US change table turn
Ever notice how Canadian change doesn’t work in US vending machines, but US change does work in Canadian vending machines, parking meters, bridge baskets, etc? This is due to how historically the US dollar has always for the most part been higher than the loonie and these things are manufactured with this in mind. I…
Stop pushing
WTF… are you seriously in that much of a hurry to get on the bus that you need to push the people in front of you? Do you love riding the bus each day that much? In case you didn’t notice, there were 8 people at the bus stop this morning. Five of us were…
So not the best man
So, we were hanging out together, and things were fun and going great. We both admitted we liked each other a lot, but weren’t interested in anything serious. Cut to a month or so later: you completely stop talking to me, and now suddenly you have a girlfriend. It sucked, but I can deal. Now…
Sackville Laws
What is it with Sackville drivers? Is it a “Sackville” law that you have to be 3 fucking inches from the bumper of the driver in front of you at all times? Or, if you’re in a 50 zone, does that mean 120? I know, I know, you’re all in such a damn rush to…
Stupid parents
“Don’t make me make you cry,” is NOT a way to parent a kid. Neither is sitting on your fat ass while your kid runs around the entire office into areas he really shouldn’t be. But you’re too busy on your phone to parent him so you rely on others waiting for their appointments to…
Sick of this bullshit
To the bar I work for and the company that owns it, GO FUCK YOURSELVES! You run your establishments like an archaic fraternity (or as we like to dub it “a boys club”). As far as managers go, you SUCK! Just because you make orders, do the cash, make the schedule, etc. doesn’t make you…
Driving annoyances
1. When opposite cars pull up to a 2 or 4 way stop at the same time, why is it that one car almost always does a quick rolling stop then propels itself forward as if the world will end if they come to a complete stop like they’re supposed to? God forbid I stop…
30 Day Song Challenge: My Least Favorite Song
I hate you. Hello Wednesday friends. Here’s entry #2 on the 30 Day Song Challenge – your least favorite song.This was actually almost as tricky as picking a “favorite song.” I hate a lot of music. However, I also sometimes have really shitty taste. And I love my guilty pleasures. While some participants can easily…
Destination Tokyo Tour
Dear Halifax music lovers, thank you for coming to find out more about the academy at the workshop and starting an immediate dance party for ANGO and PRISON GARDE. All of the artists can’t wait to come back to Halifax. —Melly
The one I want right now
I love the way you cushion me and comfort me, let me flop all over you. You press me in all the right places and when the time is right, you cover me totally and let me slip into blissful unconsciousness. Bed, I fucking love you. —Aurora
Michael Kimber’s The Cure
Michael Kimber is a Toronto-based, Halifax-raised writer and blogger who’s made a big splash since moving to the Big Smoke with his work bringing attention to mental illness. He tells his own story of battling anxiety and insomnia and more on a blog, Colony of Losers. And, for the sake of full disclosure, he’s done…
It’s the End of the Road for Of Montreal
I’ll give you the bad news first: it’s the end of the road for Of Montreal, who have cancelled their April 2 show at the Halifax Forum. Bummer — I was looking forward to the appearance of an on-stage elephant. Or Susan Sarandon spanking a pig, or something crazy like that. You can get your…
Halifax Basketball Rocks
Thank you to all the fans sitting near us during the AUS basketball tournament last weekend. It was my 7 year old son’s first chance to see basketball at the Metro center. It was the best bonding experience I could ask for. He got to cheer his little heart out, boo, clap, yell. He got…
Unplanned parenthood
To the woman ahead of me in the checkout line with the 5 screaming, out of control kids all under the age of 8, you’re welcome. The puzzled look on your face as you found those condoms I put into your cart was priceless! So, if you’re going to spread your legs yet again, do…
Fix your parking lot
To a certain facility in Downtown Dartmouth, your parking lot has huge pot holes! Some of them have been there since last spring for frigg sakes! I hope you enjoy the bill I am sending you for the wheel alignment I now need because one pot hole that was small last year you can’t avoid…
I hope you’re fucking happy
I hope your life is miserable and dull without me, you fuckwad. I hope that everyday you wonder what I’m doing and if I’m happy, while you’re sitting in your room with not a fucking friend to talk to. No one else could possibly light up your life like I did. Leastwise your ugly ass…
Doesn’t vs. Don’t
What the fuck is with some people using “don’t” when “doesn’t” is the proper word to say?! “It don’t matter”; “He don’t like to swim”; “She don’t get along with her mom”; need I go on? Do you realize how uneducated and stupid you sound? Do you think it’s cool to talk like that or…
Dented ride
To you fat, lazy fuckwads who leave shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot when the wind’s blowing 200 km/h: You are ASSHOLES! Take your fat ass and push the cart into the coral, or better yet, (if your thick cottage cheese stumps can make it that far) put them back where you…
Chillin’ Like a Villain
So, it’s 8 degrees today, and everything’s getting pretty melty out there. As I walked by the much-adored Oval, much to my surprise, all of the refrigeration units were still humming away. Now, I’m neither an environmentalist nor an economist, but it seems to me that running all those units to keep an oval-shaped puddle…
I’m sorry I forgot your napkin
To the lady who had the audacity to complain that I forgot to bring her a napkin when I was working a busy restaurant ALONE: you are an anus of the highest caliber. Seriously. Could you not see me running around trying to keep up with the packed house? Could you not see me constantly…
I could live in that smile
Ever since I’ve met you, you’ve intrigued me. You are such a smart, funny, lively individual and I could listen to you talk for hours. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to know you and I can’t help but wish we could become something more than just friends. You’ve turned my world back around. I’d even…
Red means stop
To the blonde lady in the silver Pontiac Vibe in Bayers Lake yesterday afternoon: RED lights mean STOP. Yes, in Nova Scotia you can turn right on a red light. Hopefully you read more of the drivers training manual than that. Just because you can doesn’t mean it gives you right of way. If the…
Theatre love
Just gotta say, Halifax has the most supportive, friendly theatre scene. Small but powerful, and filled with amazing people. With a ton of great shows going up this month, I just wanted to point out how in general the community is incredibly mutually supportive, and people from more established companies will go out of their…
Women Making Waves awards
Saturday saw the first—hopefully of many—Women Making Waves festival, featuring a series of workshops, panels and networking opportunities, much of which took place at Mount Saint Vincent University. The event was concluded on Sunday with a luncheon and awards ceremony at The Carleton, honouring outstanding contributions by four women in the field. “Kudos to these…
I
I miss you. Your Mother is sick so you had to run back to Ontario for a week. I miss you so much. Onterrible is lucky to have you, but HFX misses you! Overthinking separates the body from the mind, but I can’t stop thinking about you! Your everything lights up my life. Get home…
Fat Boy lands on Lower Sackville
It’s the home of the Fat Slice! This new pizza joint is getting raves from Lower Sackvillain customers since it opened in the middle of February, offering subs, donairs, hamburgers and lots and lots of ‘za. Related Stories
Council tackles garbage miscreants
City bylaws require that residents sort their recyclables from their trash, but so many people don’t separate that the city has spent $39.4 million separating it for them over the past five years, says a staff report to city council. So staff wants to apply a bit more muscle: proposed new amendments to the bylaw…
30 Day Song Challenge: Patti Smith, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
On a whim, I’d like to “spice things up” over here in Scene and Heard world by attempting this 30 Day Song Challenge. On Day 1, you’re supposed to post your favorite song. Here goes! I am ready to lay myself prostrate before your judging eyes! So I have approximately 87 “favorite songs” and I…
Dear Women
Dear Women—all women—what a pleasure it is to share the planet with such elegant creatures. You are all so beautiful in ways you may not even conceive. I quite enjoy being a recipient of your radiant feminine energy. Please continue spreading love everywhere you go. —Enamoured by estrogen
Growing Up Gangster
Congrats! You’re raising your 2 children to shoot at people and try to steal. I saw your pregnant ass walk in with your existing two kids, who you have all pimped out like little gangsters, and then let them run around the store pretending to shoot each other with screw drivers they took off the…
Nosepicking Drivers
To the drivers who like to pull up to red lights with your fingers knuckle deep in your nose, I CAN SEE YOU FUKKWAD! Your windows aren’t tinted so that means you don’t have privacy and other people driving can see you digging for gold! If you love to pick your nose that’s fine but…
Long Live the Queen Lineup Announced
So the lineup for the second installation of the Long Live the Queen Festival (taking place this year from May 19-22) has just been released. We see lots of things we like – Sister, Duchess Says, Tonka and Puma – and the Chitz are doing a very special reunion show. THE CHITZ. WTF. Complete list…
Nasty Manager
My extended family and I went out to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. There were 23 of us and the bill was about $320. The service was great, but unfortunately the bill was so high, I couldn’t leave a tip. It had taken up most of the money I had at the time.…
Sinfully Speaking
Small Sins, the Toronto-based indie pop quintet helmed by Thomas D’arcy, has been going through some changes recently. Most significantly, D’arcy brought in his entire touring band to record the group’s third album Pot Calls Kettle Black, after recording the previous two Small Sins albums on his own. This upcoming run of shows marks the…
Dear Men of Halifax
I’m not a shallow female. I talk to anyone, regardless of their appearance, status, etc. This, ladies, is what gets us the “bitch” label. How so, you may ask. We speak to guys, including the ones who do nothing, have nothing, and when they ask us out, because we’re being nice, and if we say…
Pointless Protests
Congrats. You held a protest demanding the Canadian Government spend millions and assist in helping and saving your fellow comrads in some far off country that is having a problem with their current leader. Unless you didn’t notice, this is Canada. Canadians pay taxes to the our government to improve the lives of Canadians, to…
Pimps and Whores
Dear extreme right-wing Republican youth, you leave me shocked and bewildered. Stop trying to shut down Planned Parenthood agencies and public abortion clinics by claiming that they are the hub of prostitution in the United States. I have great difficulty understanding precisely your problem with these programs. Do you really think suspending state-paid abortions will…
Kind of a Bitch kind of a Love…
I wanted to submit a Love but it’s kinda a bitch too… I went out Saturday morning for breakfast in downtown Halifax and discovered that the place I went to had a 2 dollar breakfast! I was shocked to see the breakfast that came out! It was amazing! Props for having that on the menu.…
I Saw This Coming!
Ok, you were still sleeping with your ex because it was convenient when you broke up. Then you slept with his roommate one week after. Got back with your ex and now you’re angry that he can’t “get over it”. You have some serious mental issues. —WTF
How can your feet reach the gas pedal?
Today, I was walking across a crosswalk and everything was perfectly fine. Until a woman in a truck swept around the corner and almost hit me! Like honestly, don’t drive something so god damn big as a Ford truck if you can barely see over the steering wheel! At least get something to boost your…
Magnificent Smiles
Just wanted to give a big thank you to the stunning Muslim woman (the three dots under your eyes are a lovely touch) who walked past me yesterday on Oxford Street and flashed me the most amazing smile. People don’t make enough eye contact with one another when passing on the sidewalk. The fact that…
Starving for more Adolescent Eating Disorder Resources
As a medical specialist in Halifax, I see examples of how fucked up the medical resources are in this province every day. Now that my teenage daughter desperately needs the assistance of the Eating Disorder clinic, I am desperate for help and am amazed to find out that there is only one psychiatrist at the…
Downward Dog Downer
It seems that suddenly my local yoga studio has been overtaken by a swarm of rude, obnoxious chicks who cannot seem to keep their yappers shut! I guess you didn’t see (or cannot read) the sign posted on the door announcing that it is, in fact, a ‘silent studio’. Even the instructor can’t get you…
To the Fantastic Security Staff
Your responsiveness and sensitivity in the face of drunken buffoonery turned what might have otherwise been a terrible Friday night into a terrific one. You are a shining example of bar security done right. Thanks a million! —Grateful Show-goer
Drunk
Mad love goes out to the girl at Retro Night who brought me water and actually cared about my well-being while I was drunk out of my mind! There is also some chick named “Hawke” or something who I was supposed to follow on twitter, I don’t remember. —#winning #tigerblood
So what if it’s small
You know what? Just like females with small tits, men were never given the option on how big their penis is. So what if it is small, men still like small boobies. Our society should embrace small junk. Crazy thing is, guys are usually judged on their penis when it is flaccid. It is like…
Driving
Thank you to all the people who make an effort to drive with caution and who obey the rules of the road. It’s important. We have as a society become to complacent with the privilege of driving and it’s something that affects others negatively when done poorly. Thanks and Happy Driving. —Turn signal man
Not my problem
I hate you for having the nerve to ask if your 16 year old son can live with me and my boyfriend 5 out of 7 days per week. Ummm no, actually that is not okay with me but because you are my boyfriend’s fucking moron sister, the boyfriend cannot say no to you. Can…
Just a Bus Crush
To the guy, with the amazing green eyes that stand out. I’m always seeing you on the bus, and your smile brightens my day. I’m always wanting to start up a conversation with you. But I’m too shy. Maybe one day. —The girl who’s always reading love novels
Cheers to you and me
You always know what to do to cheer me up. In the storm the other night you couldn’t pick me up but you made me supper. Your warm hug was all I needed. You put up with my craziness time and time again. I love you more than I could love anyone. Even though we…
Business Plans on the #1
I met you on the #1 at the beginning of rush hour on Thursday. You asked if I had a pen you could borrow, and we ended up talking about business plans and entrepreneurship. I talked about my long-time dream of opening a leadership camp for teens and you spoke about your plan for the…
YUMMY!
Just a quick note to those who also take Metro Transit: Please cough or sneeze into your elbows. I really do not feel like breathing in your germs. I remember one time sitting behind a man who turned towards the window and sneezed, leaving mucus spray all over the window and just left it there…
Paragon closing?
At Shoptalk we’d heard the rumours of the potential closing of the Gottingen concert venue The Paragon Theatre (2037 Gottingen Street, 420-0015)—formerly the Marquee—immortalized in song and baptized in rock star sweat. Everyone from Sloan to Arcade Fire to Feist have filled its space with sound. “The state of the music scene is not what…
Submarine surfaces
Laba Zibara is now the proprietor of The Submarine (5384 Inglis Street, 423-7618) and has added a collection of Lebanese dishes to the menu of the long running sub joint. Now available are donair plates, chicken shawarma, kafta combos, veggie combos and more. Hours are Mon-Fri 9:30am-8pm, Saturday 11am-6:30pm and Sunday closed.
Longchamps Paris at Foreign Affair
We’ve just learned that as of today, bags by hot international accessory designer Longchamps Paris is available at both locations of Foreign Affair (1705 Barrington Street, 429-1407 and 5639 Spring Garden Road, 423-6676). Products available include le pliage canvas handbags in a selection of sizes and spring colours (see image). They run from $145 to…
Where can I rent chocolate brown table overlays?
My wedding is July 30th in Halifax and I need to rent chocolate brown table overlays and maybe paper lanterns for decor purposes. Does anyone have a suggestion? My email is andrea.lecky@gov.ab.ca – Thanks! —Andrea
Out of Lunenberg with the G & S Society
Out_of.pdf The new Spatz theatre at Citadel High was packed for the two-day-only run of the nautical musical Out of Lunenberg. The show is a new work written by Jim Bennet, and it’s filled with a nice mix of his trademark playful, jaunty songs and some lovely, tender ballads. Set in 1925, one half of…
Vandals target Phat’s
If you’ve been thinking of getting a haircut in the coming weeks and are uncertain where to go, consider the Best of Halifax-winning Best Barber Phat Luong’s place (2170 Windsor Street, 423-6596). He could use an influx of cash at the moment. The large glass window of his establishment was broken by vandals back in…
Robyn Dell’Unto Knows Bird Law
Robyn Dell’Unto is a relatively new face on the Canadian singer-songwriter scene, but if you’ve seen the cute video for her song “Just a Bird” off her debut album I’m Here Every Night even once, you probably remember her. Dell’Unto attracted many stares as she marched down Toronto streets in a giant bird costume, and…
Down Dangerous Passes Road throws a few curves
There are puzzles aplenty in Quebecois playwright Michel Marc Bouchard’s Down Dangerous Passes Road. The play opens as three brothers struggle through the shock of emerging from a bloody car wreck, but there is no blood to be seen. They’re deep in the woods, yet as one character keeps pointing out, even though there should…
No bang for buck
Walked down one of the busiest street in HRM yesterday and thought, these are some of the ugliest most mismatched buildings I have ever seen. To the people who own these buildings, you are only thinking about your wallets and the cheapest possible solutions. You have no taste nor consideration for the history for these…
This is no city…
I am looking forward to leaving a “city” laid out for horse and buggies, that is filled with drivers who are doing anything but watching the road, 20 something girls dressed like whores, young men with their heads up their ass dressed like gangsters, adults acting like cousin Cletus in from the country partying it…
Cold Cut Cruella
To the ever surly deli counter employee at my local grocery store: Stop being so goddamned mean all the time! What’s your problem anyway? I try to be nicer and nicer every time I ask for 100 grams of genoa salami (I even tell you how I’d like it before you bark “SHAVED OR SLICED”)…
Fuck you and your pajama pants!
I just want to remind you that you are the one who contacted me. I even made the effort of watching your favorite stupid fucking movie with you. Did you just sleep with me to see if you could? It was probably some dick like yourself who invented text messaging to pussyfoot around being a…
Guys, trim it up or I’m going hippy!
When I get intimate with a man, it would be nice if there wasn’t a furry forest down under. I shave or wax on a regular basis, so why can’t my partner do the same? Yeah, I’m talking to all the guys I’ve ever been with in my life. Seriously, can’t even trim it up?…
Friends only when convenient for you
You haven’t spoken to me since December, and before then if you wanted to hangout you would message me but only when and where worked for you. Since December you have called me a horrible liar when I wasn’t lying and dissed my friends. Now you email me expecting me to do work for you!…
Paging Doctor Loser
Stop telling everyone about his gorgeous eyes or they way he talks or that he is the best doctor ever. Stop talking about his personal life and his relationships with his co-workers and how he gets along with almost everyone and if someone doesn’t like him that they are just delusional. I don’t think I…
Thanks for helping me up
To the gent that helped me up when I slipped on ice almost into the street, thank you very much. Bits of kindness like that are what make a day brighter. —The girl in the purple coat
Dear Ancient Aged Lover
I love you. I loved you then, I love you now, and I’ll always love you. And in case you ever question it, forget it, or wonder about it, just look in your jacket pocket and you’ll see my love again. Can we be bath buds forever? —Your Young Lady Friend
Operation Smile
“A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.”-Charles Gordy Gordy couldn’t have been more correct, although for some of us out there, the very smiles we wear on our face every day are priceless. To the creator of my smile… I have been meaning to get in contact with you for years now,…
Just thank you
I love reading, Love the Way We Love, in every issue of The Coast. Every once in a while you’ll find a nice comment that you think is about you, even though it can be any girl in Halifax! I was having a pretty shitty day, until I read The Coast. Even though I’m sure…
Offensive Beers
It really was bad enough when one beer company decided to promote its product with images of female flight attendants in uniforms so tight that it would have been impossible for them to hand you a Coke without popping a button; now another beer company is ‘drawing us in’ with an images of a train…
Here’s the New Bike Rodeo Album
If you were planning on getting a physical copy of the new Bike Rodeo album Oh Bla Duh in your hot little paws this weekend, you may have to wait a little longer – the band is hanging on to it to finish a few last details. However, the show is still happening this Friday…
Out of Lunenburg, into Citadel High
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society launches a new show in the new Spatz Theatre.
Idiocracy
Let me paint you a bleak picture… while waiting in line for coffee, I, along with all those in line, notice a lady obviously being stupid and neglectful by dropping her coffee while collecting her buttery bagel or buttery breakfast sandwich or buttery treat (with extra butter). Embarrassed, she scoops it up and high-tails it…
The creature next door
So, I’m pretty sick & fucking tired of you calling and complaining about me to our landlord, especially since 99.9% of the shit you spew never happened. Take your head out of your fat ass and stop making everyone else miserable just because you are. P.S. Next time you accuse me of dumping garbage on…
Stop the Apostrophe Madness!
Everywhere I go, I am confronted by the world’s inability to properly punctuate ANYTHING. Just today, walking down Spring Garden Road, I was appalled by the sight of a sign claiming that “Wednesday’s are pizza day” or something to that effect. WEDNESDAY’S WHAT? Also, why can’t a certain grocery chain change the bloody sign which…
I Goofed with GIGAS
Dear everyone, I am a dumbshit. In yesterday’s blog post about local musician GIGAS, I spelled his real-life name incorrectly. His name is spelt Nick Iwaskow. Many apologies to Nick! Errors aside, his music remains excellent and you really ought to go see him at 1616 Hollis this Saturday.
Good Lovelies
Wearing those breezy thrift-store frocks must conjure music of the same vintage. Then you go on tour with Stuart McLean. (It worked for Jill Barber and Meaghan Smith.) There is no disputing these gorgeous harmonies. Grandma will eat this stuff up and likely have a flashback, especially during “Kiss Me in the Kitchen.” “Kingston” is…
ANGO brings the beats home
It was about a year ago that DJ and producer ANGO (Andrew Gordon McPherson) was in London, taking part in what would be a career launching experience at Red Bull’s Music Academy. The former Haligonian was one of only four Canadians chosen for the two-week workshop which he credits for broadening his music tastes. “It…
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Nothing has changed for this Toronto-via-Alberta trio: Nils Edenloff still strums and sings his heart out. Amy Cole deploys ethereal keyboard textures. And Paul Banwatt drives the show with his dynamic, spirited drumming. It was a winning formula on the debut Hometowns and continues merrily along with Departing, about the transient relationships and notable moments…
Drive Angry‘s a hell of a movie
Patrick Lussier’s splatterfest is fully aware of its own glorious idiocy, yet it works mostly because its star, Nicolas Cage, attacks his absurd role without so much as a single knowing wink. Cage is deadpan as a dead man who’s escaped from hell to track down the cult that murdered his daughter and is about…
Jon McKiel
From the opening strains of the Pavement-meets-Neil Young chords of Jon McKiel’s “Monster of the Miramichi,” you are in for a varied and complex indie rock record. On Confidence Lodge, McKiel’s new EP, which also acts as a preview for his forthcoming full-length, Tonka Warcloud, the Nova Scotian songwriter mixes Canuck rock and roots music…
Inspired crew
In any community it’s nice to know that somebody’s got your back. For women in the screen industry, it’s Women in Film and Television (WIFT). Formed in 1973 in Los Angeles, WIFT was a response to the glass ceiling that women in Hollywood’s film and TV industry were trying to break through. Female producers, writers…
Paul Auster
In many ways, Sunset Park is classic Auster: self-negating male protagonist, plot elements hinging on chance, New York and failure as a mode of operation. However, unlike previous works, this book forgoes surreal qualities in favour of a relatively (for Auster) straight-forward story about the need for human connection, love in all its manifestations and art.…
Hibernation stations
Alright winter, enough already. March just stormed in like a lion; we’re beginning need a fix of spring, real bad. What better way to drown your seasonal sorrows and avoid the outdoors than to head below street level? Here are some places to hide out and drink up. Rockbottom Brewery 5686 Spring Garden Road, 423-2938…
Waiting for “Superman”
Guggenheim’s heartbreaking film, a Best Documentary contender that did not even get nominated—he won for An Inconvenient Truth—opens with an admission of white liberal guilt. The Los Angeles resident, married to actor Elisabeth Shue, drives past three public schools before depositing his children in a private one. But whatever his social standing, Guggenheim comes by…
Patricia Rozema’s truth barometer
Patricia Rozema has never felt that her gender held her back in her own career, so her participation in this weekend’s Women Making Waves conference for female filmmakers isn’t particularly motivated by politics. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Canadian director doesn’t appreciate the importance of the event hosted by the Atlantic chapter of Women…
A Drunken Dream
In the 1970s, Moto Hagio was part of a wave of female Japanese comic-book creators whose work helped define shojo manga (girls’ comics). Fantagraphics Books has collected 10 different short stories of Hagio’s in one volume, along with an essay and a lengthy interview first printed in The Comics Journal. The stories reflect the effect…
Moving targets
Halifax might be less sustainable than it was last year, or it may be about the same. We know for sure that Vancouver is kicking our asses, that we are less sustainable than Mississauga, and that we are more sustainable than Hamilton, Quebec City and Winnipeg, by a nose hair. Those are the confusing conclusions…
Girl With the Lucky Smile
I first met you on the bus and our eyes met our smiles. Seems so strange that we keep running into each other time and time again. Like the other day when you gave me my first win at roll up the rim. I had been buying at least two coffees a day since the…
Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!
Not Love but Delicious Foods Makes Me So Happy! is pretty much the comic for foodies. There’s not really a plot beyond the main character (a thinly veiled avatar of the author) going to restaurants with her friends and gushing about the food. Essentially, each chapter is a review of a real-life Tokyorestaurant told in…
Turn signals?
This is obviously for all you morons who think you actually have somewhere important to be 5 minutes ago and haven’t got the decency to follow simple rules of the road such as speed limits and the use of turn signals. Yes, you and yes you are a moron. To quote the famous Sparky Anderson.…
Bike Rodeo pedals on
Over the past couple of years, I’d heard the name mumbled about by various people at various shows. “Bike Rodeo” was generally followed with some sort of laudatory description, like “Bike Rodeo: They’re really fucking good,” or “Bike Rodeo: I fell down at their show and cut my face and it was awesome.” And while…
House Arrest
I was in court last week with a friend, and a young man came up before the judge. He had an application in front of the court to amend the conditions of his House Arrest. The young man was found guilty of break and enter and assault, as he pushed and kicked the old couple…
Dexter’s spin machine
Last week, allnovascotia.com reporter Paul McLeod revealed a new policy with the provincial government: All media requests to government PR offices must be cleared by premier Darrell Dexter’s political staff. Any PR person who gets a request for information must pass it on to her boss who, in turn, passes it to Dexter’s office, overseen…
Mike Clattenburg’s new project goes to camera next week
Mike Clattenburg isn’t sitting on his laurels. Following seven seasons of Trailer Park Boys and two box-office-busting feature film versions, he’s been busy: He shot a couple of episodes of the first season of CBCs Republic of Doyle and already in the can is another feature film, Afghan Luke, which had the working title Afghan…
Keith Cossey sets sail
Keith Cossey’s not just a photographer, but a man of the sea. After spending time navigating waters along the Atlantic coast and on the Bras d’Or Lakes on smaller boats he embarked on a bigger adventure, hopping onboard the three-masted schooner Arabella and exploring the waters of the British Virgin Islands, an experience he credits…
Full arts, can’t lose
On March 27, 2002, Tim Leary was on time for his 1pm appointment with the province’s deputy minister of tourism, culture and heritage. After waiting patiently, the executive director of the Nova Scotia Arts Council was ushered into a meeting room with the deputy minister and a lawyer, who handed him two pieces of paper.…
In-Flight Safety’s taking off
It’s pretty good to be In-Flight Safety right now. This month, they’ll hit South by Southwest and Canadian Music Week before leaving on a jet plane across the pond for their first European tour. The band’s 2009 release We Are An Empire, My Dear has recently been picked up by both UK label Conehead and…
Free Will Astrology
PISCES (February 19 – March 20) If I were you, Pisces, I’d make interesting fun your meme of the week. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be fully justified in making that your modus operandi and your raison d’être. For best results, you should put a priority on pursuing experiences that…
Source is a force
There are big goals stored in the little hole in the wall that is Local Source Market. Their aim is to build community through food culture, connect the peninsular population with the province’s farmers and promote quality food that is healthy and organic. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a few hundred square…
Sandman Viper Command return
Sandman Viper Command, out of Burlington, Ontario are not named after a GI Joe play-set, surprisingly. “We were a little embarrassed getting our band name from the movie Outbreak,” says Rob Janson, singer and guitarist for the lo-fi rockers. “We have a couple movie buffs in the band and they don’t want to give the…
Beastly ain’t pretty
Writer-director Daniel Barnz goes less than skin-deep with his Beauty and the Beast update starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. The latter is Kyle, a vain high school student who becomes a hermit after a witch (Mary Kate Olsen, looking somehow less corpse-like than usual in pasty goth makeup) whacks him with her magical ugly…
Moms seeking college guys
Q I’m a 41-year-old, very attractive, happily married woman. My husband and I have been together for 15 years. When we first met, the sex was absolutely incredible. After we got married, the sex was good, not great. This was because we were busy raising our children. (My husband had custody of children from his…
Out of Lunenburg, into Citadel High
With two massive musical productions on the horizon, it’s been a busy few months for Nova Scotia’s thriving Gilbert and Sullivan Society. And while its May production of Yeoman of the Guard is business as usual for these purveyors of all things G & S, this week’s show marks an exciting departure for the group.…
Rango stalls
Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp venture into the world of animation, a journey that yields inconsistent results. Depp voices the title character, a domesticated chameleon left stranded in the Mojave desert. Searching out sustenance and companionship, he ends up in the Wild West town of Dirt, where he backs…
Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few
Mark Berube’s orchestral jazz-folk recalls other instrument-happy musicians of the last few years like Beirut and La Strada, but the music goes beyond the orchestral sound. Berube’s arrangements are notable for the fullness of the sound, packed in with piano, cello, upright bass, drums and vocals. Though he played with larger bands on previous records,…
The Beauty Queen of Leenane resonates
As silly as it sounds, I’m still recovering from seeing The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Playwright Martin McDonagh’s Ireland is peopled by bleak, savage characters that don’t thrive, only survive. (And not all of them survive!) Seeing this play is a disturbing experience since it is filled with haunting brutality alleviated by moments of nerve-induced…
Giddy for GIGAS
Iwaskow at work. GIGAS is the solo project of young Nick Iwaskow of Dartmouth. His music is a sweetly kaleidoscopic ‘80s dream, bringing to mind the headier meanderings of My Bloody Valentine and the Psychedelic Furs. For someone who was born in the early ‘90s, he pulls it off alarmingly well. He’s recently teamed up…
