Canadians can easily ‘pass for American’ as long as we don’t accidentally use metric measurements or apologize when hit by a car. – Douglas Coupland
The thing about living in the 21st century is you can get to fortysomething and not have anyone major in your life die. – Douglas Coupland
Only losers make decisions when things are bad. The time to rejig your life is the time when it’s seemingly smooth. – Douglas Coupland
With Google I’m starting to burn out on knowing the answer to everything. People in the year 2020 are going to be nostalgic for the sensation of feeling clueless. – Douglas Coupland
Even when you take a holiday from technology, technology doesn’t take a break from you. – Douglas Coupland
In Canada, we’re happy to provide a safe haven for next-door neighbors in the middle of a marital dispute. And if anyone trips while crossing the border, we’re happy to set their broken bones for free. – Douglas Coupland
Everyone should have a tailor. David Wilkes, the guy who does my stuff, is like, ‘Well you’re a writer – do you want a special pen compartment or something?’ Bespoke: That’s the term you want to get out there. – Douglas Coupland
Royalty is either going to do very well with cloning, or it’s going to disappear completely. – Douglas Coupland
I think that in the future, clocks won’t say three o’clock anymore. They’ll just get right to the point and rename three o’clock ‘Pepsi.’ – Douglas Coupland
Most time capsules, when they’re unearthed, are really awful. There’s nothing good in them. – Douglas Coupland
Life always kills you in the end, but first it prevents you from getting what you want. – Douglas Coupland
I think that to acknowledge a new generation is to acknowledge some degree of obsolescence in yourself, and that is very hard to do and often comes with undeniable anger. – Douglas Coupland
It also allows you to look as though you’re not particularly from the present, future or past, either. – Douglas Coupland
Games I do find interesting for what they say about us, about what we wish for, about the programming. But let it stop there: don’t listen to this rubbish about them actually being good for you, helping with hand-eye co-ordination or whatever. They’re games. They prepare you for nothing. – Douglas Coupland
There’s much to be said for feeling numb. Time passes more quickly. You eat less, and because numbness encourages laziness, you do fewer things, good or bad, and the world’s probably a better place for it. – Douglas Coupland
I grew up in airports and on air bases. I know what flying and airports can be. And most airports make me feel like we’re about three per cent better than ants. Especially U.S. airports. They’re zoos. All civility is gone. – Douglas Coupland
We really ought to give ourselves a collective pat on the back for doing as well as we have in a universe of constant media change and mutation. – Douglas Coupland
