This week at city council: Death by a thousand cuts
Compared to most of this year’s meetings, yesterday’s Halifax council meeting tackled some substantive issues. The meeting was a great example of our elected reps and the actual power-wielders among city staff—what the philosopher John Ralston Saul would refer to as the “managerial class”—making a series of completely rational decisions, each and every one of…
My Special Friend
You captured my heart in a way that no one else has. Circumstances do not allow us to be together, but I pine for you. You are hopelessly attractive, especially in uniform, you’re articulate, kind, incredibly easy to be around. Your “traditional” singing makes me fall mesmerized, silent. Illness is cruel and I’m sorry your…
No think Tank
So, a person who spends his life saving the lives of others writes a passionate article in the paper about the tragic, all-too-common and preventable loss of teenage life due to drinking and driving…then along you come and write post after thoughtless post against him. If you stand against someone who stands against the loss…
Rocky Jones has died
Editor’s note: Burnley Allan “Rocky” Jones died Monday night. The following piece was written by Coast intern Rana Encol after Jones gave perhaps his last media interview, earlier this year. It is one of several profiles of prominent Haligonians we’ve collected as part The Coast’s 20th anniversary year, and which will run over coming months.…
Today, I was feeling like a potato
I was purchasing the most disgusting array of grocery store goods I could find. Naturally I chose the self-checkout line to avoid judgment. And that’s when I saw you; the bearded, be-spectacled grocer of Windsor St… I hope you didn’t see what I was purchasing because I would maybe like to get to know you.…
No decent jobs in Cape Breton
I am from Cape Breton. I would love to stay here and raise my family but there is such a lack of decent paying jobs. To have at the least a lower middle class life for my family I have to leave. Leave my kids, and leave my family. Sorry but besides nice scenery, Cape…
Forgiving Bus Passenger
It was pouring rain the other day when you got on the number 7. When you rang for your stop and the bus driver missed it, you went up to him and told him; he said “Oh no – I’m sorry – and it’s pouring rain!” You put your hand on his shoulder and told…
asshole non-smoker in shorts two sizes too small
listen up, dickbag, if I am walking down the street, smoking a cigarette, it is completely within my rights to do so. Similarly, if you are running down the street, sweating buckets in your lame ass doo-rag and too small spandex, it is your right to do so. I could have commented to you on…
The dirtiest spot in Dal
I love and enjoy biking to Dal every morning. I love the fresh air in my face, the sing of the birds, the happy people walking around. Everything is so perfect until I pass by a certain corner, where one of the houses looks like a garbage dump. There’s been a TV on the grass…
Soho Summer
Just a little bit shy of two months ago, you stormed into our shared dwelling and let me know that you were super unhappy and that it was over, after a pretty long stint together and two years of living together, I grabbed my ipod and went for a long walk trying to figure out…
Sleep Country cozies up on Spring Garden
Breaking the business park trend that most mattress stores follow, Sleep Country opened its HRM flagship store (and the first in Nova Scotia) at 5415 Spring Garden Road yesterday. Though the nearly 20-year-old chain, started in Vancouver by Christine Magee and partners, plans to open four other stores in the province (in Bayers Lake, Bedford,…
a$$hole neighbor ruins community feature.
Late last year, I moved into an apartment in the North End. I was really drawn to the building’s location because there was an off-leash dog park a stone’s throw from my door. The park was covered in “dogs welcome” signs. I visited regularly with my dog. I was new to Halifax and got to…
Can’t Cry Anymore Tears
You guaranteed I wouldn’t regret or be rejected by you again if I called .Well I did call, you did reject me and made me regret I tried once again to speak with you. Also,I would never run away from you if I knew you were looking for me.YOU made me feel as though I…
Ents think you’re hot
Fuck off with the beard please. Give it back to the low tide. Make a clever little slingshot ( betcha can gentleman hobo!) out of your wishbone and suspenders, and poof! let it go. Then maybe write a growly song about it. About how hard times are. How it made you blue/drove you to whiskey.…
Stop Yanking Your Dog’s Neck OFF!
To the assholes I see on a regular basis, be it on the streets of Halifax or the parks and green spaces, please extract your ignorant, abusive heads from your asses and realize that when you yank as hard as you can on your dogs leash, and therefore neck, you are being abusive as hell.…
Calling all heroes
Video Difference is holding a too-good-to-be-true sort of contest that you’d be foolish to not do. How’s that for a sell? It goes like this. Open your Hotmail, AOL, whichever your chosen platform for email is and send videodiff@eastlink.ca your name, address, organization name—which can be your office, glee club, auxiliary guild, ultimate frisbee team,…
Keep Smiling
To the waitress, you have the most adorable smile I have every seen in my life. —Nobody
Politely asked to leave
So I have been on a vast spiritual journey exploring all options, recently I attended a Pentocastol church in the area and after asking these three questions was politely asked to leave. 1)If an individual is a Schizophrenic and he or she is a great person however one day has a psychotic break down and…
Name the ferry!
The city is buying a new ferry. This is great news! The new ferry will look more or less just like the three now running on the harbour, but it will be much more fuel efficient, pollute less, will be generally spiffier. Spiffy is good. Currently, the Woodside ferry runs just during rush hour, but…
Here Comes the……Battle???
I am getting Married! I know, you’re all absolutely delighted to hear about the complete stranger on The Coast page is getting married. We really wanted to have a tiny little wedding. My parents, his parents, and my brother, sister in law and my nephews. but nope. Someone put it on Facebook. Well they didn’t…
Cultivating Halifax
Loving all the beautiful gardens this year. It seems like there are more and more popping up each year. Thank you to everyone putting effort into making Halifax a nicer place to live in, even if it’s not the intention we all benefit from it. 🙂 All able, grab a spade and seed! Let’s make…
Introvert lesbian article. SERIOUSLY.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Just yes. —lesbian just not into a fucking “scene”
To Halifax Bar Owners
It’s too fucking loud. This makes me sound like an old man – I’m not. I’m twenty years old and like loud music as much as the next guy. But when I’m at the bar and can’t make out a word my friends are saying – there’s a problem. Trying to wheel a girl at…
A suggestion for next year’s Gay Pride planners
Today’s parade was great except for the unhappy “Emperor” who failed to wave or smile to members of our community and those visiting our city. It was pretty obvious he didn’t want to be there given the glare he gave to the “common folk” along the route. You don’t represent a lot of the community…
Beautiful Black Goddess
Beautiful Black Goddess … we met while watching the Pride Parade, near the CBC building across from the Public Gardens. You said you liked my (dental) braces and I liked you too, immediately. I should have asked for your name and number. But I didn’t and I regret it. I’d really like to see you…
You Made My Saturday!
To the lady in the Burgundy Jeep Compass in the Portland St Tim Horton’s Drive-thru…….THANK YOU for paying for my order this morning. I’ve heard of this happening to other people before and today it was my turn. I paid it forward and paid for the car behind me. His order was smaller than mine…
everything is so awesome here
I don’t think I’ve ever read critical press about anything ‘artistic’ in this city- local music, film, exhibits, books, etc…Outside of politics, critical reviews are inexplicably reserved for food columns here. This has an uneasy leveling effect- every kid gets an MVP medal in Halifax. It can’t all be great just because it’s local, can…
Pull Over Dumbass
A few days ago on Mumford Rd I heard ambulance and police sirens while driving, and pulled over to let them go avert tragedy/save lives/whatever the order of the day. Four cars passed me, speeding by to make a light, with the police/ambulance right on their heels, honking and blaring. They had to pull into…
Large Tip?
Just so everyone knows… when a rich pop star leaves a tip of $500, it is just a publicity stunt. $500 to her is like someone who makes $50,000 a year leaving 50 cents. When I heard she left a big tip on the news I was thinking in the ballpark of 10 grand or…
Seaview Park/Africville Park
Once a year, Seaview/Africville Park closes its gates to the dog owners who use the off-leash park every day & year round to host the Africville reunion. The reunion used to be a weekend event, but is now a weekly event. No problem. Wait… yes there is a problem. If you drive by Seaview/Africville right…
Snipbitch
A lady is seated at the waiting area couch. “Snip! Snip!” I hear. I peer out from behind the monitor, as sneakily as possible. Ahh, just as I thought. She doesn’t have a catch-all. Just releasing her talons, wherever they choose to fly – freed from the cigarette-stained digits they once called home. As they…
Don’t know what else to say
I don’t care if he’s family, only scum will forgive rapists. She was 5 years old. Since the statue of limitations are up, no real justice will be done for that little 5 year old girl, who’s now a mentally fucked ‘adult’ because of everything he did to her. And the bit of justice that…
Just Plain Lazy
This goes out to all the panhandling fucks I see on a day to day basis bahaving like a pimple on the worlds asshole. You lossers are such a waste of time and space and an endless void of bullshit excuses. You guys are so full of shit and I know this from my own…
Petition Stupid People
Please place razor wire around sculptures instead of packing peanuts. Obviously the signs don’t do anything. This was a preventable accident.—Dumb Da Dumb Dumb DUMB!
Fraudster
You, sir, are THE top of the line scum bag. Thanks for wasting my time and energy on stroking your own ego by pretending to be a dude with a ‘film company.’ Yeah, I still got to do what I love but what about your end of the bargain? YA KNOW making the film? YA…
Chris Brown
How about donating the proceeds from your concert to Bryony House for abused women and their children? When money and mouth meet, it can go far to help victims – and help your rep. —Trench Worker
Idiot driver
To the dick bag behind me at the stop sign while waiting to turn onto dunbrack – I am so terribly sorry that you were in the rush you were and you had to throw up your hands and beep at me because I hesitated to turn left while cars were coming. I had my…
Mr. Marmalade
Could there be a better time to stage Noah Haidle’s wickedly funny and highly disturbing Mr. Marmalade in Halifax? After all, the entire city has been engaged in a months-long, much-needed discussion about what we can do about violence against women. So how, you may be wondering, does a one-act play about a four-year-old named…
Hello, Kurtis Blow
YOU GUYS. This is amazing. Kurtis Blow is playing in Dartmouth tomorrow, Saturday, July 27, at Hugo’s (451 Windmill Road, 9pm, $30-$40 with DJ C-Styles [Furious 5] and LC Posse’s Bonshah, tickets at kurtisblowhalifax.eventbrite.ca)! I MEAN COME ON! Thanks to Jayo Productions and U.A.S. Entertainment you can shake it all night long in the presence…
Children at Shubenacadie Residential School were used as Guinea pigs by government nutritionists
The purpose of the Shubenacadie Residential School was to “take the Indian out of the Indian.” That broad mandate reduced the school to an instrument of cultural genocide, which in turn gave opportunity for sadists employed by the school to rape, beat and even murder the children in their care. These crimes were well-documented by…
What a year it’s been!
From the depths of sadness and disappointment to excitement, laughter and wonderful people in my life. Thanks to those who had compassion and to love me when I struggled so badly to right myself again. To those who drifted away, thanks for showing me that my happiness is tied to me and not to you.…
bayers lake parking lot
Thank you, kind person, who decided it would be a good idea to dent the entire side of my car, making it unable to open the passenger side door, and not leave your fucking contact information. I now have 3000$ in damage, on top of my broken laptop that I still need fixed. —sad and…
Second Fiddleheads
This fall, the eco-friendly family storeFiddleheads Kids Shop (300 Prince Albert Road) is opening a second location on Nine Mile Circle in Larry Uteck Boulevard, right next door to the new Morris East! Co-owner, Nancy Rector, says that Fiddleheads is a destination store for people coming in from numerous parts of the province and even…
Halifax’s urban chickens are liberated
“Urban chickens allowed on Halifax peninsula” ran a CBC headline last week, and quickly social media celebrated liberation of urban fowl. But while this may seem like a victory for lovers of fowl, city spokesperson Brendan Elliott is quick to equivocate. “The land use bylaw is silent on the issue of chickens,” says Elliot. “We…
Mayor Mike Savage is chasing the stadium dream
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage confirms he has met with CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon n June, in Toronto, to discuss the possible expansion of the CFL into the Maritimes. A new CFL team starting in Halifax would require a government-financed stadium, says Savage. “We just chatted about the CFL,” continues Savage. “[Cohon] explained, as I already…
Just Ducky
To the RCMP officer who stopped on the 207 yesterday morning, to get a rather large brood of ducks to safety…good on you! You can have my tax dollars anytime. — L’town Express
Wasteful Nova Scotia
Leave it to this province to figure out the most expensive way to build a bridge! So I was driving south on hwy 19 near Inverness and I saw a sign that said “Birthplace of Angus L. MacDonald”. WTF!! Why would this stupid province choose to build a bridge in the middle of nowhere on…
To the handsome man in uniform on the #7
Thank-you for shooting me that playful smile as I got off the bus. It made my day. —Flushed
Rich Aucoin
It’s not easy to pin down Rich Aucoin. His music is a mishmash of Brian Wilson-esque harmonies counterpointed with Daft Punk beats. But if you’re trying to pin him down geographically, his tour itinerary reads like an indie-rock cover version of “Around The World in 80 Days.” Belgium, France, Winnipeg, Iceland. This man is literally…
Gypsophilia
The flexi-sized Halifax combo played live shows for years, stoking curiosity about Eastern European melancholy and 1930s Parisian jazz, before hitting the studio. Now well into its recording career, Gypsophilia’s love of variations keeps the sound surging, well, forward like the label says. Muted trumpet, violin, acoustic bass and electric guitar veer off for solos…
WetSpot
City Council won’t rain on your Pride party plans this year, because the Halifax Regional Council approved a noise-bylaw exemption. That means you can dance your face off this Saturday night to the beats of DJ Motlette—a regular host of Retro Night’s at the Company House—and the genre-bending DJ Jules Bangsworth—a past Pride favourite—until 2am…
Cecile McLorin Salvant
Jazz buffs have been anticipating this debut album from the winner of the Thelonius Monk Competition. A Miami native of Haitian heritage, McLorin is the whole package: a captivating singer and inventive pianist with a throwback’s sense of where jazz got a spark in the first place. “You Bring Out the Savage in Me” had…
Parade of respect
Parades are the heart of any festival and the Halifax Pride Parade is no exception. Halifax’s 26th annual parade will be held Saturday July 27, beginning at 1:30pm on Lower Water Street. The parade route continues down Barrington Street to Spring Garden Road and ends at the Garrison Grounds at 3pm. This year’s festival theme…
Lemuria
The third LP from this Buffalo trio sounds like it was written at Java Blend in 1996. Ramshackle girl-boy vocal tradeoffs, quiet-loud dynamics and driving guitars are the key elements in this 13-track indie-pop gem, packed full of surprise touches, like breath lines, a choir, ping-pongy synth parts. The rallying cry “Paint the Youth” demonstrates…
timeOUT for Pride
Pride may be all about celebrations, but it’s also about conversations. Since 2005, the timeOUT Lectures have been held at the Spring Garden Road Library on all sorts of topics, from queer history to HIV, trans rights to sex. Put on by Halifax Pride and the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project, this year’s crop of…
Caught
“The law was a folktale that’s changed every time it was told.” How do you follow up a novel like February? Well, if you’re Lisa Moore–coming off a Canada Reads win–you might want to challenge yourself. And what better way to do so than to take a genre typically unassociated with literary merit, and pump…
Found in trans*lation
Kimberly Macdonald is an attractive young woman with a good job. Like most women in her early twenties, she’s flirtatious, funny and happens to do a killer Amy Winehouse impression. And like most people in their early twenties, Macdonald was expecting to live part of her life in debt. But her debt wouldn’t be due…
The Interestings
If The Royal Tenenbaums was an epic-length novel, set at a camp for gifted children in the middle of the woods, it would be called The Interestings. A novel as shallow as it is detailed, Wolitzer’s newest tome is a series of overlapping character studies in disappointment. The protagonist, Julie, is sent to Spirit-of-the-Woods, a…
Safety dance
Take a breath purple-face, it’s true, In-Flight Safety’s long-awaited new record is finally coming up the pipe. “We’ve had a few false starts and threw out a full record worth of songs that just weren’t all that exciting,” says guitarist John Mullane, adding that the ones they landed on were inspired. “The sound is very much…
The Wolverine
The word “mutant” is only mentioned a couple times, and The Wolverine is all the better for it. Hugh Jackman’s Logan is now a grizzled mountain-man, trying to forget about killing Famke Janssen. All that wild brooding is interrupted, though, when a wealthy businessman invites Wolverine back to Japan to offer a gift of de-immortalizing…
Room for squares
In 1970, Polly Greene was the seed that grew the Nova Scotia quilting revival, acting as inspiration for younger women to take up the needle at a time when traditional quilting was almost a thing of the past. Working in bright colours and patterns, Bedclothes and Cloths spans 65 years of Greene’s quilting career and…
The To Do List
“Thanks for the lube, Mom,” is only one of a couple dozen fantastic one-liners filling up The To Do List. Virgin valedictorian Brandy (Aubrey Plaza) wants to lose her virginity before college. In typical overachieving fashion, she decides to master a lengthy list of sexual acts before going all the way with hunky Rusty Waters…
Forever Plaid
Please excuse the mixed imagery, but even if cornball comedy isn’t your cup of tea, I urge you to see Forever Plaid at Chester Playhouse. It’s a delightfully nostalgic romp, where the plot doesn’t really matter, but the music really does. And that’s exactly what makes this production sing. Simon Gordon, Kyle Gillis, Anders Balderston…
Eyes on the Pride
It’s that’s time of year again: Partee-time! See what’s going on and what’s being talked about at this year’s Pride Festival, by clicking here.
Strange brew from OddBottle
“I don’t want to underplay the importance of soda pop,” says Alex Hagen of OddBottle Craft Sodas. A longtime home-brewer, his biz plan was a spin-off of another idea, for beer brewery. “I don’t want it to seem like a second-love to beer. Soda has more than eclipsed brewing of beer for me.” Putting beer…
Upside Down
One of the strangest and most visually impressive fantasy films of recent years, Upside Down is a Canadian/French co-pro about two planets existing side by side, each with its own gravitational pull. One planet exploits the other’s resources. Eden (Kirsten Dunst) from the well-off world fell in love with Adam (Jim Sturgess) from the impoverished…
Rad Pride on the side
When bank workers and police volunteer to dress in drag and dance to house music on moving trucks we have to admit that while we’ve gained social acceptance, we’ve lost our edge. Mainstream approval comes at a price, and the cost of appropriation is being measured by those alienated from the very thing that is…
Buskers: a musical round up
There’s only so much fire-breathing, put-a-fifty-in-the-hat comedy routines, contortion and strange gyrating that I can take before I have to call it a day at the annual Halifax International Busker Festival, which is why, every year at some point I flock to the musical acts like a moth to the less-annoying flame. Sometimes, things you…
Orange is The New Black
Netflix’s foray into series production has made for mixed results, from awful (Hemlock Grove) to merely polarizing (Arrested Development). But the streaming service has its first true, undisputable creative triumph in Orange is the New Black, based on Piper Kerman’s yuppie-in-jail memoir and guided to the screen by Jenji Kohan (Weeds). “Taylor Swift-ass motherfucker” Taylor…
Taking Names
Crossing paths with a wild animal is a striking experience. Whether it’s a raccoon rustling in the shadows of a shed or a deer standing roadside and motionless, there’s often a kind of memorable excitement to it. “When I encounter a wild animal, I never quite know what to do,” says D’Arcy Wilson. “It’s really…
Gay play
The best thing about sex toys is that everyone can use them: gay, straight, transgender. Whatever your preference or orientation, there’s a toy for it. Everybody has nipples, right? Luckily, Venus Envy stocks a variety of products that can be tailored to almost any desire and kink. The sales staff is informed and eager to…
The Dock side
Fisherman’s Cove is little fishing wharf dotted with a row of shacks that sell knick-knacks, artwork, souvenirs and ice cream. It’s a colourfully bland experience in the middle of a naturally beautiful waterfront vista, a tourist trap that’s meant to evoke the stereotypical Nova Scotian experience. There’s a boardwalk and a small beachy area where…
Tegan and Sara’s pop cult
“All I wanna get is a little bit closer,” sings Tegan Quin on “Closer,” the first single from Tegan and Sara’s synth disturber of a record, Heartthrob. “All I wanna know is, can you come a little closer?” It’s about a person, seemingly, but it could also be considered a thesis statement from your favourite…
The inner Classified
For Classified, 2013 has been a banner year. Since January, the Enfield rapper has released a chart-topping self-titled record, gone platinum with his hit “Inner Ninja” (featuring David Myles) and won a Juno and two MMVAs. But in true Canadian fashion, Classified is modest about—and even a bit wary of—his increasing fame. “I don’t need…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO! (July 23-August 22) “I was six years old when my parents told me that there was a small, dark jewel inside my skull, learning to be me.” So said the Leo science fiction writer Greg Egan in his story “Learning to Be Me.” Let’s pretend that you, too, have a small dark…
Boys on the side
Q I’ve been mostly happily married for 15 years. I’m a straight man. I love my wife. We used to have a great sex life. But after many years, children and just day-to-day reality, our sex life is now pretty unsatisfying. While my wife was barely GGG at the beginning, now she will not go…
There aren’t any instruction books about how to be gay, so I had to find my own way
I’m an introvert and a total lesbian—two key pieces of information that would’ve been useful to connect much sooner than I did. Because I spent a decade looking for my own pride in all the wrong places. Surprisingly, and much to my dismay, when you come out you don’t receive a guidebook in the mail…
Anything but a drag
“Drag at its best will revive you,” says Christopher Frazer, a professor at St. FX. Known onstage as C. Leah Cruise, Frazer is an old queen in the scene beginning research on the history of drag in Halifax. He says that even with the social and economic challenges of the last 50 years, the city’s…
Roberta Bondar
Roberta Bondar was Canada’s first female astronaut. Ottawa’s “steamy noise rock” band of the same name is shoegazing through a telescope in some far corner of the universe. Scratchy guitars, heavy bass lines and the ghostly song-birding of singer Lidija Rozitis are in full supply. Hiss, the follow-up to last year’s self-titled EP, does not…
