Hal-Con 2013 November 8-10 World Trade & Convention Centre, 1800 Argyle Street day pass $30, weekend pass $70 hal-con.com Did you know that in early drafts of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Lando Calrissian dies in an exploding Millennium Falcon, taken out by the destruction of the second Death Star? If you […]
Whitney Moran
Posted inArts + Music
Y
If the first page of this brilliant debut doesn’t hook you, you should probably get your eyes checked. Long-listed for the Giller Prize, Y is that rare breed of novel that deftly employs a complex pattern of image and metaphor with a steady hand—does not choke you by shoving its purpose down your throat, but […]
Posted inArts + Music
My Dirty Dumb Eyes
Picture this: apes sprouting flowers from every orifice; a person made out of a pancake offering therapy to a “half deerdog, half pony;” a wild turkey wearing a “rock ’n’ roll mixed tape bonnet;” a dove dressed up like Prince with the caption, “When doves cry;” questionable uses for wedding registry items; sections like “How […]
Posted inArts + Music
Diana
Caught between N64’s Wave Race soundtrack and Warpaint on synth steroids, Toronto’s Diana drops a debut album that is both danceable and deep. Though somewhat typical of shoegaze revival, these are serious cuts—slightly schizoid, but never boring. Strongest showings are “Born Again,” an ultra-addictive relaxation groove, “Anna,” which would belong to the genre of Final […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Time to Unwined
Moira Peters doesn’t think there’s any room for snobbery in wine tasting. “Snobbery around wine really irks me. That’s probably my Nova Scotia character coming out,” she admits. “Sometimes drinking cheap red wine out of a tumbler is the best way to go about it.” Peters, a Cape Breton-born, New York-trained sommelier, grew up in […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Ocean At the End of the Lane
What the hell just happened? I waited half the summer for Neil Gaiman’s new book (his first in 10 years!) to come out, and I’m speechless with disappointment. There were moments within the first 50 pages where I thought, This could be my new favourite book. Gaiman’s dark, dreamlike prose and ability to slip into […]
Posted inArts + Music
Low
Low is a tapestry of things that are broken: broken families, broken hearts, broken people. It chronicles a mental health care system that is, in many ways, broken. But it also explores the love that lives in the cracks between the broken pieces, and the reservoir of strength inside each of us. When the novel’s […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Virgins
The boarding school epic is not a new genre, but Pamela Errans writes, through her uniquely outcast-ish protagonists, Aviva and Seung, a slightly off-kilter tale in The Virgins. First of all, the two lustbirds maintain their virginity until the bitter (tragic) end: different. Their courtship takes place in abandoned chemistry buildings, in patrolled dorm rooms, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Glass of 2013
You came here for an education, right? Good, because I’m about to school you on Halifax’s favourite subject: beer. From light to dark, hoppy to fruity, it’s time to meet your new classmates. If you drink: Pilsners, lagers and light ales like Heineken, Steamwhistle, Molson 50 and Canadian, Mill St. Organic, or anything that ends […]
Posted inArts + Music
All My Friends Are Superheroes
Now with green type and gorgeous illustrations by Tom Percival, the 10th-anniversary edition of Kaufman’s acclaimed love letter to Toronto, All My Friends Are Superheroes, has never been better. After the Perfectionist is hypnotized by her ex-boyfriend (Hypno) at her own wedding to believe that her brand new husband, Tom, is invisible, she leaves for […]
Posted inArts + Music
Levels of Life
I’ve thought about it for weeks and I still can’t wrap my head around this book. Sometimes, that’s a good thing–not here. Barnes’ last book, The Sense of an Ending, was infinitely re-readable, gorgeous and effective. I expected more of the same. But subject matter got in the way. When Barnes’ wife passed away, he […]
Posted inFood + Drink
A Beer League of their own
For centuries, the basic components of beer—water, hops, malt, and yeast—have remained unchanged. But Halifax’s Ladies’ Beer League is showing the male-dominated industry they’ve been missing an essential ingredient. “We are a group for women who love beer, and want to learn more about beer…no experience necessary,” explains Tracy Phillippi, Beer Judge Certification Program judge, […]
