Dear Spirit of Christmas Past, I know that Christmas is over for this year, but it appears a few items are missing from under the arts tree. I’m sure they fell out of the sleigh. No problem, we also honour orthodox Christmas on January 7, so there’s still time. An arms-length arts council: I know, […]
Arts & Culture
Posted inArts + Music
Picks and Pan
Two thousand six hadn’t struck me as a particularly good year for movies until I was faced with narrowing down a list of the 10 best. Though nothing new was worthy of the masterpiece label, the strength of this fall’s releases compensated for the mostly chilly summer months. New movies by Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, […]
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Palermo and Palermo at the movies
This is a best-to-worst listing of the feature-length movies I saw this year, prior to December 15. Films with distributors are included based on their first North American release date. For example, Transamerica, Munich and The New World didn’t hit Halifax until January, but are considered last year’s films and Are not included in this […]
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The Darkness
When I was six years old, my father sat me, my brother and sister down on a park bench and told it to us straight: “There is no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy and no God. Questions? No? Ice cream?” I was already sort of hip to the Santa/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy racket, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Until morning
I remember standing there, staring at the back of him. His slouched shoulders, the irregular shape of his head. Marco was always at the kitchen window, after supper when he got back from the gym. He’d come in and plunk his kit bag down on top of me, the smell of barbells and wet socks, […]
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Finders, keepers
“The lights should come on in a minute or two,” came a loud but unamplified voice from the far end of the arrivals hall. Allie sighed and kicked the baggage carousel, the rubber toe of her boot bouncing back at her. “Unbelievable,” Marcus said. He was not the type to deal well with this sort […]
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Sweet Revenge
I’m sorry officer, for my judgment error,but Terry’s Chocolate Orange makes a delightful“SMACK!”— wrapped in a Christmas stockingswung on the windshield of a car. No, it’s not my first time.That was Valentines Day. 1996.Red-hot candy hearts, crushed into molten powdererupted from my ex’s gas-tank ?with tongue-numbing glee. Then there was Easter. 2001.The perky bottoms of white chocolate […]
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Copy that
Rule #1: Catwalk Avoid wearing anything too slinky or sexy—this isn’t Halloween, you hussy. Instead, add a sparkly belt or perhaps a fancy hairdo. From Animal Hairstyles D.I.Y. (a do it yourself guide), Sonia Edworthy Rule #2: Well bread Never show up to a party empty-handed, as accurately demonstrated here. George Costanza: “So you’re telling […]
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The Office business
“At Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, we’re not just in the paper business—we’re in the people business.” So begins The Faces of Scranton, a short video made by Dunder-Mifflin manager Michael Scott. The film enjoyed its debut during Scott’s first meeting with the company’s new chief financial officer. Scott edited the film on his Mac. He was thinking […]
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Alt spirit awards
The end of the year is all about lists. People love ’em. They can be arbitrary, considered or ridiculous. You turn a list into a popularity contest, and you get awards. People love awards as much as they love lists. I’d like to subvert all that. Or, perhaps I’ll surreptitiously join what I can’t beat. […]
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Political platforms
In recent years, Canadian domestic politics have been dominated by accountability and corruption scandals. That’s why John van der Woude’s exhibition, Power Houses: Canada’s First Ministers, at Anna Leonowens Gallery, a series of 14 photos documenting the homes of every provincial premier and the prime minister, is so captivating: these guys live mostly in relatively […]
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Jay in the life
Comedy albums have enjoyed a resur-gence as of late. Both Tenacious D and Weird Al Yankovic recently hit the top 10 in the United States with their respective albums The Pick of Destiny and Straight out of Lynwood, while internet phenomenon Dane Cook has spent over a year on the charts with his double disc […]
