Not a deadbeat Dad
WTF is wrong with ex wives? I am a second wife, I personally did not know my own father but that’s another story. The kids will never call unless they need something. Has your Dad every missed a birthday, Christmas, child support payment? NO! He is not perfect,but neither is your mother! He divorced her…
I am walking. You are driving me crazy.
I understand that there is this quaint driver courteous thing that goes on in this city NOW. It wasn’t always like this: you are crossing the street and a driver jammmms on the brakes to let you cross and then waves you across the street making eye contact with me and not his rearview mirror.…
That loud tour-bus
Working downtown, and listening to the loudspeaker booming from the top of that floating tour-bus is driving me nuts. It’s not enough that the bus spews diesel fumes and reminds me of Apocolypse Now, but they have to blast the loudspeaker to overpower the noise of the engines… If I have to hear “On the…
BITCHERS ARE SO RUDE !!
Ok, so this is a ‘bitch’ page, but do you all have to be so crude, rude, ignorant and obnoxious ?? It clearly shows your lack of education and morals. God help visitors who go there to enjoy the beauty of your Province. And, God forbid that anyone is forced to transfer there because of…
Guardian Angel
While at the Virgin Mobile Festival on July 4th, I was front row centre, right against the baracades, and at the mercy of steel and 1,000s of people pushing me forward. This is to whoever in the crowd near me would shove my head down whenever some careless crowd surfer came flailing my way. I…
wrong of way
Does anybody know the Actual written in stone laws about crosswalks and right of way in them? I am under the impression that at an intersection the pedestrian or vehicle that is in the intersection first holds right of way over all vehicles and/or pedestrians who have yet to enter. Crosswalks are part of the…
Wasteful Bastards
Okay, so there’s been a recall of meat and you need to bring it back. This is great, bring it on in if you’ve got it. Oh wait you don’t have any? Because this store didn’t fucking sell any of the recalled meat? Well we’re taking it anyway because this is what got sent down…
Safety my ass
To the assholes in charge of Safety at the Purcell’s cove road construction site: Wait for all of the traffic to go through before you let the oncoming traffic through. There is nothing like biking through a construction site and all of the sudden having a line of traffic coming at you head on in…
Slave-drivers
I recently returned from a month-long stint at my boyfriends house in England. This time, when visiting, I noticed that the cashiers at their supermarkets all sit-down on the job. I questioned my boyfriend, wondering if they had won some sort of labour law battle. Turns out, its always been that way. Then I thought…
Shitty Halifax Living
I hate my apartment. Since the first day we moved in, it has plagued us with problems: a dishwasher that makes everything come out dirtier than when it went in; a rotting fridge replaced by a rusting one; a small washing machine that doesn’t always drain and barely cleans; heating vents that either overheat some…
THE CONCERT ON SATURDAY
I stood for 10 hours front row center…for a reason. To the drunkin arsehole in the gray sweater who could have been my grandfather; you are too old to rip me from the baracade amd try and fight me in order to get ..what 2cm closer to the Offspring? I hope you LOVED that horse…
A free concert, but at what cost?
The Virgin Fest was pretty good considering The Hip pulled out because of personal issues. (which is fine and Dinosaur Jr. fucking rocked by the way!) But godamnit! $6 for a can of beer! FUCK ME GENTLY!!! $24 for 6 beer! I’m glad that the concert was free, because I wouldn’t have been able to…
Tunes at Noon Summer Concert Series 2009 Line-Up
I don’t know many people who get up before noon (I have to include myself in this group). I can only guess at what unholy things go on between the hours of 7:30am and 12pm, but whatever it may be, I need no convincing that some kind of break is well-deserved at noon. Councillor Dawn…
Chew on this: Michael Jackson bubblegum
If the two-hour memorial and the devastating sight of Paris Jackson wasn’t enough for you, head to Freak Lunchbox and fill your crying sack with the original Michael Jackson Pee Chee bubblegum and collectors’ cards. They’re from 1984, back when gloves were shiny and Jackson life was, well, “normal,” so I wouldn’t advise chewing that…
Zombie Short Film Fest looking for your brains
Normally we don’t post calls from festivals outside of the city, but for some reason, the Toronto-based Zombie Short Film Festival seems like it should have originated in Halifax. For those of you with a brain blasting with undead film ideas (there seem to be a lot of you), the rules are straightforward: it must…
Plaskett and Hey Rosetta! make Polaris prize shortist
Who are you gunning for? Who do you think will win? Choose from the following: Elliott Brood – Mountain Meadows Fucked Up – Chemistry of Common Life Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels Hey Rosetta! – Into Your Lungs K’naan – Troubador Malajube – Labyrinths Metric – Fantasies Joel Plaskett – Three Chad Vangaalen -…
Oliver Jones Jazz Festival show sold out
Atlantic Jazz Fest organizers have announced that Montreal-based award-winning pianist Oliver Jones solo concert on July 15 in the Delta Hotel is sold out. Those lucky enough to get tickets will be treated to “his acrobatic piano stunts and unmistakable finesse, his lightning-fast technique, solid articulation, powerful lyricism and rollicking rhythms.” Another fine argument for…
The Birthday Cakes serve up slices of riffy heaven
Brothers who golf together, stay together The Birthday Cakes are three brothers from Sudbury, Ontario who (sometimes) dress up in matching Adidas tracksuits and capes and perform songs about cake, Mike Tyson, Grandma and spiders. They are a riff-heavy band who shun verses and opt for catchy choruses intended to make you dance. They perform…
Tonight’s Lynn Miles show cancelled
It hasn’t been a good week for visiting performers: Lynn Miles, scheduled to perform this evening at Company House, had to go home to Ottawa because of a family emergency. However, you’re not out of luck this Monday night, Montreal’s Ladies of the Canyon are still on at 8pm. Cover is now $7.
Jenocide covers all the bases with new EP bikerides.barrettes.bruises
Jenocide happily bring the electro, thrash, pop, hip hop, and grrl-power fueled party to every live show, usually with comical and unexpected party mishaps. There’s no telling if you will be able to recreate singer Jen Clarke’s energy and antics in your living room, but with your very own Jenocide EP on the hifi, you…
Virgin Fest video & photos
In case you missed Saturday’s free Virgin Fest show, or if you need to explain to mom why you tracked dirt through the kitchen—here’s some live photo and video proof of the show. Photos: Ashley LeBlanc What were your highlights? J Mascis’ hair? Handsome Furs’ high kicks? Seeing Dog Day on a stadium stage? Let…
How much must you pay to rock out?
heh I can’t help but point out… that here this city was blessed with a FREE concert… lovely sounds to get us moving and have fun… and yet most people were just standing around, not allowing the vibrations to get them moving! You know it’s fun to dance eh? And most importantly, there’s no good…
the customer is not always right …
So I have been working in retail for a few years now and it seems to be the same everywhere I have worked. one thing that really bothers me is the customers who think that yelling is going to get them somewhere. Sorry but if you yell at me I am not going to want…
Signs signs everywhere signs
I attempted to go to the VirginFest, but considering no chairs, no umbrellas, no water, no food… I turned around. I am not young anymore, and sitting on rain-sogged Citadel Hill sipping a $3 bottle of water, getting smacked in the face by some vacant cowboy hat wearing Abercrombie and Fitch clone who’s never heard…
Get a Summer Job
Is it just me or since school has been out, I have seen an increase in panhanding. These new faces don’t look desparate..just plain lazy. Get a summer job you lazy ass pieces of shit.—Dr. Phil, Omf
Respectable Behavior Required
My young daughter and I decided to take the bus to avoid traffic to see the Canada Day Fireworks. While on the bus, there was a very cheap trashy greasy disgusting tart who was very drunk and mouthing off, swearing and being, well, trashy. The bus driver asked her to stop, but didn’t kick her…
Stop Emailing My Husband!
Unless you want your pathetic “life will never be the same without you” emails to my husband sent to your fiancee, you better back off or your wedding is going to be cancelled, bitch! My hubby just keeps you in touch so he can show off how he’s not only moved on but moved up.…
Cat Calls
I can’t FUCKING stand them anymore.—Dino
You’re not sugar!
To all you lazy assholes I know, that use the rain and anything else as an excuse not to get off your fat ass and go do something FUN! Do you seriously not know why your life sucks so much? Take a look at everything you’re missing out on! You need an attitude adjustment! Please…
Lame-Os
To people who use a certain local/global free-item service, if you say you want my item, show up at the goddamn time you say you will, or at least call or email me to let me know what’s up. Otherwise I’ll give it to one of the many other people who were also interested. I’m…
dr. green bin
my family just moved into an apartment from a house, and all our lives we have been composting/recycling. then we move here and they tell us we have to find somewhere else to put our compost/recyables because they wont fucking pay to get it picked up. well fuck you. we have been composting our whole…
superintendents with bad attitudes
To a couple that manages an apartment building: lose the attitude towards your tenants. Stop rolling your eyes when we say hello or approach you with a maintenance or other concerns. Stop sighing, stop being cranky. We understand it takes a lot of work to keep up a building along with raising kids and holding…
Annoying People
Okay…why do random strangers send me friend requests? I don’t know who the fuck they are so I don’t want to be their friend! I’m sick of this! Just in the last month I’ve had about 5 different people (all strangers!) try to add me, and one tried to add me 3 times so I…
Halifax
The pearl of the east coast. Where summer starts only after its finished squeezing out every last drop of North Americas precipitation . A place of security where we build the mighty floating war machines capable of amazing amounts death, and all these years only one accident. A history of diversity which is mostly preserved…
Canada Day Crasshole
Upon exiting my home on Canada to bring out a table full of sweet things for a bake sale I was shocked and saddened to find my beautiful, one of a kind vintage red foldable low-rider with monkey bars and a big ol’ banana seat STOLEN. What is wrong with people!? How do you sleep…
Slapshot to Jaw=not a fun time
The medical system in NS is messed up. I am just glad I at least have a decent doctor. I got hit in the jaw by a road hockey ball while watching a game. Needless to say it messed up my teeth and jaw. Teeth are misaligned and loosened, and I can’t eat solid foods,…
Gotta love free
Thanks for making the music festival on July 4th free. We spent $150 on two tickets months ago. To find out that we can get our money refunded and still see a great line up of bands is great. I feel bad for the band that had to drop out. Still, free is AWESOME!—music lover
this truly is tragic
at first, i was counting down the days until the tragically hip announced when it’s new album “we are the same” was to come out, once they announced i counted down the days for it’s release as well as checked the website multiple times a day awaiting tour dates. finally they said they were coming…
Live twittering from VirginFest
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Virgin Fest is now Free!
Now, there is probably more to this story, but Coast HQ just received this press release in our inbox. We called the organizers to confirm, and yes, it is true: the Virgin Festival tomorrow will be free. Read more: Due to a serious family medical issue The Tragically Hip will regrettably be unable to perform…
All thumbs
To a certain waitress: please please please stop putting your thumbs in my soup!!! I know that those little bowls are hard to grasp, but it’s beyond gross and unsanitary to see you dipping that chipped nail polish into my food!—Grossed out customer
Enough about MJ!
I am sick of hearing about Michael Jackson! Sure he was a talented artist and he made big breakthroughs in the music inductry but he’s just a person like you and me. Many talented scientists, doctors, and teachers die every year and we don’t hear anything about them! Many people die or lose their children…
Charmin, you are a mangina
So here I am, trying to eat some spaghetti in front of the TV, flipping through the channels because television sucks these days. Then the commercials come on, okay just great. As I’m eating my spaghetti, I look up to see two dumbass cartoon bears dancing around like a bunch of pansies. Then all of…
To the gay guy in my office
I know, I know… I am gay too. We have somthing in “common”. This doesn’t mean I am your “bff”. You are a skinny little twig of a man with a lispy voice and an attitude that needs some serious adjustment. Asking me if I think someone is “hot”, telling me about your “crazy like…
Virgin Festival tickets 2 for 1
Please, let’s just get married On the TicketAtlantic website you have the choice of choosing “2 for 1 promo” or “regular.” Unless Mama raised a fool, I suggest you go with “2 for 1 promo.” You know you want to bring a date anyway, right? Dinosaur Jr. is, like, the perfect date music.
Missin’ the old LTWWB
Increase in trolls, decrease in the regulars, decrease in the quality bitches….it’s gettin’ lame folks.—bitchin blues
Mel Boutilier – Order of Canada
Check it out – a great tribute and well-deserved recognition – I have never met him but have seen him in the news for many years, always fighting hard with quiet grace for people who really need it — ad hoc
Drummer boy
Hey little drummer boy, tell your hippie parents to rent you a jam space so we can live in peace. I’m not sure if it pure ignorance or arrogance but do you not realize that no one in the neighborhood appreciates listening to your crap night after night. After a long day in school and…
Where is my bike?????
To the person or persons who had the nerve to walk up on my back verranda, go behind my trailer and STEAL my 11 yr old daughers “new to her” pink bike, that her dad just painted and bought new handle grips, that she only got to drive for about 10 minutes…..how low….you seen her…
Last Chance!! REALLY NOW???
You know what I hate? All those idiots on kijiji that have had the same items on there for the same outrageous prices for weeks and weeks and then they have the audacity to broadcast “LAST CHANCE”……Seriously, do you actually fucking think that saying that is going to make people finally buy your shit at…
Black Moor on Diminished Fifth Records
Nova Scotian thrashers Black Moor plan to release their much anticipated new album The Conquering on Diminished Fifth Records. The album is slated to come out Tuesday, August 25. Black Moor recently won the Molson Canadian Rocks Battle of the Bands in Nova Scotia and were much-supported finalists in the regional contest to open for…
One security guard was a dick, the rest were cool
To the security guard at the concert: “Why the hell would you care if I took two unopened beer out of the beer area”. They were in my pocket and I was going to drink them at home on the couch. To add to your stupidity you tried to ban me from the beer area.…
Smokers Bitch me Out!!
I had a great Canada Day with my family – my only beef is that while we were walking along the waterfront I could not believe the amount of people lighting up while walking and blowing smoke over everyone!! What gives??? ALSO I was nauseated to see how many smoking around young kids in strollers!…
Seriously unfairly traded?
I asked you if you had any Fair Trade coffee. You said all of your coffee was ‘fairly traded’. I asked if you had any that was Fair Trade certified. You said, “I hate Fair Trade.” Seriously? I’m a consumer that took the time to ask about it, so one would assume that I genuinely…
Modest Mouse ≠ Cape Breton
Here I am, thinking I’m all clever.. Selling my Modest Mouse tickets for cash to rent a car to C.B. this summer. Well FUCK ME VERY MUCH for being under 25! $35 a DAY? Because I’m not over 25? Exsqueeze me? Nevermind my pristine driving record, I’m 23, so I get fucked up the avis.…
More than fare
It’s a good thing Metro Transit is now charging $2.25 for bus fare. I was concerned I was not contributing enough to their efficient schedule adherence, courteous drivers and general cleanliness. Next time the driver guns the engine when I’m obviously not even close to being seated, I can rest easy knowing my extra quarter…
candy death
So you can’t buy mackintosh toffee anymore. What is this world coming to.?—K.
REEEEEEKKK!!!!
I love ya to pieces, boyfriend, but you are riper than a sack of dead rats sprayed with Harbour stench. You don’t wear underwear and wear the same pair of pants all fucking week…don’t even get me started on the skidmarks….yuck. You’re a professional 30 year old man, smart as hell but dirty as Pigpen.—Even…
You Arrrr really annoying
Dear people/person in the lunch room who think it’s amusing/fun/clever to change the language to pirate on facebook on all the computers constantly, Knock it off!! It was half amusing last year for all of 5 minutes. This has been going on for months and you need to get a grip. What be ye? a…
Juxtaposition
This one goes out to the librarian or patron who placed Simon Singh’s “Trick or Treatment” next to Jenny McCarthy’s “Mother Warriors”. I’m glad to see skepticism alive in Halifax. You made my day.—another skeptic
All The Monkeys Aren’t In The Zoo
A profound thank you to the three simians sitting in front of us last night at the Dress Rehearsal performance of the Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo; your drunken antics have done nothing but reinforce my curmudgeonly opinion that the main problem with public events in Halifax is that they attract the public. I realize that…
Dave Matthews Band
Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King is an album that finds the Dave Matthews Band at a crossroad, with the passing of long-time member Leroi Moore (the titular GrooGrux King) and the inclusion of Matthews’ longtime collaborator, Tim Reynolds. The emotions running through this album are vividly palpable, as this is clearly both an homage…
Depp impact
Johnny Depp is easily the silver-screen idol for women (and men) young and old. His on-screen personae and leading-man charisma are remarkable for their lack of definition and comfort—from making you cringe as the syphilis-afflicted Earl of Rochester in The Libertine, to making knees weak in the romantic drama Chocolat. His work from the last…
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
There’s a small detail in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that cuts to the heart of Michael Bay’s tact. Teen hero Sam (Shia LaBeouf) sits in his university astronomy class, where somehow every enrolled female student looks like a Maxim model. To appreciate some of Bay’s movies, one must learn to accept that his interests…
Steve Earle
Country-folk singer-songwriter and poet Townes Van Zandt died in 1997 on New Year’s Day. A dozen years later, his cult has grown beyond country contrarians. Fellow Texan Steve Earle’s spin is spirited and often flavoured with an Irish folk lilt; in other words, not so depressing. Van Zandt’s most famous song, “Pancho and Lefty,” is…
Dirty Projectors
Proving that summertime jams don’t need to sound like they were regurgitated from ELO’s back catalogue, Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca is definitely a breezy pop album, but a smart one. Trace this band’s lineage back to cerebral art-rock musicians like Talking Heads, where playful experimentation doesn’t overwhelm accessibility or become too painfully precious. There’s a…
Atlantic wine awards give plenty of coastal gold
Atlantic wine was put on a pedestal this past weekend when results were revealed for the first annual Atlantic Canada Wine Awards. Thirteen wineries walked away with awards and most winners, unsurprisingly, were from Nova Scotia. About two-thirds of the 119 wines entered in the Atlantic Canada Wine Awards won at least a bronze medal,…
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Early on in the scripted, singing commentary track for Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon’s web-musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, actor Nathan Fillion follows up a tuneful smackdown of Neil Patrick Harris with dialogue that’s as hilarious as it is wanky. “The only question you have to ask yourself is ‘How good a Joey…
Dinosaur Jr. runs on fossil fuels
If you remember anything about pioneering indie rockers Dinosaur Jr., you’ll recall the fiery relationship between bassist Lou Barlow and guitarist J Mascis as much as the sheer volume and intensity of the band. So if Barlow admits to being a perennial shit disturber, you might expect him to say as much. Still, four years…
Slackers do undoubtably great ska
Slackers’s saxophonist Dave Hillyard wants to make one thing abundantly clear: Although his band is technically considered ska, they’ve got nothing to do with No Doubt. “We play very old music,” he says. “We call it Jamaican rock ‘n’ roll—but we’re not faking being Jamaican. We sing about our lives in New York and we…
Nova Scotia needs a new deal
Kyle Shaw: Not long after the global financial meltdown started last September, Nova Scotia’s then-premier Rodney MacDonald announced that he had formed an Economic Advisory Panel to help steer the province through these troubled times. The names on his list were the usual suspects of Nova Scotia business, representing the major companies literally doing business…
Alien fire ants invade Halifax
Last Monday the St. Mary’s Boat Club filled with 150 residents with ants on their minds, and in their Tupperware. The west and south ends are infested with stinging and biting European fire ants. Many residents brought samples. “The complaints have been escalating,” says councillor Sue Uteck. Andrew Hebda, a zoologist with the Maritime Museum…
Niedzviecki watches the watchers in The Peep Diaries
If Broken Pencil founder and new-media thinker Hal Niedzviecki needed proof for his theories on “peep culture,” he should thank Michael Jackson. The circumstances surrounding Jackson’s death—the almost instantaneous delivery of news via celebrity gossip pariah TMZ and the subsequent traffic toll it took on social networking websites—is a perfect example of our obsession with…
Expecting privacy in public places
Michael Jackson’s passing last week at the tender age of 50 shocked me right down to my shoes. “It’s getting deadlier and deadlier for celebrities like us,” I was overheard to remark. The King of Pop’s demise was likely brought on by the stress of rehearsing for 50 concerts starting this summer in London. In…
D-Sisive
The hip-hop underground can be a place of pain. With Let the Children Die, Toronto-based and Polaris Prize-nominated D-Sisive proves this to be true. Beats are slow and steady. The low end rules—see the bass and organ samples on “Song to Sing” and “Riot I Caused,” featuring Classified. Production is minimal and moody. Winter imagery…
MJ’s gone, but the Thriller remains.
I wonder where the glove is. The original glove. From the earliest time Michael put it on and strutted out to grab his crotch and made people go (not for the first time and most certainly not for the last): “what the hell?” There are traces of his gloves on the ‘net, of course—one supposedly…
Vessna Perunovich’s tight squeeze
It’s a foggy Saturday night outside Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, and a small crowd has gathered for Vessna Perunovich’s performance, “I Hug the World and the World Hugs Me Back.” The artist is tethered to a lamppost by three long, thick bands of elastic—blood-red against her black dress and white blouse. She stands, her…
Being a selfish bitch is good!
Q: I’m a 25-year-old straight female. I’ve been dating my boyfriend for only a few months, but we fell in love fast. He is a caring person, and I want to make this last. However, he doesn’t turn me on. It has nothing to do with looks—he’s gorgeous—but rather with the fact that I am…
Around the Well
B-side and oddity collections are often full of bizarre outtakes suitable only for obsessed fans. But Sam Beam’s (AKA Iron and Wine) Around the Well defies the usual dictum, because his off-album contributions don’t steer far away from the softly sung, gently picked stylings of his own material. Especially lovely are his interpretations of other…
Seven magnificent faces of Johnny Depp
Johnny be weird but misunderstood In 1993’s Benny & Joon, Depp plays an eccentric young man who falls in love with a mentally ill woman (Mary Stuart Masterson). Not to be confused with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, which also came out in ’93, where he plays a confused young man who takes care of his…
Enough of Kelly & Co.
To the editor, I would like to thank Tim for a job well done. It’s a well-researched article on Peter Kelly’s sewage disaster. It apalls me to think that my nose is right and my tax dollars are down the drain—at $333 million and climbing. I work next to the harbour at a large public…
What’s wrong? Common tennis courts are falling apart.
What’s wrong? Common tennis courts are falling apart. Who’s responsible? Blair Blakeney, coordinator of parks, 490-6789. Remarks: As reader Ross Soward points out, the courts “have not been resurfaced… they have rusted-out fences, no garbage cans, no water fountain,” et cetera. And Blakeney completely agrees. The courts, he says, were built for the 1969 Canada…
What the sewage plant press release misses
[image-1] I’m at the start of my vacation, but I find it necessary to first make a point about the press release the city issued yesterday concerning the sewage plant (see previous post.) The press release blames a back-up generator, and other media seem to be jumping on that explanation as the cause of the…
Share the Air
Dear Neighbors; Smoke inside your own damn apartment. Do you think it’s fair that I have to close my living room windows on a hot summer evening so you can enjoy your smoke on the front steps and avoid stinking up your own apartment? No, it won’t kill me. But it’s fucking gross. How about…
I really tried to like your store
When you first opened, I was really excited. “Classy place,” I remember thinking, “Now that my other favourite place is gone, maybe THIS will be MY STORE.” So I tried. On every possible buying and gift-giving occassion, I went to your store first, when I could have just as easily gone to the internet. You…
My Inconsistent Beauty
There you were in the checkout line ahead of me in the 24-hour supermarket on Windsor. Your beautiful face, with its perfect peaches and cream complexion, was framed by your beautifully styled and cut reddish-brown hair. Your figure was shown off tastefully in your Lululemon stretch pants and white sweater. I was entranced by your…
