Housewerks opens in Plan B
Daun Windover has opened Housewerks, a new furniture outlet, at Plan B (2180 Gottingen Street, 802-0731). An admitted fan of kitsch, she sells and buys mid-century furniture and housewares. Here’s how she describes the store’s contents (from her Facebook page): “Fabulous teak, California ceramics, barkcloth fabrics and anything else that you’ve see in any episode…
A transformed trio: reno #3
Jennifer Stewart describes the home she and her husband purchased in Herring Cove as fairly unremarkable, but as they say on HGTV—it had potential. What Stewart didn’t see before buying it were some of the problems with the place. “It turned out to be older and less well-constructed than we thought,” she says. They thought…
A bruising Bully
Earnest and stubbornly real, Bully doesn’t flinch from showing the torture faced by children every day. Director Lee Hirsch follows five American families and shows the bullying their children experience. Young Alex is punched, stabbed with pencils, threatened with death, and takes it all with a haunting, hollow look in his eyes. It’s hard to…
The Raven is flightless
An attempted amalgam Guy Ritchie’s gothic Sherlock Holmes adventures and the grimy serial killer aesthetic of David Fincher’s Seven, The Raven fails to hit either high. Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) puts alcoholic Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) in the centre of his brisk thriller about a murderer using Poe’s bloodier stories as his…
We get Detention
A rampant, post-post-modern look at modern life through the lens of the high school slasher film/teen comedy, Detention is relentless in its determination to squeeze laughs (and shocks) from the pulpy guts of our self-aware culture. What does this mean for the average filmgoer? Well, it will help if you have a familiarity with the…
The long, strange story of Mary Thibeault’s property
According to documents filed with the court by Halifax mayor Peter Kelly in 2005, Mary Thibeault’s estate was valued at $503,730.37, almost all of it in cash and bonds. That amount, plus the $160,000 or so that Kelly had transferred from Thibeault’s personal bank account to his and his son’s control (see “A trust betrayed,”…
Cloaca and swagger
Short fiction master Andrew Hood woke up at 5am before a long shift at his former day job at a brewery to start writing stories about a man’s penis turtling inside his body. Quit with your side-eye, he just loves gross stuff, don’t play like you don’t too. In fact, many descriptions of his latest…
Q&A with Background Noise
Halifax’s weekly comedy/talk podcast, Background Noise, has been fighting like hell for over 200 hours now, sometimes with us, sometimes with themselves, sometimes with their moral compasses. But they don’t let anger get in the way of their dedicated Friday podcast. They push boundaries, but the creators (Luke James, Devin Deuville and Derrek Ord) hope…
Short but meaningful conversation
To the lovely taxi driver who talked with me about philosophy, spirituality, genocide, and compassion. You made me happy to share thoughts with a stranger. People like you, people who believe in healing the world, are people who help keep me strong. Wishing you lots of joy. —Me
Indie Game: The Movie to screen in Halifax
The Canadian premiere of Indie Game: The Movie will be simulcast live nationwide from the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto at 10pm (AST), Thursday, May 3. You can go see it at Empire Park Lane that night. The documentary is a Canadian-made—directed by James Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot—crowed-funded film about video game developers who,…
Theatre Arts Guild’s free workshops
Have you ever had an interest in what happens behind the scenes in theatre? Perhaps acting isn’t your strong point, but you’d love to contribute to a stage masterpiece? One Saturday a month from April to July, the Theatre Arts Guild will be putting on four free workshops concerning some of the inner workings of…
I miss you
You’ll only be gone a week… which isn’t long at all, but I miss the constant texts and your lovely face! Have fun and come back tan! I await. —Sweetness
Hold still while I stick this needle in your eyeball
I work in a convenience store. We sell tobacco products. Anyone who smokes will know that Health Canada has recently mandated even more grotesque images on your cigarette packaging. There’ve been warning labels with scary pictures on your tobacco products for some time, but these new ones are truly horrific. I gag every time I…
Hug life
I think you are funny and talented and sharp and probably a really sweet person and I want to hug you. I want you to hug me. However you feel, you should know by now I think you’re the coolest dog in town. —Dog Dream Number One
SuperNova Theatre Festival’s sweet 19
Eastern Front Theatre’s SuperNova Theatre Festival is reaching its 19th year, the classic year to get wild and crazy. Running from May 9 to 20, they’ve got The Whimsy State or the Principality of Outer Baldonia by Alberta’s Lunchbox Theatre, where an island off the coast of Nova Scotia is declared a new nation and…
Gross
Keep your illegal substances out of the work place! Not everyone wants to smell that shit all day. Not to mention you could get fired! —Gonna Be Sick
Council sends ferry issue to transportation committee
Following up on my report from yesterday, Halifax council today briefly discussed the reduction of ferry service scheduled to begin May 21. The cuts were actually presented to council in one of the voluminous reports that were given to councillors as part of the budget debate earlier this month. Councillor Gloria McCluskey said she didn’t…
Secrets
We all know she cannot keep her trap shut, so stop telling her your private business! You got all upset when I told you she relinquished your private details to me the other night, and yet you keep telling her. Will you ever learn? —Blah Blah Blah Bitch
Residents
The wash cycles are 30 minutes and the dryer cycles are 60 minutes. Try to grasp this concept before your next load of laundry. —Mr. Clean
WTF?
Ok, so we dated for a little bit and when we were together it was really good. You decide to fall off the face of the earth for weeks on end, not once, not twice… But THREE times. I will fully admit that I’m the fool for giving you that many chances. But for you…
Kitty love
I was in a well known hardware store trying to purchase kitty litter on staff discount as my husband works in the store, with my incorrectly counted ‘money’, I was $1.46 short… I was about to turn away and leave it there when the lovely lady behind me paid the extra. I just have to…
Summer in the city
I love this city in the summer – no students clogging up the buses, restaurants and pubs, lots of festivals and tall ships, the beautiful public gardens, and point pleasant and the beaches that are only a short drive away… sigh, I wish it could be like this all year!! —Hali Summer Lover
Stuck up, conceited bitch
To the woman I was casually hooking up with for bit there, I ended our fling with you because I didn’t want to have just sex, I wanted something a little more serious. And I wasn’t interested in being serious with you because of personality differences. But I had this impression that you wanted to…
Mayoral candidate Tom Martin calls for a Sunshine Ordinance
Mayoral candidate Tom Martin has come out with a policy platform, which he titles “Fixing City Hall by Opening Government and Strengthening Fundamental Democracy.” You can read the whole thing here. I’m particularly heartened to see Martin embrace the notion of a Sunshine Ordinance, a policy I’ve been pushing for many years, and which I…
Nova Scotia business
So, we bought this 10 acre property in rural Nova Scotia with amazing soil quality and setting up a small scale organic farm. In the old days, they called this homesteading; establishing everything from scratch. Do you think that making cheese, extracting honey or digging the ground is hard? NOTHING compares to the pain what…
Coupla Cory and Trevors
To the guys driving a red minivan with a barbecue attached to the back of it today on Robie, thanks for holding up my bus this morning with your cracked out driving. Just because the bus wouldn’t let you in or something, you felt compelled to get ahead of us and randomly stop your car…
Stranger on the 1
I want to thank the stranger who returned my bag of 20 or more vinyl LPs (and concert DVD) I left on the #1 at the bridge terminal. I was so upset when I realized I had forgotten them and was so relieved when I called and found out they had been returned. Thank you…
No hot water???
I live in a privately owned 16 unit building and over the past few months both myself and neighbours have noticed that we are running out of hot water frequently. It’s happened in the shower and while just washing dishes… I’ve questioned my landlord about it and was told that it’s just too many people…
More on Sculptura
Due to an editing error in last week’s print edition of Shoptalk, the detail that Sculptura Fitness (2827 Isleville Street, 209-3412) is a club only for women was unfortunately omitted. More details about the club can be found here. Owner Essa Horvath also wanted to mention that Scultura is “based in small group classes and…
Breaking News: Metro Transit to reduce ferry service
Metro Transit is planning to significantly reduce ferry service, effective May 21. The changes are: Alderney Service reduced to every 30 minutes from noon to 2:00pm on weekdays; remove service after 10:30pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and before 11:30am on Sundays. This ferry route does not meet Service Standard of 390 passengers per hour in…
You bring me smiles
To the girl who works at the supermarket on Young Street, thank you for always making my day. Your friendly spunk and cuteness never fail to bring a smile to my face. Remember: your shortness is an asset, not a curse! —Twelve Navel Oranges
Where did all the colour go?
What has happened to all the colourful, painted houses that made Halifax so unique? I used to love all the beautiful, interesting (and sometimes, wonderfully hideous) combinations of purple, teal, scarlet, green and canary yellow. Now, other than a handful of bright, cheerful houses, I mainly see the same beige, white, grey and anemic blues…
Why do I do what I do?
Fascinating, I find you, your essence. —Valley? Crow?
Pars Persian Restaurant to open
In the space that used to host the long-lived Satisfaction Feast vegetarian restaurant is now Pars Persian Restaurant (3559 Robie St, 431-7277), opening this weekend. The family-run north end eatery will offer standard fare such as charcoal-cooked kebabs, but the owners recommend trying their koresht—varieties of stews used in Persian cuisine, typically served alongside white…
Almon haus, we will miss you
You have sheltered us for almost six years. You were the house I first lived in on my own at the sweet age of 18. Pretty much everyone and their dog lived there… I’m so happy I saw all those friends in that house one last time, smiling as hard as they could. Thanks for…
Dear art snob
Dear art snob idiot who wrote “re concre makes me feel hollow” on the foundation of a building that’s over 100 years old.” The building is over a hundred years old, sorry if it makes you feel hollow. —Artist Who Has Experienced the Identity Rich Type Self Righteous Idiot
Fair Trade Bazaar comes on Mother’s Day
Let me try a magic trick. Think of a Nova Scotia-based fair trade company. Is it Just Us? As much as I’d like to admit to having psychic powers, it was more of a lucky guess than anything else, seeing as it’s the largest fair trade business in the province. The Fair Trade Bazaar on…
Cute guy at library
Every time I see you, you have such a great smile, you’re so polite and not to mention your sexy scruff and voice. I only wish I had the courage to ask you out for coffee some time. —Looking Longingly From Behind the Desk
Panhandlers
As I was walking my dogs I come up to the busy intersection by the bridge which seems to house from time to time male and female panhandlers walking up and down the row holding their signs. At the crosswalk I seen you and your friend waiting for the light and screaming from your window…
Suit dude… seriously?!?
This goes out to the wacko on the #10 last week that saw a $10 bill sitting beside me. After coming over in your nice suit (probably getting off work, like myself) and asking if it was mine, me saying ‘no’ because I have a conscience, and then you saying “I didn’t think so, I’ll…
Which churches/venues in the Halifax area are wheelchair accessible?
I plan on getting married in Halifax and my father uses a wheelchair. My fiance and I would like to get married in a church (preferably Anglican) with a different reception venue. Does anyone know which churches/venues are wheelchair accessible? —Rebecca
Bleach bitch
You old ignorant cow. You know I’m allergic to bleach and you put the wash bucket in my work area. The boss tells me you did it as a joke two weeks in a row. Don’t ever speak to me again unless you want to be told where to go and how to get there.…
Oh no, the “NOBS” are back!
Spring has finally arrived and I’m loving the arrival of the warm, sunny days, flowers and all the other wonderful things that spring brings. One thing I DO NOT love though is the arrival of the ‘NOBS’ (Noisy Obnoxious Bikers)!!!! As they roar by me on the streets, I plug my ears in order to…
The return of Slow Food Nova Scotia’s Spring Supper
Local food producers, brewers, wine makers and foodies—all seated around one table at last. Slow Food Nova Scotia’s Spring Supper is back to serve up some local flavours for its third year in a row. This year’s dinner will be whipped up by 11 local chefs, including Craig Flinn of Chives Canadian Bistro, Dennis Johnston…
Oval plans move forward
As Haligonians emerge from their winter hibernation, they see one area where spring has not sprung: The Oval. The gravel-rimmed concrete track sits barren on the otherwise bustling public arena leaving Common crossers to wonder: With the ice gone, what use is this to me? “We’re excited about the potential and the possibilities,” said Oval…
Happy 4/20!
Give me one good reason why you and yours aren’t piling into the ol’ minivan and driving out to Fredericton on this, the holiest of days to see Jay Mayne, Kayo, Beaatz n Illfundz, Mick D, Weirdo Click, 4-Ten and DJ Plaeboi. Can’t think of one, can you? That’s what I thought. If you did…
Spanish tutor
I hope you made it safely. —Not Even That Big of a Weirdo
Superlovely
Thanks for being amazing. You are slowly, but surely showing me what being in a happy relationship looks like and I’m in love with the view. —Yours
Dear tits hanging out
Next time you’re on the bus and an elderly woman kindly points out that you’re flashing everyone, please don’t start swearing and yelling at her. If you want to be a skank, go to a bar, don’t do it on the bus with your toddler in front of you. —Sincerely, Tuck Them In
Bob Blumenthal Auto Sales and Service expands
The ever-delightful Megan Blumenthal tells me that her dad, Bob, is expanding his business. Bob Blumenthal Auto Sales and Service has been in Sackville (54 Sackville Drive, 880-3388) since 2004; now he is opening a new Dartmouth location at 336 Portland Street—at the former gas station/repair shop near Neighbours Pub. The new location is close…
Arm load
T’was Wednesday morning, I in my bright blue coat, no doubt looking grumpy. You no doubt looked super handsome and pleasant. We met in the hallway of the condo/apartment building. You had your arms full with bags and backpack. Yet it didnt look like you were struggling or fumbling with the bags. I assume from…
Who do you think you are?
What makes you think that it is at all appropriate to poke fun at an American icon who just passed away? Within 24 hours of his death, you and your scum bag friends were writing your “jokes” on Facebook for all to see. If you’re going to be that indecent, do it within the walls…
Cheque hero
I lost a cheque for a pretty significant amount in downtown Halifax Friday night and to my great surprise you tracked me down to return it to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it and how much I did not expect to ever see that cheque again. After the tragedy on Gottigen…
Defensive walking on Cogswell
Drivers please be aware that there are crosswalks on Cogswell and Gottingen and Cogswell and Brunswick street. Just because it is a green light does not mean that you can drive though the crosswalk without looking for pedestrians. In the last six months I have seen a pedestrian get hit and I have almost been…
2012 Sobey Art Award long list announced
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Sobey Art Foundation happily announced the long list for the 2012 Sobey Art Award, the pre-eminent award for contemporary Canadian art. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the award, which gives $70,000 in prize money to artists ($50,000 to the winner and $5,000 to the other…
Overly optimistic
The Chief of Police has announced his retirement after 42 years. Mayor Kelly has, thankfully, decided not to re-offer after 10+ years of bumbling. Let’s hope that whoever is responsible for the selection of a new Chief of Police realizes that Halifax, IS NOT a safe city and we need a new and aggressive Chief…
Urban Home closes up shop
Urban Home has closed its doors and vacated the high-profile premises at the corner of Cunard and Agricola Streets. The furniture store had a rough go off it from the start; its announced opening in February 2011 was delayed four days, then earlier this year the store shut down for renovations that dragged on for…
Mother of the year
I fucking saw you, bitch. The time: Tuesday the 17th, 1:50pm. The place: on Spring Garden Road at the bus stop. You: a twenty-something female, wearing too much eye make-up and puffing on a cigarette. You had a stroller with you, and a toddler that was wandering around. When your little boy started to wander…
Convenience store
So I’ve been to this little convenience store several times close to my house and everytime I go in a little chime goes off to alert the counter person who comes in from their apartment to stand behind the counter and watch my every move. I feel the eyes piercing from behind the counter watching…
Designer dogs? Bitch, please!
God, you backyard breeders piss me off. $650 for a mutt? Are you kidding me?! Do you know how many dogs there are out there in shelters that need a home? Now you’re trying to add to the ever growing population to make a quick buck? You disgust me. Do the responsible thing and get…
Yes, I’d like my change
Might just have done my last bit of business with an otherwise excellent sushi joint yesterday when, after paying cash for my bill, my waitress asks if I would like any change back. I said “What? Yes I want my change back,” and gave her an appropriately weird look. It’s passive aggressive shit like that…
Shaving companies
I understand that a close shave is essential in comfort (after all, we don’t want to tear up our ladies’ faces when we kiss them, do we?), but when the fuck are the companies that produce razors going to stop at the number of blades the razors have? More blades = closer shave = pay…
Public etiquette?
Here’s an idea for all the guys and gals out there who choose to spit in public : Don’t do it from an aerial perch where your view of oncoming foot traffic is obscured. I had the unique experience today of having someone else’s spittle and phlegm come squarely in contact with my exposed foot,…
Mooseheads are come-from-behind victors
The Halifax Mooseheads became just the fourth team in the forty plus years of the QMJHL to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win a best of seven playoff series on Tuesday night. And they did it with some absolutely mind numbingly great performances. Just like they have all year. First year captain…
Barber Phat Luong repeatedly victimized
It’s been a rough few years for Phat Luong. In 2010, shortly after winning Best Barber in our Best of Halifax edition and a few weeks before Christmas, the two storefront windows of his barbershop were smashed in. This December a vandal broke the line to his shops oil-tank, spilling hundreds of litres of fuel…
A rear-eye view
Q I’m gay and a junior in high school, and I’ve had a boyfriend for a year. (He’s one year older than me, Dan, so relax!) We are out to our parents and everyone is supportive. We are not bullied or suicidal or using drugs. But we are frustrated! We had sex education in our…
Ask an expert: Plumber
After 25 years of working as a plumber, Wheatley knows the ins and outs of your home’s guts. Before doing any bathroom or basement renos that might involve replacing pipes, he recommends speaking to a qualified professional. The Coast: What got you into the business? Trevor Wheatley: My Dad. I was forced into the business.…
Sam’s club
Better men American women now surpass men in both workforce and education statistics. “Men run just four…hundred and eighty-five of our Fortune 500 companies, and just three branches of government,” Bee reports. She hangs out with Better Men, a male bonding group, in their wisdom circle: “When does everybody start masturbating?” Best line: “How did…
Punk from the Rock
It’s a numbers game. Even though the population of St. John’s is only a third of Halifax’s, its punk scene is almost like any other. “Everyone is in 10 bands,” says Weak Link vocalist Michael Phillips, “and there’s always the same old shit talk and shenanigans.” Weak Link brings the bucks with its first seven-inch…
Ask an expert: Realtor
Dartmouth resident Brenda MacKenzie has been working in real estate for 24 years. She’s been at Domus for 21 of those years and has seen the local housing market gradually climb. “We’re never priced out of the typical marketplace. In Toronto and Vancouver the market has a pressure to it. We’re just steady as she…
The Sting
Samantha Bee is a comedian. She’s on The Daily Show, she’s Canadian, she’s married to fellow Canadian and co-worker Jason Jones and she’s written a book, I Know I Am But What Are You?. Her genial demeanour, shiny hair and vaguely Midwestern accent make her appear like a television news reporter, which she is not,…
Culture jamming
Earth Day is supposed to celebrate the planet and raise awareness of the need to protect it. But doing so requires a greater change in perspective, a mass realization that just because we need the planet doesn’t mean it needs us. That is, a cultural shift. The makers of culture have a key role to…
Oasis in suburbia
“We didn’t want cookie-cutter. That was the driving force.” So explains Bill Maclean, lives in a custom home in Fall River with his wife. The surrounding area has a number of typical suburban units, but this triangular, bosky property inspired something else. “I’ve been interested in home design and architecture for a long time,” says…
Greg Proops: Pod god
Comedy fans and seafood restaurants take note: bespectacled stand-up Greg Proops is coming back to town and bringing his podcast with him. The diamond-sharp comic, probably best known for his appearances on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, returns to appear at the Ha!ifax Comedy Fest. In between those shows, he’ll also be treating patrons of…
Reviewer not The Lucky One
Zac Efron is a haunted man in The Lucky One, a spoonful of sap tapped from the same source—novelist Nicholas Sparks—as The Notebook. Efron’s Logan is an ex-Marine suffering from post-traumatic stress and a nagging need to connect with the mystery blonde (Taylor Schilling) whose photo he found in Iraq. Efron himself wears a stunned…
Betting man
Bald, contrary and off the market, Brian Aylward has made his most recent roots in Halifax. Originally from Newfoundland, Aylward has travelled and spewed jokes throughout Canada and a large portion of Asia. Delivering a brand of comedy that isn’t necessarily angry, Aylward is far from content, as he mocks aspects of society, culture and…
Mouth full
Sure, Steve Gates has gone solo, but it seems that he’s never going at it alone. After spending years as one-fifth of roots-rock band Caledonia, the Halifax singer-songwriter set out on his own, embracing the folk-style writing that came naturally to him. This meant playing gigs alone, or, depending on where he was, hiring a…
Lubin’s show
Despite boasting comedy credits that many comics would kill for (either onstage or off of it), Gilson Lubin is not one to let ego get in the way of his future accomplishments. A native of Saint Lucia, a Caribbean island country too warm for most of us to imagine, Gilson has been doing jokes in…
Think Like a Man splits genders for laughs
Remember that time someone made that He’s Just Not That Into You self-help book (offering oh-so-sage love advice to hapless women) into a movie? Apparently that’s a thing: director Tim Story has adapted Steve Harvey’s love guide for women, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, for the screen. The movie brings the book’s…
Ask an expert: Interior designer
Nelson studied interior design in Vancouver and may be best known as a stylist, having worked in Toronto for years setting up rooms for magazines, photoshoots and TV shows, including HGTV, the Food Network, and CBC’s The Steven & Chris Show. Here in Halifax the stylist is doing more design and decor work for homeowners,…
Nate for life
Nathan Macintosh knows these streets. Though the Halifax native has moved to New York after taking Toronto by storm, he’s clearly left his heart—and culinary imagination —in Halifax. “I’m very excited to come back,” Macintosh says. “Has someone in Halifax done the inevitable and put rum into donairs? No reason those two shouldn’t be together.” In…
Rock royalty, King’s Eden
Rock trio King’s Eden just completed a mini-maritime tour last week that took the band to Charlottetown, Fredericton and Saint John, leaving a lot of mosh pits in their wake. Now, it’s Halifax’s turn. “We usually have an aggressive, upbeat sound to us. It’s a good kind of music to rock out to,” says guitarist…
Ask an expert: Landscape Artist
Her first degree is in environment and resource studies from Waterloo, but while on an exchange in Melbourne, Ottawa native Sue Sirrs discovered landscape architecture. Now she does a lot of residential work in Halifax, along with a few prominent public pieces, including the first permanent exterior living wall east of Vancouver and north of…
Talent abounds in Inherit the Wind
If you think that amateur theatre is not worth spending your entertainment dollars on, I challenge you to see the Dartmouth Player’s production of Inherit the Wind. Though written in 1955, the topic of this piece—creationism versus Darwinism—is still surprisingly contentious in some circles today. The writing is exquisite, and when you add an exceptionally…
Chimpanzee straddles a line between drama and documentary
According to Disneynature, chimpanzees are basically people. Though this year’s Earth Day-coordinated release is heavy on the cute factor, it straddles an awkward place between documentary and fiction, ascribing human values to primates—which may not be the best way for people to learn about the species. No doubt there are similarities between chimpanzees and humans—and…
A transformed trio: reno #2
Doug Bamford works with his hands in his chosen profession—ceramics artist and professor at NSCAD University. But knowing that in advance still leaves a visitor to Bamford’s north end home unprepared to find him applying an aluminum lacquer on boards laid out on his living room carpet, boards that will be part of cabinets going…
Cheese is the word
Eating locally isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be pretty hard during certain times of the year—like spring. (It is spring now, right?) Our wise foodie friends at the Ecology Action Centre recognize this and offer up helping hands in making your diet, or at least part of it, locally infused. The third installment…
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! TAURUS (April 20-May 20) (April 20-May 20) Let’s see if you know what these exquisitely individuated luminaries have in common: Salvador Dali, Martha Graham, Stephen Colbert, David Byrne, Maya Deren, Malcolm X, Willie Nelson, Bono, Dennis Hopper, Cate Blanchett, George Carlin, Tina Fey, Sigmund Freud. Give up? They are or were all Tauruses.…
Ask an expert: Electrician
Lyle can give you whatever information you need about old wiring, new wiring, grounding and more. And when it’s gone bad, he can fix it. The Coast: A lot of the homes in Halifax are older. What should I be looking for in electrical terms? Jason Lyle: Just mainly whether the panels have been upgraded.…
Wrapped up in Rooted
Even though the weather’s getting warmer Mary E. Black Gallery is cozying up with members of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., an international non-profit organization aimed at promoting art quilting via exhibition and education, world-wide. Rooted features the intricate works of twenty-three members of Atlantic Canada’s contingent of SAQA, who’ve all interpreted the theme in…
What you get for $262,000
Given Halifax’s active real estate scene, the specific houses we found may not be on the market right now, but new listings are always coming up. Armdale The Home: Two-bedroom, 1.5 bathroom home, 9 Fenwood Road How Much: $234,900 Size: 1,386 square feet Per Square Foot: $169.48 Setting: An older house near Chocolate Lake, just…
10 things to think of before furnishing your home
1) Draw a scaled drawing of your room, plot in doors and windows. Bring in any paint colours, flooring or fabrics that will be in the room. “This will save you on gas money,” says Fleiger. 2) Take a picture of the room where the furniture will go. This will help you and the salesperson…
Property=income: home buying as an investment
When realtor Ethan Michaels was renovating the apartment building at 6191 Allan Street in the summer of 2011, a building he’d purchased with his business partner Sandra Bryant, he was there all the time, almost every day. He busied himself by helping to clean the building, doing whatever he could. That was alongside members of…
The dumpster diet
Food. We know the discussion. Local vs. imported. Organic vs. conventionally grown. These polarities quickly define the intellectual landscape. Local and organic is clearly better than imported, conventionally grown. But if that isn’t available (or out of your price range), what then? The vagaries quickly take over and we’re left buying what looks good and…
A transformed trio: reno #1
From the outside it still doesn’t look like much: a north end residence located on an unfashionable stretch of boulevard. But enter inside and your see what a little imagination and a lot of effort can do for you. It was three years ago that Colleen Ritchie and her friend Tim Keenan, who run a…
Better Bistro
I arrive at Le Bistro by Liz before my friend, Sarah. After a short wait—it’s busy—I am seated in the atrium, bright even in the dimming grey sky. A server drops by menus and a wine list, and then stops by once more with a bottle of chilled water. There is an “It’s a Small…
Why buying a condo in Halifax is a good idea—and selling one might be even better
The condo market seems to appeal to two major groups: The first are urban professionals who don’t want the hassle of a house, and for whom a downtown location and being close to amenities, to their work, is important. The other group consists of empty-nester retirees, many of whom would have lived in a home…
Drew Goddard and The Cabin In The Woods
How do you write about a movie when revealing elements of the story will spoil the whole thing? That’s absolutely the case with The Cabin in the Woods—the less you know about it going in the better, especially for horror fans who’ve seen a lot of its antecedents. Drew Goddard gets this. “I admire the…
Dream kitchens
Island pimping Though they had dreams of big changes in the home they’ve owned for six years, Lia Rinaldo and Crad Price decided the kitchen should be their priority. “We inherited a pretty reasonable kitchen,” says Rinaldo. “It’s sunny and bright, but it’s not really our style. People like it but we’ve always known we…
Spark plug
Singer-songwriter Rose Cousins is no stranger to the ECMAs. As she speaks on the phone from her Moncton hotel room during the annual convention, she talks about the numerous incarnations of the festival she’s seen since joining the east coast musical landscape 10 years ago. But for her new record, We Have Made A Spark,…
King Garden Road
If you’ve been on Spring Garden Road of late, you’ve started to see the changes. Construction of apartments up above the City Centre Atlantic has begun, and the new building at the corner of Birmingham Street and Spring Garden, now home to the TD Bank and Summit Spa, has recently been completed. And that’s just…
