Hello! I’m right here!
I work at a desk, right by the door where the public enter the building. Part of my job is greeting people. I smile and say hello to people who pass my desk, a third of the people I greet walk past without looking at me, not acknowledging that I exist at all. I know…
Check out Rachael Parsons and Amanda Atkinson art show
More and more artists and musicians are saying “screw it” to galleries and bars, and hosting shows in the comfort of their own homes. This Saturday, artists Rachael Parsons and Amanda Atkinson are Two in the Pink at 6174 North Street, from 6pm until it’s over. Besides some great art (see sweet samples below), there…
Spring garbage pickup
Can some legal beagle, explain to me why convicted prisoners can not be gainfully employed to pick up garbage? It is done in many other provinces and cities, but clearly not here. Maybe there is a program in place, but it is pretty low key…and they are doing a very poor job. They can also…
Bitch Postings
Okay,so here’s my problem with this part of the Coast. While I think it’s important people have a forum to air their problems,I also think a person using this forum should have to sign his/her name to the letter. If you have the balls to BITCH ,have the balls to own up to it by…
UFO Nuts…
Crazy UFO zealots who frequent UFO conventions PISS ME OFF. They buy shit loads of tacky memorabilia, drone on and on about how they were abducted, ass probed, married an alien, had babies with an alien, were taken to an intergalactic conference on Jupiter to decide the fate of the universe etc etc… I’ve been…
To the idiots out there that think their little dogs are children
One thing that really pisses me off is these people who have this little dogs, (shih-tzu’s, yorkies, etc) that feel that the “NO PETS” rule does not apply to them. I can’t believe how many establishments I have been in that do not allow pets(other than seeing eye dogs) and what do I see but…
To the fucker who took my kids pop bottles…
Thanks a lot you piece of shit. What makes you think that you have the right to pull up to my property, and walk over to the side of my house and pick up a recycle bag full of pop bottles? You broke the law dirtbag, tresspassing, and theft. The bag was not at the…
Jerks
ok ditzy chick, i come into your shop everyday to buy my lattee.. yes i see you are a very very hard worker and that you do so much while your coworkers walk around wondering what they should do next. it almost looks like it would be easier for you to do somethings so you…
Where did all the good shows go?
Where did sweet shows like Wishbone or Dinosaurs go? I Wish they were still on TV! —Misses the good ol’ shows!
Throwing Away Your Money
I can’t stand that my mother feels the need to gamble all the fucking time. She complains about their lack of money but continues to gamble and now I have absolutely no sympathey for her.I’ve tried to talk to her countless times to go get help or to even take what I’m saying seriously, but…
Twitter Bitches?
I thought it would be interesting if we all posted our twitter ids and we could follow each other in addition to this site. Anyone up for it? —bitcher
Steve “AWOL” Streatch to run for provincial office
Halifax councillor Steve “AWOL” Streatch has announced he’s running for the provincial legislative seat being abandoned by long-serving MLA Brooke Taylor: Mr. Streatch, who has spent a decade on council, said he first ran municipally because he wanted to make a difference in his Eastern Shore-Musquodoboit Valley district. Hah! “Make a difference”—what a knee slapper,…
Nova Scotia Music Week Yarmouth 2009 Call for Submissions
A Yarmouth Oxmobile? Try a Yarmouth ROCKSmobile, am I right? Music Nova Scotia crams four jam-packed days of performances, educational workshops and an awards show into Yarmouth for Nova Scotia Music Week 2009. The event will be held from November 5-8, 2009, and they are now accepting showcase submissions. The Nova Scotia Music Week showcase…
What’s with the mysterious badger protest
“Anyone have an idea what the badger protester with the blank sign is upset about?” asks Coast reader Nicole. I haven’t a clue.
To the nasty dog owner…
To the lady who had her adorable little black poodle puppy tied outside on Queen Street today Tuesday, May 5 at about 3:00pm. How dare you even think that it would be a good idea? You were inside eating and you left your little puppy tied to a light pole while it cried the whole…
SHE IS A TRAMP
This bitch is to the tramp that hangs around Terminal and goes from bus to bus to kiss the drivers. You dye your hair from blond to black to red and wear skirts or a yellow dress like today that barely covers your ass and today your yellow dress blew up and you had nothing…
hey alexa mcdonough
thanks for stopping to chat with a sunburnt busker yesterday. even though I didn’t make much coin, your interest made my day. I hope you can continue advocating for music education in public schools, out of office and with a smile on. —fiddle to india
To the bigoted woman at Sobeys the other day.
I am a personal care worker in a group home for adults with cerebral palsy, the other day I had one of my residents out at Sobeys and we were standing in line to pay. I was telling jokes to my client and he was laughing and ‘telling me jokes back’. Yes, he can’t speak,…
Reality Alert
The Coast has lost its way. The promise and potential to have some kind of real impact upon local readers never materialized (like it did in other cities.) Instead, what we get is watered-down publication, with spotty alt-lite content that has been drowned by advertising (and run by a clique of boorish 30-somethings who still…
Keep rockin
To the girl on the 80 who rocks out every morning thanks for making me smile —fellow rockin commutor
no you cannot push in my stool
yay, another election is on the horizon. Fuck it, I’m not voting this time. I’m tired of it. Really, who is there to vote for? Honesty, integrity, promises… what a load of horse shit. —sore
FUCK INSECTS
Goddamn you fuckers, flying hellions with your acute sense of vision. I was biking along at a lovely 17km/h when all of a sudden, a giant whatchamacallit bug flies directly into my left eye. Good thing I pulled on the brakes quickly enough before I almost ran into a tree. I spent almost twenty minutes…
Height Restriction
Dear heritage people of Halifax, Do us all a favor and please FUCK OFF with your concerns about the view from Citadel Hill when voting on the height of the new convention center. Thanks to you, Barrington St. is a disaster. I’m so glad all those facades are taking up prime space in our downtown…
Recent School Fighting
With this school fight on friday and it’s most recent fight today At Cole Harbour High, I got one question: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU YA LITTLE SHITS? What happened to the days when a fight was one on one, not one on one and 6 of his pussy ass friends. Be glad…
news story
Regarding a certain interviewer covering the breaking new’s story about the Nova Scotia government…. shut the fuck up would ya… —sheesh
How the Spryfield fire started
I’ve identified the likely cause of the Spryfield fire: a campfire on a small rise overlooking McIntosh Run, the creek that runs south of Spryfield. This afternoon I spoke with some of the residents who reported the fire and, following their general directions, hiked back behind Roaches Pond, a body of water just off Herring…
Dimitri From Paris spins into town
Classiest press photo? Check. French music producer and DJ Dimitri From Paris plans on mixing up a little love in Halifax on Thursday, May 28 (9pm, Pacifico Nightclub with guest Chris Matheson. Tickets $35/$29 Ticketpro outlets, Ticketpro call centre 1-888-311-9090 or online at www.ticketpro.ca. Dress code: SEXUAL! Or weekend warrior, whatever.
Thanks for nothing
Late last week I purchased, among other things, a new set of headphones for my MP3 player. When I got home and plugged said headphones in I found that the sound quality was such that could best be described as shitty. This afternoon when I tried to return them I was told that their chain…
Confirmed: King Khan and BBQ coming to Halifax
YAHOO! King Khan and BBQ, coming to Halifax July 18th at the Paragon. Start partying now to catch up. With The Grass and The Stolen Minks.
plastic junk everywhere
So I am sooo proud of myself with your new eco conscious publicity. I love showing off how cool I am as part of the gullible neo-eco-lytes walking into what I thought was the real eco-conscious store. I walked in and right away I see nothing but plastic everywhere. Then I am confronted by your…
Waste of Time
Okay, so we are all volunteering for non-profit organizations that `need the help` … as if! this is my third week at my placement and i feel like i have done dick all. they don`t need me what so ever. i have been fucking sitting around on this damn computer all morning, and no doubt…
Have they gone nuts?
Why is it illegal to poster on telephone poles in the HRM? (except for those collar things or those kiosks… of which there are maybe 10) I just posted at least 20 posters last night and they’re all gone by this morning. Its a fucking poster, not only is it ridiculous for these to be…
Updated with interview: Mark Little wins Great Canadian Laugh-off
Watch out Dubai. On Sunday night, Mark Little of Picnicface won Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off and a sweet $25,000 prize. “I’m feeling great,” he writes by email. “I’ve been smiling a lot lately. But I also feel a bit like I just cheated the system and people are going to catch on soon.…
Edible Art: Call for submissions
Heide Hatry’s Zhang Huan, My New York. Talk about a dream come true: a food-related exhibition coming to NSCAD’s Port Loggia is looking for submissions from the arts, culinary and food production communities. Organized by Jesse Walker and Karen Hawes, The Edible Show is a two-week food themed art exhibition, “supporting food accessibility and creativity…
Your tunes could be in Grand Parade (at noon)
Flashy outfits not necessarily required, but it would be nice. Councillor Dawn Sloane, the Downtown Halifax Business Commission and the Halifax Regional Municipality in association with Music Nova Scotia are presenting a weekly, summer concert series called Tunes at Noon. The concerts will take place every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from approximately 11:30am to 1:30pm…
Calm Down People!
The Swine Flu is like every other flu out there. Just because it has killed people in the poorest part of Mexico just means that they didn’t have the proper health care to take care of it. Just make sure you wash you hands and cover your mouth when you cough. If you do get…
For the Zillion time, I Do not KNOW any Pirates
This Byatch goes to the people who keep asking me whether I knew , currently Know , or currently hang out with people who know pirates. Listen up dumbfucks, Just because I am of Somalian origin dosen’t mean that I’m associated with such bullshit. And one more thing, if anyone called me Jack Sparrow again,…
To All the Bicycling Nimrods Who Think They Own The Roads
I have just about had it with you cycling morons in your little zip-up spandex suits that REFUSE to move over even an inch on the road because you think you are a “Vehicle”. Are you so self involved that you are willing to get splattered by vehicles coming up behind you just to make…
To you old guys who read my name tag at work
Why are you always old guys? Because anyone under forty knows no one wants you to read the damn things. We have not been formerly introduced, I do not know your name, I do not feel comfortable that you know mine. I have to wear the stupid thing to make me more accessible to you…
Smoking makes you cool
Fuck you goodie two shoes, I just started smoking and I like it, I can relax and clear my head and dont have to give a fuck about anything. I don’t even inhale so why are you so worried about me. It’s true and you know it, smoking feels great but it also looks cool,…
One-night only! Iron Maiden: Flight 666 Bayers Lake, 9:30pm, Tuesday May 5
Last summer I saw the world premiere of Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn’s great documentary Global Metal at NXNE, an investigation into how heavy metal culture has permeated every corner of the earth. The instantly likable filmmakers are back with Flight 666, which is screening in six Canadian cities, including Halifax, for one day only…
Halifax is not a safe place for women…
I am an 18 year old woman and spend a fair amount downtown Halifax, usually in the afternoon, early evening. I am sick and tired of greasy 50 year old men hitting on me in every possible way, it’s fucking disgusting. I am a modest girl and I don’t seek any attention but I always…
Too bad you made the liquor store in time
This heartfelt plea is inspired by a certain driver residing in the area of Prince Arthur Junior High, who discovered at approximately 2150 last night that they really needed to get something at the NSLC outlet next to the Portland St Superstore. Before she almost removed my front left corner cutting back in front of…
To the Ass on Gottingen St
You were trying to direct traffic (including buses) on a busy street so an old lady with a walker could cross the street. What is wrong with you? there was a cross walk about a block down the street! USE IT —good grief
Flipping my Fucking Toast
So I had this toaster oven through university… loved the thing, though it wasn’t permitted. Rejuvenated many a slice of pizza back in the day… I can’t really complain when it crapped out… it was only $30 and lasted a few years. I then resorted to using my gf’s toaster. If Satan’s grandmother had a…
A High School in Cole Harbour
Regarding the recent school yard brawl involving 14 students, I would like to know why the local media did not emphasise the cause of this brawl that left RCMP officers injured? Cole Harbour High school”s” have a history. Are we now ignoring what the root of this problem is. I have a friend who works…
What the hell is wrong with you?!?!
To the costumer in my resteraunt pouring a can of Coca Cola down his beautiful one and a half year old daughter’s throat tonight, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Msybe you got too distracted when you split it all down the front of her to think about the damage that will do to…
Warning to women – Be on the lookout because the cops aren’t!
So thursday night, I came home to my really hot apartment (due to the lovely weather last week and the fact that my only windows are skylights that can’t open). I live alone, so I took off a lot of my clothes and was watching tv. I’m home for no longer than 30 minutes when…
Matt Aikins wins Atlantic Journalism Award for enterprising reporting
Coast contributing writer Matthieu Aikins won the Atlantic Journalism Award for Enterprise Reporting in print tonight, for his piece “Unembedded in Afghanistan.” Aikins won for Adam’s Fall, his investigation of suicides from the Macdonald Bridge. Related Stories
Swine flu in the gym
Dear germ-infested nasty ass narcissistic wanna-be bleach bunny at the gym: What the FUCK is the matter with you? Every media outlet in the whole fucking world is begging, no, screaming to STAY THE FUCK HOME if you’re seriously sick, a notice tailored especially for raggedy skanks like you who have obviously just come back…
Fuck this.
I hate jobs, i hate being poor and i mostly hate life. I love to complain though. fuck this fucking sucks you fucksters. i wish i could just kill something. —bored
(down on) Metro Transit
I have a close friend who was in a hurry yesterday morning. It happened to be May 1 and when she showed her April bus pass the driver made her get off. It was first thing in the morning and she had forgotten to buy a new pass. She told him she was on her…
Serial Killer Couture… WTF?
I drove by a shop downtown on my way to work this morning and saw a Charles Manson shirt on display in the window. Who the fuck would wear this?? Wearing a shirt with a serial killer on the front of it is the most offensive thing a person could do. What good can this…
Is it a Farmer’s Market or a Bake Sale?
What fucking farmer grows gingerbreadmen with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle heads? How many farmers out there are moonlighting as Pet Portrait Photographers? Cranky wants to know. —Cranky
Dear Esteemed Premier,
Well I guess it’s been a hell of a run hasn’t it!!! I’m sure no one is more surprised than you. I mean what does a former gym teacher really know about bipartisan provincial politics anyways? I just wanted to personally thank-you for postponing the budget for five long months, it’s not like Nova Scotia…
Owen concert cancelled
We have puppies in Halifax too, Owen Odyssey Concerts has announced that their May 8 St Matthew’s Church show featuring Owen, Ghost Bees, Save September and The Rough Sea show is cancelled due to low ticket sales. Get all refunded and shit via Ticketpro.
pounds or kiligrams?
Grocery stores try to fool you. It really bugs me that grocery stores advertise something at a per pound price, but when you get to the store, they only sell it in kgs.Then you have to stand there and do the math to figure out if you’re getting the sale price or not. Course I…
awful boss
you were the worst boss ive ever had. you love power, you love control. you hate opinions different from yours. you just use your power to manipulate instead of empower. you dont listen, you dont care that youre fucking people up. you give the illusion of caring, you just want to be in charge. shithead.…
o the shoe critic at Scotia Square bus stop:
they may have been rabbits on my feet, but your clothes were made by children and my rabbits were killed humanely. —zobot
backstabber
thanks for calling yourself my best friend then stabbing me in the back and getting with my x cuz we we’re going through a rough patch lost everything cuz of you hope your happy —heart-broken
I love my kid but….
…my 17 year old daughter just got dumped and can’t stop crying. She won’t talk about it and I swear I’m going fucking crazy listening to those sobs that go on and on. I know how heartbreaking it is at that age…I’ve tried to be sympathetic and then get yelled at…what can a single parent…
Make the Barking Stop!
To my classy thoughtful neighbours, who are admittedly better than everyone else. You have retaliated in order to teach the other horrible undeserving neighbourhood dwellers a much-needed lesson about dog barking. This is the third night in a row that you’ve waited until AFTER 11PM to put your dog out. Last night it barked almost…
Get crafty: Halifax Crafters Spring Sale this weekend
Don’t forget to check out the Halifax Crafters Spring Sale this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 5pm, at the North Street Church (5657 North). This ain’t your nana’s crocheted toilet-paper cover kinda place (unless done in some ironic way), there are incredibly gifted artisans who show here. Some of the best things from…
Climate change and the Spryfield fire
Last year, in June, a forest fire burned 6,000 acres in the Porters Lake area, destroying two houses. It was at the time referred to as the largest fire in Nova Scotia in 30 years (although I’m having trouble confirming that last detail). This year, during the last week of April, a fire stretched over…
Graeme Patterson shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award
Graeme Patterson, The deers, 2006. From Woodrow. Just received word that Graeme Patterson is the Atlantic Canadian shortlisted artist for the Sobey Art Award! Patterson is joined by some huge talent, including multi-year nominees Marcel Dzama (Prairies) and Shary Boyle (Ontario), plus Luanne Martineau (Prairies & The North) and David Altmejd (Québec), who represented Canada…
To the beaver-hater at Hail Pond Community Park
Loved the way those beavers bravely swam up to that dickhead menace with the fishing rod the other evening and slapped their tails on the water to splash him wet (like these poor animals don’t have enough survival stress being confined in by the nearby Northwest Arm Highway and the discarded, windblown construction garbage from…
I can’t believe some people!!!!
Today I was driving down Barrington Street and some dickhead actually wanted me to stop for him to cross the street!!!! —The Roadwarrior
NSCAD thesis films
To all the students who screened their films last night at park lane: thanks. I don’t go out to the movies often but you made that one worth the trip. Good luck in your careers. —yours truly
Dirty Staff
To the staff of every workplace in HRM: CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF IN THE STAFF ROOM! I want to eat my lunch in a relatively clean environment which is made impossible by the piles of dirty dishes you leave in the sink day after day. Not to mention the piles of dirt, crumbs and god-knows-what-else…
Why aren’t our bouncers regulated?
Ok so it’s a Thursday night and were hitting up a few bars. Having a great time then we go to a club. I get in, pay cover and sit down for a second. We just walked across town so I sat down for a second and put my hand on my head to just…
shit ran the red light at joseph howe to bridge
you f$cking idiot in that black car, you could have killed someone when you honked at the car in front of you and ran the red light at joseph howe’s loblaws, speeding to the bridge like some mad man. i wish you hit the lamppost someday soon before you kill some innocent pedestrain or old…
Lack of Support
I’d like to thank my employer, one of the supposed “nicest” accomodations is the city. I was accosted by a person who visited out property. She was rude, mean and yelled at me in front of a room full of happy paying customers. I did have a chance to even try and make her happy…
Late night riders
Dear late night riders in the appartment above me. You wake me up everynight with the sound of your bedframe hitting the wall. People have to work you know, i dont need to hear you getting it on everynight at 3 in the fucking morning. Sure i have sex alot to, but im not using…
Lobster Fisherman Get Ass Raped AGAIN!!!!
Jesus Christ, when are these poor bastards going to be able to earn a decent living, without having to choke on all the bullshit rules and taxes the government seems to like imposing onthem at will. $40 for a license to sell lobsters at the side of the road, eh? Is the government going to…
Thanks for the patience
To the bus driver who drove the 9 Monday night, leaving Mumford at 9:20ish: Thanks for your patience. It really sucked that your bell was permanently stuck on, but you slowed down for every stop so we had the chance to let you know we wanted off. The 9 can be a rough route sometimes,…
Broken sidewalk
What’s wrong? A major chunk is missing from the sidewalk on Sackville between Market and Grafton. Who’s responsible? Dave Hubley, HRM’s manager of Design and Construction Services, 490-4845. Remarks: This pic was sent to us by Calum Jahnston at Strange Adventures Comics, who is miffed at the hole outside his business. Who can blame him?…
Lazy Fucking Nova Scotian Arseholes
We have to import migrant workers to pick N.S. crops??? Why not put some of those lazy pricks on street corners to work there? Or some frigging prisoners? Why Mexican workers?? —Can’t Believe Locals Are Refusing Honest Work
My Fish Is Bigger Than Your Fish…Na Na Na!
I’m sure many have seen the “Jesus Fish” or whatever it is actually called on the back of cars. Why the need to advertise your religion…I don’t know. I thought it was personal.
Lazy Family Members
Dear Family- I have had it with you. My mother and my sister are the biggest slobs ever. I am tired of cleaning up after your messes your not my kids your my mother and my sister. Here’s an example. I wash all the dishes in our house put them away scrub out the sink…
the bakery
to all the regulars and employees of the bakery while i worked there in 2008 : you made everything so much better, i miss you all and love you to no end. — bakery girl
it’s okay
[Editor’s note: this is more appropriately a PSSST, down under classifieds. I’ll leave it up long enough for you to see this note and repost it in the right place, then I’m taking it down.] i don’t regret anything, the fact that it ended like this was good. my feelings for you will never change.…
Domes photos: Khyber ICA exhibition extended for a week
I’ve been under the weather this week so I was thrilled to hear that Domes, a new exhibition of handcrafted shelters by Chantal Tardiff and Rob Shedden at the Khyber ICA, is extended until May 8, when hopefully, my Neo Citron wears off. Although, judging from how cozy Shedden’s quilted igloo and Tardiff’s giant toque…
Live Gig Photo: The Danks
[image-1] Saturday, April 25, 12:45am at The Seahorse Tavern. photo Scott Blackburn.
Get into The Safety Position’s new play, Thom Pain
It’s no coincidence that Halifax actor Stewart Legere starred in two of my favourite plays from the past year—-Angels and Heroes’ production of Fewer Emergencies and Zuppa Circus’ gorgeous pop-fantasy Poor Boy. So I was pretty excited to hear that he’s formed a new theatre company, The Safety Position, with Tyler Foley and Lee-Anne Poole—-two…
Sea Choice guide wraps up sushi problems
Let’s face it, your average sushi plate is about as vapid as a fistful of colourful pills wrapped in papery seaweed. Reliably available, uniformly identical, cut up, cubed, it tastes as stolid as any other fast food. Somewhere in our rush to be healthy, fish stopped being fish and became a product. Tony Soprano loved…
DVD Review: Marie and Bruce
Darling, do you find the word “darling” annoying? I imagine you will by the time you’re finished watching Marie and Bruce, darling. In fact, darling, you’ll probably want to circulate a petition in favour of having the word excised from the English language entirely. You see, before Marie and Bruce became an odd little movie,…
Director James Gray in real time
James Gray agrees when he is told that a romantic drama, like his film Two Lovers, is a rare breed in mainstream film. On the phone from his office in LA, he explains that the ridiculous behaviours that come with being in love are better suited to comedy than serious drama. So, how did Gray…
Josh MacDonald’s Halo moves to the big screen
“I’ve done a lot of bracing over the years—I don’t think it’s any huge secret that any low-budget Canadian film has about 10 near-death experiences on its way to fruition,” says Josh MacDonald. “But here we were, first day of photography.” The Dartmouth writer first put the idea for Halo to paper a decade ago…
Thunderheist pull off a cool media blitz
For most up-and-coming Canadian bands, a slot at the famed Austin, Texas, music festival South by Southwest is nothing to be embarrassed about. When the electro-hip-hop duo Thunderheist scored shows at the fest after a two-year wave of blog hype, success seemed all but guaranteed. But for the duo’s DJ Grahm Zilla, the set began…
Dog Day focuses on new album, Concentration
A shrink-wrapped copy of Concentration sits on the table in the kitchen rented by Nancy Urich and Seth Smith, one half of Dog Day, the record’s author. Its release is in a few days and not all of the band, all of whom are here, have seen it. Urich banters with Smith, her husband, about…
Feds stimulate city’s wish fulfillment
Thanks to the collapse of the global financial industry, Halifax is getting a new Central Library, an additional Woodside ferry and a four-pad hockey arena in Bedford. Unless, that is, provincial politicians gut the deal with back-room deals and behind-the-scenes maneuvering to divert the money. All three projects have been on the city’s wish list…
Provincial politicians cultivate culture of defeat
Stephen Harper started offending large parts of the nation almost as soon as he became a national political leader. Out east, we particularly remember him mouthing off about Atlantic Canada’s supposed “culture of defeat.” Nova Scotian politicians responded quickly to that one, passing a resolution in the provincial legislature criticizing Harper and “his own Party’s…
Giving nature its consitutional rights
Last summer Ecuador passed a new constitution granting rights to nature. “Nature, or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution,” the constitution states. A few countries have granted rights to animals. More than 100 have recognized…
Savage Love gets totally leotarded
Q: Please stop using the word “retarded” as an insult, Dan. I know it can be hard to break a verbal habit, but please make an effort. Perhaps you should have a “retard jar” on your desk that you put a dollar in every time you use the word. When the jar is full, send…
Movie Review: The Soloist
There is always real sincerity behind the twitchy, sardonic facade of Robert Downey Jr., and that helps sell The Soloist. Downey’s character, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez, writes about and befriends Jamie Foxx’s Nathanial Anthony Ayres Jr., a homeless man with a gift for music. Downey’s sincerity conveys the frustration of assisting someone like Ayres,…
Ursa Major: A Polyphonic Masque for Speakers & Dancers
First performed by a Regina dance company in 2002 and published as a book in 2003, the text draws on “several musical devices and techniques,” writes the author in his preface to this reprint. These include “retrograde motion” (lines spoken front to back, back to front) and “polyphonic speech” (usually “sustained” polyphony, meaning several voices…
Movie Review: Obsessed
Obsessed’s tagline should be “Idris Elba is surrounded by frickin’ idiots!” because the film itself is an example of how a flimsy plot can be sustained by the stupidity of the characters. Lisa (Ali Larter) materializes in Derek’s (Elba) office—a financial firm, as written by someone who knows nothing about financial firms—and sexually harasses him…
Comics biz suits up for Free Comic Book Day
Calum Johnston opened Sackville Street’s Strange Adventures 17 years ago. Today it’s one of the most popular comic-book stores in Halifax. “I’ve always liked comics,” Johnston says, “and I like sharing them.” The economic downturn has flipped many businesses on their heads as they struggle to make ends meet. But as they get ready for…
Movie Review: Fighting
Fighting is unmemorable. As an actor, Channing Tatum is devoid of depth, and the script is unwilling to develop any aspect of his character, Shawn MacArthur, that would make him interesting. MacArthur once punched his coach/father during an argument and now none of the other Fighting characters will let him live it down: “Why are…
Movie Review: Two Lovers
Joaquin Phoenix’s Leonard Kraditor lives ensconced in his parents’ worried attention and doesn’t give the impression that his future beyond them is all that secure. When Vinessa Shaw’s Sandra enters, both intuit that they are being set up by their families, but there is a mutual attraction. However, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Michelle bewitches Leonard easily and…
Movie Review: Che Part Two
After the observational distance of Part One, the second look at the revolutionary activities of Ernesto “Che” Guevara is a little more in your face. That said, the mystery of why Guevara left Cuba and renounced his citizenship—and his second wife and children—is never reasonably explained. Instead we’re in the Bolivian jungle, as Guevara trains…
Boat Harbour piece floats
To the editor, I was glad to see you do an article on Boat Harbour. I grew up as a teenager in Pictou County and the pulp mill was something you would be reminded of daily, because of the sulfur emissions from the plant. My sister told me years ago that she was down there…
A Little More Honesty in the Personals Please!
Why do some women in HRM feel the need to describe themselves as looking better than they actually are? Fuck, I met a woman online who stated she was an attractive 25-year-old woman, and we met for coffee. I felt complete and utter disappointment the moment I saw her. She wasn’t nearly as attractive as…
