Light club: round one
You’re only as good as the company you keep, so it’s nice to see a little neighbours working together in the name of festive beauty. We call this Two Turtledoves on Fuller Terrace. via @illestwolf These lights were blinking like crazy, so capturing the true essence of this Willow Street holiday hullabaloo was apparently tough,…
So long for now, Section 96
Sadly, the Halifax Refugee Clinic’s little sister, Section 96, (1581 Grafton Street) will be closing its downtown doors next week. Lidiia Deliaieva, volunteer coordinator for the second-hand clothing store—which has been giving 100 percent of its proceeds to the clinic and operating as a employment readiness program for its clients for the last year-and-a-half—says that…
please get help
After everything I do, you still refuse to get yourself help. Depression can’t be cured without talking to a professional. I hate to see you rot away in your dark little hole, but I don’t know how to help. —at a loss
dickbag orgy nslc
no, you can’t help me shithead. there is nothing in this liquor store that i don’t already know. i’m not interested in the new sugar liquor in the blue bottle, or the new exciting coors beer you’ve imported all the way from america. or the unbelievably over-priced wine you think is good. or the same…
You never cease to amaze me
with your complete disregard for other people. You are absolute slime. How you managed to land the job that you have blows my mind; you take credit for the hard work of your employees and throw them under the bus at any given chance. I hope you realize how awful you are one of these…
bar love
just waned to send some love to the staff of the bar tonight (late dec 8th/early 9th). I may have taken a tumble and you all helped me in more ways than I could have imagined. so thank you so much!! can’t explain how much you helped and made it wayyy better! —emxo
Freeloading Bastards
Nelson Mandela was a great man and has died, it’s only natural that dignitaries from around the world should attend his funeral, and it should be covered by the media. This is where I want to puke: it’s only natural that Mr . Harper and his wife should attend to represent Canada, but how come…
Write A Song About It
You came into my shop and I sold you something for your friends in Alberta. I was playing guitar when you came in. Thought you were great and should have said something about it. Come back sometime so we can talk some more. —Shop Employee
The apple does not fall far from the tree
I am so glad your adult daughter’s coat had a seat in the full capacity doctor’s office waiting room. I would have taken my coat with me, but that’s more common sense than either she or you put together have apparently. I sat on a hard, uncomfortable table next to the unoccupied seat to accomodate…
Cross walk idiots
It’s called a “Cross walk”!!!..not a “Cross jog”, or “Cross bike” or “Cross run”. Do you people really not understand that?. Really?. You people jogging across cross walks are idiots. You are suppose to approach a crosswalk, stop, look both ways, try and make eye contact with any drivers then WALK across the street when…
Finger on the Pulse of Xara Youth Ensemble
Soulful singing from Xara Youth Ensemble Since 2007, Xara Choral Theatre has been blazing a glorious trail. This ensemble of women ages 18 to 30, lead by conductor Christina Murray and theatre practitioner Claire Leger, creates performances that are truly original combinations of choral singing, theatre and movement. Last year, Murray and Leger founded another…
Enough Already
What is going on with today’s youth??? Or today’s parents??? Or both Call me crazy but when I grew-up I had rules, I had curfew, I got a job when I turned 16 and before that I had a paper route, I wasn’t allowed to stay up all night and sleep all day, I had…
Lady in Pink Fur
I was having an average day, minding my business shopping when out of nowhere I heard you behind me, telling me how no one was listening to you and how people walk away from you mid-sentence…it caught me off-guard and it seemed ironic that you were doing the opposite of what you were complaining about…you…
Clickety Click
Um, if you’re responsible for website content that involves searching things like job ads, could you kindly organize your shit? I want to see ALL of the open positions with your company, not click through a dead end menu of types of jobs, then hit the “Back” button to get back to the categories. —Put…
It’s only an ocean
It can’t wash my love away. —From Halifax to Corsica
Hey
I really liked making out with you……. —your lips are the sweetest
stroller usage idiots
to the young moms that use the metro transit system. please learn how to operate a stroller before getting knocked up. I have consideration for moms bringing up children in this day and age. Especially single moms with little support from anyone. I was on a bus and people were willing to get out of…
Has taken it’s Toll
Manager, I showed up for my interview early at the place you designated me to go to. I came prepared and I waited there by myself for you about 50 minutes before I left. You had sent me to the coffee shop, which did not have internet that day. You decided to move the interview,…
Full of bitches
I can’t get decent and inexpensive pain medicine because of addicts. The drug dealers are scum and destroying neighborhoods. The pet stores rip unknowing people off on supplies they really don’t need, the political system is a mess, the courts need to change sentencing, minimum wage barely keeps a full time worker over the poverty…
You should be ashamed
having your very elderly grandparents pay for your child support while you walking around like your shit don’t stink. For years you looked down your nose at us and everyone else. Spending money like there is no tomorrow and travelling the world. Now the secret is out and we all know the real deal. You…
You don’t have to do this on your own
This last year I respected your decision not to come across the world with me and start a new life together. I miss your smile, your laugh and your love of adventure. But right now you are scared, fighting the biggest battle of your life and you are choosing to do it alone. Your strength…
Gutless bus riders
For all the fellas who write to “Love the Way we Love” about hot girls they see on the bus: grow a set and just ask her out! I’m so sick of reading your letters. “You were wearing red glasses and riding the #1”. Or “you had brown hair on the nine and smiled at…
Douchebags
To the group of drunken juiceheads at the bar Thursday night: If you can’t appreciate the band, go some place else and act like Neanderthals on steroids. It must have seemed so “unmanly” to see people dance and enjoy such great music. Maybe you could have too if you weren’t so busy flexing and looking…
Skunk pits
Someone in this computer lab always smells like onions. Bathe your body it’s seeping through your pores, nasty college students. —Olfacto
The Community Carrot has a home
The Community Carrot Co-op had three almost-locations fall through before finding success at 2063 Gottingen Street. Since winning $115,000 start-up funding from the Aviva’s Community Fund last winter, the group of Haligonians committed to bringing healthy, affordable food (in the form of a co-operative grocery store) to the north end has been steadily hunting for…
It’s Tales of a Charlie Brown Christmas, Halifax!
For their 10th annual holiday fundraiser JazzEast will be bringing the 48-year-old Charlie Brown holiday classic to Halifax. “This year we are trying out a completely different model—usually we do a gala with four course meal, concert and silent auction at a $125 ticket price.” Says JazzEast artistic director Laura “Lulu” Healy. “This year we’re…
security love
to the security guard at my university campus who truly goes above and beyond his job every day. thank you for being so kind and patient. thank you for having snacks ready for all the exhausted students. thank you for giving me a hug on my bad days, and listening to my exuberant stories on…
Revolution Fitness gets a start
If you’re already plotting your New Year’s resolutions you might want to hear what Jackie Kellestine and Lisa Baldwin are up to in Dartmouth. The longtime friends will open Revolution Fitness (112 Woodlawn Road) on December 16, a fitness studio that’s aimed at working with all types of abilities, offering classes to prenatal and postnatal…
Light club: seeking spectacular Xmas lights
We want to see the best, brightest and wackiest outdoor light displays your neighbourhoods have to offer. The tastefully tacky. The colour coordinated work of art. The synched perfectly with the carols playing from a pirate radio station (well done, Connolly Street). Can you do us a favour? The next time you’re blinded by the…
Apple Girl
Hey Apple Girl up by the Sobeys on North. Tonight, yet again, we cross paths – me slamming on my brakes, and there you are again, walking in front of me obliviously munching on an apple. You make me want to turn my car around and go buy a bag of apples. Are apples really…
Le Chateau Scientist
Thanks for helping me pick out a pashmina for my critical Ms. I’d rather be buyin you the owl pashmina. Things are complicated with me… There is something special about . Anyways this blue leather jacket wearing man has a crush. If you want to connect i’m here. —Behind blue eyes
I AM SO CONFUSED
PEOPLE ARE SO FRIENDLY HERE EVEN WHEN THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING. MY NEIGHBORS SAY HELLO TO ME. THEIR CHILDREN PLAY IN THE STREETS AFTER DARK. MOTORISTS WAIT FOR ME TO CROSS THE SIDEWALK AND NO ONE ACTS LIKE THEY’RE CONSTANTLY EXPECTING TO BE MUGGED. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU PEOPLE?…
You don’t deserve it
You don’t deserve the good things that have been happening…You are a terrible person- who spent most of their teenage years as a cold-hearted bully. I hope you get what you deserve- soon. —Bitch, please
Dealer Scum
Don’t you think it is suspicious having many different cars pulling up day and night? People banging on your door all hours of the day and night, hoodies and flat brimmed ball caps on saying “Hey man… it’s me… open up”. People going in and out of your house for five minutes and less? I…
Me,you, and?
You are fifteen years older than myself.. at the time I was dating a girl who was four years younger than me..I got my ass cheated on…is what it is…I’ve moved on it was years ago. This was dead and basically forgiven until The catch and bitch:You now instruct little kids. —Wowzer(Brother of Bowzer)
To the Angry Young Woman at the Bus stop on Robie Street today
Yeah you. The one who climbed aboard me for asking a smoker to move away from the bus shelter: Metro Transit has posted in their Riders Guide: Policies and Guidelines: Smoking In accordance with the Smoke-Free Places Act, smoking is prohibited on all transit vehicles, including the ferry, inside public buildings, and transit shelters. Smoking…
Punk is dead!
…in Halifax, anyway. How come I never see any good punk bands come through. And why is the Concert Announcements section of the coast only updated a handful of times are year. Are we really that sad? —YoMomma
Tons of Fun – NOT
I wholeheartedly support you in your new “healthy lifestyle” changes. You are morbidly obese, and you want to get healthier. This is TOTALLY awesome! I love you, and want you to be around for a long time. But don’t go around lying about how much weight you’ve lost and how well you are doing with…
Coloured Pencils
I love you. Purple, orange, yellow, blue– I’m in love with all of you. Some of you are round and smooth, Some are shaped like soft-edged triangles. Some are neon, Some are not. But every one of you Has a beautiful agenda. When we hang out together Anywhere on the page is the center of…
eyelevel Gallery is moving once again
Eyelevel Gallery is moving. Again. For the last year the non-profit artist-run centre flirted with staying in its small Gottingen Street storefront space, or moving to as far away as Dartmouth. Now a small office space on Cornwallis Street across from Dee Dee’s is crammed with the gallery’s filing cabinets and new director Katie Belcher’s…
Smokin up in a Storm
A big shout to the dude who decided to climb into my car on my driveway and proceed to smoke a cigarette. Hey, its ok that in that violent rain storm you decided to go down my rural driveway in the middle of nowhere and check into my one month old Mazda (thats just creepy).…
Dear Halifax, Safest, warm public hanky panky places?
I love this town, but I’m not familiar with the safe corners to have a little public action.. —Where must be the place?
Prettiest Troll I Know
You’re the prettiest troll I know. I hope you read this and that you know exactly who this is. It’s not hard to tell. I also hope that others in Halifax treat you as good as I hope that a troll like you should be treated. Nonetheless, I can’t wait for your return, where I…
Cute paperboy hat guy who makes the best bagel lox in town
You work at a great third wave cafe and make the best bagel lox in town! I wish I could talk to you more but you work in the side kitchen area. You are always friendly and warm when you drop off my food. I asked one day if you made the soup and you…
Tame your hair
To the wildly curly haired girl who is always the last to ‘catch the bus’, I ask you this : Why are you always late? Why are you always the last to catch the bus? I see you with your luggage, yes, luggage. Why do you need so much junk every day? Why is it…
sign, sign, everywhere a sign
An open letter to city road planners : do you guys know the difference between a yield, merge, stop and free flow sign? it really doesn’t seem like you do. i will give credit were it is do though. you changed the burnside drive signs a few years a go, the most blatent error. it…
Fucked up Mother Ficking up a Kid
I got an ex wife who I pay monthly maintenance and that miserable woman does everything possible to alienate me from my child. I ADORE my little boy. In three years I never have gotten a positive sounding email. Never a positive conversation about the child. Just fucking stupid shit emails. “Don’t do this, oh…
Corey Isenor: Mountain man
“It was the best of the worst case, really,” says south shore troubadour Corey Isenor, with a seasoned mix of hoarseness and optimism in his voice. He’s referring to a car accident that punctuated the beginning of his tour, along the highway nearing Dawson City. “We spun around a few times and ended up going…
Eugene Ripper
The opening strains of former Haligonian Eugene Ripper’s Fast Folk Underground are mild and twinkly, betraying his veteran punk roots. Pedal-steel twangs and the metallic percussion of an acoustic guitar look ahead to Ripper’s present and future. Ripper’s voice sits high on top, raspily reciting letters to an unknown subject, evolving to near psychedelia with…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sagittarius! (November 22-December 21) The standard dictionary says that “righteous” is a word that means virtuous and highly moral. The slang dictionary says that “righteous” describes someone or something that’s absolutely genuine and wonderful. Urbandictionary.com suggests that “righteous” refers to the ultimate version of any type of experience, especially “sins of pleasure” like…
Shearwater
The Austin trio takes an inspired approach to the covers record, highlighting songs from past tourmates on Fellow Travelers. It’s an interesting assortment of artists, including Coldplay, Clinic, Wye Oak, St. Vincent and Folk Implosion (please pass on the number of your booking agent dudes). Singer Jonathan Meiburg has a deep, beautiful voice in the…
A need to know basis
Q I’m a bi woman in my mid-20s in a great monogamish relationship with my straight boyfriend. We occasionally invite other women into our sex life, which is really enjoyable for both of us. He isn’t threatened by other women, only by other men, which isn’t an issue since I’m not interested in any other…
10 Things You Have To Do This December
1 Geeks vs Nerds Holiday-Themed Show GvN’s first Christmas show in five seasons is bound to be the best gift you get this holiday season. They’ll start off with a few easy two-minute debates—socks vs educational gifts, holiday CC bill vs naughty list and Rudolph vs Frosty—followed by the big guns, Superman vs Santa Claus:…
Stop looking at data and start taking action to make crosswalks safer
I trust we all agree pedestrian safety is important. As is the use of bicycles, and vehicles, to efficiently and safely move about and transport goods within a city. A vibrant and healthy city must accommodate both pedestrians and drivers, and find ways to maximize the safety of all who use the roads. Halifax Regional…
16 Ways to Give Back, For Real
1 Pierre’s Alley Cats Since incorporating in 2007, PACS has been working to ease the suffering of Halifax’s stray and feral cat populations. The Society established and cares for the feral cat colonies at the CFB Halifax dockyard using their trap-neuter-return model, as well as providing food, shelter and veterinary care for stray and feral…
Letters to the editor, December 5, 2013
Fluoride bouquet I grew up in West Island, Montreal in the 1950s/’60s without fluoridated water (“Halifax Water should stop poisoning us,” Voice of the City by Dana Landry, November 28). I’ve always had lousy teeth. If one were a Quebecer or from eastern Ontario at that time or earlier, there was a stereotype socially and…
6 Unbelievable Christmas Traditions
1 Mummering “I remember mummering at my grandparents’ house in St. Mary’s Bay, Newfoundland,” says local comic Brian Aylward. “People from the community piled into the kitchen dressed in drag. Everyone would try to guess who was who. There was live music, dancing and lots of laughter.” First recorded in 1819, mummering (or mumming) in…
It’s the Holiday Planner 2013
Check these seasonally-inspired lists and you’ll be feeling festive in no time. Even you, Grinchy.
3 Festive Drinks to Toast the Season With
1 While on vacation in Vermont, Morris East’s Katrina Roberts was inspired by a dessert topped with candied pine. “It awoke so many wonderful memories for me that I quickly set about designing a cocktail using pine,” says Roberts, who also made the (local) pine and blood orange syrups that make this mix complete. The…
10 Ways to Stuff a Stocking Right
1 Naughty and nice folks deserve a drink of Java Blend’s Lump of Coal Holiday Blend. This mix of beans from Guatemala, Ethiopia and Sumatra compliments all things rich but won’t break the bank. Java Blend Coffee Roasters, 6027 North Street, $13/pound 2 The Marshmallow Fun Company’s (totally a thing) Marshmallow Stryker can shoot mini-mallows…
The Explanation for Everything
It’s one of the most basic and enduring arguments of our time: creationism versus Darwinism; intelligent design versus evolution. In Lauren Grodstein’s newest novel, it is precisely this argument that is taken up, over and over, from the perspectives of its protagonist, a professor of ethics in biology who offers a popular (though highly contested)…
Sunny vol.1
Childhood is one of Taiyo Matsumoto’s favourite themes and his manga often depict worlds both whimsical and slightly sinister. Sunny, his latest work to be published in English, is more down to earth than his past series. This fits, since Matsumoto is drawing from his own childhood—specifically a time when he lived at a group…
5 Very Special(ish) Network Television Holiday Spectaculars
1 30 Rock, ”Ludachristmas” 30 Rock mostly killed it with guest stars (sit down, Hayek) but no one was deployed with such mischievous glee as Broadway dame Elaine Stritch, playing Jack Donaghy’s mother Colleen. As the TV gang prepares for Ludachristmas (not just because Liz Lemon parties are mandatory), Colleen sets about ruining Christmas for…
Xcom: Enemy Within
Developer Firaxis already had a major winner with Xcom: Enemy Unknown, but has made it into near tactical perfection with the standalone expansion pack—Xcom: Enemy Within. Although adding on new mechanics, levels and stages— improving the game tenfold—then charging full price for it again might rub some people the wrong way. But if you’ve never…
Hanson and Sonnenberg’s internal language
Most Haligonians are probably familiar with the three lampposts installed on the waterfront: one is drunk and has fallen over, one is pissing in the harbour and the other is probably checking its phone. Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg are the Brooklyn-based duo behind these pieces, which are part of a larger body of work…
Pokémon X
The game where “you gotta catch ’em all” is back and its finest form in years. Gone are the 2D sprites of yesteryear—in their place, fully fleshed out characters and a world worth exploring. The story is what you’ve come to expect, if you’ve played any Pokémon game before. Starting as a budding trainer, you…
Fine La Frasca
Things are picking up steam at La Frasca when I stop in for dinner. The dining room is a little over half full and tables are being pushed together for various reservations. I ask for a table for two and am told that will be impossible, but I am welcome to sit at the bar,…
Magik Markers
For all the meandering, all the fog and confusion and the splattering of sounds that happens on any given Magik Markers release (of which there are ostensibly countless), there is always something very pure and direct at the core. The Connecticut trio makes fevered, impressionistic rock music that has evolved slowly into something resembling song-formed…
Dog Day: Beyond the Fade
“Someone asked me where we got our name and I was looking up the definition of ‘dog day,’ cause I actually didn’t know, and it said ‘a period of inactivity,'” says Seth Smith. “I was like yeah, that sounds about right.” He laughs, but he’s being modest. Dog Day has been releasing cracked-pop records every…
Wet Denim
The Halifax four-piece dropped two wet demos onto Bandcamp way back in the summer of 2012—the lilting, key-driven “Demagnetize” and head-bopper “Last Night,” a straight fucking jam with layers of verse vocal lines leading into a perfect pop chorus. Both appear on this awaited/anticipated full-length alongside eight other songs skillfully laced with keyboard lines, riffs…
