John McKiel I started Saturday off as a journo-geek at a NXNE talk by Evan Ratliff from The Atavist, a non-fiction journalism website that is publishing long-form journalism through Kindle Singles for the iPad, iPhone, etc. Nice to know that I may still have a job in 10 years, because music festivals aren’t cheap. Saturday’s […]
Sue Carter Flinn
Posted inArts + Music
NXNE day 2: smart kids and Dum Dum Girls
Don’t know about you, but when I’m tired and hungover, I like to feel worse about myself by going to see a child prodigy. Adora Svitak is a youth activist, technology expert and literacy advocate, who has already published three books and organizes kid-only TED talks. She knows where Syria is on a map, and […]
Posted inArts + Music
NXNE day 1: Sweating to the oldies with Wilson, Hatfield, Dando
Proving that you can never fully leave The Coast or Halifax, I’m back blogging NXNE in Toronto. It’s kind of like when you watch the TV credits and there’s a “Special Guest Appearance by “insert D-lister name here.” The kid actor whose name you can’t remember, but the face looks a little familiar, only puffier. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Eating Disorders Action Group shutting down
Today I received a note through another editor about the Eating Disorders Action Group shutting down in the spring. It is with sad hearts we are letting you know that the Eating Disorders Action group is closing due to lack of funding. Though our programs remained strong our funding opportunities had not over the years. The United Way has been kind to keep us going, but we struggled financially for some time. I recently spoke to EDAG for my story on artist Meghan Clarkston. There are still a couple of places that offer services for those with disordered eating including
Posted inArts + Music
Mascots
Former Haligonian and Coast contributor Ray Fenwick’s latest book extends the work that he began in this city: typography-heavy painting on found book covers. The books’ loose cloth weave is clearly visible through the paintings, and even though Fenwick’s lettering skills should be studied by scientists, there’s a refreshing sense of the typographer’s hand and […]
Posted inArts + Music
UPDATE: HRM Cultural Awards under review
OK, so there’s been a day of frantic emails, texts, Twitter and Facebook activity over news that the HRM cultural awards had been axed. I just spoke to Andrew Whittemore, HRM’s manager of cultural affairs, who has the official word. The news that the 2011 awards are cancelled is incorrect—according to Whittemore, this was a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Mayor kills HRM arts awards
For every one step forward the city makes (Khyber/Bloomfield redevelopment, Nocturne, Emerging Artists Studio Program), all that good work got shot to shit with the news that HRM is cancelling the arts awards, including: Mayor’s Award for Literary Achievement: $1,500Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Book Illustration: $1,500Mayor’s Award for Achievement in Theatre: $1,500Mayor’s Award for […]
Posted inArts + Music
Wanda Jackson
Well before Jack White could sprout a wispy little ’stache, Wanda Jackson was revered as the queen of rockabilly and the lady who broke Elvis’ heart. The 73-year-old sexy nana proves she can still give the dance floor a mighty shake, while White does some of his best production work since his collaboration with Loretta […]
Posted inArts + Music
Zombie Spaceship
Comic Patton Oswalt recently pissed off the nerds with a manifesto in Wired suggesting that it was time to kill off modern geek culture. Good thing he still has the alt-literary nerdlings on his side with the release of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, a memoir, comic and bathroom reader all in one. Bouncing between gags and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Local arts spaces update
The convention centre and the Halifax Central Library aren’t the only buildings that have an impact on the city’s cultural landscape. This week was supposed to be the big unveiling of Citadel High School’s theatre, now officially referred to as the Spatz Theatre. However, last-minute constructions delays have postponed the ribbon-cutting and the premiere of […]
Posted inArts + Music
Libeskind love
Last week architect Daniel Libeskind unveiled his new monument, the Wheel of Conscience at Pier 21. The bold, powerful sculpture memorializes Canada’s 1939 refusal of entry to the over 900 Jewish refugees, who were onboard the M.S. St. Louis. After being turned away, approximately a third of those refugees were killed in the holocaust. Libeskind, best known for his glass-shard redesign of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, his World Trade Centre redesign proposal and Berlin’s Jewish Museum, will return to Pier 21 on February 10 for a NSCAD lecture on architecture and art. The talk is free, and