Vroom ba-boom
To the editor, I’ve got a few questions for the radio stations HAL, Z103 and Kool FM: 1) Did the three of you at some point decide to get into the moving business? 2) Are you concerned about what the other radio stations might feel concerning your masculinity? If the answer to those two questions…
Un-friendly
To the editor, I just published an online housing ad on your website. As a gay man I was offended by the “gay-friendly option” in the details section. Since it is illegal to discriminate against an individual based on sexual orientation for housing, why do you present “gay-friendly” as an option? By doing so aren’t…
Trans facts
To the editor, This letter is in response to the letter to the editor that recently appeared in The Coast regarding trans fats and the Heart and Stroke Foundation (“Trans spats,” Kenneth Cunningham, January 31). The risk for heart disease and stroke is determined by a series of risk factors. Current levels of physical inactivity…
dance like there’s no tomorrow
There’s an impromptu dance party scheduled for noon today (February 14) in the front window of Eyelevel Gallery, 2128 Gottingen. There will be cupcakes and teas. Maybe the cupcakes will be American Idol-inspired like these, courtesy of milkfat.com.
Jesus, Take the Wheel 2: Jesus Harder
Most of us in the office flicked past the Grammys on Sunday. I watched the whole thing because Dixie Chicks, though their speeches got worse as the night went on — designate a speaker, girls! — and my once-beloved “Not Ready to Make Nice” feels like a commercial for bullying or something, after hearing the…
Michael McLeod’s photos on Geist
If you thought that this month’s cover of Geist look familiar, it might be because you’ve seen the photos before. They’re from local photographer Michael McLeod’s cross-country road trip, part of the exhibition Geography is Killing Me–a great show at ViewPoint Gallery last year. For more of Michael’s work, go to www.michaelmcleod.ca
Lulu LaRude, RIP
Incomparable Halifax drag performer Lulu LaRude, AKA Chuck Gillis, died yesterday. Go here to leave your condolences.
Letters to the Editor
Hello, I just published an online housing ad on your website. As a gay man I was offended by the ‘gay friendly option’ in the details section. Since it is illegal to discriminate against an individual based on sexual orientation for housing why do you present ‘gay friendly’ as an option? By doing so aren’t…
24-hour party people
Lovers of 24-hour restaurant service will be united in their grief as the closing of The Apple Barrel at 1726 Grafton finally sinks in. The long-standing downtown staple closed its doors last Monday and no one was more disappointed than the restaurant’s owner of 10 years, Bryan Bridgemohan. “The drop in our sales last year…
Strike through
As the strike of Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists members over salary and internet rights issues drifts into its second month, the Atlantic branch of the actors’ union moves into legal position on February 13. Members in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been on strike since January 8, though little production…
Plum instrumentalist
While Catriona Sturton is most familiar as the bassist from beloved ’90s act Plumtree, her skills with another instrument pre-date the band. Sturton’s first experience performing was with a harmonica and she’ll return to teach a beginner’s workshop on the topic at the Halifax Public Library on February 10. “I studied it when I was…
Child’s play
To the editor, In other cities, papers like The Coast often have a section for kids (just like the music, film and events listings). As someone fairly new to fatherhood, I often find myself scrambling for activities for my daughter in Halifax. It would be great if you could add kids’ movie, event and show…
Signed, sealed and delivered
To the editor, I find it disgusting that my tax dollars are being used to fund all-expenses-paid trips for international journalists in the hopes they will put a positive spin on this year’s seal hunt. The international community knows the truth about the seal hunt and they are turning their backs on us, as is…
Construction junction
To the editor, The letter from Darrell Spears of Spears Framing Ltd. (“Open for business,” January 18) and the article “Hammering Away” by Erica Butler (January 4), about the efforts of the carpenters’ union to improve the construction industry for workers, needs further input. In Mr. Spears’s letter to the editor, he reports his operation…
Little Children
Little Children is about shame and righteousness, members of a small-town community using their moral indignation to cover their own dark secrets. It’s a view of suburban life, inhabited by hypocritical, sexually corrupt simpletons, of which I’m tired. Remarkably, Little Children’s generalizations don’t extend to its treatment of core characters. Director Todd Field views his…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Happy Valentine Daze to one and all, says Rob Brezsny.
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan Savage says sometimes, almost enough is actually enough.
Sex, love and money
The Coast Valentine’s Day issue lets us celebrate love and sex. But it also gives us a chance to honour power and money. After all, power is the great aphrodisiac and money is the universal lubricant. If love and sex are kissing cousins, money and power are their fraternal twins. Me, cynical? No way. All…
Fast forward
In 2004, we fled from the golden arches after Morgan Spurlock spewed McChunks over the side of his car in the documentary Supersize Me. Dutifully, we purchased Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation—or watched the movie—a no-holds-barred examination of why French fries taste so damn good (of course it’s the chemicals. Duh). “Oh, how terrible,”…
The buddy system
The concept of a “friend date” isn’t so bizarre if you regularly take your best pal to a movie. The concept of “regular dates,” however, is a different story. This tiny shift brings about a lot of anxiety. What is the difference between a fun and memorable evening with a friend and entertaining someone you’d…
On common ground
I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know: Halifax can be a tough place to meet new people. Blame it on our size, which in this case, really does matter. With approximately 380,000 people living in Halifax, there are plenty of interesting people to meet. But with only 380,000 people living in Halifax, dating…
Cover up
Your mom will warn you against it. Your friends might, too. It really isn’t something to do on a whim. But, there may come a time in your life when you decide it’s a good idea to get the name of your honey forever emblazoned on your flesh in indelible ink. It’s good to remember…
Wintersong
At this time last year, the dead of winter wasn’t fucking around. Dropping into the middle of three of the coldest days of 2006, the inaugural In the Dead of Winter festival—packed full of more than 30 singing songwriters—brought out music lovers bundled to their eyes, glasses fogging in the sudden warmth of the Khyber…
Happy Dance
Like every man who came to his senses in any romantic comedy ever, Sundance won me back in the end. It chased me through an airport. It climbed my fire escape even though it was afraid of heights. It stood outside my window blasting Peter Gabriel. When last we met I was wallowing in the…
Vote for the Junos
Check how Coast voting compares to the official results.
Month of Dates
Erin Greeno, currently an archives student at University of Toronto, formerly a long-time resident of Halifax, came up with quite possibly the most ambitious Valentine’s Day endeavour yet: A Month of Dates. Twice, once in 2002 and again in 2004, Greeno went on (or at least attempted to go on) a date every day for…
The labour of love
Valentine’s Day isn’t real. Oh, sure, people will tell you it is. The intellectuals will argue it’s steeped in a history part Roman and part ancient Christian, complete with a martyred saint and a popularity craze that fired up in the middle ages and burns scorchingly hot still today. The commercial sector will tell you…
Street magic
For half an hour on Sunday afternoon, Jennifer Pritchard handed out free chow mein to anyone who knocked on her door. It was her way of making her street, Creighton, great—in an unconventional way. It was all part of a performance series Pritchard has undertaken called “Displays of Affection.” She says the response from the…
Dish and tell
Ah, Valentine’s Day—seems like such a good idea, a day to celebrate love. But as anyone in a romantic relationship knows, Valentine’s Day can be one of the most stressful days of the year. Hours spent planning the perfect evening, making sure everything is just right for the love of your life—the pressure is really…
