24 TWenty Eight closes
24 Twenty Eight, the lifestyle and urban fashion boutique just off Barrington (5181 Sackville Street), run by local DJ Logan Hudak, has closed.
To my little bear
You are the littlest, cutest bear in the world even when you’re growling. I’m so happy we get to spend the holidays together. —Your Big Bear
In love with a noob
I don’t even know what a noob is… lol, but you said it… It made me laugh. You always know how to make me smile. I love being around you, even if it is just for a little while. The energy I get from you is crazy. Like I’m on some kind of high. I…
Candy cane love
I was at the Mumford Road Bus Terminal yesterday morning around ten twenty-five in the morning. I was waiting for the number nine. One of the bus drivers was sucking on a candy cane. This really turned me on because his tongue was so long that it was all over the candy cane. I only…
Min wage is slave labour
In this province, minimum wage is a despicable rate. in looking for jobs, I’m seeing so many gigantic, multi-million dollar companies offering minimum wage for jobs that require a post-secondary education. What the hell is this about? Greed, I guess. Looking for work in the province sucks. Fuck this shit is depressing. —Bitch Bitch Fuck…
USATODAY.com + Mike O’Neill = TLA
Click, scroll, smile. Repeat.
Cars > bikes > people?
Hey motorist, why don’t you get off your lazy butt and stop complaining about bikes in crosswalks? As a motorist, cyclist and pedestrian in downtown Halifax I understand the whole picture. You get antsy behind the wheel because don’t get enough exercise and you want to get places as fast as possible; you get sneaky…
Stupid online shopping
I just paid $30 for a fucking $25 prepaid credit card only to find out the website I got the card for, in order to renew my live subscription. Won’t accept a pre paid credit card. IT’S BULLSHIT! —Pissed off
Shocking
So the city got 500,000 from NSP for the naming rights for the oval… NSP the same company that not only increases power rates year after year but guarantees their shareholders profits of 9 to 10 percent. Why does a power utility need to ‘advertise’ when they carry a monopoly on electricity? To know that…
Babylady returns, only to be re-catnapped
Babylady was on Gottingen Street this morning, attempting to get into Alteregos Coffee Shop (2193 Gottingen Street, 431-3170). But, his stay in his old haunts was short-lived, as people on the street are saying he has already returned to Dartmouth. The backstory: Babylady is a cat. Eighteen pounds worth of a cat, and male. He…
You deserve better, Hubbards
That filthy stinking utterly depressing little half empty shopping plaza is a complete shit hole. The excuse of a grocery store screams bologna & cola and the ramshackle leftover over-priced decades old crap in the other places is just un be liev a ble !!!! Somebody do something! Such a nice little village should have…
A radio bitch
My gripe today is about the almost complete absence of Christmas music on my favorite radio station. It’s now 12 days until christmas, and I can count on one hand the number of songs I’ve heard- which was 2! For the rest of the time, they’re playing the same old crap on my station! —A…
NSCAD’s new year
NSCAD’s 125th anniversary year may not be as much of a party as it should be. On November 29 Howard Windsor released his much anticipated report on NSCAD’s financial future—titled NSCAD: Time To Act—to Marilyn More, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education, NSCAD president David Smith and chair to NSCAD board of governors Michael Donovan,…
Retail blues
It’s bad enough to put on that phony persona in retail, especially when you’re not the most cheerful person out there, but genuine enough to be who you are. Regardless of the sad funeral I attended the day before, I had to put that aside and carry on with my work, which I thought I…
The Life section
We see you… Yes, YOU. You are the one who steals the Life section from the paper at the coffee shop I go to. Please stop taking what clearly isn’t yours. Reading the Life section with a pricey-drink makes my day. YOU, on the other hand, make it miserable. You are selfish & self-centered. Just…
Texting bitches and raging assholes
I stood on the corner of Spring Garden and Barrington yesterday for 20 minutes waiting for a bus. Do you know what I saw? I saw a dozen dangerous crimes a minute: drivers “squeezing” the light or just plain ignoring it, drivers bullying pedestrians out of the crosswalk in a very lopsided game of “chicken,”…
To some wonderful women
Everyday I work I go to a coffee place in Scotia Square. I am always happy to see you guys. You have conversations with me, are so nice and always smiling. I like to pretend you guys don’t ever get a mean or irritated customer because you’re all so wonderful! Keep it up. —Smartset
What is your problem?
The biggest problem is this growth in so called road rage, an unwillingness to share the road with anyone. People seem to think they need to be there first come hell or high water… Car drivers do not like to be behind a cyclist, even when the cyclist is at or slightly above the speed…
Slimy spoons and douchey fades
I come in everyday early for my shift at a certain downtown grocery store, if not on time. You come in late, spewing random garbled profanity, looking as confused as a flock of sidewalk pigeons talking about how your ‘awesome new fade’ cost you sixty bucks. You see me running around you, scrambling to serve…
Holidays are stupid
I wish I lived in a world with no holidays. They are so unbelievably commercialized, especially Christmas. The fact that selfish Canadians run to and from the mall days before Christmas splurging on expensive gifts for their loved ones and giving hundred dollar bills is absurd. Are you all unaware of poverty and world hunger?…
To my Mr. Boss Man
Thank you for running and hopping two buses just so you could surprise me at work with chocolates after you worked a 10 hour day! I am the luckiest lady in the universe and loving every minute of it! Congrats on the promotion and opening day sweetheart! Can’t wait to celebrate with you later! —Your…
SideWALK, rockstar…
To the plethora of incompetent cyclists in HRM. It’s one thing that you endanger pedestrians by riding your bike on the sidewalk but do you have to dress like you’re Lance Goddamned Armstrong when you do? It’s embarrassing for us both. —”The Clothesliner”
Lost toy
Dear consumers, please use the following etiquette when purchasing a toy: First, do not rip open my packaging, and either hide it, or try to bargain with the salesperson on a discount for the teared packaging. Second, do not use me as a drool catcher for your baby while you scope the store, and then…
You wonder why
You wonder why men don’t stick around. You wonder why when you try to be brave and approach a man, they act like an asshole. You wonder why you just have plain bad luck in life. Here are your answers: Your breath fucking stinks like something died in your throat every time I’m around you.…
Surprise surprise
I almost got hit by a car Saturday night in Bayers Lake while trying cross the road to get to the bus shelter. Nothing new there. No matter how much eye contact I make with drivers, how many times I look both ways before crossing the road, or how many times I yell ‘please don’t…
Lost & Found Holiday Hang-ups Party on Friday
Lost & Found (2383 Agricola Street, 446-5986) is having a holiday party to showcase cardboard trees, gift boxes and their Holiday Hang-ups fundraiser. The Holiday Hang-ups Party takes place Friday, December 16, 7-10pm. What to expect: B&B (Brenna Phillips and Bobbie Shedden) have handcrafted trees on display in the windows. The Holiday Hang-ups Fundraiser provides…
Recently Engaged: Erinn & Scott
This is the love story about a boy from Calgary and a girl from Halifax and how they met, fell in love and are now on the journey of the rest of their lives together. Scott and I met in one of the most popular places in Halifax, Pizza Corner! I am happy to say…
To the Pussy Palace
To my friends who live at the “Pussy Palace”, as it has so lovingly been dubbed; thank you so much for a great time Friday. The party got shut down, a few peeps puked but all that did was add character to the event. I love every single one of you and next time I’ll…
AGNS offers art and food deal at new eatery
To celebrate the official opening of the new eatery Untitled Eats at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (1723 Hollis Street, 424-5280), the gallery is offering a great holiday gift package, something called Art & Dine. Priced at $85, Art & Dine provides unlimited access to gallery exhibitions, talks and tours, as well as value…
Finally something on TV
I can’t get enough of this Fireplace channel on TV. I hope it stays on permanently and isn’t just for Christmas. I always watch Yule Log every year (have it on DVD too), but now I can have the fire on all day. —Sitting by the Fire
Fuck, I miss you
You’ll probably not even read this, snuffy man you. I’m with someone new, so why do I keep remembering being your groupie (made sure you always had water), your weird chickie poo, your June-bug? Time has taken us away from one another, and you know I honor my commitments, just as I know you have…
AFCOOP Super 8 Party this Wednesday
You’re invited to AFCOOP’s Super-8 Handmade Holiday Screening and Party! Join the Atlantic Filmmakers Co-operative staff, members and friends at 8pm, Wednesday December 14 at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street). You’ll get to witness never-before-seen holiday-inspired Super-8 films on the big screen and enjoy a holiday drink or two.
Online idiocy
I sell online regularly. I have to, disability and all that. So I have to ask two things, why is it that OVER 50% of the people I am in contact with, either through email or phone, just don’t come through? They agree with the price, agree with a said time to meet, and then……
When words fail, flee?
To the gorgeous woman with the darkest black hair, blue eyes and red lipstick… we had been smiling and saying hello when we passed one another for quite some time but we never seemed to have the opportunity to really talk to each other. If you got the impression I was really into you even…
Safe way, right o way
To most of the OBs and commenters on this website. You are all dumb as a sac of hammers. Whenever you are trying to figure out who should have right of way, you tend to have the opinion that right of way is something that is owned or taken. It isn’t. Right of way is…
Cyclists, get off the crosswalks!
Cyclists, those painted lines on the streets that connect sidewalks, they’re for people who are WALKING. When you zoom out on the the crosswalk in front of a car doing 50kmh, they won’t always be able to stop in time. It’s dangerous and illegal. Do you really want to pay to fix my car this…
Tony Bennett was up the road last weekend
While Rich Aucoin was thrilling attendees at The Coast Christmas party on Saturday, across town David and Margaret Fountain were throwing their annual Christmas bash with a couple hundred friends. And Tony Bennett. RECORD SCRATCH. A partygoer claims—like this story says—nobody knew he would be there, but there was a strict a no-camera policy when…
Stop signs are a waste of vinyl
This province obviously needs to administer a math and reading test with the drivers’ licenses. Why are so many people putting their head up their ass with regard to “STOP and WAIT YOUR FUCKING TURN YOU DOUCHEBAG”. It’s not STOP AND GO CUZ I’M THE CENTER OF THE KNOWN WORLD AND THE OTHERS CAN LICK…
You’re not funny!
You seem lost and pathetic. It’s becoming noticeable how old you are and how sad you seem. The last party I met you at, you were drunk and not funny. Even your friends laugh behind your back. You’re gross how you creep girls. And you look pregnant. Get an honest mirror. Time to make a…
To the joggers of Halifax…
First of all, I would like to commend you for your diligence towards personal health. I’ve tried to take up jogging, and I just can’t stick with it. But it seems that while you are out there keeping fit, you have forgotten some basic manners. You see, I own a dog and therefore have to…
Seriously, Metro Transit?
I usually keep my complaints about Metro Transit pretty private, among my friends and myself. I know Metro Transit has a hard job to do. I also recognize the impossibility of always being on schedule. However, I just waited for 45 minutes in the cold rain at a stop with no bench for the #1…
Hey oil delivery guy, I’m watching you!
The person who delivers the oil to my house in Fairview has the very rude habit of holding one nostril shut and then emptying their nasal passage(s), usually all over the side of my house. I also find litter around the tank by the back door, the type of litter a lazy oil delivery person,…
Disgusted
If you have been reading the paper or watching the news you have probably read or heard about the 7 week old baby dying due to abuse and the mother getting off easy. It makes me sick and so sad that the parents of the child are getting off so easy for the death of…
Bah humbug
When employers give you a Christmas present but tax you for it so they can claim it as a gift in THEIR taxes. You’re a multi BILLION dollar company, I think you can handle giving a REAL gift instead of taxing your employees for their “presents”. I have no choice but to accept the gift.…
Evangelacking
I’m doing a Secret Santa deal with a forum I hang out on, and I ended up with a Cajun from Louisiana as my recipient. Great! I figure on a whim, I’ll send a copy of Evangeline along with their t-shirt and dorky souvenir postcards. Those are like 5 bucks a copy and it’s right…
Rude hostess and her hipster idiot friend
I get it. You are twenty-something and have the world by the ass. Good for you. That does not give you the right to diss me and my highly artistic, efficient, professional friends in their early-to-mid thirties by calling us COUGARS and otherwise insulting us just because we had the unfortunate luck to be sitting…
Suck it up buttercup
Ok, I get it, you were embarassed. It happens to everyone. Life is full of embarassing moments. I have had my share as well. But to try and blame me for your own stupidity is stupid in itself. I did what I had to do to avoid a worse outcome. Shit happens, get over it.…
Who do you people think you are?
So you call my shop, looking for an update on the service we are providing… but instead of politely asking, you demand to speak to a “supervisor” or owner, without letting me inform you that we have almost completed your “job”. You seriously looked and sounded like an ass. I think I will call your…
Mayor Peter Kelly touted incorrect Rolling Stones attendance figures
Just 39,875 people attended the 2006 Rolling Stones concert on the Halifax Common, far fewer than the “near 50,000 people” figure Halifax mayor Peter Kelly used to gain support for more Common concerts. The Rolling Stones attendance figure was revealed in a 2007 letter from Barb Stegemann, then the communications manager at Trade Centre Limited,…
No, it doesn’t fucking bother me
Dude, seriously, what the fuck? I got to the cafe at 8 fucking am to do my homework, when there weren’t barely any people there. The tables here are so fucking small that I could bare fit all my stuff on just one, that’s why I decided that it would be okay to take another…
NSCAD annual holiday pottery sale this week
Looking for something well-made, handmade and creative to give as a gift this year? The NSCAD Ceramics Department will be selling their wares from Wednesday, December 14 through Saturday, December 17 (10am-5:30pm daily) at the NSCAD Port Campus, 1107 Marginal Road, 3rd Floor. You’ll be amazed at the colourful creations available.
Dog people are the best kind of people
Just want to send out a huge amount of love to the people who run the NS Lost Dog Network and all the dog people who helped my family and I recently find our lost dog. People were out searching before and after work for her when they didn’t even know us, they were just…
All-Ways-Us goes into Carbonstok
All-Ways-Us—a social enterprise making all natural products like soap and candles, and providing work opportunities to people with disabilities—is the second pop-up store underway at Carbonstok (1235 Barrington Street). “We opened ‘our doors’ December 1 and will be there only until Christmas,” explains All-Ways-Us’s Trina Tucker. The pop-up store is an initiative of the CarbonAccelerator…
Hello Mr. Bus Driver!
This is a thank you to the hiring staff at Metro Transit!! Since moving back to Halifax about 6 months ago, I’ve noticed an upswing in attractive male bus drivers! It’s always a pleasant surprise after a long work day to get on the bus for my commute home and see an attractive man waiting…
Every snowflake is different, just like you
I never see you without a smile. Your blonde hair is like a beam of sunlight, lighting up everyone’s lives. I don’t think you have a mean bone in your body, and that’s why everyone loves you. Your laugh is contagious. I know we will be together forever, hitting on everyone in the nursing home,…
Red or white? It’s still classic
I thought the cola company’s idea for supporting the protection of the polar bears’ home was a great idea and obviously for a good cause. So why is it that people/customers have to call the company and complain about how the cans are white and it resembles the diet can? Who gives a flying fuck…
Asshole on the 20
To the sketch old man on the 20 Herring Cove who pepper sprayed the bus. Thanks so fucking much, because I have nothing better to do on my way home then end up puking on the side of the road. Fuck you, you’re the reason I don’t like to bus it at night. —My Nose…
Give me a break
I work retail in a very slow mall and I normally work weekdays by myself until 5 or 6 pm. I’m very lucky if someone comes in to give me a break, I’m expected to eat my lunch while helping customers if they come in which is fine except I am not allowed to sit…
Shipping cuties
I came in just before closing on Tuesday night to pick up a package – it ended up being from Google! And there was no white powder, haha. I wouldn’t ask a girl out at her workplace but I you made it pretty hard. —No Anthrax Here
Idiots!
Driving down the left lane of the road. Running a red light after having stopped 5 seconds for it. Going the wrong way at the roundabout. Turning so slowly that I think that it’s the wind pushing the car forward instead of the engine. Blocking the intersection of a 4-lane road for no apparent reason.…
Holidays
So it’s the holidays once again. All the stores are packed with people shopping for their loved ones and friends. The roads have people driving a little more crazy than normal. Everywhere you go there are Xmas ads and music playing. You can’t avoid the commercialism going on. The pressure to get gifts might even…
Tom Petty is Coming (UPDATE!)
Concert promoter David Carver has announced that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be playing in Halifax next summer.In yesterday’s Metro article, Carver confirmed that Petty and crew would be playing one show at the Metro Centre and another in St. John’s at the Mile One Stadium.Carver is the man who successfully brought Aerosmith to…
Why are you ripping the poor off?
Can someone please explain to me, why I’m paying just as much for power even though I have above ground lines, and get power outages all the time, but yet all those ppl with new homes have below ground wiring, and get fewer outages by far… why am I paying as much as them for…
Recently Engaged: Andrea & James
When James suggested that we take a stroll in Laurie Park one Friday afternoon, I thought it was a lovely, wholly unsuspicious suggestion. The park had, after all, just been renovated and I was eager to see the changes. It was a great idea that was shared by just about everyone within a 50km radius…
Cards not accepted!
What’s the point of advertising a Farmers’ Market only to have people get down there (after fighting for a parking spot), pushing through the crowds, picking out items, and then being told “Sorry we only accept cash.” Don’t those vendors realize that a lot of people use debit and credit cards? Not everyone carries cash…
Why are you so arrogant? You suck at all sports
This bitch is directed at a work acquaintance who conned me into letting him join my men’s hockey league team. You say you played 2 years ago over in Europe? Bullshit, you can hardly stand up out there. Our goalie gets nervous when he sees you on the ice, and the fact that you always…
Former cop Dalrymple scared of lone Occupier
City councilor Barry Dalrymple took it upon himself to snuff out a Fall River community discussion group’s choice to invite a speaker from Occupy Nova Scotia to discuss the meaning behind the global movement. Dalrymple, who represents Fall River, sent an email saying he doesn’t object to most of their chosen speakers, but this one…
A different kind of Metro Transit bitch…
I noticed today that Metro Transit buses that are not in service have replaced “Out of Service” on their signs to “Seasons Greetings”. How lovely of HRM to send us such a nice message. Makes me wonder why they don’t use this platform to post messages all year? How about “Have a Nice Day”, or…
I don’t care if it’s ‘just’ a tweet, don’t say the F-word
Love is love. Don’t tweet about someone’s style of love behind their back, bitch. So what if they’re gay? Hash tagging the f-word doesn’t make you anymore popular in your bitchy clique of friends. Stick to drinking and falling on your ass. —antihomophobiaproblems
Not shopping here anymore
Dear manager of a certain Dartmouth Crossing clothing store with the bitchiest manager in the world: This is on behalf of the poor employee you so rudely yelled at, telling her she had to stay an extra hour you needed work done and then made fun of her with the cashier about what a pansy…
Animals aren’t people!
I love animals, don’t get me wrong. I’d never hurt a hair on a puppy or a kitten. But I get pissed off when I hear people going on and on and on about the poor stray cats and abandoned puppies, when those same people don’t give two shits about homeless people, poor kids with…
Get a load of this guy
The only thing I hate more than telemarketers calling my work is salespeople showing up to do a spiel. You came to my work the other day wanting to try to sell my boss something (probably a scam). She said she was too busy which I politely relayed to you. You then snorted derisively at…
Come home soon
Daydreaming of concrete cabins and walking through sunlit doors laced with bejeweled good karma while that favourite song catches up with our footsteps as we walk through soft layers of snow past all of the big houses we dream of someday haunting. I love you. I thank you. I breathe you. I miss you. Your…
Still in the Dictionary, but some get offended by my use of it
No, no, no it isn’t any N words or GLBT terminology, etc. It’s a word that people used to use when someone fibbed, told a little white lie, misspoke, told a porkie etc – that word is LIAR. I won’t go into the reason for the use of it, as it’s long winded and LTWWB…
Metro Transit, you are so hot!
To the Metro Transit drivers who do not dress for the weather, I appreciate you are sitting next to a door that is constantly opening and letting the cold air in. But the entire busload of passengers is dressed in winter clothes, so cranking the heat to Hell-like temperatures is cooking everybody. The buses are…
Shine on, hipster chick
Your glasses take up half of your lovely face. The glare blocks the sight of your glowing, blue eyes. Bouncing about and spreading bubbly cheer is your style, but face it, your style is never in-style. Style is too mainstream. —Your Not-So-Hipster Best Friend
How to take a bus 101
Ok class pay attention, Johnny stop picking your nose, Suzy leave the cell phone alone. Now when waiting for a bus (and you’ve been at the stop for God knows how long before the bus arrives) please have your bus pass, ticket, change ready. It is annoying to no end to pull up to a…
Sunshine
You have the most adorable giggle… My entire purpose has been to become funny enough to drag out that cute little giggle as often as possible. I can’t be tripping girl scouts forever though and that pretty much sums up my entire repertoire. Why don’t you let me tickle you instead? —Moonglow
North end barista
To the friendliest barista on North Street. You make me feel so welcomed when I walk in. You always have a smile on your face and nice things to say. You make me feel like I’m really loved and wanted at the cafe instead of just another customer. Thanks for all the chats and nice…
To my sexy Clayton Park cabby
Just wanted to wish you a soon to be 28th birthday (December 12th I think you said). Every morning when I wait for my cab I hope it’s you. Haven’t seen you in a couple months, but I’d definitely like to buy you a coffee… You always start my days off right, and make for…
Rayman Origins
Rayman Origins is an unexpected but welcome delight in a franchise that seemed to be going nowhere fast. A 2D platformer with up to four-player co-op, where the more’s the merrier/crazier. The controls are tight and the levels challenging; harder than New Super Mario Bros. but easier than Donkey Kong Country Returns. This game completely…
North End Community Health Centre
2165 Gottingen Street, 420-0303 nechc.com How to give: Through the CanadaHelps link on its website or by contacting the Gottingen Street office. When people visit the North End Community Health Centre, “they don’t get somebody pointing a finger and wagging it at them,” and “telling them what they should be doing,” says executive director Jane…
Review Round-up: The Sitter and New Year’s Eve
Read the reviews of these new movies by clicking on the title: The Sitter New Year’s Eve
Algoma
Poetry profoundly influences prose. Dani Couture’s background as a poet, and now a first time novelist, shines with finely tuned insights. She’s a line writer and builds on her sentences to form gorgeous paragraphs. Couture leaves readers with a gentle glimpse into the human condition. At the core of the novel, Algoma is a story…
A very European Christmas
This weekend you can get a taste of Europe without losing your luggage, or your Air Miles. The piazza at Bishop’s Landing will be channelling the spirit of traditional European Christmas markets —those outdoor winter wonderlands that draw millions of visitors for shopping, eating, mingling and mulled wine. Oh, the mulled wine. For the inaugural Waterfront…
No champagne for New Year’s Eve
Oh shit. Garry Marshall seems to have concocted a plan for his twilight years in the director’s chair: an annual collaboration with screenwriter Katherine Fugate and an army of celebrities wherein an already-overhyped holiday gets ground into saccharine mush. This one follows the same template as last year’s Valentine’s Day, with multiple rom-com storylines acted…
A Bride’s Story
Kaoru Mori loves history—you don’t create a comic about the silk road in the 19th century on a whim. The bride of the title is Amir, a young woman who has just married a boy seven years her junior as part of an arranged marriage. Even for the time and place it’s a big age…
Tawaak Housing Association
6175 Lady Hammond Road, 455-2900 tawaakhousing.org. How to give: Contact Ida Vincent, the director of tenant relations at 455-2900, or via the website. Brian Dezagiacomo takes care of over 140 Aboriginal individuals and families, every day, every week, every year. Dezagiacomo is the executive director of the Tawaak Housing Association, a non-profit charitable organization that…
Atlas Shrugged part 1, drops the ball
Everything about this screen adaptation of Ayn Rand’s novel feels like daytime television: from the heavy-handed dialogue to the sluggish pace (setting itself up for part II) —no wonder, it’s the first feature TV soap actor Paul Johansson has directed. In a dystopian 2016 US, unrest in the Middle East means peak oil, and railroads…
Forever in Flux resonates
The Montreal Massacre of 1989 still matters, and NSCAD’s Feminist Collective is once again remembering the brutal incident with their group exhibition, showcasing incredibly varied works from female artists and allies. This year’s collection of works will put your brain in overdrive, in the best possible way. Ashley Bedet’s Sexy Socks is 13 minutes of…
The Ark
492-2577, arkoutreach.com How to give: Money donations are welcome via pre-authorized payment plans, cheques or through canadahelps.org. Supplies needed on a regular basis are listed on the website. The Ark outreach has two main parts to its mission. The first is Sunday Supper: Every Sunday at St. Andrew’s Church on Robie Street, some 200-250 homeless…
The Extraordinary Adventures Adele Blanc-Sec
Besson is best known for producing movies like The Transporter these days, though the guy did direct La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element. His knack for slick and stylish fantasy entertainment hasn’t deserted him in this adaptation of the Jacques Tardi comic, set in 1911, about a globe-trotting writer-reporter Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) looking to…
The Kooks
This is the British band’s third full-length record, and aside from a heavier pop-influence, it doesn’t stray too far from what they’ve been doing since 2006. Tasteful guitar licks, catchy acoustic patterns and crisp, snappy vocals are a staple in The Kooks’ delivery. Incredibly tight and unified bass and drum work keep every song interesting…
Elizabeth Fry Society
2352 Gottingen Street, 454-5041 efrynovascotia.com How to give: Contact the Gottingen Street office or through the CanadaHelps donation form on the website. When women get out of prison in Nova Scotia, life doesn’t always improve that much: They’re often stuck looking for a job with a criminal record and no social support network, savings or…
Modern grassroots
We’re dreaming of a bluegrass Christmas, and so is Halifax’s Modern Grass. They’re drumming up holiday nostalgia with their second seasonal album Swingin’ Around the Christmas Tree…Again and to help spread the word, they’ve got a hell of a marketing strategy. Farmers’ marketing, that is. The group (Tom Terrell, Donald MacLennan, Andrew Sneddon, Adam Pye…
Spice must flow
Last September, Costas Halavrezos signed off for the last time as the host of CBC Radio’s Maritime Noon. After 23 years of radio in Halifax, he soon found himself in a bit of a predicament. “On the second day of my retirement, I was drumming my fingers, wondering what mischief I could get into,” he jokes. That…
Coldplay
Coldplay is a band that manages to draw the ire of its critics no matter what direction it heads in. Chris Martin and company have always been saddled by the idea that Coldplay is merely following in the footsteps of U2, and while Mylo Xyloto won’t do much to dissuade that notion, it is a wholly…
The Field
Sweden’s Alex Willner has returned to form on his third full-length for Kompakt Records. Fans let down by his last record’s penchant for choosing texture over composition will be pleased to find out that Looping State of Mind is a perfect synthesis of his knack for immaculate microhouse hooks and his growing interest in live…
Stars in our backyard
Barry House 422-8324 | website How to give: Look to Metro Turning Point. Barry House provides shelter to women, children and pets. Barry House provides three meals a day and has space for 20 people a night. The belief is that once housing needs are met, other needs can be addressed. Bill Pratt, executive director…
The Horrible Crowes
Brian Fallon is one of our best lyricists, but his voice has only recently caught up. Years of straining and growling working-class rock anthems with The Gaslight Anthem has sanded the edges off the bottom end, and in The Horrible Crowes, you can nearly call it lovely. Though TGA comprises half of this band—co-fronted by…
A world of pain
[iamge-1] When The Coast started planning this year’s Give Guide, we got a bit of feedback about its deliberately local focus. “What about international charities?” more than a few people asked, pointing out that a little change goes a long way in the developing world and that poverty in Canada, while bad, doesn’t have the…
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) Harvey Ball was a commercial artist who dreamed up the iconic image of the smiley face. He whipped it out in 10 minutes one day in 1963. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t trademark or copyright his creation, and as a result made only $45 from it, even as it…
Video On Demand gets props from Halifax filmmakers
In 2011, Canadians haven’t been going out much to see Canadian movies. More people are going online, whether they pay for the movies or not. Halifax director-producer Chaz Thorne says that’s at least partly because Canadians don’t even know when a Canadian movie shows up in cinemas. “It actually is shocking when you’re a filmmaker…
Take the Buy Local Pledge 2011
It’s fast, it’s easy and it works. When you pledge to shift at least $100 of your holiday shopping into locally owned and operated businesses, you’re making Halifax’s economy stronger. Buying online at global etailers or hitting the big-box strip just isn’t the same. Sign up for the Buy Local Pledge with a click right…
Recently Engaged: Jenny & Joe
Jenny and I met at work. It was love at first sight. We started out as friends and as we got to know each other, we decided to start dating. Jenny stole my heart from the beginning and after our first kiss, I knew she was keeping it. We have now been together for a…
Two is better than one—or is it
Q I’m a happily married woman. I have a great sex life with my husband of many years. He’s helped me discover things I didn’t know about myself sexually. The problem: Three years ago, my first love contacted me after 23 years. He was married at the time, although he didn’t want to be and…
Trouble in mind
Chris Martin knows the importance of looking to the future and the past simultaneously. Knocking on the release of a much-awaited second record, as well as the sixth anniversary of his band, the founding member of Halifax’s nostalgic blues-based Trouble Shooters still finds time to talk about the vision for their unborn third album. Between…
Give it up
The Holiday Toast has been a treasured tradition in Halifax’s arts community for the last 10 years or so, but this time they are switching things up. In past years, the night—put on jointly by the Khyber, Centre for Art Tapes and Eyelevel Gallery—was happy, but hectic. It featured heated bidding wars over art, raffles,…
Divine Reason
For those already weary of holiday cheer and excess, this Saturday’s installment of No Reason for the Season might be the ideal antidote. The third celebration of artful noise—hosted by Bloodhouse and Bad Vibrations—will rattle your chains and shake you out of your Yuletide stupor. The newest addition is Transfixed, an electro-industrial duo comprised of…
Captain Hook’s Revenge is a good catch
The Theatre Arts Guild’s Christmas pantomime is a tradition for many families in HRM, and TAG certainly knows how to deliver an entertaining show. This year’s offering, Captain Hook’s Revenge, seemed like a particularly magical mix of sparkly costumes, lovely music—including an exquisite duet between Emma Cruddas’ Peter Pan and Emily Stuart’s Tinkerbell—and laugh-out-loud humour.…
Matt Semansky’s Top 11 DVDs of 2011
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (Mongrel) Directed by Michael Rapaport Carlos (Mongrel) Directed by Olivier Assayas Daydream Nation (eOne) Directed by Michael Goldbach Everything Must Go (Maple) Directed by Dan Rush Will Ferrell straps on his serious face and succeeds as an alcoholic left jobless, wifeless and alone on…
There’s no place like Homo
As visions of rocking dance parties danced through the heads of Adept Tattoos duo Amber Thorpe and Jenn Hoben, they decided why not capitalize on the north end’s hottest new live venue in town and give Halifax’s queer community (and allies) a night to remember. “Halifax is a great city with a large gay community…
John’s kids
Real Progress/John’s Kids by Bill McEwen November 11, 2pm, Victoria Park— John Thibeau looked up from the knotted clump of arms and wet clothes and saw cops pointing at Michael Anthony. Michael sat directly across from John, their faces only inches apart. He, Michael and three others—Del, Miles and Sarah—had planted themselves, cross-legged on a…
The Sitter never stands up
Now that he’s proven himself with meatier fare like Cyrus and Moneyball, Jonah Hill suddenly seems underserved by lowbrow comedy. That’s certainly the case in this misfire directed by David Gordon Green, which re-imagines Adventures in Babysitting with Hill’s profane slob in the Elisabeth Shue role. While taking care of a socially awkward tween (Max…
To the cute blonde guy on the 1 bus route
You made my day last week. I just got off an 8 hour shift and went to catch the 1. You got on a few stops after me. I was upset because I had lost my wallet. But every time I looked up from my seat you were standing a few feet away and a…
Caught up in your smile
I’ve never really met you, I go to where you work for delish greek food. you are adorable. You came to where I work recently and if I wasn’t held up talking to a customer I woulda talked to you. You have caught my eye and I hope our paths cross when we are not…
To my spicy spicy bear
You are a true gem of a person. You lift my spirits high and make me feel alive. I love you and your life. You are an amazing dad, and when I see you with your little one, the way you two interact, makes my heart swoon. You are an amazing artist and whenever I…
