Take your air hose and shove it!
To the two lovely ladies working at a certain gas bar in Dartmouth, screw you and your stupid air hose policies. I woke up one day to find that the back tire on my truck was nearly flat and I barely made it to the air hose before running the risk of damaging the rim.…
Sun on a snowy day
To whoever left the sunflower sticker on the North St. bus shelter glass. Thank you for making me smile despite the snowy cold weather. Sunflowers are one of my favourite flowers and you are my hero for the day. —Dreaming of warm weather
Fresh Goods Sneakers and Apparel opens
Now open in the former London Hair Design space is Fresh Goods Sneakers and Apparel (1491 South Park Street, 423-1938). As the name indicates, you can find here a selection of accessories and clothing from a variety of brand names. They include Incase, Nooka, Reigning Champ, The Herschel Supply Co. and K-way. Accessories include watches,…
You are what you eat
To the obese mid-20s man loading up on cola, Oreos, potato chips, and fried chicken… let me guess, your New Year’s Resolution is to become a huge, grotesque bulk of cellulite. There wasn’t one healthy item in your shopping cart. The only excuse for all that crap is you’re either having a party for 1000…
The one and only
We met at the age of 15 and went to our Jr. Graduation together. We were High School sweethearts, you were my first and only true love. I left you thinking there was something more, I couldn’t have been more wrong. You are everything and I find myself two years later just realizing what a…
Terminal Tantrum
OK I know we are all tired of hearing about lousy customer service in retail and restaurants, but I couldn’t let this go: Retail store. December 20th. Shopping with my father. Now thankfully, as of yet, my father’s Parkinson’s disease has only progressed to his arm and hand… for now… so we wait in the…
Do not complain to me!
Stop it. Just stop. I am no longer letting myself be affected by your complaining: “Boo hoo, I have no money!” You went to TO last week, and there were so many Christmas presents under the tree I could hardly get in the room. If you are low on money then STOP SPENDING IT ON…
Risking life & limb
Dear HRM, I walk to work. It’s a ways, maybe 40 minutes, but I like it. In this climate, though, our most typical weather scenario isn’t deep snow (thanks, parking ban) but temperatures just around the freezing mark. Which means a thin layer of ice. On everything. I don’t care if it’s salt or kitty…
Pizza Place Fails
To a certain pizza joint in the Dartmouth area, you have horrible costumer service with your shitty pizza deliveries. If someone asks for hot wings in their order, they FUCKING want hot wings, get it? I don’t understand why you make up that your driver has gone out on a delivery run when I can…
There’s no bitches like snow bitches
To the douchebag who almost caused a collision on the 101 Monday morning: Clean the snow off your fucking car before you drive it! I saw the little hole you dug to see out your front windshield but the snow on your side and back windows AND the passenger side of the front windshield is…
My freedom, my choice
I often wonder about women’s freedom in this changing world. People are so ignorant when it comes to things like women who veil. Muslim women who veil are often thought of as oppressed, while Christian women who veil are not (e.g. Amish, Nuns etc). Even the FLDS women are seen negatively for wanting to dress…
Norman Flynn Design update
Keen readers of Shoptalk may recall we did a story on the changes happening up at Norman Flynn Design (2698 Agricola Street, 420-0736), but with some confusion as to the fate of the lighting design/commercial and residential design business, clarification is in order. To wit: only the lighting design portion of the business is moving…
Sour Morning
I went to fast food place in Dartmouth this morning hoping to get a certain combo— egg sandwich and a coffee. I am a vegetarian, so I ordered my breakfast sandwich without meat, which seemed to be an issue for the woman behind the counter, then I was told there was no coffee made—at 10…
The Boy
It was such a short visit. You are such a great guy and I love you. Missing you already, see ya soon. —Ma xox
Thanks for nothing!
Your new policy manual boasts that you are a family run business, not a faceless corporation, but I’m starting to wonder. No Christmas bonus this year? Really? In years past we’ve gotten cards with a little cash or even a bottle of wine, but this year it’s just working a lot harder for more hours…
CKDU’s top-played releases of 2010
I’ve been grappling with writing a best-of songs list of the year and if I can get my druthers together between drinking piles of nog and watching Six Feet Under I’m totally gonna do it. In the meantime you can look at a list of CKDU’s most played new releases of the year as chosen…
Caribbean Twist: making a principled business decision profitable
Besides its truly excellent food, Caribbean Twist, the north end Jamaican restaurant, is probably best known for successfully negotiating a zoning hassle that threatened to close the business just a year after it opened. But the Twist also presents an interesting case study of a business owner dealing with personal ethical standards that come smack…
Abusive Fast Food Scrooge
You were at a fast food place in Dartmouth on Christmas Day. I saw you… hell, we ALL saw you. You picked on the poor staff because they didn’t get your order exactly right, then made your humiliated family send their food back in front of everyone so you could storm out indignantly. But, not…
Wish you were here…
I love you forever. You being away for the holidays has really shown me how much I need you. Everything seems so dull when you’re not around and I feel like I’m not all here. I can’t wait to start the new year with the gorgeous amazing woman that you are! I only have one…
Love the fine print
I was never a fan of the Bottom Writing ‘back in the day’, it always seemed a little over-blown. But, a few weeks ago I noticed the extra bits in the legal statement on or near the table of contents, good stuff. Keep ’em coming. —Cranky
Here in spirit
You’re gone and I miss you. I went and sat by your grave today wishing I could hear your voice and get your advice. With tears. I love you and miss you. Merry Christmas where ever you are. —Your fav
X-Mas Bonus
While I have nothing but praise for my boss for giving me one and I know not everybody gets a bonus, I’d like to give a big “fuck you” to the government for taking 42% of it! Suck my hairy red balls! —JermBag
The King’s… Affliction?
For the juvenile miscreants who scaled the theatre marquee and retitled the main attraction “The King’s Penis”. A big thank you for a much needed chuckle at a high stress time of year. Your warped immaturity restores my faith in today’s young people. —Ivan, age 13 going on 50
Giving never felt so good!
Thank you to all the wonderful folks today at Canadian Blood Services. I wanted to do something special for the holiday, so I decided to donate blood. Doesn’t seem like a big deal to most but I am absolutely petrified of needles and blood and all that other medical stuff that goes along with it.…
A Cloistered Life
I think that young ladies that enter into the convent in this day and age are lacking self confidence and self esteem. The convent themselves look especially for young ladies starting from 13 and up to attend retreats designed for becoming a nun. I think that this is an age that is too early to…
The Gallery Pub at the Paragon opens
In the evenings it’s very much the rock club you know and love, but now in the day the Paragon Theatre boasts its own eatery, called The Gallery Pub (2037 Gottingen Street). Food service is from 11:30am to 9pm and consists of pub staples such as soup-of-the-day (made with fresh, local and organic ingredients), nachos,…
Broken Canada Action Plan at SMU.
[image-1] Who’s responsible? Stephen Harper, PMO’s office, fax 613-941-6900. Remarks: Two weeks ago we found a Canada Action Plan sign in front of Ahern Manor had toppled in the wind, and now here’s another in front of Saint Mary’s University split in two and tossed unceremoniously to the ground. Does this indicate that the economic…
Prince of Peace
Some say Halifax is on of the most dangerous cities in Canada. One man is hoping to change that, and while he’s at it, make Halifax the most positive city on earth. Al Rodee is a full-time practitioner of an alternative healing method called “Emotional Freedom Techniques,” a therapeutic practice that aims at releasing emotional…
Saint Mary’s University cuts down trees to build a parking lot
[image-1] “When I talk to my students about sustainability at SMU, I tell them that compared to when I came here seven years ago, we’ve done wonders,” says Jeremy Lundholm, a biology instructor who is also part of Saint Mary’s University’s Environmental Studies Program. “They weren’t even recycling back then. Since then, they’re taking sustainability…
Saw You
I saw you at a big box store in Dartmouth Crossing, last Wednesday evening. I was looking at kettles, you—a long, darkhaired goddess—looked past, then at me. I don’t think I was the object of your attention, at least at first. I didn’t know quite what to say, but found you stunning. I’ll be ready…
Fuck Christmas
Fuck the stupid holidays. Fuck off everyone complaining I’m not in the spirit. Fuck off with trying to make me smile through the dreary days leading up to this retarded event I want no part of. Everyone will just have to deal with the fact that I won’t be coming home for xmas… I won’t…
Small Act = Big Love
To the young woman who was handing out chocolate and cheer to the street people along SGR the other day – You made my day brighter by your random act of kindness to strangers. Not only were you polite to them but you stopped and chatted with these folks who are often ignored. Your actions…
Holiday fiction: The happiest day of your life
You were born on Christmas Day in 1975. While most people born around big holidays seem to resent the fact, you love it. You don’t feel overshadowed by the holiday, if anything, it somehow makes your birthday even more special. Christmasbirthday was always the best day of the year while you were growing up. Your…
Ice ice baby
Perhaps you’ve noticed that the event throwers and goers of the HRM are in holiday hibernation. That means it’s time to step up to the plate, get out there and make your own fun, people! Timed perfectly with this lull in goings on, is the opening of the massive skating oval on the North Common.…
Xofa X-Mas
Without snow, Em insisted on a green Christmas. She laced her hiking boots, left her family at the city hotel and followed her guidebook’s thumbnail map to the bus station. A wavering finger pointed her to a strip of pavement on the far side of the parking lot. She sat on her daypack reading Aldo…
Your friendly neighborhood art gallery
You may not have realized, but your MP’s office doubles as an art gallery, and drop-ins are welcome. Megan Leslie came up with the idea just after she was elected: “I thought, what are ways that I can use my office to support local community?” After consulting local curators, one piece of advice pushed the…
Be happy Mom’s found some love
Q I’m writing to you under the influence of a little alcohol (as I’m not sure I’d have the courage to write to you about this sober). I’ve got an awkward (understatement) situation. My mother left her email logged in on my computer and I decided to be an asshole and snoop out of boredom.…
Champagne cocktails!
Last year, as the clock struck midnight, I stood out on a snowy deck with two bottles of cheap sparkling wine tucked into a snowbank that ran against the side of the house. We shoved the stems of our champagne coupes into the snow that piled up on the thick railing, and watched the fireworks…
Giller prized
It should be no surprise that what’s “on fire” at Bookmark (5886 Spring Garden Road, 423-0419) this week is The Sentimentalist by Johanna Skibsrud, the Giller Prize-winning novel from Gaspereau Press. And even though the Douglas & McIntyre edition—hastily published to meet the demand for the novel since its big win—priced at $19.95 is very…
Year in review: power of 10
Rather than write a comprehensive breakdown of what happened in Halifax music, I decided to talk about the things that are still resonating with me after a year of frenzied and often incoherent music bloggery. See you jerks in 2011. Amelia Curran: I really love that Amelia Curran is now a Juno-winner and a Polaris…
It’s hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world
Dear Chef, I love you with all of my heart. I am very thankful that you have been able to smooth out this horribly bumpy year of mine. In one year you’ve been able to completely change my outlook on life! I can’t thank you enough for opening my eyes to many new things and…
Holidays with Higgs
Rebekah Higgs has been a busy bee lately. Cheap puns aside, the Halifax native has been working extra hard as the frontwoman for Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees and her solo project, which she’s currently touring with The Rural Alberta Advantage. As the tour comes to a close, Higgs rolls into town just in…
Tron won’t leave a legacy
Tron: Legacy is a genuine sequel to the visually impressive but dramatically underwhelming Tron, in form, failings and flash. Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn has been stuck inside his computer program for 20 years, a dispirited hippie with an attractive digital companion, Quorra (Olivia Wilde). His grown son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) finds his way into the…
The Seahorse’s Boxing Day Bash brings the funk
The holidays are all about the traditions, and this one has been bringing people out on Boxing Day for about 25 years. It began as a birthday celebration and fundraiser that took over Pub Flamingo every year, but when the birthday parties stopped the music kept going. The Boxing Day bash has since moved to…
True entertainment
The Coen brothers remake the 1969 film that netted John Wayne his only Academy Award, with Jeff Bridges in the Duke’s role as a crusty US Marshall hired by a teenage girl (Hailee Steinfeld) to bring her father’s killer to justice. And if there’s any justice, this True Grit will also nab Oscar statues. Bridges,…
Al Tuck’s got a way with words
Fresh off a tour of Ontario and western Canada with Jason Collett, Al Tuck is full of stories, and likely songwriting material; try nearly driving off a cliff or being the stranger at a wake at an east coast pub in Calgary. Tour inspiration aside, it seems Tuck never has a shortage of songs to…
Holiday Insomnia
I find around this time of year I have a lot of bad memories flooding back. I stay up at night crying my heart out because of a father who was a gambler and didn’t celebrate Christmas. Everything I got he either wanted to play with it first or read it first. He would fight…
Sucker’s game
Residents of Cornwallis last week received an unwelcome Christmas gift: The town’s largest employer, Convergys Corporation, announced that it would soon close its call centre operation, throwing 300 people out of work. This isn’t the first time Convergys has disrupted a Nova Scotian workforce; in June, the company shut its Millbrook operation, which had employed…
The Day-Making Boy
Just when my day was at its worst, I dropped my bag and it split open all over the sidewalk. Then you walked up, helped me pick my stuff up and walked me over to the store to get some safety pins as a temporary fix until I got home. As we were parting you…
Holiday fiction: more importent things
Dear Santa: I cryed for a long time because my friend Shaquille from school said your not real. I thot about it and I cryed for almost 2 days but don’t tell Shaquille because he still thinks I’m brave because of the frog in my hand. But I know your real because everyone knows a…
Economic Action Plan is upside down.
[image-1] Who’s responsible? Stephen Harper, fax 613-941-6900. Remarks: Earlier this year, the prime minister’s office—on direct orders from Stephen Harper—meticulously tracked the placement of 8,500 Economic Action Plan signs around the country, complete with reports and photos. So, when this sign in front of Ahern Manor on Gottingen Street tumbled over in the wind, we…
