Steve Burgess

Spiritual insight, tranquility and me-first capitalism. So where’s the problem? Yoga can seem strange to the uninitiated. One must master poses like downward dog, crane, and revolved cobra while concentrating on chakras and purging the mind of all thought except the need for free markets unburdened by confiscatory taxation and government regulation.


Hold off on the resolutions till the Mayan calendar has run its course. Happy new year, everyone. I realize that sounds hollow, with the Mayan calendar coming to an end in 2012, bringing a global cataclysm. Bummer new year, more like. But what the hell. May as well party like it’s 2011. Besides, as the end draws nigh I think we may see some interesting developments in our corner of the doomed world.


Robberies and fat men in red suits are both prevalent in December. Coincidence? Think again. It’s not among the more celebrated Christmas traditions. But along with the holly and the ivy, this time of year often brings its share of Santa Claus bank jobs. When you’re pulling a December heist you just can’t beat Old Saint Nick for a legitimate disguise.


Global outdoors brands like Salomon and Icebreaker keep coming to Vancouver to break into its under-served retail market. There are mountains, and then there are mountains. When the French executives of the Salomon ski gear firm arrived in Vancouver in October to celebrate the opening of a new Park Royal concept store, they were excited. “They wanted to know, ‘Are there black bears around? Can we see them?’” recalls Salomon marketing manager Francis Argouin. “You don’t get that in the European...


I’m bored. How to liven up November? Quilting? Raindrop races? How about a big sports championship held in the heart of downtown Vancouver? Say no more – the Grey Cup is coming to the remodelled BC Place Stadium on November...

There’s no mistaking the look and sound of a hot restaurant. And on this fall evening the buzz around one corner patio is lively. Customers loiter outside, awaiting tables; inside, wait staff shout orders and line cooks shout back while...

Let’s take our cue from talk radio and govern by referendum. The HST referendum is over, the results are in, and the clear winner was Canada Post. People so rarely write real letters to each other anymore. It’s been years since so many British Columbians put their thoughts down on paper, stuck them in an envelope and walked them to the mailbox. I’ll bet this is the start of something.


Finding the right medical terminology provides the perfect excuse to dispense expensive (and unnecessary) drugs. I have recently been diagnosed with CBB Syndrome. It’s pretty serious, I suppose. What I want to know is, when will the pharmaceutical industry spring into action and deal with my problem?

Particular time periods can often be identified by their trappings and technology. See a photograph with a zeppelin and you know it was taken between the two world wars. A movie with a rotary-dial phone was likely set pre-1990. A...

Perhaps you like Cheerios. And your spouse chooses to start the day with Weetabix. This may hint at issues to be explored through counselling, but most will just let it slide. It’s not the sort of schism likely to cause...

Daphne Nederhorst is calling from the back of a car. “We’re running a little late,” she says. She’s headed from her West Hastings Street office to YVR, and from there by stages to Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya – some...

Vancouver, 125 years young, is the envy of the world. But is 
being “most livable” all it’s cracked up to be? For the fifth straight year Vancouver has been ranked number one on the annual list of Most Livable Cities published by the Economist magazine. If only NHL supremacy were so routine. We’re the perennial powerhouse – the New York Yankees of the Livable Cities League.