Bluewashing swordfish?
Grocery fish counters may soon fill up with eco-certified swordfish. The Marine Stewardship Council, an independent certifying body, is assessing the sustainability of the Atlantic surface longline swordfish fishery. But the Ecology Action Centre, The David Suzuki Foundation and Green Peace consider the potential eco-certification of the longline swordfish fishery a form of eco-fraud. Shannon…
Surge protection
The wet winter story that hit Nova Scotia on January 2, killing two people and causing millions of dollars in property damage, gave a particularly hard punch to the local coastal communities of Herring Cove, Eastern Passage and Cow Bay. In many residents’ opinion the storm was a visible product of climate change, enough so…
Coast writers recognized
Being part of Team Coast means being surrounded by some of the most creative and talented people I know. It means being united in the cause of covering the hell out of Halifax, and knowing that although work can get stressful, at least it’s never boring. Can it get any better? Actually, it just did.…
Ferry frisking
Take the ferry in Halifax and you agree to be searched. New federal security measures, which took effect April 1, permit passenger searches, require proof of purchase for passengers and add more security cameras and officers in terminals and on ferries. The changes are part of Transport Canada’s Domestic Ferry Regulations. Despite the new regulations…
I Love Halifax
Hi Halifax, Just a quick note to let you know I really enjoyed being back in my home city for the week. I appreciate the sunny days, the way that I felt immediately ‘at home’ as I walked around the streets I know so well, and the fact that there seems to have been progress…
A dream that won’t come true
The first time you kissed me, On the neck just for fun. There was no question in my mind, my heart you had won. There’s just something about you, that I’ve never seen before… Now our friendship shines… I find myself wanting more… I never thought it possible, to care for one so much. But…
Buy smokes, more often
To the owner of the big lovely doggie “Wiser”: You are insanely awesome and cute. You and Wiser come into Petro Canada every day and I enjoy your visits with much love. Regardless you are always super friendly, always telling silly stories and jokes. Your a great girl, tell me your name and I’ll smoke…
Help!
I love The Beatles. Someone asked me for my top 5 Beatles songs. Sorry I said. I don’t know but The Beatles have a rather large catalogue you know. 1. Hello Good Bye 2. Let It be 3. Yesterday 4. Your Mother Should Know 5. When I’m Sixty Four—Mean Mr. Mustard
Crazy boy
Dearest new pen-pal, I’m so glad to have met you after a tacit 2-year across-the-room crush. I think you’re brilliant and exciting, like a treasure chest of beads and jewels and soft gold coins. Your stories delight me. I feel drawn to you like no one I’ve ever met. I’m so sad you’re leaving Halifax.…
I don’t understand you people!
About a month ago, this guy I met a couple of times (at a couple of parties and at dinner with mutual friends) asked me out on a date. I didn’t find him attractive and felt like turning him down, but I accepted because looks aren’t everything and he seemed like a nice guy with…
Love thy government
Thanks Dexter Government. Just when I was able to sit down you decide to give it to me again. For 5 days I reveled in the minimum wage increase, dreaming of how I may be able to get ahead or even BREAK EVEN. Then you increase the GST, squashing my dreams and making my ass…
Shafted
Hey cunt, you know who you are… Thanks a fuckin bunch for the ruination of my being. Just wanted you to know that I too think your head is shaped like a cue ball…just sayin. How many times did I help you move again? How many times did I have to endure your mysery? I…
Serving to protect the safety and security of stuffed bunnies and chocolate eggs
It’s recently come to our attention that the police are the night watch security of a certain grocery store on Barrington St. The store leaves its sale items (easter leftovers) outside the store over night and rather than the police out catching criminals who break into cars to steal their cd decks, break into apartments…
Open and honest, that’s all I ask
Try telling a person how you feel. Some are less receptive to this approach, but for those of us who still are use it as a plan A. If this fails resort to plan B–ignoring and avoiding. Uncertainty can be painfully distracting when one has a huge work load. I should probably just learn how…
Spoiler alert?!
Woah there, nellies! What was with all the movie reviews giving away major plot details in the last issue? For example: Max Manus: “The movie is tense at parts and touching in its final act, where the anguish of losing comrades over the course of the war finally overwhelms Max’s spirits” (27); Diary of a…
To everyone…
who works/stays in a place that employs cleaners. Yes we wear gloves and are careful when we do our job but please please please if you break something like a mirror or glass or ceramics please do not just chuck it loose into the garbage. Wrap it up in newspaper or something first. Not only…
A Library Headache
Dear SMU library, Thank goodness I don’t need to come here often. You are the loudest quiet space I’ve ever been to! I actually have a headache! I wish there was someone to enforce those “quiet please! students working” signs I see all over the place. This makes me sad :(—I just need to finish…
Holidays with Diamond Rings
The upcoming Long Live the Queen festival announced that Torontonian weirdo Diamond Rings (otherwise known as D’Urbervilles lead singer John O’Regan) will be joining us in Halifax sometime during the fest’s Victoria Day long weekend run. Perfect pop, eyeshadow and ridiculous videos = this is our bread and butter.You will either love the following little…
Get ready for fall with Katrina Tuttle’s new collection
Is it a crime to want summer to be over already? Halifax designer Katrina Tuttle unveiled her fall/winter collection at Toronto Fashion Week, and we’re in love, especially with her blazer/dress. This is only Tuttle’s second Fashion Week (and she’s only 21), but this collection shows a classic, sophisticated side in earthy autumn tones, mixed…
NDP hikes HST to 15%
Graham Steele answers questions at budget news conference Nova Scotia’s finance minister strode to the lectern to begin his budget news conference at Province House today and fished out a pair of children’s running shoes. Bathed in the glare of flashbulbs, Graham Steele explained that the NDP government was eliminating the provincial portion of the…
Give The Government Your Paycheques
It’ll be a fuck of a lot easier to give these clowns your cheque, and let them feed, clothe, and house you. Way to boost the economy. How did we survive before you clowns got in? I guess I was lucky and got my last vacation in. I won’t be able to take one in…
Hip hop, you don’t stop…
Thank- you so much to the Paragon Theatre for bringing Pharoahe Monch and Slaughterhouse (minus crooked) to this wonderful city. Seriously, for those in the city who fiend hip hop and rarely get the opportunity to find their fix, this is exactly the type of shit we need… thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!!!—A very happy hip hop…
Not a rock concert
To the party of 6, or was it 600, who ate lunch at Talay Thai a few weeks ago- lower your frickin’ voices! My husband and I rarely get out together for lunch and on the day you were there, at this fabulous restaurant, you all laughed way louder than necessary, shared details about your…
Off target – physically and mentally
To the stupid gun-toters shooting in broad daylight while children are outside playing, do us a favour and turn the gun on yourself next time! It’s bad enough these children already live in a stereotyped neighbourhood with few areas for play yet you feel the need to rob them of whatever innocence and sense of…
Why even bother?
Why would a company bother having (really bad elevator type) hold music if it’s going to be crackly and cut out every 2.5 seconds? It doesn’t even sound like a song! It’s just Beeepity boooo siiiiiiilenceeeeeeee beepity boooooo someladytalking UGH it’s worse than the actual crappy music you’re “playing”.—Hold wouldn’t suck so much if you…
Dear University Professor:
I’m pretty sure 240 pages written for an undergrad survey course essay is kind of over the top. Please re-think your assignment options. Even an honours thesis is usually under 100 pages! Thanks in advance!—In desperate need of sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppp
Duzheknew/Cousins Split Tape Release
afghan wrasslin’ Adam O’Reilly is releasing some tracks from his fantastic new wave-inspired project Duzheknew on a split tape with Cousins. Says the release: “What started as a home-recording project in a new city turned into a creative outlet tapping into New Wave-era bands of the past such as: Devo, Talking Heads, DNA, and more.”…
GQ Times Two
Sending some fashion love to you, handsome stranger sir, with your not one, but TWO GQ magazines on a sunny Saturday on a Sackville bus.—Usually I’m Fashionable, But I Was Headed To The Gym…
Tik Tok, Time To Mock
Wake up in the mornin hearin cupboards slam, When you say that you’re tired we don’t give a damn, When we pee all we see is your hair in the tub, Please can’t you see that you’re some kinda grub. We’re talking hair even on the floor floor Living with you is such a bore…
???
Why do women wear black tights in the fucking heat? They look gross, draw in the heat and make you reek… wear white for fucks sakes. And another thing… tights are not pants.—Loving white
NDP to slash civil service
NDP budget will announce 10 percent cut to civil service, through attrition, not layoffs.
Rap show family
I love my little rap show crew. Though nothing beats a shirtless Joe Budden you guys come pretty ‘effin close. See ya’ll May 1st for MOP.—mmmrap
Hooray for blackouts!
Much thanks to the kind staff at Tim Horton’s on Quinpool Rd. on Friday night — particularly the girl who I apparently scared shitless by fainting during her shift. The lady who kept telling me I might have diabetes: not so much.—Free fallin’
Good Morning Halifax
Beautiful day out there, a little extra special for some with the extra day off. I was just thinking there must be a few cross-posters/readers (like me) out there: the lovers who lurk in the bitches sometimes. As pissy as some of those bitchers are, they do make some good points, if not, well there…
Parading Wolf Love
Dear Wolf Parade, Thank you for blowing my ankle, mind, body and soul at your show this weekend. From start to end, your set was enthralling. I would like to make passionate wolf love to your music, except not to wolves.—Shine a light
Easter candy
To the girl who left me a tootsie pop at her table Sunday night… I thought you were joking about sharing your candy with me. Thanks for making a tough shift way better! —Sushi server
Student neighbours
Hey you, spoiled hipsters: When you’re on your own, and mummy and daddy are home in Ontario – they’re not able to clean up after you! Pick the piles of flyers off your front lawn or I’ll keep shoving the soggy bastards in with all your other mail every couple weeks. —YOUR BAND FUCKING SUCKS
Catriona Sturton vs. The World
pretty lady! When I reach Catriona Sturton, the former Plumtree bassist is finishing an Easter meal with her extended family in Ottawa. Over the phone, I can hear small children yelling at her and she occasionally breaks our conversation to gently shush them. “It’s really funny hearing my dad explain the plot of Scott Pilgrim…
Stay Classy Halifax
Love reading the love about returned ipods/ wallets / food paid for by someone random person. This is why I love living in Nova Scotia, it’s full of great people. —Just sayin 🙂
Late Thank You!
This is to the guy that was driving the #58 WOODLAWN around eight o’clock last Monday night, and who stopped at Alderny Landing to pick me up… I realized later that my transfer was about an HOUR expired, but you still let me on the bus! I was having a really crazy night, and I…
An hour I’ll think about for days
It’s not often I DD, honestly. Especially when headed to a new-to-us bar. But when I saw how hammered you were, I was very glad to be the sober one. The hour drive home with your drunk-ass telling me how much you like me but are scared to say any other time.. .I’m glad you…
Dearest Roommate:
First off, you are one of our best friends, and we love you… so much. Second off, you are impossible to live with. We know your job and your personal life are very complicated right now, and you are angry a lot of the time. It’s understandable. However, we feel you are not dealing with…
Hey you, yeah you…
KRISTA, HI, I LOVE YOU. YOU’RE AMAZING, and I think the world should know that you’re going to be a glorious addition to Hali when you get here. ^.^ –If you give a mouse a cookie…
3G Seismic Acitivty
What has glasses, a goatee, and is gigantic? Most obese guys in this city. Time to put the fork down people. Summer’s coming and DFO can’t be bothered to track down anymore whales. Join the Y or Nubodys.—ThinIsIn
HRM decides to take away kids baseball field…
… in order to keep adult pick-up beer league softball fields open. HRM has decided to kick Conrose baseball off of their bantam field this year so they can build a speed skating oval on it. A speed skating oval! Why would you do that? There are so many other locations. This is pathetic.—Angry Conrose…
Warning
To a certain ill-tempered roommate; get your self in line, because if you pull any more crap such as throwing dishes and books at her again… I will not only call the cops, I will put all your things on the curb and change the locks. Never under-estimate the protective best friend.—chocolate milk
Stay away from my car!
To the guy who decided to wash my windshield at Quinpool and Robie: I am not going to pay you to make my impeccably clean car dirty. I just spent a long time washing my car in order to enjoy the beautiful day, and you, despite my flailing arms, decide to lean over my car…
What does a Cougar on Fire Smell Like?
To the two disgusting old cougars who started their 6 month long tanning ritual on Maple Street in Bedford. You are leathery, saggy, obnoxious beasts. Having to walk past that house with the two of you falling out of your bikini tops (because your wrinkly old saggy tits hang to your knees) while you “groove”…
SHUT THE FUCK UP!
My mother is literally insane. I am convinced she is completely crazed… Oh, yeah, she’ll act like she’s just making friendly conversation, but then it just doesn’t stop. I’m at the age where I require to be driven around places, still (for fucks sake, give me a car already) so whenever my mother and I…
Dear Diva Cup boiler
I can totally relate to needing to keep your personal hygiene at its highest at all points in the day, especially when it comes to your period. But seriously, there is no need to boil your diva cup in a communal kettle used to make tea and coffee for over 30 people. Some of those…
“Further Reflections on the Underclass in Halifax: Excavating the Concept”
Readers will recall that in my “The Under-class in Halifax: A Thematic Approach” I attempted, in a spirit of academic collegiality, to sketch the outlines of a possible paper (or even thesis!) in sociology and/or social psyhology employing the contributions to “Bitch” since they embodied, for the most part, the ruminations of the Underclass itself.…
Bad Thief
I COULD bitch about how you checked all the cars on our street late one night until you found out that I stupidly left mine unlocked and stole my meter change out of it… but I won’t. Instead I’ll give you some advice. If you hadn’t left all the crap from the glove compartment strewn…
What the fucken fuck?
Really, the government is worried about the repercussions of one person that is entitled to weed as a method of pain management? It’s not like this person is trafficking this shit, she’s in constant anguish, and needs this for any type of relief. Of all the issues facing this gov’t, they’re worried about this? They…
I will Crush You
I am a musician. I have two rehearsal spaces with two different groups of people in two different homes. We took the time to sound proof our jam rooms for better in room sound and to not disturb the neighbours. We talked to the neighbours to make sure we are not an issue. We can…
Patchy Long Coat
I remember you standing there waiting for your bus and wanting you to cross the street as I am not permitted to. I have thought of you since, longingly, frustrated, hoping that we will cross paths again.—Yours in anticipation
The Bluest of Blues
Can you count me in? Because you’re officially the cutest FREAKING thing my eyes have ever seen. Walking up the stairs last night, I totally roasted you smiling away to yourself as you were packing your bag. I can’t get that image out of my head. That I could possibly have been the cause of…
iPod Returner
To the guy who found my daughter’s iPod in Point Pleasant Park, then took the time to hunt through her contacts and call “Dad” so he could return it – Thanks so much – you made my Easter weekend!—Dad of Lossy Daughter
C Ester VS Ester E
Regular vitamin C is very acidic, and can cause increases in your blood acidity levels. Ester C is made so that it is non-acidic, and has more bio-flavanoids in it. This is a fancy word for additional nutrients to allow your body to absorb it better. Who Cares, Really? WHO gives a fuck?—Fuck I Hate…
The Condescending Smiler
Want to know why the boss doesn’t like you? When you have an issue you contact head office before even talking to our boss. You send elaborate emails detailing minor mistakes that could be explained in one sentence. You are a dinkus! I think you should seriously considering getting a hobby outside of work because,…
Amplified neighbours
Hey dude on Grove Street: I don’t know how the fuck your neighbours live around you. You make more fucking noise than anything I’ve ever known. It’s like trying to sleep under a fucking freeway. Fuck, like what’s your fucking point? Do you think that because you like your videogames and sound system so much…
Asshole customers
To the father of two screaming kids: If you’d looked around you (and you saw that the dining room was packed before you got seated), you should have known there was going to be a wait, that you weren’t going to get your food in just 10 minutes! I told you it was busy and…
Library Etiquette
If your nose is running like a tap, blow it. If you feel the impulse to put on cheap and strong perfume before you come, cap it. If you have to listen to Taylor Swift, turn it down. And finally, to a certain fellow scholar, please don’t pinch my ass in the crowded elevator.—Killam-me now
Gag! Retch! Hurl!
The skin tag commercial on TV is enough to gag a maggot. It gets my vote for the Worst Ad Of The Year award. Feel free to nominate for your worst ad, present or past…—Not a big fan of TV anyway
Don’t quit your day job
I don’t know why you think you’re going to be big but your no. you’re not going anywhere i hope you stop wasting your time. In ten years you’re going to be in the same place you are now. And if you think your that deep then you need to see a doctor because your…
Cover Me Badd
As most of you well know, cover songs are tricky beasts. A bad cover can permanently derail a career (see Madonna’s version of “American Pie” or a recurring nightmare I have called “Puff Daddy, Come with Me.”) But sometimes what begins as a fanboy/fangirl trifle can sometimes evolve into a moment of career-defining genius. I…
Since You Don’t Like Jokes, Here’s a New EP
Since making jokes about celebrity deaths is a dodgy territory and I don’t want to “Gordon Lightfoot” myself, we will go back to music postings and inform you that Homo Duplex is releasing an online EP today. The band consists of The Maynards’ bassist Kristina Parlee and Ron Bates of The Memories Attack. The duo…
Grand Trine
Grand Trine promised a rock ‘n’ roll record on this 12-inch EP, and they delivered, sounding more loud and brash in contrast to the experimental sounds of their two earlier tape releases. Opening track “I Am a Magnet” is downright catchy and begs for repeat plays. The psychedelic biker-rock vibe is strong, and this is…
Calvin Harris, with Sean Keating and KayGee
The Scottish singer, songwriter, producer and DJ (pictured) is bringing his “king of electropop” status to the Palace on Good Friday (what is it with Good Friday performances this week?). Harris has worked with Kylie Minogue and British rapper Dizzee Rascal, and his second album was just released last year, reaching number one on the…
Gas tax dodge
Carbon pricing at its simplest: you drive, you pay a tax on your gas. Call it an environmental sin tax. The federal Gas Tax Fund is distributed to the provinces, which pass it on to municipalities for green infrastructure like public transit, sewage treatment, sidewalks and “local roads and bridges.” Wait, what was that last…
Smitten with Smith
When Meaghan Smith performed her first song for an audience while in animation school, she had a one-person “crowd.” “My roommate came in, and I had to make her face the other wall, and me face the other way, and she had to just not ever turn around,” remembers Smith, a big smile on her…
Clash of the Titans a flash in the pan
Clash of the Titans’ trashy matinee aspirations make it easy to forgive its second-rate 3D, if not to stop finding it funny. It’s obvious this won’t match Avatar’s sensory rush when an early shot has baby Perseus’ head floating several visual planes closer to us than the rest of his body. Taken in its less…
Dyan Marie and Bill Marshall: Disrupted Pictures
Looking at Dyan Marie’s photographs and Bill Marshall’s oil-painted landscapes (Detail of “Navigating Complex Systems—091,” above) separately would make you question what, if anything, they have in common—Marie’s still-life shots of urban Toronto life, altered in Photoshop to create streaks of elongated colour, seem more than a province away from Marshall’s almost artificially coloured landscape…
Against the Hard Angle
This fourth collection from Halifax-based Robinson is divided into two sections, “What the Rest of Us Would Call Falling” and “Toeing the Slack-Roped Narrows.” The first half then divides into three parts and the first of those, “Against the Hard Angle,” won the Malahat Review long poem contest in 2009. All this dividing and subdividing…
Glasses shatter at the sound of The Last Song
The films on which Nicholas Sparks’ novels are based are brethren of the same oeuvre, where the distance between romance and tragedy is never long, and how willing you are to give yourself over to the transparent emotional machinations of the star-crossed romance plot really depends on the quality of the performances offered. Rachel McAdams…
DalTheatre: The Comedy of Errors
Errors is a play you don’t want to miss. This is Shakespeare that will tickle your funny bone. It’s full-out, madcap fun somehow reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons—and I mean that as high praise. The central characters are two sets of twins separated at birth, and the actors who play them are remarkable in their…
Locavore
Food can be exhausting. It’s easier to let the grocery store make our decisions, and listening to others’ food politics can be more exhausting than running a farm. In her travels across Canada to talk with the farmers and chefs trying to get Canadians to eat local, Sarah Elton feels a bit late to the…
Poetry collection launch: Lost Gospels
“A poem comes when it damn well feels like it,” says poet Lorri Neilsen Glenn, explaining how her work is born. “The muse shows up when she’s ready, so it’s not a matter of sitting there waiting for a bolt from the blue—it’s kind of a slow awakening, really, rather than a bolt.” In the…
Joining Wolf Parade
Forget the mothers, guitars and brigades. Wolf Parade drummer Arlen Thompson, surely an expert on all things lupine, has two picks for the leaders of the wolf pack.”I love our (former) rehearsal-spacemates, AIDS Wolf,” he laughs. “And Steppenwolf.” But Haligonians don’t echo that sentiment. “This Heart’s On Fire” isn’t “I’m on Fire,” but Kijiji’s invisible…
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! ARIES (March 21-April 19) I’m worried about your ability to sneak and fake and dissemble. These skills seem to have atrophied in you. To quote Homer Simpson, “You couldn’t fool your own mother on the foolingest day of your life with an electrified fooling machine!” Please, Aries, jump back into the game-playing, BS-dispensing…
Dillinger is Dead
Criterion Collection is the shit. We all know it. They consistently re-release films everybody should know about but nobody does. Case in point: the 1969 Italian film Dillinger is Dead (Dillinger è morto). It’s a bizarre film, without a whole lot of plot, full of rambling scenes that seem to go on forever. That said,…
JJ
In 2009, jj’s debut album jj no. 2 sent the unknown duo spiraling through the blogosphere. It was their meditated, flawlessly flawed sound and their ability to turn Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” into ear butter (“Ecstasy”) that caused Pitchfork and Gorilla vs. Bear to collectively wet themselves. The duo has embraced an entirely more hushed and…
The honesty policy
Q My boyfriend of almost two years broke up with me yesterday over the fact that I used to be an escort. He went through my emails and saw that I was answering ads, putting ads up, sending photos. We had been planning a future together, talking about moving in, getting married, having kids. And…
Mehta’s menu
Even though scenes of sizzling kerala shrimp curry make theatre popcorn depressing as hell, Dilip Mehta’s Cooking with Stella isn’t a typical feel-good foodie film. The satirical charm pops up immediately in the opening, with a statement that it’s based on an almost true story. Don McKellar downplays his usual Cancon quirkiness as Michael, a…
How to Train Your Dragon is a manual full of humour, heart and action
The moment where How to Train Your Dragon comes alive sounds obvious on paper. Young viking Hiccup, an outcast in his tribe for his sensitivity, finally has his chance to slay a dragon. It’s in the unspoken understanding as Hiccup’s and the dragon’s (later named Toothless) eyes connect that this 3D animated feature hits a…
Hot Tub Time Machine whirls you back to an age of unimportance
Hot Tub Time Machine is as devoid of depth as its title is devoid of metaphorical flourish. That being said, it is mildly funny and more critical minds could go to town with the fact that its happy ending has the hot tubbers content with more money, bigger houses and sexier, more deferential wives. Star,…
Utility sales never a good idea.
Maybe Nova Scotians could learn a lesson from the public outcry in New Brunswick over plans for the sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec. The uproar began last fall when John Ritter lookalike Shawn Graham announced the sale of NB Power’s transmission and distribution system, as well as its power plants, for $4.8 billion.…
Don’t resist Norweigan war film, Max Manus
With an unoriginal tone that reflects the usual austerity of WWII dramas, Norwegian film Max Manus nonetheless has a good story and tells it well. Portraying the true story of resistance fighter Max Manus (Aksel Hennie), famous for his death-defying escape from Gestapo clutches and his work as a saboteur of several Nazi war ships,…
Broken Embraces
Broken Embraces is more subtle and less flamboyant than most of Almodovar’s recent films. Compared to the cinematic theatrics of Bad Education and Talk to Her, Broken Embraces is a far quieter experience. But it gets under your skin, as Almodovar tends to do, and creeps with a chill that leaves you disturbed and unsure…
European delight
Tucked into Halifax’s own little Europe, the Hydrostone Market, the restaurant Little Europe does its best to give you a continental experience. It’s a small space, warm and dusky with a faux-finish cobblestone floor that gives the dining room the air of a sidewalk cafe in Portofino or Madrid. A large chandelier looms above with…
Old Man Luedecke
Chris Luedecke is the pied piper of banjo players: wherever he goes, indie kids and hipsters, folksters and their moms will follow. While there’s a universal charm in the old-timey banjo sound, it’s Luedecke’s contemporary storytelling that sets him apart and gives the Chester musician wide appeal. Poetic without flowers, truthful with bitterness, sincere without…
Joke’s on you
While the foolish tradition only lasts those few hours in the morning on April first, foolish drinks pop up in bars no matter what the date. We called a few bartenders and asked what the most foolish drink (read: most ridiculous) they’ve been asked to make has been—and they didn’t hold back. Victor’s The bartenders…
Massive Attack
On the third track, “Splitting the Atom,” Daddy G sings in his husky whisper how “It never stops/And we’ll never learn.” That sums up the spirit and sound of the fifth offering from enduring UK band Massive Attack. They’re back to being themselves. The last outing, 100th Window, driven by the other dominant member of…
Karen Tam trades spaces
Walking into the Khyber building in the fall of 2003, you found offices, a record store, a ceramics studio and a Chinese food restaurant on the second floor. Most of those were legitimate businesses; the restaurant, titled No MSG at Friendship Dinner, was an installation by artist Karen Tam, recreating a typical Chinese-Canadian diner of…
Carmel Mikol
“We’re born and raised and buried on somebody else’s land,” goes the opening line in the second verse of the title track, and it’s there in the lyrics that the fierce intelligence of Cape Breton’s Mikol registers. Though the production of her full-length is polished and ready-for-radio—which may surprise those familiar with her scrappy acoustic…
The convention centre rescue plan
If you doubt these are topsy-turvy times, consider that mayor Peter Kelly is now held up as Halifax’s foremost example of clear thinking. Building a new convention centre in downtown Halifax is a “no-brainer,” Kelly told a daily newspaper last week, and the comment was placed in a headline on the front page and plastered…
Heywood Sanders wants real numbers from Trade Centre Limited
During my conversation with Heywood Sanders, he directed me to quite a few documents. Let’s have a look at just one of them, and see what it tells us. Last year, Sanders wrote a commentary for the Georgia Straight examining the promises made for the Vancouver Centre, and contrasted those promises to the reality. I…
Giggles
Dear Mike B, Yes you, Mike B. You rock. <3 Have a great day!—FB fan
John Prine’s music is so awesome!
I love listening to John Prine.—Big-JP-fan
81 To 948
I normally would never consider writing you something sappy and loving, even though you’re pretty cool, but today is a different day. I have been having a rough week, work, school, and of course, A serious break-up! Today, is rent day. I was given the responsibility of bringing in mine, and two of my roommates’…
Two lovely people
I lost my umbrella and was walking to work in the pouring rain this morning, thank you so much to the sweetest man who kept me dry with his umbrella walking down to the metro center, it was the most adorable thing ever and it was so much appreciated. Karma will find its way to…
Fondness after being fired
Thanks to the girl who bought thai food with me and helped me get my mind off a truly unfriendly situation. You are wonderful and you deserve the compliments you get.—Mark Corrigan
Your flaccid penis
Okay, loser. We dated THREE years ago… THREE. A few months into the relationship you inform me you are seeing another girl, fine. we were only casual. I start seeing another guy, you and I continue our casual relationship. However you couldn’t handle sharing so we ended our involvement via an argument over the phone…
NDP = Tory?
In two steps, Nova Scotia is raising minimum wage by 1.2%. Also in one step and sooner, they are raising the HST by 2%. This means that the NDP have decided that before any inflation is counted in, the poorest people in the province will have there standard of life reduced by .8%. This was…
The Cat Next Door
Ok new neighbours, I know you are new to the area. In fact you are new to the country. You may not know that in Halifax we have animal control bylaws. Why the fuck to you let your cat out at midnight regardless of the weather? I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen you…
Instructors who adhere to the negative & innappropriate “I’m the boss” BS
Why do you have to be so negative towards the group? This is not a constructive learning environment! You criticize, demean, and insult everyone. You consistently leave snide remarks and comments, thinking you are making yourself look intelligent when you are really making a huge *** out of yourself. Everyone can see this embarrassing display…
Miserable old coot on my bus :P
To the lady (middle aged and very overweight) who gets on my bus that uses a walker. While I understand life might be a bit more difficult for you, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to bow down and make sure you above all else are taken care of. First, you bitch at the bus…
Against the law??….Bull$h!t!
I would really like to know why local authorities do NOT enforce the law that prohibits cell use while driving! Everyday I see countless people driving while on their cells. What’s the point of passing something into law and not enforcing it? Is it going to take a death or FIVE for the HRM police…
Put it in the GARBAGE for Christ’s sakes!
Why in the hell is this city always soo littered with garbage? I’m not sure what’s worse, those who show absolutely no respect for the outdoors or the police &/or government for not: a) fining the bastards who litter or b) not cleaning the city up. Yes it’s only the end of March, but the…
Dear Drivers of Halifax
Holly Sweet Hannah… People… when you are coming off the St. Margaret’s Bay Rd and are merging to the ramp that leads to the 103… Please realize there is a YEILD there! My DEAR GOD! Three people came through that yesturday at 4:30pm and did not slow down! I wish the RCMP or the Halifax…
Health
As Nova Scotians prepare for the introduction of a new budget by the government, the fiscal challenges of our province will no doubt take top priority. Minister Graham Steele’s budget consultation projections show health care costs for Nova Scotia soaring to over $4 billion by 2012. The staggering costs of health care can be directly…
Info freedom
FOI should be a last resort Tim Bousquet is becoming a very lonely advocate for open and accountable government. His frustrations getting information from HRM are legendary (“Taxpayers on ice,” Editorial, March 18). One has to wonder if our councillors are aware that there is a law in Nova Scotia obliging municipal councils to be…
Council approves funding plan for new Central Library
Halifax council Tuesday afternoon approved a financing scheme for construction of the new $55 million Central Library project and then Tuesday evening awarded the architectural contract for the building to Fowler Bauld & Mitchell, a local firm. The financing side was remarkably uncontroversial, in part because, as councillor Sue Uteck noted, just $4.5 million in…
Traffic roundabouts suggested for three intersections bordering the Halifax Common
[image-1] Traffic engineers are investigating removing traffic lights from three street intersections around the Common and replacing the traditional intersections with traffic roundabouts. The Willow Tree (Quinpool/Robie/Cogswell/Bell), the Cogswell/Trollope/Rainie and the Cunard/Agricola intersections are being studied, says traffic manager Ken Reashor, as is the Woodland/MicMac intersection in Dartmouth. Three more are under construction on Larry…
Africville descendants question validity of proposed settlement
Africville descendants met last weekend because they disagree with the way leaders of the Africville Genealogy Society went about accepting the settlement package from the city of Halifax. Denise Allen, an organizer of the meeting, says it was held to teach the people about their rights, to gather information for their lawyers and “to challenge”…
Faith In humanity
I went to Petes to buy some food and i forgot my wallet. And just some average looking guy behind me paid $42 for it. This nearly brought me to tears. All he told me was to do something nice for someone tomorrow… This restored my faith in humanity, Thank you!—Kid who forgot his wallet
You Are Scum, Asshole!
To the red headed bus driver who hit on my girlfriend while I was laid up in a hospital bed… Who the fuck do you think you are and why do you think my girlfriend would want anything to do with you? She got on the bus sad, almost crying. You ask her what’s wrong…
Shut Up Already you Twat
To the annoying pixie in my Master’s level class. Every monday it’s the same, you take a class – the only class I look foward to going to – and ruin it by opening your mouth. Seriously, what pearls of wisdom are you going to impart on us today? Books too hard for you? Don’t…
Our Food
How do we eat well safely? How do we decipher between what’s actually good for us and what isn’t, even though it appears to be? With more and more genetically modified products (and produce) showing up on grocer’s shelves, it’s becoming increasingly difficult (and expensive) to just simply eat well. I rely heavily on labels…
Men…
They don’t know what they had until it’s truly gone…—Better Off
19 out of 21 in COUNCIL: YOU SUCK
Thanks, jerks, for closing down the proposal by Watts to re-open the discussion about the North Common land use. Everyone listened to the condo sap-story (boohoo, wind tunnels) about downtown for almost two hours, but when it came time to hear very valid concerns about the North Commons development, it was shut down right away.…
Library or romper- room for teens?
Let me re write my bitch in a way that doesn’t confuse people: The Library that I go to is a joke. Why do the staff allow some teenagers to literally run around, swear and be obscene when using the facilities? I understand the staff aren’t babysitters, and that is exactly why these kids should…
