Steve Burgess

Vancouver writer William Gibson once said, “Facebook and MySpace feel like malls to me. Twitter actually feels like the street.”
 Maybe. But since I joined Twitter it’s been a street full of billboards. Certainly there is some exchange of the pithy...

What the NDP can learn from the royal family about spicing up its leadership. The NDP picks a new boss in a province-wide vote on April 17. Meanwhile, preparations continue for the wedding of the future king and queen of England on April 29. Check the poll numbers of the respective principals and the result is hardly a ringing endorsement of democracy. Maybe the New Democrats should consider Royal Doulton candidate figurines.


For a building that has entertained sellout crowds more than eight years running, Rogers Arena can be a pretty quiet place. It’s an off day and only a few staffers wave hello as Victor de Bonis, the Vancouver Canucks’ chief...

I don’t hate Air Canada. 
 The admission brings gasps in polite company; mothers hustle their children away. Certain things bind this country together: love of hockey, mysterious loyalty to a doughnut franchise named after a hockey player and grumbling about...

Without Gordon Campbell to kick around anymore, whatever 
will we do? In 1962 Richard Nixon faced reporters after losing the race to be governor of California. “Just think how much you’re going to be missing,” he told them. “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”


Vancouver scored a pretty big hit in 2010 with the Olympics. But what’s the encore? Remember 1992? Billy Ray Cyrus and “Achy Breaky Heart”? It was huge. Of course, he had to try to follow it up, which didn’t work out so well. Vancouver can relate.


As the fatal accident involving Segway’s CEO proves, there are untimely deaths – and very untimely deaths. Water-cooler buzz – it’s what every brand wants. It’s what PR flacks are hired to create. Everyone wants a strategy to get people talking about their product.


Lately the hills of Lisbon have become as metaphorical as they are scenic. Not so long ago, the Portuguese capital was a symbol of European renewal, a city reclaiming its past glory and waking up to a glorious future. More...

The BC Liberals had a chance – and failed – to play it straight with the HST. Imagine Christmas was an impacted wisdom tooth and Santa Claus was a dentist, and you’ll have some idea of how much Premier Campbell is looking forward to the BC Liberal convention Nov. 19 and 20. Gone are the yearly festivals of backslapping and smug self-congratulation. This one will be grim.


Hockey. It's the best game you can 
name – for a price. It’s hockey time again, and fans are preparing for another season of exciting NHL action from the Vancouver Fly Emirates. Goalie Roberto Huggies Disposables will be donning his iPads and backstopping a lineup that includes Daniel and Henrik Doublemint, Ryan KFC, speedy Mason Rolaids and hot prospect Cody Puppy Chow. When the time is right, the boys will rise to the occasion, says head coach Alain Cialis.
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Looking for leadership in 
all the wrong places. It was a pretty good summer overall, depending on what you were up to. Camping and cycling were fun, mostly; testifying before the U.S. Congress and coaching the French national football team, less so.


Automated answering systems can only do so much. Say you want to call Rogers Wireless about a cellphone issue, and your call is directed to an automated menu. You might be instructed to press “one” for account information, “two” for...