The (Portland) Hills are alive
Keep an eye on Portland Hills! Now that the second Finbar’s Irish Pub (635 Portland Hills Drive, 832-9170) is in its final stages of preparation—with a tentative opening set for June—this area is heating up. With the recent opening of Que Tal Restaurante Mexicano in the same complex, and promise of Tomasino’s Pizza take-out moving…
ALWAYS remember:
The people, united, can never be defeated. —The Time Will Come
Eager for enVie
Diandra Phipps and Cory Urquhart have finally found a home for their vegan vision, right in the north end. With an expected opening for July, the couple is taking their knowledge of vegan cuisine and using it to serve up delicious food via their new restaurant enVie – A Vegan Kitchen, at the corner of…
Mary Walsh lets it all hang out
If you’d rather laugh about problems than cry about them (and who wouldn’t?), then Dancing With Rage will strike just the right chord. The indomitable Mary Walsh takes on the absurdities of politics, the frustrations of everyday life and true, heart-wrenching tragedies with laser-sharp humour that breeds belly laughs over tears. The 90-minute one-woman show…
Smiling woman
To the beautiful woman with combat boots and green eyes that I crossed paths with in the North end: you smiled at me at the exact moment I was wondering what the hell I was doing in Halifax. Thank you. —Visiting Girl
No more beach clean-up
I’ve been doing the beach clean-up for years but I’m here to let you know you will never see me there again. Your disrespectful, rude and generally unfriendly tone completely took me by surprise. To work for someone for free all day and get treated like that is a real slap in the face. —A.N.
Timbit lovin’
Thanks to the guy at Tim’s who gave my us way more than what we ordered. Now The Naked Gun 2 1/2 will be even better! —Don’t Call Me Shirley
A taste of Multicultural Fest
You may need a cold compress after reading this, because your summer festival fever will be in full tilt. This afternoon the Multicultural Association of Nova Scotia launched the lineup for the 29th annual Multicultural Festival, offering eager attendees a little taste of what’s to come later this month, along with the fest’s and fitting…
Space5
You have no reason to love me – I’m emotional, awkward and tend to be a handfult, but you’ve never given up on me. You’re an amazing person and regardless of everything that has happened, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the past year and a half. I fuckin’…
Rails to trails etiquette
At every entrance and exit to the Rails to Trails there are signs laying out the rules regarding who has and hasn’t the right of way, pretty straight forward stuff, also known as common sense. In addition, there are signs saying that dogs should be on a leash and please clean up after Fido takes…
Greet Bike Week with bells on
Just when we didn’t think it was possible, I Heart Bikes (1507 Lower Water Street, 406-7774) has become an even brighter spot on the boardwalk. Sarah Craig’s amazing bike rental, city tour and retail shop has recently upgraded its digs, after out-growing the little hut it operated out of for the past two seasons. And…
Save the last dance for me?
I canvassed you for a better world. And pitched you a kiss, to be my girl. Dislocated chance brought this knuckle ball across home plate. My love danced and swirled, ripped and curled, but was hardly fate. Shall we play once more, let our hearts love sick? I put my faith with the Jays dancin’…
Hello Limoncello
Back just in time for summer is the bright shop that once graced Birmingham Street with its home decor, local art, unique accessories and the uber-popular Fiesta dinnerware (which is carried by just two spots in Canada, FYI). After closing last November, Limoncello…Your Lifestyle Store will re-open this weekend inside of Historic Properties (1869 Upper…
Crosswalk buttons
Why should I have to press a fucking button to cross at the lights in front of Citadel High? Is this some kind of twisted Pavlovian experiment to reward those who know how to make the crosswalk sign change and confuse everyone else? What’s wrong with “walk on green” and “stop on red,” like the…
Whisky’s not helping
For someone I met at a club, you’ve made my heart your little bitch. It’s a mess now that you’re gone. Our short but intense time together was such a gift and I’m grateful for every minute of it. I’m sorry I had to end it you sweet, sweet thing, but I know a train…
Red means stop!
Traffic cops! There’s a fortune in tickets to be made in front of the white CBC building on Sackville. Watch how many vehicles cruise through the red light when they turn onto Bell Road. Red means stop, assholes! If you run me down while I’m crossing at the intersection, I’ll be dead and you’ll be…
Bikes on the sidewalk
It’s called a sidewalk because you WALK on it. You don’t ride your fucking bike on it. It’s the law, asshole. $240 fine. If either of your wheels is larger than 350 mm, you use the road. Your little sister can ride her trike on the sidewalk. Your bike is a vehicle, and vehicles use…
Love if by sea
This goes out to all of those handsome gentlemen at Two if by Sea. Being overly attractive must be a job requirement, because damn. You guys warm up those cold Dartmouth days. —Large Chai Latte
Thanks for the lift
I rolled my ankle running early this morning. I felt stunned and almost started to cry, so I apologize if I didn’t seem very friendly. I am so appreciative of the lift home! Otherwise I don’t know how I would’ve gotten there (there aren’t too many people I could have called for help). And thank…
To whoever runs a certain NS Government website…
Hi folks: I’m pretty sure I could design you a better website although I have no idea how to do any of the programming, but I bet I could eventually learn. Your current website still has no obvious functionality and it looks hopeless to do an online renewal. It’s nice that you removed the “the…
Happy birthday
I just wanted to wish you a happy early birthday. I wish that I could be a fly on the wall when you wake up in the morning and realize that you’re 30, still single, and will be alone and miserable forever. —Your Ex
Barrington Street garbage throwers
To the bunch of idiots in the jeep who threw a paper bag full of garbage at my feet on Barrington and then drove off yelled “sorry”: what’s the big idea? do you think it is OK the throw garbage at people or ruin our beautiful streets? If you are so sorry then why drive…
Birthday party
You always pick up your kid from preschool with a nasty scowl on your face and never say a single word to any of the other parents there and then think that everyone will want to rush out to buy a gift and spend a few hours of their precious weekend at your kid’s birthday…
Once again, pick up after your dogs, PLEASE
It was a while ago that I wrote to this blog, but I have had too much. It seems like non Fairviewers are walking their dogs (and in one especially aggravating moment, a bloody lizard) in my neighborhood and allowing them to dump on my lawn, a lawn as a senior I take great pride…
Night shift slave
I live in an apartment and I work 50 hours a week from 10PM to 8AM, so my sleep usually falls in between the hours of 9AM to 4PM (give or take an hour depending on how much noise and disturbances there are). I have let my neighbors know of this and asked kindly if…
The world
and all its miseries. —Sin
spiritual machines
dude, you were walking down vernon street one night singing ‘in repair’ and it sounded amazing. you hit the notes right on and it gave me serious teenage flashbacks. well done, mega props. —Naveed Is Still Their Best Album Though
spiritual machines
dude, you were walking down vernon street one night singing ‘in repair’ and it sounded amazing. you hit the notes right on and it gave me serious teenage flashbacks. well done, mega props. —Naveed Is Still Their Best Album Though
Left blinker please!
I hate it when I come up to an intersection where both left and right lanes can go straight (Oxford at Chebucto for example) and I pull up behind a car in the left lane which has no blinkers on, so I assume they will be going straight. But at the moment the light turns…
Missed connection on the 18
Friday May 31st between 4pm-4:30pm. You go on the bus and sat down beside me ( I was wearing the green and white dress). You took out your headphones and began reading a book. I desperately wanted to talk to you and ask you what you were reading, but I was too shy. Hopefully i’ll…
God is not an idiot!
I am so fucking sick of how people are going on about my father who recently died. The man was as godless as they get. Was NOT interested in religion, would leave the room if the subject of God and or religion was even brought up. Yet suddenly because he died, out comes all the…
You’re so vain
So you’re somewhat Hali-famous…Congrats! You kissed enough ass (among other things) to get there. But you’re not talented — you just think you are. And someday, when you move to a “bigger” city, you’re gonna realize just how insignificant you are. —You Probably Think This Bitch Is About You, Don’t You?
New Quinpool Road rules?
Ok, when did part of Quinpool outbound become 3 lanes during suppertime rush hour? I almost got my motorcycle smoked by a truck ‘merging’ from the Quinpool Centre pull off after I watched them race up that side. Jeebus, I wish I kept track of how many drivers pull this little stunt! Wait like the…
The Feisty Chef Shacks up
Holy shuck, the waterfront’s newest seafood hut is open! Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Another one? Really?”. But I can assure you this isn’t your average fish and chips stand. Started by the Feisty Chef herself, Renée Lavallée, along with fish fanatic Nicholas Budreski, The Shack Oyster Bar (Queen’s Wharf, Halifax Waterfront) offers raw…
Asshole at SuperSobeys
It takes a special kind of asshole to make the lady cry at the service counter of my local grocery store. Congrats, you’re just that kind of asshole. —Cranky
Thank you for the bus fare
This afternoon I discovered that A) I forgot change for the bus, B) there is nowhere to make change at my local bus depot (not even the vending machines…) and C) bus drivers don’t look kindly on people bearing bills. As I started walking away, slightly frustrated and humiliated, a woman offered to pay my…
Stages opens with Our Eliza
There is no doubt that Our Eliza is a tragedy. It’s the story of a rural Newfoundland woman whose life is lived in service to her family. Pulled from school at 14 to look after a pack of younger brothers after her mother dies, Eliza (Renee Hackett) is gradually worn down by relentless drudgery and…
What happened: the creation tale
This newspaper you hold in your hands…the one whose weekly listings have long since become required reading for anyone in Halifax going anywhere at anytime to do anything; whose annual Best of Halifax plaques are sought-after cultural seals-of-approval for local businesses from restaurants to clothing boutiques to neighbourhood barber shops; whose commercial success has spawned…
Amazing guys
Q I’m seeing an amazing guy who I met doing sex work—as in, he was paying me for straight-up sex. It’s not a *Pretty Woman* situation. He’s my age and not wealthy, and I’m too old for that anyway. We share a lot of geeky interests and have a great connection, and the sex is…
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! Gemini (MAY 21 – JUNE 20) In Japan it’s not rude to slurp while you eat your ramen noodles out of a bowl. That’s what the *Lonely Planet* travel guide told me. In fact, some Japanese hosts expect you to make sounds with your mouth; they take it as a sign that you’re…
Resto revolution
The past 20 years have possibly been the most exciting, progressive two decades that the city has seen—food-wise, at least. While various special interest groups argue about what’s progress and what’s not, and development is bogged in municipal government mire, restaurant culture has seen significant changes. In 1993, Mosaic (the web browser that would popularize surfing)…
The people who make Halifax worth living in
[ Jump to: Anne Derrick | Fred Connors | Robin Metcalfe | Mike Clattenburg Stephanie Bertossi | Jane Wright | Mike Campbell | Bill Lewis ] Anne Derrick Through many trials, Halifax barrister-turned-judge remains committed to social justice. The expressionist swirls of a painting by a Laing House social worker hang to the left of…
The music gene
Summing up 20 years of music in Halifax is a rough task. Confining it to a single volume of books would be tough. The Coast’s very first issue, published June 17, 1993, is very near and dear to my heart for a few reasons, one of which is that the cover featured all-female rock-pop band…
Letter from the Founders
In the beginning, we were part of a team of six friends at university, most of us working together on the school paper, all facing a post-graduation world—like today’s—of dim job prospects. So when esteemed journalist and professor Stephen Kimber planted (or didn’t, see page 5) the idea of a new publication for Halifax, we…
The people who made us
Hannah Thomson photographer 1995-99 I shot my first cover for The Coast in 1995. And then worked steadily for the next four years. But before I started, I was fresh out of school and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life career-wise. I was feeling lost and waiting tables.…
American Mary
Rarely is a film so clumsily stitched together as in the surgical freak fest American Mary. Med school costing an arm and a leg, young Mary strikes out on her own as an underground body modification surgeon with a taste for torture. A logical career move, as apparently every other working surgeon in Seattle is…
Bike Week—it’s like riding a bike
Sometimes people say things like “it’s like riding a bike,” when referencing something you haven’t done in ages but are expected to pick up again with no problems. Listen guys, sometimes it’s not like riding a bike, sometimes it’s careening into a ditch and scraping up all your exposed bits. Which is why, thank the…
To boldly go where design has never gone before
Sometimes the most poignant messages have no words at all—it’s a sweet spot that May Chung’s NSCAD Design and Illustration students are learning to master, and in some cases, dominate. Students made 45 posters in six categories—cultural diversity, cyberbullying, disabilities, freedom of speech, race relations and transgender—for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. Issues that…
epic
There’s really not much separating epic, the CGI feature about a tiny world of eco-warriors and their talking animal pals, from 1992’s FernGully. But, everyone liked FernGully, right? Amanda Seyfried lends her voice to M.K., a sunken teenager who shrinks down and discovers a secret world of tiny magic after moving in with her estranged…
The right Old Crow Medicine
From dusty campfire sing-a-longs to local booze ridden cover bands, many a fan has crooned “Wagon Wheel” to drunk crowds around Halifax and for good reason, this song hits ya in the heart strings—it’s like a marshmallow roasted to perfection in the s’more of bluegrass Americana nostalgia. Apparently Bob Dylan wrote the song…well, we can’t…
After Earth
Centuries from now, a starship crashes on what remains of Earth, letting loose a terrible alien predator and forcing young Son of Will Smith to hunt for a distress beacon thousands of kilometres away. So goes the basic premise of After Earth, the newest home movie for father/son pair Will and Jaden Smith. Will dials…
Turn up the Baseline
If you’re a hip-hop fan there’s a good chance you’ve heard of 902mixtapes. The self-proclaimed “source for east coast hip-hop” features events, videos and new music. The founder, Robert Anthony Fenyves, who usually does the featuring is now being featured—Fenyves AKA Baseline, the Dartmouth-based rapper, is currently focused on his fourth mixtape Monster where he…
Now You See Me
Illusions fly across the screen expecting applause in Now You See Me, a prestidigitation caper that manages to drain away anything close to movie magic. Four down on their luck magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) are drawn together to perform a series of complicated robberies given the appearance of Vegas…
Karma owes you for the lens
Thank you to the soul who left my camera lens on a bench in the Public Gardens instead of keeping it (and to everyone else who saw it and didn’t take it). It must have slept my shoulder when I was taking pictures today (May 29th pm) I realized it only a few minutes later…
Finnish ancestry and “The Artists Way”
You were working at the circulation desk when I checked out last Thursday afternoon. I’m relatively new to Halifax and don’t have many friends, as soon as I got home I wished I’d given you my number with the offer to hang out sometime. Hope to meet again! —Library Patron
Oh Bahlu
Oh Bahlu you know how I love you… Ya big tool ya! …. Jackhammer that is,() —Koala
Thanks for turning in my jacket!
To the person who found my jacket on the 68 and turned it in: THANK YOU!!! My ID, keys, debit card, and my gift card for Mother’s Day were in the pockets, and it was such a relief to have those things back. I was so distracted by getting home to see my little one,…
The bum park superhero
To the guy who we met on Friday night at Victoria Park, I would like to thank you for simply stopping to talk to us. You called yourself Satan, but I think you’re really a prophet because I’ve been thinking about our conversation since it happened and everything you said was very insightful. I hope…
The bum park superhero
To the guy who we met on Friday night at Victoria Park, I would like to thank you for simply stopping to talk to us. You called yourself Satan, but I think you’re really a prophet because I’ve been thinking about our conversation since it happened and everything you said was very insightful. I hope…
