Letters to the Editor
To the editor, I see all kinds of apartment buildings go up in places like the South end. Though I never see apartment buildings go up in places where they’re needed like Spryfield. Which makes me think that the people who run Halifax don’t care about the poor. Halifax needs more affordable housing. Who would…
Public space for rent, real cheap
Thanks to the Freedom of Information laws, I just got a copy of the contract the city signed for last September’s Rolling Stones concert. As you’d imagine, it’s 18 pages of non-stop excitement. But somehow the three biggest highlights all occur on the first page (pictured), including highlight 1: The cost of renting the Common…
Smoke and mirrors
To the editor, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the government of Nova Scotia for developing and implementing its recent anti-smoking legislation. As an average citizen, I am far too stupid to make my own decisions, and my life is much too important to be placed into my own hands. Without government…
Rum punch
To the editor, When my mother was a kid on the South Shore, on election day voters would drive up one end of her parents’ driveway, fetch their bottle of rum and drive down the other side. It was like a free Tory drive-through LC. Except for the price of real democracy. While I’m not…
Power lines
To the editor, A recent article in The Coast (“The shadow of power,” November 23) suggests that athletes and others looking forward to the proposed Commonwealth Games in 2014 should be concerned about emissions of sulphur dioxide from the power plant at Tufts Cove. Writer Tim Bousquet references concerns but little air quality data. There…
Funny pictures are funny…
Our laywers wanted us to mention that this picture in no way implies anything about any particular chain of grocery stores, and/or their affiliates. Nor does it imply that said chain has been taking advantage of subliminal marketing techniques for lo’ these many years. But it is pretty funny. Cheers to the reader who sent…
FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!
Now, I’ve put this under the heading of NEWS, because this is totally newsworthy!
Amazing multi-tasking or bus stop boredom?
While waiting for the bus on Saturday (one of my least favourite things to do) I was briefly amused by a moment of intrigue. Or, maybe it was confusion. But regardless of what I was struck with, here’s what happened. A guy who was also waiting for a bus was passing the time by clipping…
Information Overload
I found out quite a few random facts whilst working on my part of the “Ways to Make our City Better Now” article. Most of these didn’t really fit into my articles, but I found them interesting regardless, and figured I’d use my next few blog entries to share them. Today’s Item— As a fairly…
…almost
When I typed in my complaint about City Hall to test the city’s graffiti responders, I said “There are two metal doors on the Barrington Street side. Both of the doors are covered with graffiti. One piece shows a gun.” Whoever painted over the first door used the same grey paint to touch up door…
City Hall comes clean…
I’ll admit it, I thought Scott Brison had better chances this weekend than the ever luvin’ Halifax Regional Municipality. On Thursday around noon, I used the city’s new online graffiti hotline to report some tags on municipal property. Namely, City Hall. I was sure the city would take more than the promised three days to…
Letters to the Editor
Enough about the violence in the city of Halifax. Our officials should rename the affected areas. Places to use extra caution, if you dare to venture out alone, are between “Rob Me” (Robie) and ‘Got A Gun’ (Gottingen) Streets and the area known as ‘Page a Coroner’ (Pizza Corner). ‘Nuff said. By Hoodwinked
Mad props or fishing for votes?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061127.NATIONCAMPBELL27/TPStory/?query=Gordon+Campbell This article printed in the Globe and Mail on November 27th, 2006 really drives me. I think it’s really nice of Gordon Campbell to give some props to First Nations people (what a guy!), and take away the attention from the Quebecoise for a minute. But I think he’s rather presumptuous to say that…
From the mouth of the north end
Ayo Aladejebi is helping to give a voice to youth living in the north end—just so long as they can get over their nerves about public speaking. Aladejebi helped to organize a special presentation being given tonight at the North Branch Library by a group of “five or six” young people who live in the…
Art imitating life
When life gives you hell, you make a film with it. Or at least that’s what Andrew Hines, best known as half of Halifax production team Urban Peace Divison, is doing with Silent Night, a 10-minute drama about his summer carjacking on Blowers Street. “It happened at the end of July,” says Hines over his…
Shabby chic
Allie’s Costume Magic is moving, and a new shop is opening in its place. Pinky’s Shabby Chic Bintique opens today as a new business at 1272 Barrington, while the 20-year-old costume shop will move to a new location. Both shops are owned by Allie Edgecombe. “I want the decor in to be nice—there’s no reason…
‘Oversized Symbol of Smoking in NS’
I’m really, really, really in favour of the province’s smoke-free legislation – banning smoking in all indoor public areas, workplaces and outdoor restaurant/bar patios – which officially takes effect Dec. 1. But I’m not sure that I understand the oddly worded press release announcing a photo op of Health Promotion and Protection Minister Barry Barnet…
On making the most of the movies Halifax gets
I’ve spent the last week woebegone, and Fred Willardless. I’ve been anticipating the release of For Your Consideration (the latest offering from the good people who brought us A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman, and my favorite of the lot, Best in Show) for many, many months. Last Friday, the film arrived in Halifax. “At…
City Hall, heal thyself
The new Graffiti Management Plan is pathetic for a bunch of reasons. I go into some of those reasons in today’s UpFront column; I’m going to test another one of them right here. I think the city’s stated response times to graffiti complaints, slow as they may be, are still too fast for the city…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Sing your own song, Virgo, says Rob Brezsny.
SAVAGE LOVE
This week’s code word is “asshole,” brought to you by Dan Savage.
Ill communication
Urban planning. Civic engagement. Public consultation. All perfectly good words that, when combined, become very unappealing concepts very quickly—especially in Halifax. At least, that seems to be the problem facing HRMbyDESIGN, a broad planning project that aims to direct growth and development in the city. This week, HRMbyDESIGN will begin its second phase of public…
Tag, you’re it
Dartmouth’s former heritage museum is a monument to urban decay. The squat municipal building has served in several proud civic roles—it’s been a library and a police office, besides the museum—but now stands boarded up at the eastern end of Wyse Road. Compounding the city’s neglect is the graffiti. A couple elaborate throw-ups and countless…
Disclikes
Kevin Federline. Fergie. Hedley. Paris Hilton. The Pussycat Dolls. All names you won’t find in our annual round-up of the best music of the year. >> Show me the list <<
Should, could, Deadwood
For those of you who have been busy panning for gold, it might behoove you to know seasons one and two of the HBO television series Deadwood are currently available for purchase. Why would this matter to the discerning holiday-gift buyer? Especially, say, someone who doesn’t regularly use or appreciate the term “cunt-licker” in daily…
Singles scene
Chamillionaire, “Ridin’”/ Weird Al Yankovic, “White and Nerdy”Chamillionaire’s commentary on police brutality and racial profiling, a huge hit earlier this year was given an extra set of legs by Yankovic’s spot-on parody. Weird Al is at his ridiculous best on “White and Nerdy” which proves just how good “Ridin’” was in the first place. Chuck…
Endless summer
Imagine, if you will, a film crew at Lawrencetown Beach. It’s mid-November and the shooting day starts around 5am. The film is a drama about surfers. Imagine them spending a great deal of time in the water, both the actors and the crew. “We had cameras in splash bags,” says producer Drew Hagen. “We sent…
Videodrome
We got your year-old gems and decades-old classics, your new and old television, your animation, your arena shows, your wild and weird—all here in our annual round-up of the best DVDs. >> Show me the list <<
Bone appetite
One of the most extreme food trends to appear on the culinary landscape in the past few years has been that of “rawism,” or raw food: Practitioners eat nothing that has been warmed past 116F and only uncooked, unheated, unprocessed, organic plant-based foods. While there are still hard-core “rawists,” the trend seems to be on…
More than able
Sacha Vais is on the phone and he is saying one of the most poignant things I’ve heard all year. “When you shine a little bit of light and dignity on our hardest moments, it does something.” He pauses. “I don’t know what yet.” The something Vais is talking about is something good. Something positive.…
Déjà Vu
At its most evident, Déjà Vu is Minority Report’s premise in reverse. But it samples from a whole variety of science fiction films and police thrillers. The result is somewhat shapeless—troubling mainly because the movie rarely convinces that its makers have proofread their premise. Yet it’s delivered with an assured pacing and discovery where the…
Economy of scale
Scale works both ways on peoples’ awareness and experience of their surroundings: the small fascinates, the large looms. Cape Breton artist Carl Zimmerman uses both directions in scale in Landmarks of Industrial Britain, running until January 7 at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. His photographs of seemingly massive abandoned buildings from 19th century northern…
