Knowing your history
I’m a sucker for magazine special issues, so the January/February edition of The Atlantic had my attention from the first line of the editorial. “With this issue The Atlantic Monthly begins a year-long celebration of our upcoming 150th anniversary,” the editors write. “Fifteen decades is a long time; only a handful of publications anywhere have…
Sticking with the Policy
Having returned from a short three-date Maritimes stint with friends Wintersleep, rock group Folds of Policy are heading back to the studio with the intentions of finishing work on their sophomore effort, tentatively titled Trouble on the Wall. Bassist Charlie Coolen says while there are no huge, conscious format changes from Stay in Your Homes’…
Not enough
To the editor, I was quite disappointed in your latest issue due to the lack of information about the election. A large portion of your readers are in their late teens and 20s, which means they are of age to participate in the democratic process. The problem is that the majority of them do not.…
Old enough
To the editor, A recent article in Maclean’s entitled “Stop Him Before He Votes” argued that “today’s 18-year-olds are too immature to vote,” and that the voting age should be raised. According to the article, because youth are now less likely to be employed and are more likely to be living at home, this warrants…
Food patrol
As far as Rosemary Hanson is con-cerned, the only thing better than sliced bread is no bread. Same goes for sugar, dairy and any kind of highly processed foods. Like a growing number of people, Hanson is intolerant of many of the primary ingredients the rest of us take for granted when preparing meals or…
The thrill of the Hunt
The Halifax hard rock scene just got better. After a line-up shuffle, various part-time jobs to pay for recording and years of songwriting, the members of Big Game Hunt are set to unleash their debut of accomplished, riff-filled stoner rock, The Gods Drink Whiskey, on an unsuspecting public this Friday night. “The boy bands when…
Reviews of TransAmerica and The New World
Do moviegoers still like movies, or do they just like going to them? I had a curious experience at The New World the other night. The theatre was full almost to capacity. Then, about an hour into the movie, people started filing out. A new group would make their exit every five minutes or so.…
Cup of jo
Walk into local jo and prepare to instantly feel comfortable. The rustic interior, brightly painted in oranges and yellows, is warm and homey. Wooden tables and chairs, and broad planked flooring are far removed from the slick stainless urban coffee houses that have become so prevalent. This place is all about community. There’s a cushioned…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Share your brilliance for free, Aquarius, says Rob Brezsny.
SAVAGE LOVE
Another monumentally disgusting fantasy. Thanks, Dan Savage.
New Year’s for the Dogs
The year of the dog begins this Sunday, January 29, with the observation of Chinese New Year. Why not celebrate with a delicious, auspicious meal? Here are some hints to help you plan your menu. Q: What are some foods that are traditionally served to mark the Chinese New Year?A: A variety of foods are…
Lost in translation?
Hollywood does not handle ordinary realities like weddings and relationships very well, so I worried about TransAmerica’s treatment of transsexuals long before the movie arrived in Halifax. In the mid-1990s The Crying Game, To Wong Foo and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert used transgendered people as main characters, but they were either tragic plot devices…
Minority report
I’m down on my knees thanking god for another minority government, even if it will be led by the unholy, right-wing trinity that briefly called itself CRAP, the Conservative Reform Alliance Party. CRAP summed it up nicely, don’t you think? But they dropped that moniker like a hot turd when they woke up and smelled…
The MacDonald Bridge
It’s hot. But Rodney MacDonald is as cool as a cucumber. Call him Rodney, he says. And it fits; he’s more relaxed than the photos cached on Google Images, which read like a book with its guts ripped out. Chapter one: a gawky young Cape Breton fiddle player. Chapter 20: a suitably stiff MLA. MacDonald’s…
Just say oooooooh!
In French, it’s “la petite mort,” or “little death.” Plenty of euphemisms, but not a lot of understanding about what happens to our bodies during a toe-curling orgasm, or how sexuality connects with other body systems, including our brains. A mini orgasmic industry exists in North American culture, predominantly associated with the male pursuit of…
High fidelity
Gyms make a racket. Whirring machines, feet pounding, weights clanging and thudding on the floor, fans overhead. Few people notice unless they’re the few without the popular aural accessory, the digital music player. “I usually like to listen to more exciting music, stuff that pumps you up,” says Matt Conway, a 19-year-old kinesiology student at…
Up in smoke
There are a few really good free things in this town. At least two are offered by Capital Health’s Addiction Services. The first is the free nicotine patch and gum you can get through their Tobacco Intervention program. The second is auricular acupuncture. If you’re addicted to a drug, let’s say nicotine, it’s very, very…
Owing pains
It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting at my computer, paralyzed. To the left of my keyboard is a pile of unopened bills. I’ve been collecting them all week; walking downstairs to the mailbox, picking them up, sorting out the pizza flyers and political campaign brochures, and shuffling everything else—all bills—into a pile that I throw…
