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!

Charles Macurdy

Charles was born and raised in Vancouver. For over a decade, he worked as a chef before leaving the industry to attend university. Charles has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UBC. He has written on a range of culinary topics, such as food trends and cooking to restricted diets, and has published numerous original recipes. He has also written extensive criticism, covering television, film, and music, with a particular focus on television comedy as a developing art form. His most recent work is as a culture critic and humorist in his blog, The Red Couch Report. Charles is committed to fostering respectful, intelligent, and rational democratic discourse. Failing that, he is prepared to supplement the conversation with jokes.

Thanksgiving recipe: Gluten-free cornbread

A delicious cornbread for those with gluten allergies, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Marijuana and pizza marry their flavours at restaurant Mega ill

Vancouver's first pizzeria and vapor lounge opens on Kingsway, boldly pairing marijuana use with pizza.

Christmas is a secular holiday

Christmas belongs to everyone.

Family Guy death sparks confusion and fan outcry

Since Sunday's bombshell, fans have flooded the internet with outrage, grief, hoaxes, and petitions. Is it a publicity stunt or the beginning of the end for MacFarlane's animated empire?

Apocalypse dinners begin with most neglected foods

When the world inevitably ends and society crumbles, you are going to need a plan. Part 1 of that plan is strategic looting.

Odd Society distills East Van vodka

Down on Powell Street, in the shadow of the sugar refinery, sits the newest player in Vancouver’s burgeoning craft distilling scene. Odd Society currently has two products on the market, a vodka and...

Satire: CNN’s JFK coverage provides a lesson for the CBC

Late last week, a ridiculous bombshell dropped in the news. John Kerry announced that he has “doubts” that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Finally, an American who is willing to stand up and declare “...

Jaguars are the zombie’s natural predator

According to naturalist David Mizejewski, the zombie invasion is doomed to fail. In this sense, Mizejewski is an apocalypse denier. A radical voice for sure, but at least it is a voice informed by...

Thomas Haas' wild-foraged chocolate caters to niche foodie tastes

You would not cook with a $200 Barolo, and neither should you cook with this high-end chocolate.

Proof that zombies can smell

In a zombie apocalypse, it is only natural to think of guns, swords, or pointed sticks as your most powerful weapons against the shambling hordes of walking dead. But there is one weapon of equal, if...