Dreidel downer
To the editor, We, at House Warmings in the Keith’s Brewery Market, would like to wish the thief or thieves that stole an expensive dreidel on Saturday, December 2, and then came back to steal another one on Saturday, December 9, a very lousy Chanukah. If you happen to be a recipient of one of…
Auto fixation
Dear Bruce Wark, I would like to thank you for an excellent editorial (“Keeping the drive alive,” December 7). I am beyond disgusted with the current auto situation in Halifax and I am so sick of hearing of pedestrians being killed in crosswalks. Over a recent period of two weeks, while following all road rules…
Simpsons name origins
Become even more of a Simpsons nerd than you already are, with help from Wikipedia. Also, if Portland, Oregon doesn’t already have a Simpsons walking Tour, someone could make a fortune.
And a landslide brought me down
Peter Duffy’s twofer about being violated by a ghost of course won Gawker’s Great Moment in Journalism last week. Easily, and with one final comment.
Matt Mays and El Torpedo on Conan O’Brien
In case you missed it Friday night:
Letters to the Editor
I need some help. Desperately. There used to be a small Indian restaurant on the bottom floor of Park Lane… they moved when Nubody’s arrived, and I found them at the West End Mall after that. They left there, and I can’t find them ANYWHERE! They had the BEST Indian food ever, and the prices…
Rock lobster
According to CBC, a device that kills lobsters with electric shocks–apparently humanely, but how do we really know–has been developed into an industrial-scale model by a Charlottetown company. It’s name…wait for it…wait for it…The CrustaStun. Awesome.
Information Overload
Part 3 of 3, in “Things I learned while working on my ‘Ways to Make the City Better Now’ pieces, but had nowhere to put”. Since I thought it rude to take off at the end of my internship, and leave everyone in terrible suspense, after having hinted tantalizingly that I had some juicy payphone…
Presidental speech tag cloud
A tag cloud documenting of presidential speeches, all the way from John Adams to George W. Bush. If you’re not familiar with tag clouds, you will be. Warning: this can be strangely addictive for word nerds, like me. And possibly you. You have been warned.
Ross’s EP farm
Halifax drummer Benn Ross has been known for playing with as many bands as he can, including Al Tuck, Thrush Hermit, Piggy and many others. A November 2004 Coast article about Ross listed 51 artists and bands that Ross had worked with, and the number has grown since. Two years ago Ross decided to cut…
And then there was one
As of January 1, Frozen Ocean’s Argyle location will be no more. Stephanie Smith, the owner of this store and the Barrington location, says she’s closing it because “although surfing is growing, since we first opened there are more shops offering the same service. I feel like the market has levelled out somewhat.” She’s working…
Park city
This has been a big week for Trailer Park Boys—it feels like we write that a lot—on both the critical and commercial sides. Along with Atlantic Film Festival entries Sharkwater, Away From Her, Congorama, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen and Manufactured Landscapes, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie has been named one of the top 10…
Classes dismissed?
Last week, we gave you an update on the talks between Saint Mary’s University administration and the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union, as the two sides try to negotiate a new collective agreement and avoid a labour dispute that could potentially disrupt classes at the university. Meanwhile, nervous students get to drown their fears in…
Alpha’s flight
And at Christmas, one brother, the older, shall give the younger a Fender Squire bass guitar and unto him he will speak: “Here you go, we have a gig in three weeks.” That’s how 26-year-old Rhys Bevan-John, bassist in Ceti Alpha, recalls being invited to join the band of his 30-year-old brother—and singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist—Nick. Though he’d…
The Santa Industry
I experienced my first Christmas hangover when I was seven years old. It had nothing to do with alcohol. It’s the feeling I got after I’d opened all my presents and sat surrounded by them, knowing I should be ecstatic but instead feeling hollow with disappointment. The mood seemed totally unreasonable and my sense of…
Blowin’ in the wind
Mayor Peter Kelly was in Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games last March, part of a large fact-finding team from Halifax. Yet, important as the Games will be to the city if our bid for the 2014 edition is successful, Kelly also had urgent business to attend to back home. He cut his Australia trip short…
Casa fantastica
If you lamented the bulldozing of the Italian Cultural Centre Association this fall, the brick Agricola Street landmark which is home to Halifax’s Italian Weekend, be prepared to swallow your words—and a whole lot more wholesome north end gnocchi and polenta—come June. That’s when the ICCA—which is not being replaced by another unattractive low-rise apartment…
Back at the workshop
A twinkle-eyed girl bounces up and down, waving at the jolly fellow who returns the gesture with a beaming smile. The man is dressed in red velvet and black boots, and boasts an impressive white beard. “I want to keep the spirit of Christmas going as long as I can, and I want people to…
The Office business
“At Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, we’re not just in the paper business—we’re in the people business.” So begins The Faces of Scranton, a short video made by Dunder-Mifflin manager Michael Scott. The film enjoyed its debut during Scott’s first meeting with the company’s new chief financial officer. Scott edited the film on his Mac. He was thinking…
Living with HIV
Aaron Burke is fluent in the language of HIV. He’s done the research. He knows the terminology. He’s a 43-year-old senior manager at a prominent Halifax company and by god he’s managing this disease, too. He’s also managing not to really tell anyone he has it. “Once the fire is going, I think it can…
Alt spirit awards
The end of the year is all about lists. People love ’em. They can be arbitrary, considered or ridiculous. You turn a list into a popularity contest, and you get awards. People love awards as much as they love lists. I’d like to subvert all that. Or, perhaps I’ll surreptitiously join what I can’t beat.…
Apocalypto
Nothing in Mel Gibson’s brutal Apocalypto makes a case for the superstar’s now frequently questioned sanity. And the film is better for it. Gibson fashions the year’s most posh, aggressive and, yes, insane action epic—the equivalent of Terrence Malick and Werner Herzog teaming up to make Death Wish VI. This isn’t a way of letting…
Come all ye faithful
Don’t miss this one-time-only offer! For a limited time, get your rocks off for peace. Act now. This deal won’t last long. The date is December 22, winter solstice. Book it in your calendar and here’s the plan: all men and women are supposed to have an orgasm while concentrating on world peace. You can…
Techno trash
Nova Scotia is working on legislation that could reduce the amount of electronic waste—trash created by old or no longer functioning electronic equipment—in the province’s landfills. But not everyone is happy with how the government proposes to do that. Reboot, a non-profit computer refurbishing and recycling organization whose Nova Scotia operation is based in Dartmouth,…
Soup’er start
In case the name didn’t give it away, the Soup Sergeant jumps right into a military theme as soon as you walk in the door. Posted in the entrance are the “Mess Hall Rules,” explaining how to order and what’s on offer. Soups have names like “Green Beret” and “Commando Corn Chowder.” And the staff…
Political platforms
In recent years, Canadian domestic politics have been dominated by accountability and corruption scandals. That’s why John van der Woude’s exhibition, Power Houses: Canada’s First Ministers, at Anna Leonowens Gallery, a series of 14 photos documenting the homes of every provincial premier and the prime minister, is so captivating: these guys live mostly in relatively…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Come on, Leo, don’t it hurt so good, asks Rob Brezsny.
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan Savage rips a few new ones.
Jay in the life
Comedy albums have enjoyed a resur-gence as of late. Both Tenacious D and Weird Al Yankovic recently hit the top 10 in the United States with their respective albums The Pick of Destiny and Straight out of Lynwood, while internet phenomenon Dane Cook has spent over a year on the charts with his double disc…
