A year of CarShare
After 12 months of CarShareHFX (2459 Agricola Street, 406-7439), general manager Peter Zimmer says the alternative-to-rental-car subscription service is growing in leaps and bounds. “We have more than 200 drivers in our nine cars,” says Zimmer. “We are signing up workplace memberships at all scales.” That means businesses such as BMO, Waterfront Development, Just Us!…
In-Flight Safety + Jenn Grant holiday jam
Right here: Fairytale of New York, downloadable and dope!
Why WOULD I be home!?!
Couriers! What a frustrating “service”! I appreciate that the majority of their clients are business’ shipping/recieving mail, but some is residential as well. Why do they only come by in the middle of the day when pretty much everyone is at work! Why would I be home then? Why cant they come in the evening…
Holiday seasonings.
Is most food not salty enough? Everything prepared hot that you buy for a quick lunch at the two major food stores is so fucking salty that I am tempted to chuck it on my stoop so I won’t fall in the snow on my way back to the store to complain about the inedible…
Hali love
I miss you Halifax. I think about you every day. I get a little teary eyed every time I think about my friends you still have. But I also miss the little things, like all the great local food, the great local beer, and the general vibe of the city. And something else I miss,…
Phone Ettiquette
When you try to phone someone and end up calling the wrong number, is it so difficult to simply say so? Why do we have to go through the same routine every time “hello… hello…. who’s this?!” Excuse me, but I think you’re the one who called me and I’m not going to give you…
Just want to work out in peace…
I’m bitching here because I doubt that anything would be done if I submitted my comments in the comment box at the basement mall gym (I’ll try). It is always nice to go to the gym when I can make it in the evenings, but when I’m scurried out when I have 15 minutes to…
Dear Christmas Shoppers
Yes, another retail bitch. I’ve worked in retail for 8 years, I love customer service, except around Christmas time. A special kind of evil emerges from ppl this time of year when they are faced with the thought of searching for gifts or outfits for parties. To these ppl, I offer this advise: If it…
no xmas presents for haters.
know what, family? i don’t want to celebrate xmas with you. I didnt shop for 2 of your because you betrayed me and acted like children (even tho one of you is not a child). Thanks for your understanding… not. So xmas is gonna be ssuuuppper awkward now and the only reason why I’m not…
It Was a Cold and Windy Night …
Thanks to “Dave” in the blue pick-up truck, who kindly stopped to drive me and my Christmas tree home last Thursday night. I totally under-estimated (a) how heavy this tree was and (b) how freaking cold it really was outside!! Awesome bit of kindness. You Rock.—Xmas Tree Girl 🙂
Love: Awesome server is awesome.
I just wanted to let you know that you’re wicked. I was at Porter’s to eat on Saturday night at a Christmas party with my family and you were a great server. Seriously – so patient and helpful and totally on the ball. I wanted to tell you this before we left but I couldn’t…
YUP…MORE ABOUT THE PARKING BAN
Ok….I am just like many others in this City that have a car that needs a winter parking place…BUT i know there is a BAN so i find one ahead of time. LOL. Thats not my Bitch My BITCH is about the counsillors who are going in the media and bitch about it. Come on…..That…
Q. How many Police Officers does it take to Shovel a Sidewalk?
A. Apparently more than HRM currently has! I leave the north end to walk to work everyday and have been doing so for many years. On days with snow, it generally isn’t too bad – until I reach the Police HQ. Without fail, there will be fresh powder running the perimiter of thier building without…
Holiday Sniffups!
I’m so happy I get to spend my very first Christmas in Halifax with you…even if our tree is a little scraggly and our kitten is a little crazy! I love you.—D
Dear Nova Scotia…
Dear Nova Scotia, you have the worst drivers on the planet. Here are some basic tips to help you stop sucking so bad at driving: 1.) When traffic is backed-up up at rush hour…pay attention! Do not block the intersection with your car, preventing any flow of traffic. If you can’t pay attention when driving,…
Christmas Came Early!!
Sending my love to The Trews for putting on amazing shows at the Seahorse for 4 nights in a row! Tim Chaisson blew us away with his unbelievable talent to open the show and deserves mad props as well. Thanks for making this Holiday Season one to remember. xo—Dancer
Over priced pretentious presents
Why do companies continue to send gift baskets out to other companies? They’re usually filled with pretentious crap that gets thrown out because no one in the office wants to eat it (smoked salmon? dry as hell water crackers? WTF?) or bottles of barbeque sauce and finishing sauce. Yeah, they’re really useful in an office.…
Andrew Weaver: “Global leaders have abdicated their responsibility”
Andrew Weaver, a climatologist at the University of Victoria, is considered Canada’s foremost climate scientist. He is respected internationally as well, as he is the lead co-author of the last three reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world body charged with studying climate change. When I interviewed Weaver in September, he…
Fancy Pantry and Breads offers home delivery
Peninsula dwellers! Would you like eight weeks of sourdough bread delivery to your door? Sign up with Jessica Ross (halifaxsourdough@gmail.com, 405-9107) and her company Fancy Pantry and Breads. Previous to bread delivery, Ross studied bread-making in Germany—the sourdough will be the German style—and lived on a farm. She’s sold her bread on a stand she…
SS batteries
Now grated, the flyer hadn’t going through the store’s legal department but to question and kick up a fuss and hold a lineup for over 20 minutes because you were trying to find the batteries that were supposed to be on sale in the flyer… fucking ridiculous. it’s bad when I wait in a grocery…
vending machine owner
We were about to get a laser for our cat out of the vending machine when we realized there were none left…. feeling disheartened, we realized we would have to go out of our way to get to a dollar store….when lo and behold, you arrived ready to fill the machine for us! Oh how…
Oh wow…
So it’s about 1:00AM Monday morning, for the most part the dreaded snow storm has pretty much come to an end. But as I sit here, and stare out the window, I appreciate the peaceful calm. Not a foot step, or anything to disturb this white desert. I hate being cold… I hate the snow,…
Wait for your answer
When you ask me a question stfu until I am finished giving my answer. Please, don’t continuously interrupt me, not everything can be answered with yes or no.—not-binary
Mom Tweets as Her Son DIES
Who wants one last outrageous story before Christmas? Anyone? Here is what has been reported. According to Florida Today, a woman tweeted at 5:22 p.m. Monday about the fog over Brevard County in Florida. Some time between 5:22 p.m. and 5:38 p.m., her 2-year-old son fell into a swimming pool and was found floating in…
completely baffled
Ok, we do live in an electronic age, do we not? What makes me absolutely crazy is the way banks treat the average guy/gal. You know who you are. The only have $20 left, if lucky, in your account when the next pay goes in with it. Only to be used in a week. We…
The hottest State
Friend of the Coast and valedictorian of the Most Likely to Succeed class of 2010 Rich Aucoin dropped s remix bomb this weekend in the form of “Empire State of It,” a mash-up of the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys joint “Empire State of Mind” and his own “It,” from his upcoming (fantastic) new record. Check this shiz…
Saturday Generousity
I accepted a Christmas card from you while dropping off some goodies to your pad as I have done many a time. I didn’t realize it was just for me and not “the barn”, and was very pleasantly surprised when I opened it later on. Thank you soooooo much for the gift inside; I can’t…
Bitchers who bitch about service workers
Hey real simple – They’ll go get another job – real fast – and then you can serve your own self . Sound good ? Because without us serving you ( weather or not you need to tell me how shitty my job is or not or that we should get another job) you’d be…
No class
To the employees at certain well-stocked clothing store in Park Lane… usually higher price tags are associated with better service not girls with heads full of air, mouths full of gum and zero taste, barely managing to multi-task while using their touch-screen phones on the job. You just scraped by with sub-rate customer service which…
wallet-finder
My son, at the end of a very difficult week in October, lost his wallet on the 62 bus in Dartmouth. Late the next evening, a knock on our door–I’d been sleeping and stumbled out in my furry pink robe. A young man stood there with the wallet his friend had found on the bus.…
Happy Holidays
Thanks for showing up to my Christmas party uninvited, helping yourself to the food I prepared for everyone, being a total douche to my girlfriends, and taking a 40 of rum out of my fridge when you left. It was great to have you in my home.—The ‘Rich Bitch’ who wouldn’t play the blues for…
“Local, Sustainable, Ethical” Farmers Market
Why are we putting solar panels imported from China or Europe on the new “Local, Sustainable, Ethical” Farmer’s Market. We’ve got a locally owned company in Dartmouth that has been designing and manufacturing world class solar panels and solar systems since 1981. So much for the “Local” and “Ethical” portion of the the new Farmer’s…
Freeze! Good one, fuckface!
To the idiot that thought it would be a a fun thing to pull his skimask down over his face and yell “freeze” in the liquor store the other day and then explain to the cashier that it was just a “Christmas joke”. Haha, we were all laughing inside while we stood in line behind…
Splice invites iphone app wizards to sign up
Barrington-based Apple software trainers and Mac repair people Splice (1668 Barrington Street, 444-4225) have a new training program that iPhone and IPod Touch fans are going to want to know about: you can sign up now for development courses, lasting seven or 10 days, depending on your previous programming experience, and learn how to make…
brintch (grinch/bitch)
lady, i could literally see, on your face, in your attitude, the INSTANT you decided to make a big deal of some wayward syrup getting on your ugly ass jacket. It was approximately 7 seconds after someone graciously and apologetically gave you a damp cloth to wipe it off with while apologizing profusely for the…
Family Guy…
Why are you still on? You suck so hard. Get funny or go away.—Stoo
Loss of Arbeit Macht Frei sign a ”blow to our heritage”???
I understand that by thieves stealing this sign, it denotes a loss of an important piece of history. What is redonkulous is that people are acting as if this is an object equivocal to the Mona Lisa or the Statue of Liberty’s dress. A staff member at Auschwitz was ”visibly shaken” by the event, and…
So you got there first…
…how nice for you, but I was at the Superstore too. I heard the conversation and what that guy called you…he was a douche…but guess what? He was right. Regardless of who ‘got there first’, obviously there was a miscommunication. He kindly offered you go ahead. You cuold have just said, “Thank you” You got…
rounding down
what is it with the local businesses, especially bars and restaurants who feel the need to round down your change without asking you or telling you first. It is a little uncomfortable to be put in the position of asking for all my change back.—k.l.
saffron search
thanks to all the people that helped me find some saffron for my paellapg
Breakhouse breaks out
Shoptalk has learned that local design company Breakhouse (1096 Marginal Road, 431-3102) has landed a deal to create a chain of retail outlets for Wind Mobile, a new brand of wireless to be introduced in 2010—including in Atlantic Canada—by Toronto-based Globalive. In operation since 1999, Breakhouse is run by Glen McMinn and Peter Wuensch and…
All Hail The Midtown Tavern
“The other place is done. It went out with a bang, but we’re happy here,” says Midtown co-owner Eric Grant of his establishment, which was much beloved at its previous location—for 60 years at the corner of Grafton and Prince. Since the beginning of September it’s just a block north of there at 1744 Grafton,…
They Failed Us
oops we failed again It ended with a whimper. Humanity should be so lucky. After 12 days of bitter arguments, leaked documents, sit-ins and arrests, negotiators agreed it would be the lowest common denominator all around. Poor countries didn’t want rich countries verifying their results. They got what they wanted. Rich countries didn’t want citizens…
No Deal
photo by Chris Benjamin Twitter was so right. Hours before the Globe and Mail posted the story rumours started circulating that leaders had failed to make a deal and had been asked to stick it out another day. The PMO’s office denies it but says “negotiations are still ongoing.” Somebody should tell Russia’s Medvedev that;…
B-52s at the Casino Schooner Room March 19 and 20
I can’t hear you! The B-52s are coming to the Casino Nova Scotia Schooner Room March 19 and 20, to further prove that they are still super hot. I am buying it wholeheartedly. They are still number one on the list of groups you may reference when a band has both male and female vocals.…
Record sale at the Bus Stop Theatre!
December 16th to 23rd! Old and new records that would probably make either great gifts or gag gifts. You decide.
Harper retards Climate Change
He decides to skip, dip, under rader the Copenhagen Climate talks. What a spineless jelly fish he turned out to be. Am I surprised, NOoooooooooo. You disappoint me you useless leader.Can’t wait for the responses. Burning Man.—Me
Always One….
Never can there be a party, without someone that makes an ass of themselves….fer fuck sake, get it together!—QueentofHearts
Mistletoe fruitcake !
to the young ladies conversing this afternoon at the UG Southpark: as interesting as your conversation about University A v. University B’s “keggers” was…ahem…. the frequent drop of the f-bomb (yes i called it that for lack of a better term) was not needed and frankly, unappreciated. Choose your diction and practice SOME social etiquette.…
Cosplay is Stupid
Why do you dress up as cartoon characters? Why do you post those pictures on the Internet? You look stupid. You’re too fat to be Yuna, you’re too female to be Naruto, and you’re too ugly to be Sailor Moon. Save your costumes for Hallowe’en only. Please stop coming over to my house dressed as…
Old Bridge with New Rails!
I just crossed the old bridge and noticed that somehow, at some point, when I didn’t notice, someone convinced someone to extend the “anti suicide” guard rails ALL the way across the bridge. I was so pleased, it made me smile. Thanks!—bridge commission
Battle to Canadian Music Week 2010
The Battle to Canadian Music Week 2010 for the Music Nova Scotia Stage: Enter the Tiki begins at The Seahorse Tavern January 19, 26, February 2 and 9 Here’s a jolly holiday read about crushing your peers in an all-out, no holds barred battle:
Clowns
To the jerkwad who, for some reason, felt the need to get on my bus last night in a full clown makeup, complete with wig and costume.. here’s a little tip for you.. some people are REALLY afraid of clowns. So much in fact, that there is a term for such a phobia. (Coulrophobia) If…
Thank you Video Difference Owner
I just want to thank the owner of Video Difference. He spread Christmas cheer to me on this very cold day. I happened to lock my keys inside my car with it running while returning a movie to the drop box at Vid. Dif. in Bedford. By chance the owner happened to be there and…
I HATE MY GODDAM BROTHER
HOLY SHIT I HAVE TO WAIT EVERY FUCKING DAY AFTER SCHOOL IN MY MOM’S CAR AND WAIT FOR HIM TO COME OUT OF THE SCHOOL AND I GET OUT OF SCHOOL AT 2:25 AND GUESS WHAT TIME HE COMES OUT????? 3 O CLOCK!!! THIS HAS BEEN EVERY FUCKING DAY FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS!!!! I…
Free Taxi Ride
I have been having problems walking for months. A few nights ago I was in back/hip agony and even with only a 15 minute walk I desperately needed to take a taxi home. I jumped in the taxi and the driver asked how I was. I said: “In Pain”. He was so sympathetic and kind.…
Hands off my LUNCH!!!
I get up especially early so I have time to make myself a good lunch every morning. This past month SOMEONE has been stealing small snacks from my lunch. SOMEONE has been taking a little more every week; as if they did it gradually enough, I wouldn’t notice. I have gone completely lunch-less three days…
Poor lobster fishermen, BOO-HOO
Let’s look at the lobster fishing in Canada. I have a unique view on the entire industry as personally owning vessels (live lobster), processing operations (live lobster) and exporting (again live lobster) to around the world. This is a LUXERY item and in a world that is going through the worse financial crisis in many…
$50.00 for parking in front of my own house!
Dear HRM, Fuck you for leaving me a $50.00 parking ticket, at 6:53AM, for parking in front of my own house. I understand that snow removing is a difficult process in our climate and that you need to enforce a bylaw to protect it, but how can you justify doubling the amount of the fine…
Thanks to all you beautiful women in Halifax
I just wanted to say I fall in love everyday here in Halifax. There are so many beautiful women coming and going downtown from dawn ’til dusk, and it makes my day to see all of you. Sitting at a coffee shop…you’re there. Christmas shopping…you’re there too! At work…jackpot. I find on average one woman…
Unhappy holidays
First, someone stole the lighted Christmas penguins from our yard. Now someone has stolen our two lighted deer. What’s with these people? We decorate our house so everyone can enjoy the lights in this dark time of year. People who steal holiday decorations are pathetic losers.—the whos
No I am not a Holiday Hater
At the risk of being bitched at by bitchers because I work retail and I should just “get a better job” (which is a whole other bitch in itself)… It is the week before Christmas. If you were too stupid to shop before now, don’t give me shit because a bunch of other people got…
Final Day, Maybe
It’s the final day of the Copenhagen climate conference. In the words of WWF Sweden CEO Lasse Gustavsson, “world leaders have arrived and negotiated overnight with little or no progress.” Shocking that even with 120 super-egos in the room they couldn’t save the world overnight. You think maybe they should have allotted more time for…
Toque Taxing – ’cause it’s the Canadian Way, Eh?
Institute a Hat Tax. Afterall, most bodyheat is lost out of our heads, right? Cold season is amongst us and there’s that scary H1N1. Wearing a toque could save lives and make society better for everyone, right? One less cold or sick person for society to deal with. Apparently, ticketing people is now society’s way…
I love you Gucky
Since I met you, my life has gotten better, I just want you to know. It was seeming pretty bleak there for a while; living alone, working that crappy job and being poor. Somehow you make those things seem so far away. I think about you when I’m falling asleep and when I wake up.…
Afrika Bambaataa at the Paragon January 15
The Amen-Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture, Afrika Bambaataa, comes back to Halifax in January. He last performed at the Marquee Club in November of 2007, this could be a bi-yearly thing and I wouldn’t mind that at all. Tickets available at www.ticketpro.ca $17 in advance, $23 day of show (via Ticketpro) or $20 at…
Asphalt sidewalk replacements don’t measure up.
What’s wrong? Asphalt sidewalk replacements don’t measure up. Who’s responsible? Bryan Robarts, Right of Way department, 490-4000. REMARKS In early fall, the laying of natural gas pipe cut up the corner of Coburg and Oxford, which was patched with asphalt. Local residents fear that the concrete sidewalk won’t be replaced properly. Robarts insists work will…
Taxing HRM
Tim Bousquet’s “Why everyone loses under the city’s property tax plan” (December 10) is an excellent article and those who read it will understand much about the tax reform plan and why it can’t possibly work. My first question is: why haven’t the powers that be requested information on tax reform from similar-sized areas, so…
Bruce Fisher on The Coast’s tax reform analysis
The Coast’s recent “opinion” piece on the tax reform issue contains a number of errors and misleading statements that need clarification. Property Tax Reform started not because of a south end Halifax lobby effort, but because the existing tax system was not serving its citizens well. As has been well-documented, the value of one’s home…
Q & A with Dr. Claire Campbell in Copenhagen
Q. Is this your first experience at an international conference of this nature? Like many academics I go to international conferences occasionally, though I’ve never been to a COP. I was just in Copenhagen in August, actually, for the first World Congress in Environmental History. Denmark is my favourite country in the world after Canada,…
There’s just something in my eye, that’s all
Could it be that my glacial heart forged from the tears of a thousand shivering children is getting soft? I am bawling at the kitchen table, watching this and eating gingerbread men. What is wrong with me?
Thank you to my church/work community
So I had to move out to Toronto for an internship in my field. Recently my dad was sent to halifax for emergency heart operation, he will be in hospital for over two weeks when all is said and done. I wanted to fly home but couldn’t afford it. Thank you for my church angels,…
Fall more deeply in love, libra
SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 21) I hope you will get more sleep in 2010. And eat better food, too. And embark on some regimen like meditation that will reduce your stress levels. In general, Sagittarius, I hope you will learn a lot more about what makes your body function at optimum levels, and I hope you…
Will East Coast Dynamics ring the New Year in right this year?
The New Year’s Eve party at the Cunard Centre last year was a fiasco: attendees complained of people not getting patted down at the door (or at least not properly, which caused fears that weapons could have been brought in easily), 20 minute-long drink lines and a coat check that got so out of hand…
Dalhousie study gets province powered up
Nova Scotia Power will have to give up control over who gets access to the province’s energy grid, says a government-sponsored report released Tuesday. The province has set a target of 25 percent of electricity coming from renewable sources by 2015. That goal is lauded by environmentalists, but there’s concern that it will either not…
Thirst
A deeply committed Christian priest in South Korea, Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song), offers himself as a test subject in the fight against a mysterious global pandemic. He travels out of the country to a clinic where he’s deliberately infected with the virus and accidentally receives a tainted blood transfusion. A host of new vampiric cravings and…
SISTER says it all
Carla Gillis has liked Scott Pilgrim for a thousand years, but she’s utterly co-dependent on her sister. Starting with local indie darlings Plumtree in the early ’90s, Carla and Lynette Gillis have always played in bands together. This week they bring their latest venture, SISTER, home to Halifax. “I think I’m actually scared to play…
Humpday
It’s an old story: two college buddies go separate ways after graduating. One travels, couch surfs, bums around; the other gets a job, gets married, buys a house. And, like always, the one shows up unexpectedly at the other’s place, gets him drunk and stoned and puts his marriage into jeopardy. And then they decide…
North End Metal All-Stars blazing
When the North End Metal All-Stars play, everyone buys two beers at a time. Along with pumping fists, this is the ultimate compliment for NEMAS. Founding member J. Quinn’s goal from the start was “good pub metal where people can go out and have a good time.” Quinn formed NEMAS from the ashes of veteran…
Mittentime Revue spreads Island cheer
If you’re hiding under the covers to avoid shopping, baking or card sending, be sure to dress in your woolies and hop out of bed for Saturday’s Mittentime Revue—a cabaret show that’ll de-stress you with its carol medleys, storytelling, poetry and songs. “It’s meant to take the piss out a little bit, and also just…
Wayne Doucet, skate doctor
His name is Wayne Doucet. And he isn’t called The Skate Doctor for nothing. “Here’s the mentality,” he says, pulling down his respirator halfway through sharpening a pair of nicely worn-in but not worn-out black Bauers: “What idiot can’t sharpen skates?” Doucet’s brother and business partner Howard pipes up. “They say this must be a…
South shore seasonal pub tour
Growing up on the south shore and attending school in Halifax, it’s not surprising that this beer and pub lover developed a preference for certain pubs and towns within reasonable driving distance. I got involved with a crowd in university that did an annual “South Shore Drinking Tour,” in which we drove to a bar…
Chequebook politics leaves city staff short changed
Last week, city staff announced that the pay rates for Halifax councillors had been improperly calculated, and so every councillor serving since 2005 would receive a one-time payment making up for lost pay. The payments totalled $246,096.16; some councillors received as much as $8,000, but most considerably less. Councillors used to set their own pay…
Jason Priestley on the Fitz
Cruising down Main Street, New Minas, you might not notice anything unusual in the Duncan Underwood Inn watering hole, besides its amusing acronym. There’s actually no alcohol on the premises; the bar is one of the sets for a new TV series shooting in town. Next door is a former Kia dealership. “Fitzpatrick Motors,” reads…
Haydain Neale’s Jacksoul
With the recent passing of Haydain Neale, the loss is deeply felt. But very soon the sound of that soulful baritone leads the listener to a lightness of heart, the spirit to a place of strength. Yes, that sounds heavy, but the man’s memory, legacy, is worthy of the sentiment. SOULmate, particularly “How We Do,”…
Halifax comedy on the laugh track
[Editor’s note: this story is one of five Coast articles selected as finalists for the 2010 Atlantic Journalism Awards. All five stories are collected here.] Monday night at Gus’ Pub is a quiet affair, though the tables are dotted with tiny beer glasses. Chairs are filled with a mostly hoodie-wearing crowd. The disco twinkle of…
Tommy T
Backbone of the Eastern Europe-via-NYC mania that is Gogol Bordello, Tommy T is a native of Ethiopia. It’s his bass that gives the Gogols their go-go. Here he taps history for exotic echoes. Prester John was a Christian king in the Middle Ages whose own explorations inspire the album. “East-West Express” sets wild Nigerian horns…
Lovesongs of Emmanuel Taggart, Syr Ruus (Breakwater)
On page one, readers awake with 45-year-old Emmanuel to his feeling of detachment from his own life. His disorientation deepening, Emmanuel takes a wrong turn, ending up in a stranger’s driveway. He’s mistaken as a long-awaited familiar. This sets him off on a personal quest to regain his bearings, meaning and purpose in life. Ruus,…
Fresh Flesh
Dear Pop Culture, I don’t want to talk about that new HBO series or debate this year’s Oscars. That’s boring. Let me introduce Halifax’s Fresh Flesh. Stacy Brown’s cassette-recorded Casio beats and Zoë Solomon’s stumbling rhymes about ham, miracle vomit and space diamonds are as consumer-friendly as performance art. These handmade cassettes are a breath…
My Wonderful World of Fashion, Nina Chakrabarti (Laurence King)
Tavi Gevinson, the precocious 13-year-old fashion blogger who’s pissing off the established, much-older editors, just scored a column in Harper’s Bazaar. That sounds too much like adult work. Discovering fashion (not the GAP kind) can be, and should be, fun. London artist Nina Chakrabarti, who studied at the Royal College of Art, brings style back…
Tom Waits
Tom Waits never gets old, both figuratively and literally. He proves himself again on Glitter and Doom as he yelps, howls and rasps his way through a set of newer gems and reworked classics with undaunted energy. It’s a collection of increasingly rare live performances from his 2008 tour, bringing to life the rapture and…
Invictus stirs the soul
The mere premise of Invictus stirs the soul: Confronted with a still hostile and divided population, South African president Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) encouraged and gently manipulated the underdog national rugby team (lead by Matt Damon as captain) from a predominantly white-South African passion to a unifying national cause. Director Clint Eastwood studiously avoids cues…
Tori Amos
Amos approaches the holiday canon the same as every record she’s made, including this year’s Abnormally Attracted to Sin: with mixed emotions and mad bombast. Bookended by traditionals (“The First Noel,” “Silent Night”), Midwinter Graces feels like a mid-career Amos album, To Venus and Back with bells: it’s serviceable, with high points. Daughter Natashya pops…
Mexico Lindo closes for the holiday
Does the idea of sipping cervezas under a palm tree, warming your toes in the sand and staring across crystal clear, blue, placid waters sound pretty damn good right now? Shoptalk suspects that’s what the owners of Mexico Lindo (3635 Dutch Village Road, 445-0996) have in mind since their delectable Mexican cuisine will be unavailable…
Santaland Diaries: All work and a play
Every adult knows the roles. Whether as a kid climbing onto Santa’s lap to snatch a spot on the “nice” list, as a parent forcing a child onto that same lap decades later or as a passerby watching the drama, the cliche of the mall Santa is part of the Christmas ritual. This year, Halifax…
Luna/Sea’s all-woman Twelfth Night is wonderful
Sure, you’re probably as busy as one of Santa’s elves right now, but I highly recommend taking an evening off to see Luna/Sea’s wonderful all-woman production of Twelfth Night. It’s a classic Shakespearean comedy with all the mistaken identities, wise fools and foolish courtiers that you’d expect, but with an added seasonal bonus of several…
Carnal tunnel syndrome
Q I’ve been married four years and have a beautiful baby boy with my husband. I enjoy sex a lot, even a bit of BDSM. My husband, on the other hand, isn’t “driven by sex,” as he likes to put it, and will try tying me up if that’s what I “really want.” You’d think…
It’s Raining Men (and tall drinks)
Forget the Leafs. Halifax basketball fans will be breaking out the blue and white this week as the Rainmen kick off their pre-season games. To honour these towering men, we’re featuring a few bars where you can reach for a tall drink. Niche At a vertiginous 7’3″, centre Shagari Alleyne is the tallest player on…
Spring Garden Rd. tackiness
Once again merchants of Spring Garden Rd. have placed Christmas wreathes along the street and felt the need to be recognized for doing so by placing their names in the middle of them!! How much tackier can this street get?—Marie
Dark and Dreary Nights No More
To home owners and renters – thank you so much for leaving you Christmas lights on later into the night .. When I leave work its late and I am usually feeling pretty low; but lately seeing your trees, porches, windows and such all lit up against the cold dark brings a smile to me…
`*`HRM COUNCILLORS`*`
~*~ I for one think that MOST of the councillors are doing the best they can~*~ ~~*****~~ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ~~****~~—me
BooHoo…YES we have a Winter parking ban…GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have been reading so many posts about how unfair the Winter Parking Ban is……….Are you people serious??? I would love to see any of you whiners try to Plow a street littered with cars at 2:00am. It wouldn’t happen. Then you would be on here whining about what a shitty job HRM does…
Parking Ban #3
The disgusting cash grab from the poor continues this year. People without alternate parking are the less affluent members of HRM. Those with money are parking in their garages and driveways already and never feel the sting of a ridiculous ticket issued on a warm, snow-free night. Adding insult to injury is the fact that…
Winter Parking Ban #2
What the FUUUUUUUUUUCK Halifax??????? Seriously? A winter parking ban? Average snowfall in Montreal last December, January and February? 221.1 mm! During the same time in Halifax? 44 mm! In Montreal, the plows come through residential streets in the day-time and blow the horn a dozen times. If you don’t come out and move your car,…
Please please please Hurry up
I know building a stucture like the one they are putting up between highfield and burnside, the footbridge for pedetrians, take some time to get ready. But it seems like it has been done for about a week now and they still dont have it open. I for one travel that little bridge connecting highfield…
Deerfield twang up the afternoon, Dartmouth style
Alt-country trio Deerfield have started a new matinee series at Jacob’s Lounge in Dartmouth (106 Portland Street), performing every Saturday afternoon at 3-8pm, providing you with tunes to salt your draft to. The group also added Katherine McQueen (formerly of Skank Williams) on vocals, to get some of that sweet, sweet lady harmony in there.…
