_Afzwoi4nlFiezCZI9Y4HNJVpC3ikHGvXqYfnekRM8KeA61k-RCtmjcLwDCQ2AwnMCBG9Sj0PYNkf7qD0/s1600/Az-gold-spike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdjJyI5otVbZEMIw2VmKs8qjJ3UwSZ9ug8JlQqJfxi5Obk8ZegOjugssz34_Afzwoi4nlFiezCZI9Y4HNJVpC3ikHGvXqYfnekRM8KeA61k-RCtmjcLwDCQ2AwnMCBG9Sj0PYNkf7qD0/s1600/Az-gold-spike.jpg" height="400" width="152" /></a></div>
It was traditional for 19th century railroads to forge a ceremonial last spike out of gold. They were never left in the ground of course. It was merely for the photo op. After the ceremony it was hastily replaced with an ordinary spike.<br />
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But in 1885, up in Craigellachie, the last spike was not made of gold. Cornelius Van Horne grandly said that ordinary iron spikes had been good enough to make the railroad from coast to coast -- and an iron spike was good enough to finish it.</div>
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Which basically meant the CPR was nearly bankrupt and couldn't afford fancy things like gold spikes.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
That’s not what happens in my world. In The Boundless, the spike is indeed
gold, and encrusted with diamonds that spell "Craigallachie." <br />
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It is worth more
than any worker could make in twenty lifetimes.<o:p></o:p><br />
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There’s no picture of Will driving the last spike. (The CPR
keeps that photo quiet. That’s why you haven’t seen it, and never will.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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But up there in the mountains, it's Will who drives that spike.<br />
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Too bad about the avalanche...<br />
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-77895094627586883402014-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:002014-04-27T04:24:57.168-07:00The Boundless: Will Everett<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNVSSfbE2K8JbtgtAzKrSYgMkKQwahmSIHxe2HkQo_0kVOrOee0GH_2UzaKJvHpM0aFdidemtoM-vsctJ6pxE6_jgW5V3S-UDyN9Mm8i7oVDOF2DFQECbACuNrrXuc8TJzEFWrwjqwfw/s1600/will.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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This is Will Everett. He's come up to Craigellachie to meet his father who’s been
working on the railway for the better part of three years. (Will actually hooked a ride up into the mountains with Van Horne and the other CPR dignitaries in their private train.)</div>
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And here's a secret about the Last Spike. </div>
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It isn't Donald Smith who<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>drives it. </div>
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It’s Will. </div>
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You won't find it in any official photos. But after Smith
bungles the first attempt, Van Horne offers the hammer to Will. The railway belongs
to a new generation and a new century, says Van Horne, and Will should be the one<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to drive the spike home. He does so. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The spike is solid gold.<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-20601195416398925092014-04-24T12:30:00.000-07:002014-04-24T12:30:01.356-07:00The Boundless: The Last Spike<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrZmOxKZ49VxchexCVWUriykHKGERk6C5ico7hLaSXWiW6Rg_Pmvr_JYUr3GR3Ykj9_3Tu5cHNkarZ8oY2YHP08feuhP2jybMXtl0i_LX5VCh4HHbaxGUoY8freBo7W_ZHwmIgoHo7Ig/s1600/spike1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrZmOxKZ49VxchexCVWUriykHKGERk6C5ico7hLaSXWiW6Rg_Pmvr_JYUr3GR3Ykj9_3Tu5cHNkarZ8oY2YHP08feuhP2jybMXtl0i_LX5VCh4HHbaxGUoY8freBo7W_ZHwmIgoHo7Ig/s1600/spike1.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you’re Canadian you’ve probably seen this photo.</div>
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It's 1885 up in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Craigellachie,</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">BC</st1:state></st1:place>. It’s not even a real town. (It’s near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Revelstoke.)</st1:city></st1:place> </div>
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This is where the tracks coming from the East met the tracks coming from the West, up in the mountains.</div>
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You can see the workers in the foreground.</div>
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The fellow driving the spike is Donald Smith, the President of the CPR. (He
actually bent the first spike, and had to do it again. He had a desk job.)</div>
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Behind him to the left is William Cornelius Van Horne, the General Manager of the railroad and its driving force.</div>
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To the right of Van Horne, looking like his beard is about to explode is Sandford Fleming, surveyor and engineer.</div>
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And who is that kid, peeking out to the right of Donald Smith...</div>
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Well, I know who he is in real life... but in my next post, I'll tell you who he is in the world of The Boundless...<br />
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(The sasquatch? Look very closely. It's hard to see, but it's there...)<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-86403399643767316762014-04-22T12:00:00.000-07:002014-04-22T12:00:01.504-07:00The Boundless: Leaving the Station<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oukXLSGTBIcTOx2YEzrikrE1cDjZ-lXkxb1xr_v6Ms2IEDjdLOsUjrwjMxdsUwdp4ZCI21Kk5EwpemTbwAOBW9m3LOSo2_dApKfxLip3wRpd5UpjWJn8K9M1ahqOzhtTP1Ogop4JNGU/s1600/train+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oukXLSGTBIcTOx2YEzrikrE1cDjZ-lXkxb1xr_v6Ms2IEDjdLOsUjrwjMxdsUwdp4ZCI21Kk5EwpemTbwAOBW9m3LOSo2_dApKfxLip3wRpd5UpjWJn8K9M1ahqOzhtTP1Ogop4JNGU/s1600/train+1.jpg" height="400" width="337" /></a></div>
It's huge.<br />
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It has to be.<br />
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Embarking on its maiden voyage across the continent, The Boundless pulls over 900 cars and more than
6000 people, on a train seven miles long.<br />
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It’s a rolling
city.<br />
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It carries tycoons and newly arrived immigrants, famous inventors and murderous charlatans. It contains opulent lounges and staterooms, a swimming pool, a cinema, a raucous saloon and a shooting range. <br />
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It pulls hundreds of freight cars -- and another eighty belonging to the world famous Zirkus Dante. Inside are acrobats, giants, stilt-walking Siamese twins -- and other wonders of the world, including a sasquatch.<br />
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And right behind the massive locomotive is a funeral car containing the remains of the rail baron whose dying wish was to travel forever back and forth across the continent on the train and tracks he masterminded.<br />
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* * *<br />
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When I was growing up, stories always seemed to take place
somewhere else. For me, it was usually <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> or the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Stories could happen in the English countryside, or <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, or in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:city>, or in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Utah</st1:place></st1:state> or in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Mammoth Falls</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Wisconsin</st1:state></st1:place>,
but they never seemed to happen much in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It’s changed a lot now, but
I still think, as Canadians, we’re not so great at telling our own stories. And
especially mythologizing our stories so that they lodge in our memories and
even psyches. I used to think history was boring. It had nothing to
do with me. Over the years<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve come across lots of amazing things about our country.
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One of them was the building of the national railway. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GLf52HZ8VmCavO0N0ZSW_fxEDxe4K3334Xl_I0T8oXeCzBb4ei0p6v2DSTy815QXy5GKCHBH0xOTUmQX879a_rEbH2RWj4LeXB3igtV3QbkglAxZpAcK01fWPPlITBpMg9VXu4aAVfg/s1600/dominion2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GLf52HZ8VmCavO0N0ZSW_fxEDxe4K3334Xl_I0T8oXeCzBb4ei0p6v2DSTy815QXy5GKCHBH0xOTUmQX879a_rEbH2RWj4LeXB3igtV3QbkglAxZpAcK01fWPPlITBpMg9VXu4aAVfg/s1600/dominion2.jpg" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
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Canada is huge. It’s
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Truly, Canada might not have existed as we know it, without the railway. It stitched the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>country together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only that,
the path of the CPR had a huge hand in deciding how the country was going<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to be settled and the where the major
western<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cities would rise. </div>
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The building of the railway was a truly epic undertaking. Explorers and surveyors spent months and years finding the best routes. Then came making the road, and then laying the steel.</div>
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They had to blast through the endless Precambrian rock of the
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And then there was the muskeg, hundreds of miles of it, land so boggy that ton after ton after ton of gravel fill just disappeared into its watery wastes, The muskeg ate gravel and steel. Whole trains were sucked into the depthless morass.<br />
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Then there were the trestle bridges to cross river valleys.</div>
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And then came the Rockies.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIJAoW2rQdeknczba07q0puqOWvs3uixT_OqyWv6x6CA3qqjgSpaHYdFGfa8bSH6-GoWtNy_dPWWY8UD9w7PlW9N_ZMCt30UWOxpQLyTBbTkwm5bAJbOVNPbUYEy4Kt-w79yN5ihH_Ws/s1600/workers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIJAoW2rQdeknczba07q0puqOWvs3uixT_OqyWv6x6CA3qqjgSpaHYdFGfa8bSH6-GoWtNy_dPWWY8UD9w7PlW9N_ZMCt30UWOxpQLyTBbTkwm5bAJbOVNPbUYEy4Kt-w79yN5ihH_Ws/s1600/workers2.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
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Work slowed down in the mountains.<br />
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There were
cliffs and gorges and avalanches, dynamite and blasting.</div>
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There were terrible conditions for the workers, especially for the Chinese workers
who were brought in and paid much less than the white men, and given the most
dangerous jobs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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But they did it. Despite all the hardships and
inequalities, the work was finished in 1885.</div>
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In my next post: The Last Spike.</div>
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With sasquatches...</div>
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Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-57652791604052359902014-04-02T13:17:00.001-07:002014-04-16T07:35:11.074-07:00The Boundless Tour Dates<br />
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k7tjDCDbdtKhS4DSvYHoeYjBIw_jdUefUaBMa6UpfdOBh9HelbAnv8g_GaFnQ3ILyev7WIGa_pSFVWSJDIAhxzMatFujf3dVerhMdit8CZIqA1xFm7ElZRcFMFKKyPqdfZkmxC67NGE/s1600/KenOp44a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_k7tjDCDbdtKhS4DSvYHoeYjBIw_jdUefUaBMa6UpfdOBh9HelbAnv8g_GaFnQ3ILyev7WIGa_pSFVWSJDIAhxzMatFujf3dVerhMdit8CZIqA1xFm7ElZRcFMFKKyPqdfZkmxC67NGE/s1600/KenOp44a.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Ian Crysler Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Where I’ll
be this spring, to talk about, and read from, THE BOUNDLESS!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><strong>APRIL 2014<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<strong><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Toronto</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <st1:state w:st="on">ON</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
<strong>
</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">April 26th</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chapters Brampton, 2:00PM</span></div>
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<strong><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">PHILADELPHIA</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:state w:st="on">PA</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<st1:date day="28" month="4" w:st="on" year="2014"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">April 28, 2014</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:time hour="16" minute="30" w:st="on">4:30 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Children's
Book World <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">WASHINGTON</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> DC <o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<st1:date day="29" month="4" w:st="on" year="2014"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">April 29, 2014</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:time hour="10" minute="30" w:st="on">10:30 AM</st1:time> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Politics
and Prose<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<strong><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">St. Louis</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:state w:st="on">MO</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">April 30th,
<st1:time hour="18" minute="30" w:st="on">6:30PM</st1:time> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">St. Charles
City-County Library - <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Spencer Rd.</st1:address></st1:street>
Branch <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">CHICAGO</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">/ <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">NAPERVILLE</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">IL</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<st1:date day="2" month="5" w:st="on" year="2014"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 2, 2014</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Anderson</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">'s Bookstore <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><strong>MAY 2014<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
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</strong><br />
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<strong><st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">VICTORIA</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> BC<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 5th <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Munro's
Books<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 6th <st1:time hour="9" minute="15" w:st="on">9:15 AM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Belfry
Theatre<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Greater Victoria
Public Library <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">VANCOUVER</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> BC<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 6th, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Vancouver</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Kidsbooks<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Teacher’s
Night Event <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">3083 W
Broadway.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 7th, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">North
Vancouver District Library (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Lynn</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Valley</st1:placename></st1:place> branch)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">1277 Lynn Valley Road</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">North Vancouver</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">CALGARY</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> AB<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 9-10 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">School and
Library <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Readings</st1:place></st1:city>
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 10th, <st1:time hour="14" minute="0" w:st="on">2:00 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Fish Creek
Library,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">11161 Bonaventure Dr SE</span></st1:street><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:city w:st="on">Calgary</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">AB</st1:state> <st1:postalcode w:st="on">T2J 6S1</st1:postalcode></span></st1:address><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">(403)
260-2600<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">EDMONTON</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> AB<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 10-11th<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">School and
Library <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Readings</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 11th <st1:time hour="14" minute="0" w:st="on">2:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Chapters <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sherwood Park</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">#500 - 2020 Sherwood Drive</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Sherwood Park</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">AB</st1:state></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">WINNIPEG</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> MB<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 12th, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">McNally
Robinson Grant Park<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">1120 Grant Avenue</span></st1:street><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <st1:city w:st="on">Winnipeg</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">MB</st1:state></span></st1:address><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 13th<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">School and
Library <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Readings</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Montreal</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">/ Point Claire QC<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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<st1:date day="14" month="5" w:st="on" year="2014"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 14, 2014</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:time hour="13" minute="0" w:st="on">1:00PM</st1:time> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Point
Claire Public Library<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 14th, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Beaconsfield</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Public Library<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">303 Beaconsfield Boulevard</span></st1:street><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:city w:st="on">Beaconsfield</st1:city>
<st1:state w:st="on">QC</st1:state></span></st1:address><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Sherbrooke</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <st1:state w:st="on">QC</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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</strong><br />
<st1:date day="15" month="5" w:st="on" year="2014"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 15, 2014</span></st1:date><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">De Mots et
De Craie Conference<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">OTTAWA</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> ON<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 16th <st1:time hour="10" minute="0" w:st="on">10:00AM</st1:time> - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Red Maple
Festival <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Nepean</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Sportsplex <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">SAN FRANCISCO</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> AND BAY AREA, CA<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 20th, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Copperfield's
Books<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Petaluma</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:state w:st="on">CA</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 21st, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Hicklebee's<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 22nd, <st1:time hour="19" minute="0" w:st="on">7:00PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Reading Bug
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">San Carlos</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">, <st1:state w:st="on">CA</st1:state></span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<strong><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">HALIFAX</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> NS<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">May 29-30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">School and
Library Visits<o:p></o:p></span>Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161105707355421018.post-41371335717308561652014-03-06T07:04:00.000-08:002014-03-06T07:04:59.777-08:00School Library Journal gives The Boundless a Star<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzqhem08n8F2NH4xODBNczXrJF5pzNimuXheNxPKm2Oj4HZRsRy8QhCBtvUwXvPzWT5kB98GNhVk-htDV_PL9J5XAP9DEeoU9g__1d2KuiE8tdyUYrhTSF7LKoAboOPL7Nv-7tqRWWqs/s1600/slj.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilzqhem08n8F2NH4xODBNczXrJF5pzNimuXheNxPKm2Oj4HZRsRy8QhCBtvUwXvPzWT5kB98GNhVk-htDV_PL9J5XAP9DEeoU9g__1d2KuiE8tdyUYrhTSF7LKoAboOPL7Nv-7tqRWWqs/s1600/slj.png" /></a></div>
<div class="k4biblio">
</div>
<div class="k4biblio">
<img alt="RedReviewStar Book Review: Grades 5 8 Fiction" border="0" height="16" src="http://www.slj.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/RedReviewStar.png" title="Book Review: Grades 5 8 Fiction" width="16" /><span class="k4creatorlast">Oppel, </span> <span class="k4creatorfirst">Kenneth. </span> <span class="k4productname">The Boundless. </span> 336p. S & S. Apr. 2014. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9781442472884; ebk. $10.99. ISBN 9781442472907. LC 2013009879.</div>
<div class="k4review">
<span class="k4gradelevel"></span> </div>
<div class="k4review">
<span class="k4gradelevel">Gr 5-8</span> –All aboard for an exciting tale of steam-powered automatons, a bloodthirsty sasquatch, colorful circuses, and magical paintings. Aspiring artist Will Everett knows he’s not cut out to follow in the footsteps of his railroad manager father, but his pampered life leaves little opportunity for adventure. Then he boards The Boundless, the world’s largest and most luxurious train. After acquiring the key to the railway owner’s funeral car, Will is running for his life, pursued by deadly enemies who will do anything to possess the car’s valuable contents. He is rescued by Mr. Dorian, ringmaster of the famed Zircus Dante, and an escape artist called The Miraculous Maren. These two performers, however, have their own secret agenda for helping Will. As The Boundless thunders toward its destination, Will must decide who to trust, if anyone. Along the way, Will is on the adventure of a lifetime. With its imaginative plot, cast of colorful, well-rounded characters, and nonstop action, Oppel’s latest is a delight to read from the first page right through the satisfying conclusion. Take note: This book will be popular!<span class="k4authorname">–Alissa J. Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI</span></div>
Kenneth Oppelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06591260350810021215noreply@blogger.com2