ee DINOSAURS OF THE WEST Love aiffai SURELY WE all remember our first true love: the passion (however innocent), the near-consuming occupation of our every sense, the yearning that seemed somehow to never be satiated. We were of course much younger then (and some of us very much younger) but still there is an immediacy to such memories that dissipates little with the passage of time. Even now, if we cast our thoughts back to those hazy days of callow youth, isn’t there a clari- ty to that first affair that eclipses all else? Isn’t each detail still cradled fondly in some recess of that thing we refer to as the heart? Ah, yes — I can see them now as clearly as if it were yesterday: the green scales, the jagged teeth, the tonnes of heavily armored, rep- tilian flesh. Of course, even then I knew this was a love affair with absolutely no chance of reciproci- ty; but I loved them no less fiercely and completely, those objects of my childish ardor. Adult observers were no doubt MIKE STEELE book reviewer amused by this youngster falling in love with something long since dead but then children are blissful- . ly unimpeded by the reasoning of parents and the like. Littie could they imagine that dinosaurs would continue to fascinate me to the present day. (Of course I’m referring to dinosaurs. What else could grip the imagination with such ferocity at the age of 10 or so? Girls? Girls were another mystery that would exercise its own magnetism in a distant future; I was in love with creatures of a very distant past.) Yes, in a rather roundabout and quixotic fashion one of the books up for examination this week’ is about dinosaurs; Ron Stewart’s Dinosaurs of the West (Lone Pine . Publishing; 142. pp; $14.95 in *. paperback). . . Bizarre sense of humor aside, dinosaurs were my first love and one far more . enduring than anyone might have suspected. They continue to fascinate me to- day as much.as they did almost three decades" ago. While the dinosaur craze is regarded as a re- cent fad, surely I wasn’t the only one clipping the advertisement out ON of some comic book in 1960 to_ send away for “Genuine Dinosaur Fossils — Just $1.00!’’ (plus post- age and handling). Admittedly, however, dinosaurs have never been as popular as they are now. From touring exhibits to J-shirts, dinosaurs loom as largely in the modern world as they once did in a far-off time when the earth shook beneath their feet. What were the dinosaurs? How did they live and die? What did they eat? Did they vanish? What are fossils and how were they formed? Dinosaurs of the West contains the answers to these ques- tions and many more in the best book on the topic this self- confessed dinosaur groupie has read. | Stewart, a geologist with the University of Alberta who lectures on these vanished reptiles, has suc- cessfully written a text which is at the same time both authoritative and easily understood. Color plates and technically ac- curate diagrams bring the domain of these mighty, vanished giants to life as no other popular work has done. Explanations are simple and avoid the academic jargon that characterizes most other books on the subject. Thanks to this approach, Dinosaurs of the West will prove a useful guide not only to adults but also to much younger readers. And now on to a decidedly dif- ferent sort of book: 283 Useful Ideas From Japan. Despite its sub- title (For Entrepreneurs And Everyone Else), it is unlikely that most of these nearly 300 facets of Japanese life will be of much value here in North America, but this * book is both fascinating and often amusing in the extreme. . The format is quite straightfor- ward: drawings illustrate each fac- et of Japanese life coupled with a . brief explanation. Author Leonard Koren tackles this eclectic collec- tion of ideas with more than a touch of tongue-in-cheek humor, juxtaposing such items as Stress- age Gum (‘Chew for three minutes. If the gum is dark pink, you're healthy. If it’s pink, lie down) and battery-powered, cool- ing headbands to ‘improve your mental acuity’ with legitimately useful items such as the Japanese use of modular street curbs to facilitate road repairs. - GRAND OPENING/Win a cosmetic shopping spree 1st PRIZE $100 VALUE © 2nd PRIZE $50 VALUE © 3rd PRIZE $25 VALUE r rekindled DINOSAURS of the west Other useful ideas from the Land of the Rising Sun include: exterior markings on buildings to alert firefighters to the location of stairwells and elevators; electronic displays that notify transit-users exactly when the next bus is due; telephones equipped for use by the disabled (the units can be dialed by foot, elbow or even by the pressure of blowing) and textured paving blocks as aids for the visually im- paired. Less likely to catch on are: panty lockers/laundries to defeat the predations of fetishists; a children’s book on bodily func- tions (‘‘everybody eats, so everybody poops’’) and running See ideas Page 22 It’s Time to Say ‘“Thank You’’ Through oy p ; Air Canada’s ‘‘Heart of Gold’? Award Do you know someone who goes out of his or her way to make your community a better place to live? Air Canada and your community newspaper would like to help salute these individuals. You can start things off by nominating someone you know. Call your Iccal weekly newspaper for details. . 4 REGISTER TODAY = GRAND OPENING: July 26-August 2 NEW LOCATION: IN LYNN VALLEY CENTRE (Just besioe Purdy's Chocolates} . 984-8408 Woman to. Woman 21 - Friday, July 29, 1988 - North Shore News Art classes available THERE ARE still three weeks left for summer programs at West Vancouver's Kiee Wyck, and children can participate in a number of art classes there. Portrait and figure drawing runs Aug. 2 to 5; print-making from around the world runs Aug. 8 to 12; and Asian art and drama runs Aug. 15 to 19. The drawing class is ideal for children who love to draw people, while in the print-making class, children try Asian, European and North American methods. Authentic Chinese Cuisine Dim Sum Lunch Daily Seafood & BBQ Specialties 5 Dinner for One Sweet & sour pork BBQ pork fried rice or chow @ Fortune cookies, tea # Dinner for Four $38 IB Egg rolls (4) Hot & sour soup & Stir-fried beef with satay sauce A Stir-fried four special kinds of Na seasonal vegetables 3555 E. HASTINGS, Friday & Sat .. Michael Canaimin “Egg of your SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 5 HB DINNER SPECIALS Dinner for Two $20.00 Egg rolls (2) - Creamed corn with minced chicken soup} Sliced beef with ginger & green onions § Stir-fied shrimps with cashew nuts Yang Chow fried rice Fortune cookies, tea Lemon chicken Yang Chow fried rice Fortune cookies Tea FREE DELIVERY WITH LARGE ORDER OPEN DAILY 10am-11pm / DIM SUM 10am-3pm (Hastings and Kootenay) (on premises parking) Tel: 294-1118-9 SinblesideInn Special Features till end of August our Daily Specials from — appetizers to desserts. Lunch & Dinner © LIVE MUSI Lunch Tues-Fri. Dinner Tues-Sunday Buffet Brunch Sundays 11 am - Hot & Cold Entrees” $11.95 r ring. Ambleside revitalization icceas from Clyde Ave. & 1495 Marine Drive, North Vancouver, B.C. 922-0101 shadow puppets, Japanese paper folding and a Chinese dragon parade are featured in Asian art and drama, which wraps up the summer pro- grams. Classes are open to young artists and performers aged five to 13 years. All art and drama from summer programs will be displayed and performed Aug. 19 at a special show for friends and family of the programs’ participants. For details, call artist/instructor Daun Casey-Yorke at 980-7847. Indonesian ot * SRR BIDS & eK IS a PE ZETH oe BRER ER VANCOUVER, B.C. ~. B.C. Peaches featured in 3 pm choice &