Stay on the Topic!
What I find annoying on LTWWB is that in the comments, instead of comments about the original bitch, it’s posters having conversations with one another about shit not related to the bitch! I’m sick of seeing a bitch with 20-30 comments, and clicking on it to see what other people wrote to the OP only…
To vote or not to vote
According to the EC website, in order to vote I simply need to provide my government issued photo ID. Off I go to my local voting station, license in tow. I register to vote, as I’m new to the city and was not on “the list”. Once registered I’m on my way to my booth…
Dammien Alexander at Photopolis
Dammien Alexander at PhotopolisThursday, Oct. 9, 9:01pm, at Cargo & James Teas. photo Scott Blackburn
Unreadable bus schedule, Highfield bus terminal.
Remarks: The GO time monitor still isn’t working, and as a reader points out, the paper schedule is unreadable because the “lexan panel”—known to us mortals as Plexiglas—is perpetually fogged over. “A new panel is currently on order for Highfield Terminal,” says Patterson. “It will be replaced, along with the schedule poster, around the November…
Look deeper, Lowe
Dear Lezlie Lowe, In “Broken windows” (Sep. 25, Lowedown), you write: “Mayor Ken Livingstone brought in London, England’s congestion charge for vehicles travelling into the city centre. People hated the changes. But these visionary mayors believed in them and pushed for them, looking beyond immediate municipal wants and past their own popularity. Now people look…
School Board responses
To the editor, I read with interest Kimber’s article about the Halifax school board and the upcoming election. While I found the first part of the article on Howard Windsor and his role as the school board enlightening, I was a little disconcerted with his section on the current election. With 36 candidates running, the…
Heritage Trust non-partisan
To the editor, In “Peninsular politics” (Oct. 2, News), Sue Uteck is quoted as saying the Heritage Trust is actively working against her in the election. The outcomes of municipal and federal elections have important impacts on heritage buildings and sites in Nova Scotia. However, the Heritage Trust is not a political organization and does…
Think before razing
To the editor, How much of Halifax has to be gobbled up before Halifax is not Halifax anymore? Large portions of HRM have either been razed or are slated to be levelled for redevelopment, particularly since the amalgamated municipality came into being. By and large, the replacement architecture is unremarkable and there is a sameness…
Downtown business slight
To the editor, Tim Bousquet missed the point in his assessment of last week’s mayoral candidates’ forum organized by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission (Reality Bites, Oct. 9). Bousquet wrote: “In pursuit of their own narrow interests, a collection of downtown business people has framed the election in terms of the peninsula vs the suburbs.”…
Cooking with cheese
Damn its hard to move out of my moms apartment and get a job because she keeps cooking with cheese and i’ll miss her cooking too much. I guess it doesn’t help that i post on the coast ads 24 hours a day with lame repetitive replies that are only funny to me and one…
Woozy for Woozles
What began as one frustrated mother desperately seeking a broader spectrum of children’s literature, resulted in a Canadian legacy—Woozles Children’s Bookstore (1533 Birmingham). Halifax’s little bookshop that could (also noted as the oldest children’s bookstore in Canada) celebrates its 30th anniversary October 19. “I was getting my masters in 1974 and took a course on…
Love me tender
Love, Me Boutique (1539 Birmingham) celebrates a first birthday October 18. The timing couldn’t be better, as Chara Kingston, owner of the handmade Canadian one-stop artsy shop, plans to pull an all-nighter (sort of). Her celebration date correlates with Nocturne—the city’s inaugural late night art fest. The shop will be open from noon until 11pm.…
H&M
Neither MicMac Mall nor H&M headquarters will comment, but Shoptalk has it on good authority that H&M is conducting job interviews for a position in a soon-to-be-opened MicMac Mall locale. For the two people in the universe who don’t know, H&M is a kind of clothing equivalent of the Swedish furniture chain IKEA—cheap fashionable stuff…
butta
You’re nothing ‘butta’ moron. every one but you and kay
Horses Downtown – It’s Not The 1800’s
To the Halifax tour company that uses two overworked horses to pull fat tourists around the downtown core – hurry the fuck up! Traffic downtown is slow enough as it is, we don’t need your overgrown carriage lumbering down a main artery at 20km/hr. I’m sick of sitting in a parade of angry drivers behind…
Daniel Lanois meet and greet!
Daniel Lanois will do an hour-long Q&A before his Marquee show on Saturday at 5pm. Our pal Bob Mersereau (he of the controversial The Top 100 Albums book) will interview the veteran producer-artist and then take some questions from the office. (Please don’t waste his time with “Does Bono ever take his sunglasses off?”)
Norma MacDonald’s new record
“I’m a child of the ’80s,” says Norma MacDonald. “I did love Wham!, I did love Duran Duran. I was nine, not even! But my dad was always a huge old-school country fan—Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton. I was too young to appreciate it too appreciate it at the time.” The Halifax-via-New…
Why do some women appear to be afraid of men?
Why do some women appear to be afraid of men? I have had women refuse to get on an elevator with me! Do I smell? (checks ‘pit…nope clean)….Did I leer at them??? Wtf is it with them anyway??? Some seem to have an outright fear of us and I just can’t figure it out. sick…
The Coast.com(plaint)
This search engine on this site is worse than the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I can consistently never find what I want. Clicker Nut
Obie Trice + friends
We heard the rumour last week but this shit is confirmed: Obie Trice, D12 and Royce Da 5’9″ will all be throwing down at the Marquee on November 9 as Halifax’s crazy year of hip-hop rolls on. (Don’t forget: T-Pain October 26.) Tickets available here.
Bikemania
Okay, i get it. Biking is great. I bike, i don’t drive or take the bus even… but don’t you think it’s a little much to turn a simple mode of transportation into some sort of protest movement. Noone is against bicycles, don’t act as if its some artistic expression that’s being opressed. I stopped…
Relationships
What is it with people? Why is it so hard for some people to understand something that you want in a relationship. If you need to be alone for a while to get your life back together shouldn’t your partner support you? Unfocused
Daniel Gaynor tribute
Originally there were plans for a benefit concert to assist Daniel Gaynor, but sadly the 26-year-old filmmaker passed away from cancer on September 18. Instead, there’s a tribute night on Monday at Tribeca (8pm, suggested donation of $5). Gaynor worked with Eastlink Television, was the core digital film instructor at the Centre for Arts and…
Pick that shit up
I’d like to issue a formal “Fuck You” to the asshole who let their dog take a dump on South Bland St. If you don’t have a baggie, don’t walk your damn dog on my street. That goes for the rest of you douchebags with dogs who won’t stoop & scoop, too. shitty-shoes, thanks to…
Fuck, men can be PIGS!
Here’s how it all started: I met this guy thru this online dating site, we went on a couple of dates. We got along great. Eventually, we had sex. It was NOT very good at all. But I took it as him having an ‘off’ night, maybe he was just nervous, you know, so I…
Join the adult world…please
I am fucking sick to death of the inane, bullshit games you selfish, whiny, immature cunts decide to play. Grow the fuck up, learn how do deal with life as functioning adults rather than dragging things out and being wishy-washy little cockteases. Or step on the gas and run your car into a tree. Either…
Bus Buddies
Transit Drivers: leave your friends at home! I absolutely hate having to sit behind you and wait for you and your friend/spouse to stop talking, so that I can ask you a question. They stand there, blocking the front exit and just yack the whole way. I’ve had enough. It Takes One, Not Two, to…
I really can’t think of anything for a title
I have a real problem with flamboyant gays. Not because they are gay, but because of how they choose to express it. Please don’t get on the bus with your fake boobs on, mini skirt, thong showing, tube top on, 2 day stubble, stumbling in your high heels. I shouldn’t be forced to see that,…
bully boss wasting your tax dollars
My boss schedules all us full-time hospital employees to work all the holidays. Won’t mention the name for fear of further punishment. This means that we get time and a half or doubletime plus a day off with pay. Can’t complain if you want the money, however there are casuals in our dept. that would…
Website Snafu
A graphic is hiding the intro to the online version of “The brawl for city hall article.” It should be easy to fix, but it’s unbecoming. Scott
Shove it up your ass
Thanks to the person who had the nerve to steal my store’s sign last weekend. I hope you are proud of yourself for really helping out a local small business. You are an idiot and I hope someone steals $120 from you. Pissed off
Bad postering tactics
I am a musician passing through town and went to your lovely market on Saturday. There were two women postering, the younger was putting up posters for the Symphony among other things, I watched her look for spots and take down stuff that was done. Then this older woman posterer came along with a bunch…
cable t.v. washout
Just wondering what happened to our cable t.v. service. It seems we have a twenty-four shopping channel, a twenty four hour infomercial channel, two music video channles that seem to never have music videos , but have lots of bad movies and reality shows. and what happened to the channel with the roll-up news and…
not sure what’s up
you seem to be acting so weird lately, and i’m not sure why. maybe it’s jealousy or maybe you’re going through a weird phase. i hope it’s not because of something i said or did, or something i didn’t say or do that’s pissed you off and has you treating me unfairly and acting like…
Does Elizabeth May = Ralph Nader
Just asking the question: is Elizabeth May the Canadian version of Ralph Nader?
Web site whoring
Dude, I let you whore your shitty web site here once, but that’s it, OK? Stop trying to post the same thing every day– it ain’t going in. Web site nazi
Distribution of issues
The Coast needs to better stock the box outside the Killam instead of the one inside. Seriously. Do they think I have time to go into the library as I rush between classes on Friday morning? lazy Dal student
Houses razed
No surprise: A trio of Victorian homes in Halifax met with the wrecking ball this weekend after a developer was unable to find someone to relocate them. The homes at 1441, 1455 and 1467 South Park St. were scheduled to be demolished to make room for the 19-storey Trillium condominium project W.M. Fares Group will…
to who ever broke my car mirror on Sunday night
fuck you your drunk piece of shit. If I ever find out who you are I will take my broken mirror and cut your balls off with it so you cant contaminate the gene pool with your stupidity. I cant understand why anyone would get a kick out of vandalizing someone’s car your costing me…
Who’s ass and what way?
O.k., I don;t mind if you ARE a little bit in my way if your holding the door open for me (see ‘Get your ass outta my way), and some days it DOES seem like everyone is challenging you…but the most baffling behavior is people walking directly at you on the sidewalk. Am I the…
american idle
I live in a building just across the street from the Metro Centre. Kerri Underwood’s tour bus has been parked and idling since 8:00am. It’s now 4:30pm and it’s still sitting there idling away. As if a visit from another plastic formulated star wasn’t bad enough, now I get to suck in her fucking bus…
Where are all the bitches?
Come on everyone, I want to see some good bitchin’ here. I have noticed that not only the quantity has gone down, but so has the quality. Kudos to the girl with the stinky hairy box bitch though, that shit made me smile for a couple of days, wether it was true or not. Come…
To Severly Abuse and not Protect.
I was driving with my girlfriend over the weekend, going back to the city from Tantallon. Halfway between Sobeys and Superstore towards the end of Hammonds plains road, there was a police check with 3 morons checking license plates and inspection. One was at the front of the line, one in the center and the…
Red Lip Stick
Ladies red lip stick is not recommended for everyone unless your Gwen Stephanie you shouldnt be wearing it. The reason for this is because it looks bad! Jane d’oh
i do not care.
to my two idiot “friends” you guys are so annoying. i am disappointed in myself because of the fact that i have wasted so much time and energy on you two dumb fucks over the course of the last year. i have spent hour upon hour listening to you drag on and on about your…
THE Shit House
To those asshole doormen at the “unnamed nightclub at the bottom of Citadel Hill that rhymes with” Male Mouse”,asking me for identification: you are the very definition of a “douche”. I’m pretty sure that half the people that go into that fucking dump are under age. I’m thirty three, and occasionally I like to go…
Message to the People
To all new students. Do NOT rent from Trans Globe. 3 years in court with them, 34 ant infestations, approx 92 hours on the phone, 4 rent hikes, 1 counter sue and deteriorating health. Get out while you can. IronHorseDriver
Shoptalk-lets
Galleria (2202 Gottigen) officially called it a day on September 30. Owner Victoria Raine, who also owns and operates Hilltribe (1729 Barrington), is currently in Bali on a buying trip for more clothing for the Barrington location. Raine decided to narrow her focus down from clothes and furniture, as it’s truly dresses, pants and shirts…
Carbonstok
The Uncommon Group (1030 South Park) is company with many faucets. From the Rum Runners (1479 Lower Water), to the various Uncommon Grounds cafe locations across town, to the funky children’s clothing shop Uncommon Kids Wear (1030 South Park), to the sweet tooth haven Sugah! (1497 Lower Water). And now owners Gordon Stevens and Trina…
Grow. Up.
You know, I used to like you, but I can’t really recall why right now. How DARE you tell me that while I’VE spent 2 years since graduating fromt he same program you JUST FINISHED working that you’ve ‘worked too hard and achieved too much’ to take one of the entry level positions we ALL…
Fun on the #1
Thank you. You put up with some really stupid shit from that moron who blocked your way on Mumford road. For the Moron who ran across traffic to hold up a bus and bitch about a transfer. Thanks for the laugh, that’s what everyone on that bus thought of you. Also I took pictures of…
Gas Station not Lotto depot.
First, the bitch…to the Bitch at the GAS station the other morning that, after wasting the cashiers time checking your ticket, you then proceed to stand there and chit chat about some new lottery game and blah blah blah. Now normally with 2 cashiers and 2 cash registers this wouldn’t be an issue, except at…
biased election coverage
I personally just LOVE how our indy media (read: The Coast), loves to root for the underdog. Except they dont seem to root for THE underdog. Case and point: the omission of Tony Seed from the eco-candidates article. He is also running, and he is far from a ‘political newbie’. Thank you to The Coast…
Q104 ad with the fat guy is shameful
Does anyone else think the Q104 ad. on tv is an INSULT to obese people everywhere? It is supposed to be fun I guess…..hurtful….wonder if the guy that did the ad. has any self-esteem??? A buck is a buck….I guess I’m dead Jim
Workplace death
The quality-control technician should have moved the bucket off the wet floor and taken the nail out of the pallet: A quality-control technician died this week after inhaling a chemical at a pharmaceutical plant in Nova Scotia. The 46-year-old man worked at the Sepracor Canada Ltd. facility in Windsor. Provincial labour department spokeswoman Jacqueline May…
Disgustion
“One of the reasons we tried to get this album out so quickly,” says Graham Ferguson, guitarist for Halifax speed-metal outfit Hellacaust, “was simply because if somebody wants a recording that represents us, we’re not comfortable giving them an old one. Since the last album especially, we recorded a couple songs for a seven-inch”—a split…
Sorry sorry
any apology that is followed by a “but” is not an apology. say you’re sorry
How to keep the public out of the public’s business
I noted Wednesday that Nova Scotia’s access to information laws are basically a joke. Today, I have a demonstration of the fact. You’ll recall that Rodney MacDonald recently approved a “long combination vehicle pilot program”—basically, the provincial government legalized “truck trains,” those two-trailer rigs, on Highways 102 and 104 and various connecting roads. The public…
attempted murder
dear crazy chick driving a grey toyota echo Friday morning, ~8:15am at the corner of Maple and Ochterloney Street who hit the gas while I was in the crosswalk: I will be able to recognize your face in the future. I feel I’m pretty lucky for jumping and landing approximately 1.5″ out of your harms…
Hey thanks world economy for tanking just before I retire….
Hey thanks world economy for tanking just before I retire….I mean shit you were going along so well and then someone got to greedy and now we may be headed for another depression. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Barcode666
Masterworks Arts Award shortlist announced..and it’s good
Yesterday the finalists for the $25,000 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award were announced. The jury—selecting from four categories—literature, visual arts, music and theatre—made some fine choices. Who will take it? There’s All Our Wonder Unavenged, Don Domanski’s Governor General Award-winning poetry collection. The Colours of Citizen Arar, Garry Neill Kennedy’s powerful wall-painting…
the music is too loud
to every single person who complains about the music being too loud while you are swimming…SHUT UP. by the time you wander in around 8 or 9 for you’re lovely morning swim I will have already been at the pool for 3 hours and have another 5 to go…and i’m fucking tired and the volume…
Scotty-Don’t…
I have no “blood family” left. Not since my divorce. Apparently, the FIRST in my family’s history- NOT- but given their reaction you’d think so. And need I say; no “by-marrige-family” left either. I am so mad ‘ I can barely 1 finger type you A BITCH on your own stupid computer!!!!! Piss off or…
Rude Stuck-up Bitch
To my former friend whom I’d TRIED to get back in touch with on Facebook: Hey, remember me? We used to be friends a couple of years ago, we lost touch (but not on bad terms), but then I found you on Facebook and added you. You confirmed me immediately. But, when I write to…
Tara & Lisa: Thursday night arts spectacular
So if you don’t have a heinous cold like me, here’s what I recommend you do tonight. Start out at the Khyber ICA at 7pm for Lisa Lipton’s performance and installation. Lipton is one of those artists with a seemingly bottomless well of artistic talent–not to mention that whole i see rowboats thing. Anyway, High…
New Keith’s Stout
Last weekend the legendary Alexander Keith rang in yet another boozy birthday. In honour of the festivities Keith’s Brewery launched Stag’s Head Stout. “I’m still recovering from Keith’s birthday over the weekend,” says Bill Scollard, marketing manager at Keith’s. “It’s an interesting beer, as it’s from an old recipe from the 1800s by Alexander himself,…
Hopping Elephants
Last weekend Elephant and Castle Pub and Restaurant officially opened a Halifax location (5171 George) with a rockin’ performance by The Hopping Penguins, a reggae/ska/rock band that has roots in Halifax and plays across Canada. The “British pub and restaurant concept” chain has over 20 restaurants across North America, but the Halifax locale has individual…
WTF – up yours family practice.
I have been so pleased with my family doctor. She was one of those rare ones who ACTUALLY CARED about me and gave me the best service I can ever remember receiving, and I might add, respecting my decisions for alternative methods of healing and she never tried to drive all these crazy pills down…
TransGlobe No Heat (Broken Boiler) 2006-07
I had lived in the Ocean Towers (TRANSGLOBE) on Brunswick St. in Halifax N.S. from 2004-2007. I moved out in the spring of 2007 when I finished school. I had numerous problems with my apartment, from bed bugs, mice, poor maintenance, rents rising with no improvement to the building, lack of security. The worst was…
triple bitch
1) Okay, thanks Ted Larsen for basically writing of the crowd within 10 minutes of the debate @ Dal. Pompus lil’ punk, you can see in your pamphlet that your 5’4″ head is piss-poor photoshopped onto someone else’s 6’5″ foot ass. Can’t you people be honest about anything? 2) Fougere, why don’t you just come…
Crazy lady
Some crazy lady keeps calling and leaving messages on my phone, complaining that I have repeatedly referred to the election taking place on October 18, and not on the “real date” of October 14. “He should know better,” she said in the most recent message. Sigh. For the record: the federal election is October 14.…
“Fox” it
You always give me a dirty look when I buy FOX magazine (the dirtiest porno mag hell YEAAH!), and not share it with you. It gross, man. Buy your own porno. I need a new roommate. Sloppy2nds?Nothanx!
This should be common sense by now.
At one time, it may well have been considered ‘honourable’ to drag your sorry, coughing, sneezing, wheezing sick ass into work. This is no longer the case. You will not be commended for your perseverence. You are not a martyr. You are selfish and irresponsible. I do not want your illness. I do not want…
What the election is all about
In today’s print version of The Coast I make reference to the politics of division that has come to characterize the municipal election, and ask readers to come here to see an expanded essay on the subject. That essay is a few posts down, or you can get there directly through this link.
Waterside middle ground?
The photo of the glass office building the Armour Group proposes to build inside a frill of reconstructed heritage facades in the middle of Historic Properties (“Historic indecision,” Sep. 18, News) says it all! There is no way the developer’s current proposal to reduce the building by a couple of storeys in return for a…
Ontario not so great
Chris Benjamin may be supporting Ontario’s measures regarding protection of the boreal forest in “Ontario’s wild ideas,” (Sustainable City, Aug. 21). But Ontario Premier Dalton MacGuinty said “protect” and “develop” in the same breath. The protected area will be developed regardless of the use of the term “sustainable.” There is no consideration for the desire…
Missing Sweet Basil
I was very upset to read today that one of my favourite local restaurants, Sweet Basil has closed (“Bittersweet Basil,” Sep 4, News). Sweet Basil was always a good time—one of those places I took visitors and friends to show them “my Halifax.” Thank you to the staff there for the wonderful food, service and…
No democracy in Canada
Re: “250 years of what?” (Sep 11, Letterhead). If we had even an approximation of democracy, we wouldn’t be so staggeringly overtaxed so that politicians and bureaucrats can throw away what is our money, not theirs, on useless, wasteful fripperies and their own cosy lifestyles, all the while ignoring the flow of our worthwhile manufacturing…
racism in Halifax
It is made amply clear by the last two Coast cover stories (as if you didn’t know already!!!) that racism is a predominant issue here in Halifax. My question is why do white people and black peole here hate eachother so much? Why aren’t East Indians, Chinese or Sri Lankans welcome here? I was just…
Form-letter word
Monday, the Union Jack is to fly nationwide next to our Maple Leaf, from every federal building possible. Depending on where you live, but especially in Ottawa, you could be forgiven for thinking Tony Blair is in town. Actually, it’s Commonwealth Day, the arbitrary second Monday in March chosen to celebrate the organization. In 1964,…
Dumb vegans
To the editor, For dinner I’m going to have Wendys on Quinpool and when I say grace, I’m going to give thanks to the crazy vegans that spraypainted on the side of the building this morning (Wednesday) “Animal farming is killing the earth. Go Vegan.” Surely these people can think of better ways to help…
Letters to the Editor
The HRM Municipal Plan Needs Vision The HRM Municipal Planning Strategy shows us, the citizens of HRM, and more specifically, the residents of each District the development plans for their areas. It is not a detailed plan, nor is it inviolable. It is a tool that indicates areas that are targeted for high and medium…
Great expectations
After reading Chris McClusky’s article on the Great Plains Release of their Cd ‘Home of The Totem’, I have to say it is impressive and satisfying to read about intellegent, thoughtful and dedicated musicians such as Sean MacGillivray who was quoted in the piece. I have never seen or heard this band, but I will…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Coast,I am writing to give huge props to my fave local band Broken Ohms.I saw them play last night (June 30) at Gus’ Pub and it occurred to me just how truly great they are. I’ll keep the superlatives to a minimum, but to paraphrase (and respectfully disagree with) their myspace page, they are…
Letters to the Editor
These days it’s wiser to let music journalists describe how a band sound than to let the band themselves try and do it. Most people in bands these days can barely reference Dinosaur Jr. or Mudhoney, let alone preceding alternative nation luminaries. This is why when reading this week’s piece on Brampton, Ontario trio, Junction…
Letters to the Editor
I’ve been trying to find a job for months, no one will even give me a call back for a interview. Social Assistance keeps on playing games with my cheque. They make me pick it up from a homeless shelter. They didnt give me my cheque for weeks and then finnaly they gave me it…
Letters to the Editor
Ok,I was inclined to write this letter because I am getting sick of the Halifax School Board’s FLECs division(Adult High School basically) treating adults like junior high school kids.This semester(There are 4 in a year),they instituted a couple of insulting parameters to make the schooling more ‘enjoyable’ and yet serious.One of these things is to…
Letters to the Editor
After reading the round table discussion on city violence, I’m surprised that Mr. Jones doesn’t go about wearing a tin foil hat to deflect all the racist thought waves he seems to believe emanate from white people 24/7. He may feel safer in the Square than the south end, but that is a purely emotional…
Letters to the Editor
When it comes to the trials experienced by many people in the world, we in North America live in a self-imposed bubble of denial. This is particularly true for the on-going tragedy in Iraq. Zoriah is a professional photographer, who, until recently, was embedded with the US Army in Iraq. He lost his embedded status…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Coast Editor;I’ve watched from afar, with great dissapointment, our city council expropriate people’s land in order to enact an absurdly myopic transportation plan on Chebucto road. I had hoped that council might listen to the overwhelming public outrage on the issue, but that hope is waning, and it seems likely that the project will…
Letters to the Editor
This is in response to Tim Bousquet’s review of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Thank you. Sincerely, if you had not written that article, I certainly would have, and my version would have been considerably more obscene. Expelled is one more example of creationist bullshit propaganda. I have no qualms in saying that any professor, or…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Readers,What is happening at Chebucto Road is awful. I was there with my family on Friday when they cut down the first tree. There is no way they should be doing this project at all. It is against global warming measures, it doesn’t promote bike or bus travel, and it violoates people’s rights to…
Letters to the Editor
To the editor, I read with interest your editorial on “Closing the Gateway.” I would be fascinated to know the source of your information as many of the details you stated were certainly news to me. Nowhere in our original proposal or in the press release do we make reference to a “pro” Gateway conference.…
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:I wrote a letter this week criticizing HRM’s decision to follow through on the Chebucto Road widening project and encouraging citizens to make it an issue in the upcoming election. Unfortunately I neglected to include the specific names of councillors who voted for it: if you plan to print it, and if there…
Frosty Foggy Goggle
In response to the Frosty Foggy Goggle What an adequate review. The food DOES have the potential to be great but the atmosphere…a little cold indeed. I can’t believe, though, that the review didn’t mention the awesome sign out front. SO COOL. Need to bring that coolness inside. By Margie MacCormick
Sick of cell phones
This bitch is to the 2 twins that drive for Metro Transit,PLEASE leave your cell phone at HOME. All you 2 do is yak on the phone while driving the bus. Kitty.
In-Flight Safety
In-Flight SafetySaturday, October 4, 12:07pm, NDP Rally, Saint Mary’s University, McNally Auditoriumphoto Scott Blackburn
Saint Mary’s Elementary School
On September 15th, 2008, I attended a gathering of parents, teachers and neighbours at Saint Mary’s Elementary School in Halfax to discuss the announcement of this school’s review for closure. I was so impressed by the presentations of the Saint Mary’s Study Committee that evening. This smart, organized group presented on the benefits of out-of-area…
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,A few days ago this paper told us, “City seeds farmers market, new site closer to reality with $1m from HRM”. The city is forbidden to give money to for profit businesses under the Municipal Government act, sec’s 65M, 65 aa and 65 AR. How then did they circumvent the law? The first story…
Nothing
Life in Dartmouth: September 15,2008 On a recent night while at my laptop, overlooking Killgee Gate, my attention was drawn to a car pulling two thirds way round the corner stop sign to drop off the 16ish kid from across the street, practice football gear in hand. In the car a woman and another 16ish…
Letters to the Editor
Dear EditorA question that might be interesting to hear the answer to is why doesn’t council ever follow the development plans that they are continually paying for? It seems that none of the latest three buildings OK’d by council fit into either the existing plans or the new HRM by design plans. As long as…
Letters to the Editor
So let me see if i get this right….when there is the threat of a storm (Hurricane/tropicalstorm/such as Ike) the price of fuel goes up .13 cents or so per liter. But if there is no threat of a storm, if we have a month of peaceful weather , no extreme weather systems, does the…
Letters to the Editor
Dear EditorHere is an example of real tax reform rather than the proposed tax reshuffle currently being considered by HRM council that would see taxes skyrocket outside old Halifax for your and your readers’ consideration. This will address all the problems they say are in the present system. Do away with municipal taxes, as we…
Letters to the Editor
I’m seriously concerned about the future of this great country. Still unknown by many is this impending American Union, the merging of Canada, the US, and Mexico into one borderless union, like the European one. This is a topic that’s been completely kept in the dark for obvious reasons. Along with this American Union are…
Letters to the Editor
We have socialized medicine because in the fifites and sixties politicians saw the Canadian economy as the servant of the public. Today, all parties see the economy as the servant of speculators and corporations. And the leading lobbyist for these interests is Stephen Harper and the Conservative/Alliance/Reform party(ies). The leopard has not change his spots….just…
Letters to the Editor
Some thoughts on the article in The Coast abut online voting. It noted many people are pushing online voting as a way to deal with voter apathy and get more people out to vote. If that’s our approach to getting more people out to vote, then I think we’ve missed the mark. I think it’s…
Letters to the Editor
As a single parent of a 5 year old son, who is currently on a non-portable daycare subsidy for before, lunch and after school care at the YWCA I feel the need to publicly address this ‘politically motivated’ attempt by the school board to close St.Mary’s Elementary School. Going against 7 of the 11 recommendations…
Blow your smoke somewhere else!
It’s disgusting to be bathed in you cig smoke while you walk. Not only did it set off my asthma attack which made me late for class but also bathed me in the disgusting scent. Stop and have your cigarette somewhere. Sure your walkig to save time when rushing to somewhere but your killing yourself…
This week’s live gig snap
In-Flight SafetySaturday, October 412:07pm, NDP Rally, Saint Mary’s University, McNally Auditorium
A nice rant
While I do enjoy reading the slightly controverssial bitches that come in, I wanted to submit one with a different tone. A thank-you bitch to my cousin and her husband. These are two of the most amazing people – not just because I am related to them! They are generous, kind, interesting, compassionate people. I…
Wheaton’s world
If you picked up an Atlantic Film Festival guide this year and perused the selection of Atlantic Shorts programs, you probably saw the name “Jeff Wheaton” a lot. Aside from his own film Construct + Conflict, Wheaton had his name attached to four other Atlantic Shorts as a cinematographer. He is humble and good-natured when…
The brawl for city hall
INT. MAYOR’S OFFICE — MORNING. Peter Kelly—51, slim, comb-marked brown hair, grey suit, red sparkly tie—flicks on the kettle. Then he walks like a sommelier out of his office kitchen, a box of green tea in each upturned palm, approaching the reporter there to interview him. REPORTER (pointing) Oh, this one, please. Halifax’s two-term mayor…
The man doesn’t want you to vote
But Graham Pilsworth does!
$300 milion for…
Thank God for Danny Williams. And for the people of Quebec. And for Bill Casey. And, of course, for Stephen Harper, whose stubborn, sweater’s-off-now arrogance helped save us all from a fate worse than George Bush—which is to say a Stephen Harper Conservative majority government. It is easy to imagine what might have happened Tuesday…
MacGregor goes down
Andrew MacGregor’s been loving the last year he’s spent in Truemanville, a small community in Cumberland county that’s a short drive from the New Brunswick border. Chances are he’s the only experimental guitar slinger living there—let alone one to have recorded with a member of Sonic Youth and release a boatload of CD-Rs, LPs, CDs…
Religulous
Bill Maher begins Religulous by saying he’s intent on finding out why some otherwise smart people are religious. Then he spends most of the movie talking to people who can barely articulate a thought. The mission statement was more interesting. But what ends up saving Religulous happens unknowingly of Maher and director Larry Charles’ often…
Briony Carros on talent drain
…on talent drain While other cities are trying to find ways to attract talented, creative people, Halifax needs to work on retaining them. We have an incredible asset, hundreds of students graduate from post-secondary institutions every year, but the municipality is squandering opportunities to develop or encourage the infrastruture necessary to keep them here. The amount of talent…
Blindness
The blind protesting Blindness, on the stated basis that it treats them as helpless, has been mocked aplenty. So let me make the movie’s offence more explicit: It’s so patronizing, and convinced of its artistic importance, it achieves the opposite of its humanistic aims. A sudden, unexplained epidemic of blindness isn’t considered with sadness or…
Eleanor King on arms-length arts funding
The city needs an arts council. All major cities in Canada have three-tiered funding opportunities, Federal, Provincial and Municipal. In Halifax, we don’t have municipal funding. An arms-length body would also bring respect and professionalism to arts funding in this town! Right now the city offers $500 if you want to paint a mural on…
Ben Folds
[image-4]Published October 16, 2008.Ben FoldsWay to Normal(RED INK)For his first true LP since 2005’s Songs for Silverman—2006’s Supersunnyspeedgraphic was a compilation of previously released EPs and singles—Ben Folds has cracked his style wide open. The piano’s still central, as are the swears and wit, but sonically he and producer Dennis Herring have packed Way to…
Who would you want to be PM?
The question is no longer who wants to be prime minister, but why anyone would want the job. Consider: The global banking system is in massive meltdown, the stock market in frantic freefall; our short-term fiscal future seems unpredictable, perhaps unfathomable, even to those who make their living fathoming and predicting it. And don’t get…
Why Dartmouth?
Rae Kraushar, owner of Nectar Social House, wanted a challenge. Somehow, working 80 hour weeks trying to get downtown Dartmouth on the dining map seemed like a good one. A former production designer, she got bored with the film business and decided to start her new career in her old neighbourhood. “Dartmouth needed a restaurant…
Social house rules
We step into Nectar Social House and I’m immediately taken by the decor. Rae Kraushar, related to the owners of Interlude Spa, has created a beautiful, contemporary space filled with the promise of good food and drink. A small bar area with a glossy black-grey floor, backlit bar and dark wood is in the front…
The forgotten election
Dan Leger doesn’t mince words. The school board elections? “Roadkill,” he says. The director of news content—editor to the rest of us—at the Halifax Herald makes no apologies, either. “We’re a business,” he says. There simply isn’t room to provide the kind of coverage of school board campaigns that could help voters decide who would…
Ghosts of the Highway
Published October 09, 2008. Ghosts of the Highway Road Warriors Unite (indie) Recorded in houses and cafes across Canada (including the defunct One World) while hitchhiking, Ghosts of the Highway combine twangy acoustic guitar and fiddle with eerie, almost Chris De Burgh-like narrative. Road Warriors Unite is like a punk travel zine in musical form.…
What others are saying…
Here’s a copy of an open letter from 85 Canadian economists on the current economic crisis and what Canada’s government should do about it. It was put together by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive think tank: The deepening global financial crisis, the decline in world commodity prices, and the growing possibility of…
Art and the city
It’s a telling sign that more than 500 people showed up last Friday in Grand Parade to protest federal arts funding cuts and to rally around the concept of “Vote Arts,” and yet, six hours later, only about 40 to 50 people attended a District 12 municipal candidates debate, hosted at NSCAD University by that…
TV On The Radio
[image-4]Published October 09, 2008.TV On The RadioDear Science(Interscope) TV On The Radio’s sound has evolved on their latest release, straddling the precarious line between art and accessibility. On the surface, the band has abandoned their initial vibe completely, trading the scratches and loops of OK Calculator for sometimes strolling, sometimes skipping rock grooves. Upon multiple…
The Great Interview Gaffe of Election 08
How beside the point will the final days of the federal election campaign get? Consider the latest hiccup in a hurricane over a botched question-and-answer Thursday (October 9) involving local CTV anchor Steve Murphy and federal Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion. During the taping of an interview with the Liberal leader, Murphy asked: “If you were…
Tom surfs and protects
One of the world’s best surfers worries that the Nova Scotian coast is in danger. Three-time world champion surf legend Tom Curren is in town today and tomorrow to raise funds for the Coastal Access Committee, a group of surfers fighting to keep beach access open for all Nova Scotians. He’ll be playing Friday with…
Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere
[image-4]Published October 09, 2008.Steve Cropper & Felix CavaliereNudge it up a Notch(Stax)Steve Cropper played guitar with Booker T & the MGs and led the band backing The Blues Brothers. And Felix Cavaliere sang with The Rascals, helping originate blue-eyed soul with songs like “Good Lovin'” and “Groovin.'” And Stax, well, that label brought the world…
Dream team
Perhaps it’s a sign of what a centre-left coalition might be able accomplish in Ottawa. Or perhaps I’m just desperate to find some hope somewhere… The Montreal Rocket, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, have two players—Pierre-Antoine Dion and Nick Layton—who not only share the last names of two of Canada’s federal party leaders…
Mayor’s race: on the issues
While differences in policy between mayor Peter Kelly and challenger Shelia Fougere are more nuanced than deep, they do hold distinct views on a handful of issues. Commonwealth Games Kelly takes credit for cancelling Halifax’s bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, claiming that he “stopped the bleeding” and protected the municipality from a $2.3…
FemBots
[image-4]Published October 09, 2008.FemBotsCalling Out(weekwerk)FemBots’ fourth album has some hard-to-place sounds lurking within its densely textured arrangements. This strange quality becomes more understandable once you learn Calling Out was originally planned to be recorded using strictly homemade instruments. Bedtracks from those aborted sessions became the basis for what sounds like a not-so-run-of-the-mill rock album. It’s…
Truth in advertising
It is fair to say that this election has come down to a choice of which party leader—and which party—you think is best suited to cope with what will almost certainly be future ongoing economic turmoil. The problem is that there is a disconnect between their record and their rhetoric. Consider the Liberals and Tories,…
Body of Lies
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA field operative in the Middle East. He comes face-to-face with the politics and emotions his superiors—armchair warriors who can order a kill without feeling—don’t have to think about. Roger’s boss Ed Hoffmann (Russell Crowe) is able to multitask taking care of his kids while making illicit commands over…
The Last Pogo
[image-4]Published October 09, 2008.The Last Pogo Directed by: Colin Brunton (indie) For a short time in the late 1970s, two promoters—Gary Cormier and Gary Topp—booked incredible punk and new wave bands into Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern, including The Police, Talking Heads, The Ramones and The Stranglers. But the bar’s new owners weren’t so happy, so on…
More gaseous emissions
Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald’s clumsy—not to forget sleazy and embarrassing—gamesmanship with carbon tax cost figures last week was probably his panting, puppy-hopeful attempt to curry future favour with the man he believes will still be prime minister after Tuesday. He’s probably right that Stephen Harper will win the election. But he’s almost certainly wrong…
Dan Savage
Q: I’m a 23-year-old bi male mostly attracted to women. I have a fetish for cross-dressing, but only in private, as I live in a town—Tucson—that’s small enough that I might get recognized if I went out “dressed.” My problem is that I’m not having any luck finding a woman interested in having a long-term…
Jill Barber
[image-4]Published October 09, 2008.Jill BarberChances(Outside Music)Jill Barber could have lived in another era. Chances is chock full of sweeping orchestral arrangements (provided by a 10-piece string section) and Barber’s trademark romanticism. Producer and long-time cohort Les Cooper has pulled out all the stops. From The Good Lovelies’ ethereal harmonies on opening track “Chances,” to a…
Robots never rest
The first disembodied call came early Thanksgiving Monday morning from a computer announcing itself as a representative of EKOS Research, whose auto-dialers were working their electronic fingers down to their hard drives on this holiday conducting one last poll of Canadian voting intentions in advance of today’s federal election. Did I have five minutes to…
