Halifax Pop Explosion 2013 headliners announced!
Cutting through the muggy weather and the fog was this morning’s Halifax Pop Explosion announcement. Media bellies full of PopTarts and coffee boarded a double decker bus that drove us tantalizingly close to Bedford (represent) and past this year’s pack of venues while HPX executive director Jonny Stevens played tour guide and announced the headliners…
I wish I could tweet this
What’s up with this whole Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher relationship trend revival that is going on in Halifax? Did no one get the memo that they broke up? Just my friends? Oh… ok. —ageist
Nothing but talent
It is ridiculous that some of the sponsors have dropped out of summer rush because of Chris Brown!!! The man is nothing but talent!! Its not like he’s gonna be beatin bitches on stage!!! What do you think is gonna happen? Hes coming to perform for his fans! —just wanna see him dance
Boy
I love you and we are so lucky, Holy Moley Guacamole! —Girl
WOW Lady on 84
To the gorgeous lady who is sometimes on the 84 that is at scotia square at 6:20 pm, you are just amazing,, I can help myself to stare relentlessly at you,, wish I could take you out on a date,,, —star struck
Deceitful women like to fish
Sweetheart, did you photoshop yourself or was that picture taken 6 sizes ago? Not impressed with your looks or your lies. Oh, why are you still texting me? We met once, 2 fucking weeks ago. I never replied to one of your messages since our meeting. Are you stupid as well? —Frustrated Single Dude
I don’t share your point of view
Was that over the shoulder nod with stuck out tongue face of disgust towards the woman in the hajab meant for me to agree with you because I had squeeze between you and her. Seems to me you had 50% roll in that narrowing of the isle on the bus. Also you bigoted f*ck; just…
you little ignorant little skinnyassed loser mofo
Yea you know who you are…yea …you….the one on the bus, the lazy selfish mofo, who thinks that the world was made for you. Yesterday, I get up for an older fella, to let him sit in the front…and this little punk takes my seat i just gave. Just then, the bus oscillates a bit…
If you love it, let it lie to you?
I am not jaded, nor am I an idealist. I like love as much as the next person. I understand that “love” is surrounded by oh so very many factors, and that these factors can be as basic as chemistry, compassion, empathy, passion, patience and etceteras up the yang. What I don’t understand are those…
Idiot Cyclists on Sidewalks
I’ve had many, many close calls with idiot cyclists on sidewalks; I’ve been assaulted twice when I tried to talk with them; two tried following me after I told them they’re supposed to be on the sidewalk. I’ve called the Police to report them and the asssaults; results: NONE ; I guess they need more…
Pull yourself up by the bootstraps
Why is it so hard for some of us to hit rockbottom. Why the hell does the definition keep changing. Tired of this shit, enough is enough man. It’s time to reinvent from the flames and get living. Yeah I know, just this one last time. Either way I’m rooting for ya buddy! —Your better…
Finding the Courage
Courage- thank you for saving my heart and soul more than once this past weekend, and I will keep coming back because you’ve given me new hope it will work if I work it!! —Workin’ it
Oral Sex
I like eating your pussy. Yes. I love giving it and having you enjoy it… but please… sweetheart… I see you one weekend a month… please… shave that funky monkey when you know you are coming to visit. Having to stop eating to pluck hair out of my mouth really breaks the mood. —Hairballs
Pharmacist in Lawtons Spring Garden
It was last Tuesday and I needed to have a root canal so I came in to pick up my antibiotics and I was sobbing because the pain was so bad. Thanks for just being there and not looking at me like I was totally nuts. Although I was in a lot of pain I…
Tennis anyone?
Thank you to the city of Halifax for the beautiful new tennis courts located in the heart of the city. I played there last night and had an incredible few hours. But they are already filled with tennis garbage (water bottles, ball containers and lids, etc.) Not cool! There are at least 2 garbage bins…
Dear Maybelline Squad
You reap what you sow. Maybe someday you will learn to expand your universe and perspectives–I certainly hope you do, it would be a healthy thing for you. I’d say it’s been nice knowing you, but that would be a lie. Maybe the squad could try a little critical thinking and honesty…..but that’s probably asking…
West End Mall, August 6th
This is lovingly directed to the man in the Shoppers in West End Mall on August 6th. I lost my (now) husbands birth certificate and SIN number in the parking lot. We needed it to get our marriage license. We retraced our steps in a panic and were getting so worried. He could have just…
Awesome hairy-legged woman on the 52
It was a hot Sunday and you kept your cool more than I could have when dickbag teenagers made fun of your leg and armpit hair. You just gave them the sassiest fuck-you look and just kept radiating confidence without engaging with their body-policing, judgey bullshit. You’re gorgeous and they’re pathetic. I hope you had…
Reclaimed Heart, Renewed Soul
He stole my heart. I thought he was the one for me but now I see the feelings were never mutual. The attraction he had for me was purely physical but he put on a good show for a man who said he never wanted to break my heart. It’s been more than two months…
gay men of colour, give up your guys
Filtering by one’s preferences, sperm banks have far less options for progressive-minded people than one would expect, fewer options even than for the narrower minded types. The way I see it: mixed babies are generally cuter than either of their parents – lets face it right? Also with global warming and the destruction of the…
Nice guy in Elevator with green tropical fruit ukulele
To the guy who I rode the elevator with who gave me his green uke with tropical fruit on it that he was going to throw out, thank you SO MUCH! You totally made my day! I was planning to go straight home, but I was so happy that I took the uke all around…
Poop Police on Poodle’s Poo Patrol
To the owner of the miniature chocolate poodle: you went to the effort of picking up your doggy’s dump while out on a walk on South St… But you didn’t. If I had a poop bag, I would put you in it, you poop. —People observing other’s poo (P.O.O.P.)
Surprisingly Sweet
We met, you fell for me, and even though I continually shot you down, you persevered! You never gave up on me, and have shown me the kind of love I’m trying hard to deserve. Romantic weekends in log cabins, flowers, handwritten notes to say you love me; no one has ever treated me like…
Extreme opinions suck.
Problems arrise when uneducated people have extreme opinions on things they really know nothing about. And instead of say, researching the subject, they use their imagination and word of mouth. Why have such strong feelings for something you so obviously know nothing about? And better yet why do you feel the need to tell all…
Dear Apt. #___,
Yes, it is 4am and yes, I’m sure you did have a swell time at the Dome or whatever slimy bar you just crawled back from and yes, I’m sure some girl did talk to you and you had no idea what she was saying because yes, I’m sure you do have a hard time…
Thursday night wings
You were sitting alone in a booth, in a popular Dartmouth pub on Thursday evening. You had several arm tattoos, and intense eyes. I was the blonde woman in pink and black, having dinner with my friend and her daughter. I wanted to say hello, but I choked. I hope you’ll be there again next…
Love in the Time of a Large Dark Roast
You work at the drive through. You are confident and sexy, have fierce eyes and a stunning smile. You are incredibly beautiful. I drove up. We smiled. We held hands under starry skies. We walked through forests, climbed mountains, laughed and cried as they turned to dust. We swam warm ancestral oceans. We grew wiser…
Facebook condolences
Someone near to me recently passed away. It’s sad, difficult and hard to believe, really. What really irks me is the amount of fucking condolences received over Facebook. How is this even remotely appropriate? Pick up the damn phone! Pathetic. —Sad
Roundabout Runaround
WTF is with constructing useless roundabouts everywhere in this province? Over the last month I have come across 2 of them that literally take you on a wild goose chase of unmarked “exits” to get back on the highway when the old roadway was a straight shot! Maybe the construction industry is in cahoots with…
Waterfront Drummers
A perfect Thursday evening at the Waterfront. I followed my ears to the most wonderful sound and discovered 30 grinning African drummers, a handful of ecstatic dancers and an appreciative crowd. There are so many folks around here who love a good drum circle, yet there are so few chances to actually break out a…
Must…Have…Agua
So I watched a documentary about a year ago that woke me up in a major way to the dangers of plastic and its industry. This resulted in me being very conscious of the amount of plastic I use and restrict it entering my life in as many ways possible. Which also means I don’t…
Sochi
For the those unaware, the 2014 Winter Olympics are in Sochi in southern Russia this February. This acts as a backdrop to the controversy of a new law passed by the Russian government outlawing the “celebration of nontraditional sexual relations”. This is punishable by a fine, 15 days in jail or deportation in the case…
bad humans, shame on you
has anyone read how a homeless man died while waiting 34 hours in an ER without seeing a doctor? They are actually trying to blame his death on the fact that he was a substance abuser!! WHAAAAAAT? I realize he was a substance abuser but do you not think that waiting 34 hours in an…
Painted Punk
You were in the bike shop getting saddle bags and I was just hanging out. You loved the movie Momento and looking for a place to camp. I was in my biking home from work cloths. Wanna go biking sometime? I’m at the bike shop every Saturday morning…. —Fireworks Raver
Chronic Laziness
To all of you Halifax ‘Suits’ and others using the Purdy’s Wharf pedways to get to and from work…. I had no idea every single one of you had a disability! I mean, what other logical reason is there for the fact that every one of you seemingly healthy and able human beings needs to…
Crossed paths in Java Blend….
…on North Street a couple months ago. You commented on my shirt and how you think being single is underrated. You were incredibly handsome and I really wish I had asked for your number, but you left too quickly… —Still Single, but Open to Other Possibilities
Woof Woof!
To the black German Shepherd-type dog I see walking on Ketch Harbour Road, I would love to play with your balls. I bark at your through my owner’s sun roof every time I see you but you never look my way. Maybe one day we can go for a run together? —German Shepherd
Ratinaud’s manic Monday
Maybe I just have a case of the Mondays but, MAN Charcuterie Ratinaud French Cuisine (2082 Gottingen Street, 446-8222) is on it today. Not only did it launch its brand spanking new website today (drool over all the meaty food porn here), but today also marks the completion of the shop’s renovations, the release of…
Grace on fire
Angela Grace Arsenault has been busy all summer selling her wares—the eponymous Angela Grace Jewelry— throughout Nova Scotia. She started off at two coastal wineries, Avondale Sky and Luckett, for art festivals in June and July respectively. This past Saturday brought Angela Grace Jewelry to the city to collaborate with Swaine Street Woodworking for a…
23rd Atlantic Fringe program announced
Fringe is back! August 28 to September 8, you will have the opportunity, if not the physical capacity, to see over 50 local, Canadian and international theatre productions around town. Venues include The Neptune Studio Theatre, The Museum of Natural History, The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Theatre Nova Scotia’s The Living Room, Bus Stop…
Kiss in Halifax, photo proof
August 1, Metro Centre. Did you go? If not, these photos will be your virtual concert experience. Put “Beth” on repeat and get to slideshowin’.
Parentheses Gallery named in top 11 emerging commercial galleries in Canada
Blouin ArtInfo just named Parentheses Gallery one of “eleven commercial galleries shaping the country’s contemporary artworld” citing their focus on street art (such as the amazing piece on Alteregos on Gottingen Street, and even some on the Coast’s doors) as a way of involving the community in art appreciation. Well deserved props!
all of you!
How dare any of you try and embarras someone online. making fun of person with obvious issues is just plan not cool and not nice and could cause alot of heartache and distress. emailing and texting a person all day and night to make them feel bad or dissappear isn’t right and theirs laws to…
Ass Floss
Dear woman…..and sometimes men of Halifax, I understand the weather is warm and less clothing is ideal however I’m getting very tired of people passing ass floss off as shorts! you know what I’m taking about the shorts that are too tight too small and are swallowed up between your thighs and ass as you…
Purple space lines
We intersected on bayers the other day. I had been feeling so blue and your kindness caught me by surprise. You truly made my day, thank U 🙂 —living light
lazy ass workers
Shame on the day care workers lounging under a shady tree in Isleville Park like a pod of lazy hippos while their young charges burnt to a crisp under the midday sun. —disgusted granny
the fake windows IT caller
You have been calling my apartment on and off for weeks..telling me you’re from microsoft and there is something wrong with my computer and you need access…umm how stupid do you think I am …they don’t call customers! I have told you time and time again not to call me but you keep trying to…
A word of advice on ettiquette…
just to give some guys advice… When you’re working in a public sector such as I don’t know the Health field. Maybe it’s not a good idea in a public place to talk about who you would or would not do… like for instance I over heard “would you do her?” no man no way!…
Province grows HRM wilderness areas, while city fails to
Last week environmental groups applauded Nova Scotia government’s announcement that it will protect 13 percent of the province as wilderness areas, nature reserves or parks. This brings the total lands protected to just over 700,000 hectares. Within HRM, 17 percent of land and water is provincially protected, and now it’s time for the city to…
Province expands HRM wilderness areas, but city fails to meet its side of the deal
Last week environmental groups applauded Nova Scotia government’s announcement that it will protect 13 percent of the province as wilderness areas, nature reserves or parks. This brings the total lands protected to just over 700,000 hectares. Within HRM, 17 percent of land and water is provincially protected, and now it’s time for the city to…
Baconator
Let us consider this fantasy scenario: RCMP officers stopping American citizens on the Buffalo side of their border. Picture the horrified expression of those resilient New Yorkers as they are forced to slow down on their Interstate highway so as to be greeted by a smiling RCMP officer who is to inspect their property, ask…
HRM’s self event planning committee
I’ll take free over nothing, and I get a lack of community input when the City is planning events like free concerts because theres scheduling, funding, public sentiment etc. But isn’t there a conflict of interest in our city event planner’s repeatedly booking their own friends for this stuff? Not to mention acts they have…
I’m done with you
This is the last time I will be publicly embarrassed by you! this isn’t the first time and i foolishly shouldn’t have fallen for it the first time. I did but that doesn’t make me wrong or crazy. I’m tired of not haveing my call or texts returned and you laughing about it behind my…
Pink dress, Old Triangle patio, Wednesday, noonish
I have never seen a woman as sexy, beautiful, stunning as you looked in that pink dress. —Stunned
i’m in line too
we came in through the door together. i held the door open for you, i think, or you held it for me. one way or the other, you noticed me. there were four of you and one of me. then before the food orders of the first of your group could finish being taken, there…
The Motorleague
This Moncton quartet keeps foot on the gas throughout its second album, a major label debut. Veteran producer Steve Rizun tied up any loose ends to the point of being almost too polished for some. Don Levandier, formerly of Ditchpigs, embraces this expanded audience with a powerful set of songs. “We might die young but…
We’re the Millers
This has been a drab, middling summer, little to recommend with even half a heart, and hardly anything has had a sense of humour of any kind. Well what a delight We’re the Millers is, this complete margarita of a movie that finds Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts and Will Poulter pretending to be…
Planes
World War II happened, but it was all fought entirely by sentient planes. Planes that are possibly born and have sex with other planes. These are the confusing elements which don’t need to be, but end up occurring in the quickly-written Planes. Not a sequel, but set in “the world of Cars,” this Pixar/Disney cash…
The Everywheres
Would your mom and dad like The Everywheres? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the delicate psych riffs and deliberate bass pluckings would remind them too much of smoking a bit too much pot that time in a friend’s dorm room, maybe they’d regret never starting that band. You don’t have to be similarly wrapped up in…
The Iceman Cometh
The down-and-out denizens of Harry Hope’s bar are living on the fumes of good-times passed and the Annie-like dreams of tomorrow’s sunshine. Between their alcohol-fuelled naps, they drink some more, they quarrel and they dream. Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh is a marathon of sorts for both the actors and the audience. The writing is…
I’m So Excited
Though it’s premise hinges on a drug-fuelled orgy aboard a doomed airplane, the bubbly I’m So Excited remains surprisingly tame. Due to an error from an absent-minded ground chief (Antonio Banderas, in cameo), a Spain-to-Mexico flight is left circling Toledo, unable to land. The plane might smash apart upon touchdown, but luckily the all-gay flight…
Unknown artist
An extremely off-putting voice speaks to you for nearly an hour in a halting and breathy manner about the universe, interconnectivity, relaxation, aliens. The story is that it was traded for gas money by an off-the-grid traveller dedicated to complete anonymity. Unfortunately, I was not hypnotized, but once you get past the truly unsettling voice,…
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
“I make my own destiny!” shouts the stupidly named Percy Jackson, right before using the weapon his dad gave him to kill the monster he’s prophesied to slay. Such is the unexamined Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters, a movie that barely seems to be aware of why it exists. When a transforming cyber-bull…
DJ IV takes the cake
Between running his own weekly event, touring with Classified, and making his own music, it’s surprising he has any time to celebrate. DJ IV, one of Halifax’s most venerable selectors, will be celebrating his birthday at the Argyle on Saturday. “It’s an enjoyable busy,” said IV (AKA Brian Pelrine) over the phone. The morning after…
Cousins/Construction & Destruction
With only 300 copies released on cool blue vinyl, this is a collaborative record between two Nova Scotian bands with the most consistent and unique sounds around. Cousins brings satisfyingly dramatic builds and concentrated rock simplicity, plus what appears to be a driving (hehe) ode to touring, “Road.” Construction & Destruction’s contributions remind me making…
Accidental parental woes
Q I’m a 25-year-old male. After a tragic set of circumstances, I am now the legal guardian of my 15-year-old brother. He’s gay. Fortunately, our parents took care of “the talk” and taught him how to use condoms. Unfortunately, he has started dating a senior at his school who is about to turn 18 and…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO! (July 23-August 22) Last year a young Nebraskan entrepreneur changed his name from Tyler Gold to Tyrannosaurus Rex Gold. He said it was a way of giving him greater name recognition as he worked to build his career. Do you have any interest in making a bold move like that, Leo? The…
Letters to the editor, August 8, 2013
Roue them all The best test of a truly world- class city is not in the height of its skyscrapers but in the self confidence, cheekiness and swagger of its ordinary citizens: one has only to think of the character of your typical Berliner, Cockney or New Yorker (“Two decades of world-class delusions,” Feature by…
I’m meeting my neighbours for the first time, and we’re turning this into a neighbourhood
A couple weeks ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon, neighbours ranging from babies to seniors painted a 20-metre-long mural on the asphalt of a residential street. Meanwhile others played games, danced in front of a small stage with live music, BBQ’d, gave away lemonade and chatted with neighbours who were strangers minutes before. This is what…
Go Long! is a catch
Ottawa first fell in love with the covers Go Long!—Danielle Allard, Lucas Haneman and Nicolas Crisafi—put its mark on, like T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” which transforms into something sultry. But the jazzy folk trio’s catchy original material is what sticks, lauded by local guitar legend Don Ross as crazy addictive, and you know, little ol’…
A Beer League of their own
For centuries, the basic components of beer—water, hops, malt, and yeast—have remained unchanged. But Halifax’s Ladies’ Beer League is showing the male-dominated industry they’ve been missing an essential ingredient. “We are a group for women who love beer, and want to learn more about beer…no experience necessary,” explains Tracy Phillippi, Beer Judge Certification Program judge,…
Sandjam session
Put down your lemonade and get ready for spiked balls (that’s not a drink, also, ew) because the former World #1 tennis pro Jim Courier competes for the Legends Cup (Aug 12), and international beach volleyball stars will be descending on Sands at Salter making sand-skinned knees look trendy (Aug 15-18). And you could be…
How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir
I can say without a doubt that Amber Dawn is the only author I’ve ever read who’s quoted Sylvia Plath while using a Sharpie to colour in the scuff marks on her Value Village stripper pumps. She’s also one of the bravest voices I’ve ever heard. How Poetry Saved My Life is an undeniably intense…
Tasseo sing their destiny
You might remember, if you were in Halifax between 2006 and 2010, being enchanted by the Lightman twins, Sari and Romy, facing each other on stage singing their Ghost Bees tunes in the midst of tea offerings and scent tinctures. Those were the early “vulnerable” days of their artistic birth, where identity and ancestry fixated…
Cottonopolis
Halifax poet Rachel Lebowitz’s new book, Cottonopolis, opens on a very gloomy Manchester. “Not today’s city, but ‘Cottonopolis,’ that city of smoke and grit and back-to-backs, that burst into being in the 19th century: the city of Mary Barton, the city of child labour, the city’s geraniums on the windowsills of the poor.” Here we…
Head DOWNTOWN
Seeing the city through Addison White’s lens is like seeing it for the first time (cue Kenny Loggins “For the first tiiiiime”). There’s a whole heck of a lot of beauty in the streets you pass every day. This series of photographs is like a chance to stop and smell the roses. But with your…
Criminal Genius
Based purely on observation, I’d say the audience for Criminal Genius was split four ways. One quarter sat in rigid disapproval, even withholding applause at the end. One quarter laughed uproariously and sprang to their feet for a standing ovation. And half vacillated somewhere between amused and bemused. Why was this tale about a crew…
The Sweeney
Based on a popular UK cop show from the ’70s, The Sweeney is a slick and satisfying police thriller that doubles as a character study of the guy at the movie’s centre, Ray Winstone’s grizzled veteran cop Jack Regan. Like a team of cockney Dirty Harrys, Regan and his team use, let’s say, unorthodox measures…
Pushed out by gentrification?
Rocky Jones found a seat next to fellow activist Billy Lewis. Every chair in the room at the north branch library was full. People of different races, cultures and incomes sat with their neighbours, stood along the walls and spilled outside the door. Several young people in front of Jones held yellow signs. One read:…
Run For Your Wife
Please tell me I’m not the only one who finds Ray Cooney’s Run For Your Wife hopelessly dated. I love a good comedy, but I find it difficult to work up a lot of enthusiasm for a play that’s as rife with gay caricatures as this one is. So, while you know where I stand…
Headhunters
A cracking Norwegian thriller—adapted from a Jo Nesbø novel—follows the very anglo-named Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), a corporate headhunter with a sideline in art thievery. He’s married to Diana (Synnøve Macody Lund), who he feels unworthy of, and who he suspects of infidelity with art collector Clas (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones).…
Elysium
It’s 2154 and life is the worst. It makes Mad Max look like the Hamptons, it’s so bad. No health care, crumbling houses, tires everywhere, jerk-ass robots fucking with you on your way to your factory job building more jerk-ass robots. This is Matt Damon’s life. Earlier in Matt Damon’s life, which has always been…
Rope’s End
I personally think that there should be some special recognition for actor Gordon Gammie. He dominates the stage (in a good way) at this year’s Festival Antigonish, playing huge roles in all three productions. In Rope’s End Gammie plays Tobias, an acerbic down-and-out movie critic who seeks to reconnect with his first (maybe only) love.…
Dividing the Dome
Editor’s note: Neither The Dome OR Taboo Nightclub are closed or closing. A small portion of the current Dome space will be renovated to make room for the new pub, The Auction House. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding caused by this article. Downtown Halifax’s famous late-night haunt The Dome is growing up. It…
