MONTECRISTO

Time on Our Hands

The Habs are the only Canadian team to make the playoffs this spring. Every other Canadian NHL squad has been relegated to the sidelines. And that means the Canadian calendar is wide open, ready to be filled with accomplishment.

Social Media in China

When you are abroad, a sense of connection seems particularly valuable, and the sudden absence of it is more keenly felt.

Checklist Trips

I’m going on a checklist trip. The Internet is full of them—bucket lists, trips-of-a-lifetime, must-see-before-you-die trips.

Hard Copies

It’s not just the big stereo system (with, yes, a cassette deck) that sets contributing editor Steve Burgess apart these days.

Blame the Anchor

Thousands of books have been written about the events of November 22, 1963. Steve Burgess has got a theory too, and he’ll put it up against anybody’s.

Dancing Without the Stars

Hey, I was dancing on TV.  Didn’t get to team up with Cheryl Burke or compete against Snooki from Jersey Shore. Didn’t divide the nation over whether my crap moves really deserved to get more votes than Chaz Bono. But there I was busting moves, nationwide.

Gravity

Gravity was good. Not as compelling as Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation perhaps, but strong enough to hold you in a theatre seat for 90 minutes.

Blurred Notes

Every summer has a soundtrack. This summer the airplay champion seemed to be “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, with the runner-up arguably Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. It made for a rather raunchy season.

Rock and Roll History in Vancouver

There are monuments to rock and roll in Vancouver, but many are just addresses now, or empty patches of sidewalk. MONTECRISTO embarks on the ghost trail that is Vancouver’s rock and roll history.

Wreck Beach

By this time the cops know the drill. When they descend on Vancouver’s most famous clothing-optional beach they know they are essentially entering another world.