Wishing You Great Things
Thanks for making my holiday season a little bit brighter this year. It was looking pretty craptastic and now I’m actually looking forward to the coming festivites. You sacrificed some of your time to allow me to have time with my loved ones. Thank you! A million times thank you! I hope you have a…
Soulcake…
You were the spark that lit the flame and I know I am never going to be the same. —’Til we meet again
First Christmas Together
This is the first year in a really long time that I’ve been genuinely EXCITED about Christmas. The thought of getting to spend so much time with you over the holidays is the best and only gift I could ask for. You have brought so much happiness into my life that I was beginning to…
Unseen
So, yesterday afternoon just after sundown I made my way to the bus stop to wait for the bus. Imagine my excitement when I saw the bus approaching the stop ON TIME. I removed my bus ticket from my pocket, stepped closer to the road, turned off my Ipod… and watched as the bus barreled…
Dear Bus
Sometimes you leave early or show up late. Your drivers drink a coffee while explaining the “rule” that I can’t get on with an open Redbull. You charge me more and come around less. By the way, thanks for telling me about the 185, I got your tiny little notice duct taped to the schedule…
Racing on Bedford Highway
Much (sarcastic) love to the silly person who tried to run me off the road and race me in their car today while on the Bedford Highway. I’m sure you wanted to put me in my place by zipping ahead of me, but instead you just made yourself look like a dope who excels at…
I’m Still Here
We both go to the same school and the days I happen to see you around campus are my absolute favourite. With your dreamy blue eyes and pre-insanity Joaquin Phoenix beard, you make me crazy. I think you’re perfect. I hope I get to have a million more awesome days filled with your dreamy face.…
Reminded again…
I may be trying to forgive you and get on with this relationship, but today I was going through my e-mails and found one I forwarded to myself when I found out you cheated. It was from her to you. She talked about meeting you in the motel that night and how you go on…
Wish I answered the door…
To the man who found my student loan papers and came to my door to return them, thank you so much!! There was alot of personal info in that envelope that you saved from getting into the wrong hands. You have relieved much stress, thank you, thank you, thank you! —Not so stressed.
Start Live Shows Earlier!
Regularly seeing great live shows and maintaining a responsible work ethic shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. I am young, have disposable income, and have a healthy appreciation for local entertainment. Ideally I could catch at least one show during the week, pay cover, tip well, and purchase band merchandise. Unfortunately, the majority of shows are listed…
Hobo-Perv
To the hobo who’s been kicking around downtown: I can deal with creepy men hitting on me in public, but when you get so close I can smell your awful hobo breath, turn around to GAWK at my ass and slur “Daaaaamn” or “Ohhhh” or any of the above, it’s really fuckin’ gross. I will…
Poor Service
I am not sure if this is a “proper bitch”, but I am mad at myself and can’t get over how terrible I feel. You asked a question and I had the answer, but I could have and should have done more to help you. I am quite sure I came across as not helpful…
Bish to close, Bicycle Thief to open
Bish Wold Cuisine (Bishop’s Landing, 1475 Lower Water Street, 425-7993) will be hosting a “Last Supper” on New Years Eve, then closing its doors. The Bertossi Group, owners of Bish, Il Mercato and Ristorante a Mano, will then renovate the space and open a new restaurant in February 2011, called The Bicycle Thief—presumably named after…
Unpleasant Bus Ride
To the asshole on the #1 last night, everyone on the bus heard you yelling at the bus driver calling him a “fucking asshole” and “fucking idiot”. You claimed you pulled the rope for the next stop, but believe me, I was sitting behind you and you most definitely did not. Stop taking your frustrations…
Cousins and Duzheknew play SXSW
burrito bike, meet taco town I imposed a Facebook moratorium on myself today, but right before I did so, I saw that both Cousins and Duzheknew had posted on their fanpages that they got into SXSW. WOW that is fun. You can see the list of the bands playing so far here. (Note that Cuz/Duz…
A Bridge Too Far
Bridge Commission, when the f*%# are you going to re-open those MacPass lanes? Your top dog is applying to the Utilities Review Board to increase tolls to a dollar a trip, yet you can’t seem to complete a simple project like putting up dividers. When did this interuption start? I can’t remember, was it October?…
Library Doors
Can someone PLEASE explain to me why the hell all the doors in the university library are so fucked? Like no, really. First of all, they must have found it really hilarious to make it so you have to PULL the door in and PUSH it when you are leaving, but what about the fact…
Loo Loo Loo, Loo-Loo
cool dad This Sunday December 12, the CBC Radio 2 program Inside the Music will be airing a documentary called “Good Grief It’s Serendipity Vince Guaraldi: The Making of the Charlie Brown Christmas Album.” In the doc, legendary percussionist Jerry Granelli travels back to San Francisco and shares stories of playing on that legendary album,…
Straight up, I think you’re great.
You’re a new addition to our close knit group of friends. You happened to move in with my friends, and I just wanted to say that I’m really glad you did. As if it wasn’t great enough that you are a skilled Foosball player and have excellent taste in music, you also brought the most…
Sorry, I forgot my bags…
GOOD! I hate those stupid cloth bags, save the environment my ass. I swear the only reason people bring them is to piss cashiers off, and it’s working! They take longer to pack, they don’t stand up by themselves, people complain “OH IT’S TOO HEAVY” or “OH IT’S NOT HEAVY ENOUGH!” Fuck. And then there…
Love Halifax
From the all too common absent-minded being: Picture walking by a bicycle with the key left in the bike lock and mittens laying right next to it. This is how I mistakenly left my bike in the fall on Spring Garden Rd, only to return, three hours later, with it left completely untouched. I have…
Where’s My Transfer?
I wait like a chump for the bus every day. Sometimes it’s on time, sometimes it’s late, but one thing that is a constant is as one bus pulls into a terminal, the connecting bus that is idling (the bus half the people on the arriving bus need) just pulls off when it sees the…
Ho bisogno di verderti…
Vuoi avere un playday il mio caldo pilota? —Principessa
Puppy Love
To the person who allowed their puppy to wander off leash… I wish I could take it away from you and give it a good home. I was on a bus Monday afternoon when I saw a white puppy running down the sidewalk with the irresponsible owner walking nonchalantly behind. The puppy didn’t stop at…
Best of Halifax makes best of BoingBoing
You know James White is talented, you voted him Best Visual Artist for the second time in this year’s Best of Halifax readers’ poll. Well, BoingBoing thinks so too: they picked up a fan-poster he made for the upcoming Green Lantern film.
Recently Engaged: Mari & Ashley
My fiancee and I met at work at the IWK hospital in Halifax. Our relationship started over babies and epidurals. Ashley is an anesthesiologist and I’m a nurse. We just returned to the Maritimes after spending a year in Toronto where Ashley completed his training. One of the first things we did was a trip…
YHZ Blue
To the people who regularly abuse the maximum carry on luggage allowances—I hope you end up in the middle seat between the fat guy whose arm flab falls into your seat space and the guy with nasty BO, with a hyperactive 7 year old in the seat behind you kicking your seatback. To the airlines…
Joanna Galipeau working on Store #3
Shoptalk has learned that Joanna Galipeau, owner of the popular downtown boutiques Sweet Pea (1542 Queen Street, 423-0975) and Twisted Muse (Above Mills at 5486 Spring Garden Road, 446-3662) is planning her third enterprise. The as yet unnamed new boutique will be a shoe store, adjacent to Twisted Muse on the second floor of Mills.…
Costas Halavrezos: Spice Merchant
He was the familiar voice of Maritime Noon on CBC Radio One until his retirement in September. If you’ve been missing his dulcet voice or have a hankering for spice, head on down to the Brewery Market (also known as The Historic Halifax Farmers’ Market, 1496 Lower Water Street) on either (or both) of the…
ORN Volunteers!
To all the volunteers, you are amazing. Thanks for letting people party during the Holiday seasons and keeping them safe! —ORN lover
Cheap venues?
Hi there, I am having a very low budget wedding (my fiance has 4 kids). I am from out of town so I am having a hard time finding many venues. Do you know any cheep ones? would ones out of town be cheaper? like the valley, or fall river thanks so much.
I miss our cuddling the most!
I’m so sorry I couldn’t be right for you, my boy, and give you what you so greatly deserve. I hope that you find everything in this life that you desire. I miss you everyday. —Heartbroken in Halifax
Why
Why do women stay with emotionally and verbally abusive boyfriends? Who told these women that physical violence is the only deal breaker? How can they listen to their boyfriends berate, threaten, and insult them and think they are in a “romantic” relationship? I’ve had to call the cops twice this year on a man for…
Parkade
Dear person who hit my car and left, you left a HUGE dent in my car… probably the size of a basketball. There is no way you didn’t know you hit my car. You’re a coward for not having done anything. Hope it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you did that…
You Make Me Laugh…
We have the same quirky sense of humour and I hope we never lose it. I’m so glad that we’re friends and I never imagined that a random conversation started on a whim could have led us this far. You’re always around to talk to and you can always think of a way to make…
People Above
Why on earth would you get a dog if you are NEVER EVER going to be home? You both work and you both go to school, so when on earth are you going to be able to walk and have fun with your pooch? You’re not. How do I know? I work from home… duh.…
Stealing my Faith
To the scum who broke into our home last week – was it worth it? The pieces of jewelry you stole might get you $20 bucks apiece at a pawn shop, but for me, my mother, and my grandmother they represented the only link to a meager but special past. Oh, and those documents you…
Restoring my Faith
To the girls that brought home our old and tired dog who was let free by the scum who broke into our home last week. SOOOO good to know there are people like you in the world to counteract the scum. Thank you. —Appreciative in the Southend
Over Doing It for Donations
“Would you like to donate $2 to ______?” “We’re collecting for _______. Do you have a toonie for us?” “Please donate generously. We need your help.” “Give now. Others are waiting for your donation.” “Can you spare $5, $10, and $20 for _____?” “Can you afford $1.75/day for a year for _______?” Thank you to…
Shave Already
Okay guys, we’re almost a week into December now. MOVEMBER IS OVER. Shave that ungodly thing off your face. Seriously. —No stache
Awareness
OK, I have to let this out. So everybody is posting a pic of their favourite cartoon character on everyone’s favourite invasive social network. This “awareness” shit does nothing. Its like the color of your bra thing a few months ago. People post this shit that is actually completely unrelated to the original cause so…
Putting a Thank You in my own hands!
Sending out a HUGE THANK YOU to whoever found the wallet in the mall parking lot and brought in into the info desk Wednesday night. I work front desk at a hotel and the woman came to check in realizing she lost her wallet containing all her debit cards, credit cards, licence, and other membership…
No Food For Me
To the waitress at a popular breakfast restaurant, YOU SUCK! We sat there for 25 minutes watching you take the orders of all the people we watched you seat around us, some of them were almost done their meals when we got up and left in disgust. We even tried to get your attention as…
Cowie Hill is not Spryfield
I am sick and tired of journalists who can’t seem to grasp the basic requirements of their job. Cowie Hill is not Spryfield. They are two separate areas. Whenever there’s violence in Cowie Hill, it’s reported as having happened in Spryfield. Local news stations have done this several times in the past and have actually…
Cell Phones and Cars
After reading in the paper about a recent accident, I realized that we should have a no-tolerance policy towards people who use cellphones while driving. Anyone who is caught using a cellphone (texting/talking on the phone sans hands-free device) should lose their driver’s licence, period. No fines, nothing, just lose it for good. Keep this…
Oh my Littleone
You blew my mind when you said you’d leave it all behind in Flambourough and move to Dartmouth! You have no idea how much I wept hearing it! Life is good, finally! You make it so! I love you more every day! Thanks Littleone for being my partner in all ways! —Always warm
Keep Moving You Lazy A-Holes!
What the hell is wrong with you lazy arseholes? Why the hell are you standing stationary on the escalators? An escalator is intended to increase progress, not slow it down! Unless you’re over 80 years old or mobility-impaired, keep moving! At the very least, stay to the right and get out of my goddamn way!…
bk all the way!
Dearest K, you’re actually my favourite!! I’m so lucky to have you and will love you foreva and eva and EVAAA!! I don’t care if we laugh too loud, I don’t care if people stare, and I don’t care if we make people sick… I love you more than Snooki loves pickles and I’m gunna…
Ol’ Mean Bastard
Our store didn’t have something you were looking for. You exclaimed to me “That’s fucking ridiculous!” I asked you not to use that language as we were in a public place. Your response was, “bite me.” Are you kidding me? For someone who appears to be at least 50 years old, you are pathetically immature…
Sticky Fingers
I am trying to gather up some cash to head West. I consigned some clothes at a local shop, including a number of accessories, one item a very expensive and chic pair of 70s Janis Joplin like sunglasses. Some sticky fingered low life klepto felt it was their self involved right to pocket them. Thanks.…
What is the pricing at the Inn on the Lake like???
Hi there, I am looking for anyone that knows someone that has had a wedding there already, or is planning one there. I am looking for reviews, to see what the pricing is like, the service is like, anything really you can tell me. Thanks. —Amanda
Not a Bus
Get the fuck out of the bus lanes, people, unless you are driving this big thing called a bus. And if you insist on driving like an ass where you don’t belong, at least don’t cut me off and almost cause a giant accident at the tolls of the MacDonald bridge. —Knows how to get…
my bearded love
I love that thing so much. I love when you kiss all over my body and it tickles my skin. You are my perfect match, I know we confess it to each other all the time, but I love you so much. You make me feel so alive and happy, unlike I’ve ever felt in…
Thief
Did you really have to break into my car and steal my wallet? I don’t care about the other stuff you stole. Just all of my ID! Why don’t you go down to the South End of Halifax and steal from the rich, we just get by as it is now… so thanks. I’d like…
Bishop’s Landing stays open late
This coming Friday, head on down to Bishop’s Landing (1475-77 Lower Water Street) to experience a shopping extravaganza. The retailers on and just off swanky square right on the harbour will be staying open until midnight, stores including Bishop’s Cellar, Del Sol, One Stop Wood Shop, Paul Stulac Smoke on the Water, Pearl City, Rum…
The Nymphets’ Last Show in Halifax
facelove The Nymphets, who are so cute, are playing for the last time (for a long time) at Reflections’ $Rockin4Dollar$ Monday night. They are moving to Sweden fairly soon and probably will not be back for awhile. Come down and give them all your big sloppy goodbye love.This is also the last night that baked…
Council secretly makes committee appointments
Halifax council met in secret Tuesday to discuss which council committees and external boards councillors themselves would sit on; the discussion involved no committee assignments for anyone who was not an elected official, but that didn’t stop council from justifying the secrecy as a “personnel” issue. After the meeting a list of committee appointments was…
Cherry Brook at centre of District Boundary dispute
Is the mostly black neighbourhood of Cherry Brook part of the mostly white community of Cole Harbour? The residents of Cherry Brook think so, but City Hall thinks otherwise. In 2007, that disagreement resulting in a Utilities and Review Board ruling in the residents favour, and a council decision Tuesday threatens a repeat UARB hearing…
Risk is sticking point in convention centre negotiations
There’s still no deal between the city and province for financing the proposed new convention centre. Halifax council rejected a “compromise” offer from the province Tuesday, and sent staff negotiators back to the province with a counter offer. Council met in secret for over five hours Tuesday, the bulk of the time discussing the convention…
Dalhousie food fight
A months’ long food fight between Dalhousie university and the Dal student union appears to be winding down, with the student’s refusing to play the university’s game. Right now, the student union has a contract with Sodexho for food service in the student union building, the SUB, while the university has one with Aramark for…
Couples who argue on the street
If you’re going to wake people up with your 2 am street theatre melodrama, at least have the decency to post the details the next day. How did it start? What did he do? How did it end? Otherwise it’s just rude. —Your dissatisfied audience
Cancer
I’m sick of you killing everyone around me. Several relatives in the past, several friends/acquaintances’ loved ones, etc. Two grandparents in a 3-month period, REALLY??? And you better stay the hell away from my mom again. You made her go through shit before but don’t you make her lose her other breast! And now you’re…
What a Loser
To a certain dating site user, you’re a sad excuse for a man. You’re nasty, insensitive, and shallow. You are nothing like your picture so update it please then people will see the real you. Women beware of a man looking for skinny and submissive, you’re not allowed an opinion. One last note asshole: I…
Bitches in a coffee shop
How would you like it if I came and sat beside you for 5 hundred hours obnoxiously talking and laughing. You talked so loud for so fucking long that I’m now on first name basis with the people you were talking about. Finals are coming up, it’s okay to stay and enjoy your coffee but…
Love on the Street
To everyone who stopped to help the poor man hit by a car last night. You all showed compassion and love to a stranger in dire need (all except the one woman who drove AROUND his body in order to get on with her evening…lady, you suck). Sometimes life can be lonely and scary in…
Herring Cove Hero
Dad, I know that things are so far from easy right now, but I just want you to know…despite everything, I couldn’t ask for a better role model. You work so hard for us every day, and I never know how to fully tell you, but I appreciate you so much. Every time she ever…
Slow the hell down already
I just narrowly escaped getting hit TWICE in the same crosswalk. I’m reasonably cautious when crossing – I look first, make sure the driver has plenty of time to stop before entering the cross walk – but when driver #1 didn’t look like he was going to stop, I waved my arms at him until…
You’re Too Awesome
I know you probably already know this but I just wanted to tell you that in the last few years you’ve shown me so much love, compassion, and support. You have always stood beside me and for that I just wanted to tell you that you’re too awesome. —XOXO TOTALLY IN LOVE
Elevator Nonsense
Lady, it is just too cute the way you are in your own little bubble, oblivious to the fact that there are other people in the world. Forcing others to wait behind you while your precious two year old plays with the elevator buttons. Guess what, people are in a hurry, people have a right…
Wonderful waitresses
To the waitresses at the Greek restaurant, thank you so much for your kindness when I was sick in your restaurant today. I really appreciated your concern and your offers to feed me/call a cab/find me a ride home. I got home fine and enjoyed the lamb pita. —Thankful customer
Stupid Bitch on Robie
Where did you get your license? A fucking cereal box? You practically sideswiped me, if I had not slammed on my brakes almost causing the person behind me to rear end me you would have crushed my car. FYI, this isn’t a case of someone not checking their blind spot I WAS IN FRONT OF…
If only you knew
To the guy in my building that works in a different department. I told you once you were cute and you were surprised. Well a year later I still can’t get you off my mind. I see you almost everyday. I know you’re divorced but it is hard seeing you daily and getting no where.…
La Dolce Vita…il mio bambino
Unitevi la bella vita con me. Mi manchi, baby. —principessa italian
No Reason for a Dead Leslie Nielsen
In some aspects 2010 was a pretty lame year, particularly when you consider that it was capped by the death of Lt. Frank Drebin. Anyway, I think we all need good music to chase away the annihilating frost of seasonal depression. I have a feeling the second annual No Reason for the Season show at…
2b Theatre’s Invisible Atom
Despite seeing almost 300 plays since I first attended 2b Theatre’s Invisible Atom four years ago, it stands out in my mind as one of the most memorable. Why? Because it’s a unique one-man show that’s intelligent, entertaining, beautifully staged and helmed by a terrific actor, Anthony Black. The tile character, Atom, is a stockbroker…
In A Box Gifts have your gift
“We’re a little department store,” is how In A Box Gifts (1468 Dresden Row, 423-8031) co-owner Lezlie Oler—with Pam Piers—describes her shop. With the holidays rapidly approaching, it could be your one-stop gift-sourcing, uh, source, offering leather, travel products, books by Halifax authors and paintings by Nova Scotia painters. If your tastes are to the…
Brooklyn Warehouse ditches brunch
“At the core of it, we want to reallocate the resources that we put towards brunch into the other services we prefer to do,” explains George Christakos of Brooklyn Warehouse (2795 Windsor Street, 446-8181), the classy and casual eatery where lunch and dinner can be had, as well as, at least until the end of…
Everything
Everything is better when you’re around. You constantly blow my mind. I owe my life and a bagel to the two who set us up on our first date. — J
A Tribute to the Gods of Metal
Since Rob Halford is on tour with Ozzy right now and I dunno, because it’s Thursday, I thought I would mention the Screaming for Vengeance/2 Minutes to Maiden show tomorrow night at the Seahorse. Here is a story I wrote on Screaming for Vengeance many moons ago. They are even better now. I poked my…
I love my dog!
Thank you for waking me up to tell me someone was breaking into my car at 2am and then chasing them off. You are getting some awesome christmas presents this year sweetheart! —Your loving owner
Summer Lovin’
While we can’t be together for a host of reasons I just wanted to say thanks for an amazing summer – lots of laughs and good times spent together. You brought back that feeling of being all aflutter over someone. You reminded me that there are still nice guys out there. I fell head over…
What The #$%&
What kind of an ass backwards province do we live in? We can go from talking about spending hundreds of millions on a new building one week, then giving our MLA’s and Mayor nice salary increases the following week and now this week I hear that our school board may have to take a 22%…
Good morning to you, too!
I get on the bus every morning at 6:30 and for some stupid reason all the older people look at me and stare for a good few minutes. I don’t know if it’s because I’m the youngest one on the bus or if it’s because I’m dressed in my baker whites. Maybe it’s both. But…
Students Suck
To all the Law students who think they are better than everyone else, you’re not. I will continue to go to “your” library because I like it better, it’s less distracting because there are NO good looking people. I pay tuition just like you do and therefore can go to whatever building on campus I…
Buying “Local”
In need of a travel mug, I was sucked in by the new fad of mugs that look like paper cups but are actually quite reusable. I had been waiting for a store down the street to replenish their stock before I splurged. Finally, after weeks of waiting, the new stock arrived… but with a…
Meat pie memories
It took four hours to get from Dartmouth to Rusticoville, the official the kick-off to the holiday season. As soon as the last school bell rang freeing us for the holiday break, my brother, sister and I would crowd into the back of the car and head to Prince Edward Island for Christmas at my…
Holiday TV, Dec 2-8
A little holiday advice for you: kids know the difference between Tickle Me Elmo and Punch Me Fred. So then why haven’t producers figured out that Christmas TV viewers don’t want cheap rip-offs, either? The season starts off fine on Thursday with Fred Astaire’s 1970 Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (9pm, ABC), but then…
Gift-giving across faiths
December in Halifax tends to be Christmas-centric, but not everyone celebrates with a wreath and a tree. We call them “the holidays” now, because there’s more than one. So, how to be sensitive? Here are some thoughts from a few people whose festival falls on a day other than December 25. “The kids do get…
Halifamous: my greatest gives
My gifts are all well-received. I go overboard at Christmas. One year when my girls were younger I gave them both raccoon coats. I bought them from Mitchell Furs years ago. Now that my grandkids are older, they want nothing, so I give them money so they can shop for themselves. I hate doing that.…
How to buy books as gifts
When it comes to books, Heidi Hallett knows best. She loves to give books almost as much as she loves receiving them. But Hallett agrees, if you’re looking for an easy way out this holiday, buying books isn’t it. “You have to be a bit of a detective and do some snooping and sleuthing,” she…
Halifamous: my greatest gives
Last Christmas I had a friend of mine who is a great illustrator, I gave him three old family photographs and he rendered them in a realistic watercolour and ink way. I gave one to my grandmother, one to my sister and one to my parents. One was my parents on their wedding day, one…
Gotta have Faith
It’s been a busy year for Halifax screenwriter and playwright Josh MacDonald, with two of his projects, The Corridor and Faith, Fraud and Minimum Wage, screening at the Atlantic Film Festival in September. As he nursed the movies through the long, challenging years of the development process, MacDonald dreamed of the day the finished products…
Halifamous: my greatest gives
Thank you for asking me about the best gift I have ever given. Like beauty, “best gifts” are in the eye of the beholder, so it’s hard to be sure; however, with nine brothers and sisters, six brothers- and sisters-in-law and their 15 partners, and 30 nephews and nieces, gift-giving is always a challenge. Many years ago…
How to make a gift rap video
For the raps I go over to [fellow Picnicface member] Mark Little’s house with my Casio keyboard. We sit in his kitchen and we separately write a verse and put them together. People have been sending lists of things about themselves so we’ve been working that in. Some of them are not about the people…
Halifamous: my greatest gives
At one time I was delusional enough to think I could play pedal steel. Long story short: it ended up in my basement. When we were shooting the Trailer Park Boys Christmas special, I wanted to score it entirely with steel and John Campbelljohn did a great score for us. I also had a scene…
Small press, big community
Gaspereau Press got an early Christmas gift this year when one of the Kentville publisher’s books, Johanna Skibsrud’s The Sentimentalists, was awarded The Giller Prize on November 9. The award normally translates to a huge increase in sales for a press, but high volume isn’t the small press’s specialty. Using old-fashioned letterpress equipment, a typical…
Little black dress accessories
There are two types of people in the world: Those who can go to a holiday soiree and avoid the globs of spinach dip on their party dresses, and the rest of us, who wake up covered in mystery stains, most likely from the 3am nap on the bathroom floor. Yet even with a closet…
Threadless
If you think that a book about t-shirts, much less a book about a t-shirt company, is a lame idea, then obviously you haven’t pulled out a credit card on threadless.com, where fans vote on which designs are produced. Nickell keeps the company’s history and Harvard Business School case-study success to a few short essays,…
Shopping with a professional
Just because you love shoe shopping doesn’t mean it makes battling the holiday hordes to find that perfect item for a friend or family any easier. So, to avoid giving someone a sweater that ends up in the bottom of their Worst Gift Ever drawer, never to be seen again, here are personal shopper and…
Churchill fails
A beaming Darrell Dexter told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce last week that the $6.2 billion mega-project to import power from the lower Churchill river in Labrador “truly is Atlantic Canada’s CPR.” The NS premier was referring to the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. He might do well to remember the Pacific…
The Native Trees of Canada
The illustrator, a Canadian in New York, re-imagines this country’s trees, each for its abstract possibility. Shapton identifies the trees by their leaves, rendering structure, pattern, texture and pigment in lush watercolour, needles, buds and cones. But the colours are wrong, and purposely so. This is not how the trees actually appear to the empirical…
How to write a gift song
Writing a song is such a personal adventure. In a lot of ways simply the act of writing a song for a loved one or friend will probably get you in their good books for most of the new year. If it’s a Christmas-themed song you are after you may wish to employ a bunch of major-,…
Is there a problem here?
Q I’m a 21-year-old woman with bicurious tendencies who’s been in a committed relationship for four years. He’s sweet and kind. We share a lot of interests and get along very well. Thing is, I don’t know if I’m meant to be in a committed relationship. For the past year-and-a-half, I’ve been thinking about what…
The Drums
The Drums are a preposterous band. Hailing from Florida and looking like what would happen if The Smiths and The Thompson Twins had four babies, these Brooklyn transplants dance awkwardly with their instruments and sing sentimental love songs that recall the 1980s. But it’s not the ’80s, which makes these guys’ musical merit seem questionable…
The Asshole Monologues gets a a hole in one
At an early age, most people recognize that the asshole (and all its byproducts) has great comic potential. But playwright Jane Kansas elevates the exploration of the beloved poop shoot far above everyday toilet humour with The Asshole Monologues. In her charming, hysterical homage to The Vagina Monologues, she explores everything from the sexual, sensual…
How to buy a good tie
Cereal. A toothbrush. Gold-rimmed gnome plates. A giant ceramic chicken. Strawberry Shortcake pyjamas for a 13-year-old boy. A single napkin ring. A plastic lock shaped like a toilet. Packets of ketchup and mustard. And, of course, bad ties. These are just a few selections of the most useless gifts ever as collected by the Nature…
Elvis Costello
Back up to an album a year, Costello seems to be tapping every unconscious notion. Each tune on National Ransom claims a time and place or ethos. For example, the jaunty strum “Slow Drag with Josephine” is set “Under the Napoleonic Code, 1921.” Huh? The most in-demand producer this year, T Bone Burnett somehow ties…
Picture perfect
Logan Hynes isn’t interested in the money shot, she’s looking at the photos that most people pass by or cringe over. “I kind of found an interest in the more awkward, quick photographs and their compositions and colours.” These snapshots were the unlikely inspiration for the soon-to-be NSCAD grad’s Bad Photo. The collection of non-traditional…
Free Will Astrology
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote a book called Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is. I’d love it if in the next few weeks you would think a lot about how you are on your way to becoming what you were born to be. Current astrological omens suggest you will have…
Hauschka
This is an album about travel. The concept is expressed firstly in the instrumentation: a 12-piece string and wind ensemble comprised of members of San Francisco-based Magik*Magik Orchestra. This gets at the varied experiences and emotions one has away from home. But Bertelmann struggles with these multiple parts, unable to give them each a clear…
A Can-Con holiday
Hudson’s Bay point blanket A Canadian home is not complete without one. Preferably tossed across an elk-leather chair and looking right at home with that bear skin rug and mounted deer head (both trophies from a bow-hunting trip in Athabasca). Great for that fur trade era outpost-look. Any patriot would swoon. The Bay, Mic Mac…
Crystal clear
You would think that when you’re as famous as recording duo The Crystal Method, you would have run out of things to do after a 20-year-long career. But as Ken Jordan prepares for the band’s trip to Halifax this week, delivering a DJ set at The Paragon Theatre on December 3, he speaks excitedly about…
Slowcoaster
On Darkest of Discos Cape Breton’s Slowcoaster has put together a solid follow-up to its well-received effort Future Radio. While DoD strays a bit from the reggae and funk elements that made previous albums so enjoyable, this isn’t any less of an enjoyable listen: Darkest of Discos is loaded with hooks that will be bouncing…
Deck the halls with handmade treasures
On the average day, The Olympic Centre is an unlikely venue for one stop shopping, but not this weekend. Packed under its roof will be oodles of one-of-a-kind items that you may want to keep for yourself. It’s the fifth year for the ever-growing Halifax Crafters holiday market, a juried collection of gift-worthy gems from…
Lindsay Allain gets crafty for the IWK
Thanks to Lindsay Allain, this weekend will be loaded with local music lineups and the holidays will be a little bit brighter, and more creative, for kids in the hospital. For six years she has been organizing a series of concerts called Crafts for Kids, an idea born out of her family’s own experience at…
Blackberry Torch versus iPhone 4
“You!? With a cell?” This was the reaction of more than one friend and colleague when I revealed that I’d be carrying a mobile phone. I am legend, the last of my kind—youngish, urban, professional—without one. For the record, it’s not that I’m some kind of Luddite, I tend to use email and Facebook to…
Brooke Miller goes back to the basics
When Brooke Miller’s fans speak up, she listens. After receiving requests from her listeners and internet followers for a more bare-bones record that showcased her strong guitar work, the PEI native answered with Shake it Off. “This is a very stripped down version of how the songs originate. My songs start with guitar and vocals,…
Low-BAL pitch
Nobody should argue that it’s OK to drive while impaired, whether due to alcohol, other drugs, gadget distraction, sleepiness or a mental or physical condition. This said, context has been lacking in the recent rollout of revised penalties for people with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent or higher, which are stricter than the…
Fast garbage
You’ve just finished your Big Mac. Like any conscientious consumer, you separate your waste and recycling before heading out. Feel like you’ve done your part for the environment? Those leftovers you put in the recycling might end up in the landfill. Some fast food restaurants in Halifax, such as McDonald’s and KFC, are not recycling…
The first egg nog
If it’s not too early for the carols, the lights and the crazy shoppers…then we say, break out the ‘nog. We’re celebrating the only month of the year that it’s acceptable to mix holiday spirits with a thick concoction of eggs, cream and sugar. Drink up, and mind the bellyache. Economy Shoe Shop The Shoe…
Top 5 iPhone apps for gifting
Apple made a welcome change to the iTunes Store earlier this year when it allowed iPhone and iPad apps to be paid for and sent as gifts the way music long has. This opens up a world of giving opportunities—there are over 300,000 apps—but also creates some dillemas since 300,000 is a lot of choices.…
